One of Aspen's highlights of the trip was petting these sting rays. She wrote about it in her journal and still talks about it. She certainly loves animals.
This is a horrible picture, but I need to give Aspen credit for riding some hard core rides on our trip. This shot actually shows the cars on Kraken fully inverted, and it shows Aspen immediately after her ride on the same. She and Oakley really did a great job on riding some huge rides. I was proud!
Fastpass is the coolest thing ever at Disney. Seriously. You're able to stand in line, without standing in line (albeit, in basically one line at a time). There are some tricks, though, especially if you have a kids who is too short for a given ride.
By walking up with Lindy, we were able to get one of these Rider Switch Passes. This allows you to use your existing fastpasses and return with this special three person pass. Put simply, it meant that we got to ride certain rides (Splash Mountain, Big Thunder, Everest, Rockin Roller Coaster, Soarin, TestTrack) two, three, or even four times each. So, now you start to see why we feel "Disney satiated".
So, I have to be honest... We didn't take very many pictures at Disney. We were simply too busy moving around and doing... Oh well. I have a few shots to share, this among them. We stayed at Fort Wilderness Campground in the cabins, and we loved it. The cabins have a bedroom (including three beds) and a kitchen and a living room with a murphy bed. It made for a great situation for us. We ate at least two meals each day in the cabin and the girls had somewhere to relax and unwind (or be crazy, their preference).
The trip was really excellent. We won't return to Disney (at least for some time) because we really felt like we finished it. We visited every park (Seaworld included) and got to ride everything they had to offer. I'll share a few other pictures as I can.
I managed to capture a video of Aspen & Oakley on a ride as well. Note that Big Thunder Mountain is a much longer ride (3+ minutes) and the first portion is the uphill part (all in the dark). I don't any editing equipment here at this conference, so this is the best I can do.
I'm sure Aspen will love this video in 5 years... she'll be so proud (sarcasm). But, at least, she is proud right here. It captures her spirit so well, though.
That's right, we're visiting the happiest place on earth this week. It is going well indeed, but it takes a lot of energy out me, er, I mean, them. OK, me too. They're in bed already (as of about 7:45) and I'm trying to manage emails (work still calls) and some videos and stuff. Hopefully, I'll get something uploaded before the end of the trip!
A couple of notes for you. Have you ever seen a "proper" food blog? These people are remarkable. They create beautiful food, and they write about it eloquently. My conclusion from tonight? Preparing food for a blog and for a family are nearly mutually exclusive. You see, Jenn made some excellent food for dinner tonight... Eggs Blackstone. (This is the Eggs Benedict of my youth, with the proper name. You see, we prefer bacon to Canadian bacon. This in no way relates to "patriotism". It relates, simply, to bacon.)
Well, I was a good three bites into this, the second sandwich of my dinner when I realized I was supposed to photograph it! And by this point, it looks like, well, a half eaten sandwich of unknown origin. Let me tell you, folks, that having a significant other who's into cooking is a wonderful thing. And yes, 3 hours later, I'm still full.
Saturday was a relatively relaxing one in our house. One soccer game is far less than two, and so we made our way out to Gentry's Farm as we do each year.
While Aspen the goat (picture circa 2002) was nowhere to be found, we still had a great time on the hay ride, corn maze, and everything else. We really do enjoy this fall tradition.
Congratulations to Oakley! While I'm still a bit unclear on the details, I'm certain that Oakley was one of two kids in her class this week (month?) who were nominated for a medal. Somehow, then, one student from the whole school is chosen. And guess what! Oakley was the winner!
Her name was announced on L(ipscomb)TV. When she got home, she declared that she was going to see just how many she could win this year. Go Oakley!
That's right, it's been a while (3 months) since we published a video. Jenn was kind enough to video Oakley's soccer game yesterday (no small task). Oakley had herself a good game, and I boiled it down to about 4 minutes of video total. This isn't every play that Oakley was involved in, but it is a good representation of what she did well. So, enjoy! (Oakley is number 13, if that helps you.)
You think pink and pigtails will never go out of style.
You've ever noticed the similarities between fish and airplanes. (Riding in the car on the way to preschool one recent morning, L: "Mommy, how are fish like airplanes? J: "Hmmm, good question. How are they?" L, with a giggle: "They both have tails!")
You know what a "porcupine truck" is. (Also on the same day as #2) "Look at that truck - it's a porcupine truck!" Indeed it was - it had several long antennas on it.
Every day for the past month you request (and get) cheddar cheese, Ritz crackers, 1/2 a Honey Crisp apple, and peanuts or cashews for lunch.
You love to stroll your favorite doll, "Baby Ruby."
You get VIP celebrity status in Harris Teeter. You are well-taken care of by Miss Birdie and Miss Barbara at the check-out and your favorite bagger/hide-n-go seek player, Mr. Corey. Let's just say they've been disappointed lately if I come in alone while you're in preschool.
The Brentwood librarian, Miss Pat, knows when you're on vacation and misses you at storytime!
You run through the "tunnel" of cheering parents at the end of your sisters' soccer games along with their teams, much like the team mascot. Afterall, you did spend the entire games running up and down the sideline with the ball, wanting so badly to go in, and waiting to run onto the field with Daddy at half-time. And, at night you sleep in one of their old jerseys.
You're our "brown-eyed girl", with eyes that get SO BIG and beautiful when you get excited or adamant about something, which is often.
Check out the sweet gift from Aspen to Lindy. She made it herself with no encouragement whatsoever. It's a paper doll set, complete with a bed and a place for the bed to live. Lindy loved it, just like many other gifts she received. When she opened a gift from us (a stuffed raccoon), she said, "I've always wanted a doggy!" We indicated it was actually a raccoon, and she responded without missing a beat, "I've always wanted a raccoon!"
Lindy celebrated with food (see prior post) and friends. Here you see one of Lindy's best friends, Carlise, swinging with Lindy right on time. Somewhere out of the frame is another of Lindy's great friends, Corinne. Thanks for coming, friends!
How did Lindy celebrate? Like every other three year old, with pumpkin cupcakes topped with pomegranate! While Lindy never really made it through the pumpkin part, she adored every single piece of the POM!
(This photo is also meant to challenge my wife, the excellent cook, to start photographing and blogging her worthy food. Let's go, woman.)
Taking down the crib, for the last time, is certainly something makes you ponder the past and the future. Maybe I'll make an effort another time to put some "retrospective" together. Not tonight though. Pictures of the new bed will follow soon.
Today is Lindy's third "birthday party" with a few friends, and we were just getting ready. Partly to entertain her, we had Lindy up on the counter with us. We do this pretty regularly when we're cooking. I had just finished grating some cheese, and Lindy was sitting next to the salt cellar. I looked over, and she'd opened it, grabbed a pinch, and put it in her mouth.
Tim: Lindy, what are you doing?. Lindy: Eating salt. Tim: We don't eat salt by itself. Lindy: Why? Tim: It's not good for you. Lindy: Why not? Tim and Jenn: [together, see, we're on the same page, ready for stuff like this] It'll give you high blood pressure. Lindy: [without missing a beat] I like to get high. Tim: [thinking] Um, yeah, uh, well, I guess I could just go put it on the blog...
