heading home

and with that, we were off!  barbara and james dropped us off at the airport and we made our way to the gate.  security took forever, almost making us miss out flight, but fortunately we raced to the plane and made it on time.
ledger was excited for his second plane ride, but understandably he wasn't quite as excited as his first plane ride...
when we got back we were shocked by the cold once again!  after having spend a week in such nice weather, we had forgotten just how rough michigan can be in january...
it was a ton of fun and a trip that we will remember for the rest of our lives, but there is something comforting about being back home, huh?

goodbye, florida

well, that dreadful day has finally arrived: time to leave.  we had such an awesome and memorable time that it's a little sad to have to leave!  we were certainly not looking forward to returning to the real world...
alanna and tavish, diana, ledger, and i were actually the only ones who were heading back home.  alanna and tavish were headed back to boston, and the three of us back to michigan.  barbara and james had a few more days left and were going to travel a bit.  mom and david had plans to head to the coast for another week of vacation by themselves.  lucky...
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david's birthday

while we were down in florida, we had a special event to celebrate: david's birthday!  knowing how much david loves disney, we spent the week looking for the perfect gift for him.  we eventually spotted it: a special statue of his favorite character- jiminy cricket!  since we didn't have any wrapping paper, ledger just told him to close his eyes and he put it in grandpa's hands.  david was delighted by the gift and the whole evening festivities.  barbara had gotten a cake and ice cream so we could celebrate properly!  david was so happy to have his family together and at the happiest place on earth for his special day!
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a boat ride

then it was time to go on the boat, so we gathered our stuff and climbed about.  we went out and got a chance to see all kinds of different wildlife.  ledger was so excited to see real live crocodiles in the water and on the shore.  diana and her mother was probably more excited to see the wildlife than anyone though!
after the boat ride and one last look at all the manatees, we packed up and went out for a nice lunch- david's treat!  the food was great and we had a really nice day as a family.  certainly a memorable day!
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enjoying the manatees

last time we went to florida we went to the national park to see all the manatees, and everyone was excited to go again!
we got up nice and early (too early for most of us...) to make it there in time to do a boat tour of the glades.  when we first got there we walked up and down the wooden path and checked out the spring filled with manatees enjoying the warm waters.
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wander with the mrs.

after a full day of checking out and enjoying epcot center, the boys were a bit exhausted. grandpa offered to pick them up, along with grandma, and bring them home to play at the house and in the pool.  barbara, james, alanna, diana, and i weren't quite done with the place, so we decided to stick around a bit longer.  we went out to eat all 5 of us.  after that, diana and i ditched the others and wander around for a bit just the two of us.  it was our only chance to have a little alone time and enjoy some romantical time together.
after we said goodbye to ledge, we made our way around the different nations.  we didn't really have any purpose or goal in mind other than just wandering around and enjoying our time together in such a fun place.  as we walked around we remembered some of the fun we had the last time we were here.  it's been a while, but the memories came flooding back!
it was definitely one of the highlights of the whole trip!  it's quite a treat to love her more and take such delight in spending time with her now after 9 years of marriage!
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sea horse time!

then it was time for diana's favorite part of epcot: the aquarium!  a few years ago they rebranded everything so that it's nemo themed, but the aquariums are all still filled with all kinds of cool fish and sea life.
for most of our time in the aquarium exhibit it was just ledger and i wandering around because diana found the part with the sea horses and wanted to spend the next half hour just watching them!  i knew ledge wouldn't put up with that, so we poked around at all the rest of the exhibits.
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bay to the max

later in the day we had another opportunity to meet a disney character: baymax from big hero six!  we didn't have a fast pass for this one, but ledge really wanted to give him a hug!  i didn't want to miss that, so we waited in line.  it took about a half hour, but we eventually made it to the front of the line.  for some reason baymax wasn't exactly able to sign his autograph book.  probably has something to do with him being a big walking balloon!
ledger did get that hug though, and that's all he really wanted anyway...

meeting the characters

along with our tickets to disney world, we also had 'fast passes'.  that means that there are some rides and events that we could sign up for the day before and jump to the front of the line when it was our time.
the first event we were up for was the meet and greet with the disney characters.  the boys were super excited about it too!  even with the fast pass there was still a bit of a wait for it, but for ledge it was totally worth it.  they were both armed and ready with their autograph books!
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an epcot welcome

another day at the park!  this time we spent the day at epcot.  this is the one diana and i were most looking forward to.  a chance to wander around the different countries of the world sounded pretty great!
we started off  the day super early- getting there before 'rope drop'.  it was a lot of fun too because they put on a little show for everyone before they let us in.  a few people dressed up like cleaners came out and did a little performance to get everyone excited.  it was kind of like 'stomp', where they would bang on different stuff to create a rhythm that we clapped along to and then they did a little comedic bit.  the boys were mesmerized and got even more excited for the fun that was to come!
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banshee boy

one of the special things we found in pandora land was the awesome banshee pet at the store!  ledger was immediately smitten and ol dad is a bit of a push over...  we let him pick what color banshee he wanted and spoiled him rotten!  when we got home he immediately tore into the box and got to work trying to figure out how to work the controls.  it's pretty neat, it can turn its head, open its mouth, and raise its wings.  the controls are a bit complicated for a five year old, but he'll get the hang of it!
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get some grub

one of the things we always tried to do each day we were in the parks was to have a great meal at least once during our visit.  we would usually bring our own sandwiches for lunch, but splurged a bit when it came time for dinner.  while we were in animal kingdom we went to a really cool indian restaurant.  the food was really great and the place itself was so awesome!  the boys had a really fun time just checking out the decorations and cool stuff all around.  diana and i enjoyed the food- it was a bit different, but they even had macaroni and cheese for ledger, so he was ok with it too.

king of the lions

one of the great shows we got to see was the lion king!  at the beginning of the show, the introducer wanted to explain how each of the seating sections were designated to different teams.  he asked for a volunteer from the audience to demonstrate, and ledger got picked!  he went up and got to imitate an elephant (which was our section's animal)!  he was super thrilled to be picked and loved the chance to be in front of an audience!
the show was really amazing- the dancers and animatronics were incredible!  my favorite part was a dance sequence where the two performers were up on ropes dancing in the air.  it was so fantastic that it honestly brought a tear to my eyes- either that or it was really dusty in there...
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safari

now it's time to check out the animal part of the animal kingdom park!  we made our way to the back of the park and got on the animal safari ride.
we told ledge that there were a bunch of really cool animals that he would get to see, so he was pumped.  the safari did not disappoint- we got to see giraffes, a rhino, and even a lion!  the boys were thrilled to see these animals in real life; diana and i were pretty thrilled too!
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sleepy boy

this whole vacationing this is hard work!  by mid afternoon ledge was a bit tuckered out.  in order to give him a break, i put him up on my shoulders for a while, but that wasn't even enough of a rest for him...  i don't think he actually fell asleep, but he did rest his head on mine for 10-15 minutes as we took our time walking to the next attraction.
there's a ton more to see buddy, i hope you are ready for it!
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meeting mickey

while in the animal kingdom, we had another opportunity to get some signatures for ledger's autograph book!  we met mickey and minnie, who looked like they were ready for a safari!  the boys were thrilled to take the time out of our adventuring to meet-and hug- a few familiar friends!
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pandora!

this.  this was the thing that i was most excited about in our whole florida visit: pandora!  i unabashedly LOVE the movie avatar.  i know its not cool anymore to love that movie, but i do.  and to know that there is a recreation of the alien world at disney?  i'm all about that!  finally we made our way over to the pandora part of the park, and i was thrilled!  the whole thing was just as cool as i had hoped.  they had all kinds of alien looking plants and even some animatronic animals hiding throughout the land.  they had the amazing floating islands and even a couple rides.  we went on the lazy river style ride, which took us through the caves of pandora, but we didn't get a chance to go on the flying ride.  we didn't have fast passes and the line was 140 minutes long.  yikes!  yeah, i really really wanted to ride it, but i wasn't willing to waste two or more hours of our only day at animal kingdom just to ride it.  i did made sure we spend a bunch of time in the pandora-centric gift shop though!  one of the things they had in the gift shop was a place you could get a special one-of-a-kind na'vi designed to look like you!  it was super expensive so i didn't do it.  and it is the greatest regret of my life...  we did get ledger a special gift, diana got an awesome na'vi headband, and i got an awesome magnet that will stay on our fridge forever!  of all the things we ended up seeing at disney world, this is the one area i wanted to go back to!
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hidden mickey

in the months leading up to our visit, ledger would spend a bunch of time watching fun disney world videos on youtube.  one of the things that he learned was that all through out the different parks they have hidden mickeys.  these are small subtle mickey mouse silhouettes hidden around the park, snuck in to places you might not expect a mickey shape to be.  well, he and tavish dedicated themselves to finding a hidden mickey, and wouldn't you know it- they did!  in the middle of the sewer covers as we walked down the main path on our way out of the dino land, they found one!  a hidden mickey!  those two were so proud of themselves!
way to go, boys!

animal kingdom

our second day of disney parks was a visit to the animal kingdom.  i had been here once before back when i came down with my friends, but then we had park jumper passes, so we just ran in to do a ride and then went back to epcot.  ledger, a huge animal lover, was really looking forward to this park (and so was diana- who's an even bigger animal lover!) 
everyone had a great time wandering around and seeing the sights.  the giant tree is really cool!  we started off in the dino area, which tavish and ledge loved, and made our way through the whole kingdom, hitting up the rides and seeing the shows.
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just the two of us

the mrs. and i really wanted to have a chance on this trip to have a little time to ourselves.  we had an unplanned morning, so we took the opportunity to take an early lunch together and really get a chance to enjoy our time.  we weren't sure where we should go so we wandered around near the house and found a really cool mexican place!  that's always diana's favorite food, so we were definitely in luck.  it was really great to have a little quiet time to ourselves in the midst of the chaos and busy family time.  after we had a delicious meal, just the two of us, we were ready and raring to go for the rest of the week with all the family fun we had in store!

unwinding at the house

it was a fun filled day jam packed with excitement, but it was nice to return back to the house.  after a little bit of unwinding, ledger got straight to work on his homework.  his teacher gave him the task of writing a journal each day of the trip, reflecting on all the fun activities and practicing his writing.  after he finished his entry for the day, with the help of his auntie, he and tavish played around around the house until bed time.  diana and i didn't stay up much later- we were both exhausted after such and eventful day!
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goodbye, magic kingdom!

what a fun day!  it was our little boy's first time at disney world and i think it met, if not exceeded all of his expectations!  diana and i hadn't been there in years either, so we were just as delighted to return.  ledger's favorite part was the haunted mansion, but my favorite part was definitely the beauty and the beast part!  it was sad to say goodbye to the magic kingdom, but we've got so much more fun in store this week that the sadness disappeared quickly!
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the castle

one of the highlights of the magic kingdom is seeing that awesome cinderella castle as you walk in from main street!  i wasn't sure if diana or ledger were more excited to see it!  we spent most of the day in the different lands in the magic kingdom, which are all circling around castle.  so when we finally go to the center of the kingdom we got to check it out.  part of it was under construction, but we still enjoyed seeing it up close- and of course we had to take our picture in front of it!  how can you really say you've been to disney world if you don't?
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mickey ears!

since we were in disney, we HAD to get some mickey ears!  we decided, along with alanna, to get the boys some mickey ears with their names stitched on the back.  they were totally excited about it, and it was probably the cutest thing ever to see those two through out the week looking like lil' musketeers!
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