Moss family vaycay Part II

Our first day in Orlando was pretty uneventful, we slept in late while the 'adults' went to a meeting about timeshares. It was lunchtime by the time they got back, and it was overcast outside so our plans for Cocoa Beach were nixed, which was disappointing because A. I would have loved to go to another beach and B. I saved my cutest swimsuit for Orlando and didn't really even get to use it! We spent some time at the pool at the resort/hotel we were staying at since it is always warm even when its cloudy. That night we went to Bahama Breeze for dinner and got home late.

But we were up and at 'em for Disneyworld the next day. Almost right after we walked into the Magic Kingdom, music started and out came the parade! It was a fun way to start the day.

First stop: Pirates of the Caribbean.

It says Take a Wench for a Bride!

After the Jungle Cruise we went to the Haunted Mansion. Hallie kept saying it was scary but I told her it was pretend just like Halloween and I think that made sense.





We had some members of the family INSISTING that we had to have Mickey ice creams, so we did, and then it started sprinkling. By the time we made it over to Splash Mountain (our next stop) it was a DOWNPOUR! We ducked inside the area where we got our FastPass tickets and there we stayed until the rain let up. It was a long wait.

(I cut the clip short because the rain was blowing in onto us!)

They shut down all the rides due to thunder and lightning, so when the rain let up we were almost first in line for Splash Mountain- that worked to our advantage. I do NOT like rollercoasters (mauri- that can go on my list of things that most other people like that I don't) and I had never been on Splash Mountain so I was realllllllly nervous. We got the most wet at the beginning when we were splashed by a different log going down, but I still couldn't enjoy the rest of the ride because I was so nervous. When we finally went down I buried my face in Zach's shoulder and BIT him... I will never live that down EVER! I don't know how or why, I was just bracing myself and apparently that's what happened. (I must have been too nervous to take pictures around this time)

Next stop was Thunder Mountain which I actually did enjoy because there are no drops (but still everybody wanted to know if I was going to bite whoever was sitting next to me. Grrr) The rest of the day included going on more rides for the kids...

Unfortunately, the line to meet the princesses was too long. We did decide to stay for the Main Street Electrical Parade, apparently known now as "Spectromagic." I am so out of touch with the lingo these days.

The next day was Sea World. First thing Zach, Mashaela, Tom and Papa did was stand in line to ride the Manta, which you probably could not even pay me to ride. (I know I am the biggest party pooper of the century) So instead we took the kids to see the REAL stingrays. I touched one for like 2 seconds and freaked out, I wouldn't have expected them to be so squishy! We saw the dolphins, alligators, manatees (I can now say I've seen a manatee poop- my life is complete.), and penguins.


We all met back up at Clyde and Seamore, which was a VERY cute show, even before the show started there was a pirate mime who mimicked people walking in. He even checked out a girl and then rated her a "7" to the audience. The actors were hilarious to watch because occasionally the otter/sealions missed their cues or did them too soon and the actors could not keep straight faces for the life of them. The cute little otter came back out on stage 3 times when he wasn't supposed to and waved at the audience. We were laughing the whole time! The whole thing was hilarious and so fun.

Next we saw Shamu, which was a little cheesy for our tastes, but its still amazing to watch how they've trained the whales. I was the only one who wanted to sit in the Soak Zone, so I was voted out. It was so hot! I would have appreciated it.

We went and did some things for the kids and saw a few more exhibits including fish, frogs and sharks, but we exited the exhibit to find ANOTHER total downpour. We waited and waited and waited for the rain to let up, for almost an hour, and then decided we should just run for it since we were all ready to leave. We were at the very back of the park, and it turns out Sea World floods when it rains, because we sloshed through some huuuge puddles while trying to run. When we finally got to the front we were SOAKED. It was all a great time!

4th of July and the Moss family vaycay Part I

Zach's parents are here from Washington, and his younger sister Mashaela is here from Utah so we've had some fun spending time with the whole family this week. Zach and I have been pretty lucky with work so far. I did have to have my phone on me 24/7 but didn't need to be at the office on the 3rd or 4th, and Zach's been done early so he's been able to come with us to most things.

The family arrived the night of the 2nd, and the next day (Friday) we had a verrrry late start (a lot of jet lag goin on) but took an afternoon trip to the beach on Sanibel Island. We've only gone to Fort Myers beach since I've been out here, so it was a fun little trip. Here is where we had to drive:

The blue circle shows the bridge we had to take to get out to Sanibel Island. If you look closely you can see a blue dot in the same color that shows where we live.

They have some cute stores on the way out, such as:

Sanibel is renowned for seashells. We walked on piles and piles of them. It was beautiful!

Hallie and Nana with all their seashells

July 4th we had a fun day at the park, making burgers, playing frisbee and eating smores.

Yes, I also have a nephew... Hallie ALWAYS wants her picture taken so there are quite a few more of her

On the 4th of July there is an overpass that they block off and allow you to walk on to watch the fireworks, so since Fort Myers canceled their show due to budget problems, that is what we did, along with the other pest control-ers we're friends with.

Here is Chase! with the fireworks

The next day after church we took Roxy and we all went to a beach in Bonita Springs that was quite a ways away, only to find they did not allow dogs! Since it was too far to go home, we tried to sneak her in but got stopped before we even put our stuff down. We had to have our $8.00 fee refunded, and went to another beach called Lovers Key, and same problem. Then we went to a dog beach we heard about but it was DISGUSTING, we were all grossed out, and turned around before even trying to find a place to sit. After a couple hours of driving around, loading and unloading, AND Roxy throwing up in my lap in the car, we ended up right back at Fort Myers beach (where we always go). I did not take any pictures by the time we got there! After being at that dog beach we made Roxy swim in the ocean to wash off. She may or may not have been traumatized.

After getting cleaned up though we had a great dinner at Doc Ford's, this cute place right on the water. (I had key lime pie for dessert... Kenny Chesney would be so proud.)

We were fairly unsuccessful at taking any good pictures, though the night was beautiful and the moon looked awesome reflecting on the water next to the boats!

Monday Zach and I both missed another day at the beach because we had to work, but yesterday everyone went early enough that I could go before work at 3. This time we visited Naples beach. Comparatively the waves were huge and we couldn't go out very far, plus the seaweed totally grosses me out, but it was a good time and the water was a little cooler there. And let's face it... a beach is a beach, so I'm happy!

Later we came back to our pool for a BBQ dinner. This smelled even better than it looks!

Tonight Zach, Mashaela and I are driving up to Orlando after work to meet the rest of the family who is leaving today. Tomorrow Cocoa Beach, Friday Disneyworld and Saturday Sea World! I can't wait!

See more pictures here!