Orlando Day 2

Even though we'd been up all night, we were excited to be on our first adventure at the Epcot Center.

The hotel didn't have a room for us at 7:30 in the morning, but they were nice enough to let us eat at their full breakfast bar and stash our bags in Grandpa's room. We even got peanut butter and jelly from the buffet and made sandwiches to take to the park.

Today was all about Epcot, and even though we were tired, we wanted to make the most of it. We were at the park by 9 am, and the first thing we noticed were the gardens. Epcot is huge, with a massive lake in the middle. A trail that's over a mile long runs around it, and there are many countries represented by small villages. All throughout Epcot in the Spring there are hedges trimmed into the shapes of the characters: Peter Pan standing on a building, Beauty and the Beast in a planter box, and of course, Mickey. We took pictures at a bunch of them. There are also really pretty flowers everywhere, and the lake is filled with waterfowl. It seemed Mark had more fun looking at great egrets, cormorants, and osprey than he did riding the rides. It is so hot and muggy in Florida, but no one seemed to mind very much, and Seth and Dax took turns in the stroller. Mark was a trooper as always, and he never complained once. It was 97 degrees the first day in Florida, but we made it through.

These hedges are growing all over the Epcot Center. The gardens and flowers are really beautiful.

Mom especially liked the color of these flowers and butterflies.

The first thing we did was get checked in at Epcot and distribute passports, which are your tickets and allow you to use Fast Passes throughout all of the Disney parks. Unfortunately, they handed out the passports to all the wrong people, which we didn't find out until later. In the afternoon, we spent nearly an hour getting the passports straightened around, but the kids needed a break by then anyway.

Our first ride at Epcot was Frozen, and the line was about an hour, though it shortened to half that later in the day. The boys aren't into the princess scene, but this was there first real ride, and it was amazing. We went on a boat, which had some pretty good up and down sequences. Mark got surprisingly wet from the splash, and everyone came out laughing. We were amazed by the animatronics. They have come a long way from pirates chasing women around in circles. It was difficult to tell that the machines weren't real people. Things certainly changed for the boys after that first ride. They had been pretty timid at first, not really sure what to think. When two Vikings came by, none of the boys would get near them, and all stepped skeptically back, but after the joy of that first ride, Dax ran right over and posed with them. Then we knew the boys would be all right, so we started our trip through the countries of Epcot.

This is the castle in Norway next to the Frozen ride.

Seth and Grandma posed with Elsa and Anna.
Because it's early in the season, most of the hedges aren't fully colored.

The boys had a great time being with their cousins on this trip.

We weren't sure we wanted to bother with Frozen, but we ended up really liking it.

The animatronic characters are amazing.

Dax totally changed after we rode that first ride!

We'd heard that Epcot wasn't very exciting, but we loved it. First, we decided to pay Disney prices for a passport, which the boys could take to each country. The passport came with stamps for each of the countries represented, but you also find a little kiosk with a person from that country who writes a message in your passport. The boys thought it was amazing, and we spent a lot of time wandering the villages looking for kiosks. Each person made a special effort with the boys, and some wrote specific messages or drew cute little pictures.

We started in Mexico, and there was even a little ride called the Three Caballeros. It was a nice gentle boat ride that didn't do much but go past scenes of Donald Duck and his two Mexican buddies singing songs, but the boys thought it was great. Then we continued around the loop. First was Norway, where we'd done the Frozen ride. They have actual Viking artifacts there. Next we stopped in China, and the nice girl at the kiosk drew a picture of a panda in each passport. We continued on through Germany and Italy. In Germany we watched the miniature trains drive for a bit. We rushed through Italy because we had to hurry back for Fast Passes. In America, we caught the last half of some singers that were amazing. They were singing classic American songs, and we enjoyed listening to the tight harmonies. We watched a historical movie with Ben Franklin and Mark Twain. It showed some of the history of America and the accomplishments there. Dax and Seth fell asleep because the jet lag was catching up. We had made it halfway around the lake before it was time to find some more rides we had scheduled. Seth slept in the stroller while we hurried back to the front of the park.

We loved the World Showcase at Epcot. This is the temple in Mexico.

Inside another building we did the Caballeros ride and passed this temple.

Seth posed in front of the Chinese pagoda.

Each of the workers was so nice. Disney does a great job at customer service.

Germany had this cool statue. I think it was more famous for beer, though.

We thought the best thing in Germany was this cool train set.

We also met the Seven Dwarves.

There wasn't much in Italy. Mostly we looked at the architecture.

When we first entered the America Show, these singers were harmonizing on traditional tunes.
Their sound was absolutely amazing.

We met up with all the cousins at Mission Space. The little kids and moms hung out while the dads and older kids went on Mission Space. In the ride, there were four members per team: Mark, Dad, and two women that only spoke Portuguese. Our mission was to land our space capsule on Mars. Mark got a little upset when Dad started immediately pushing buttons and flipping switches, which we'd been told not to do. There were several complications on our mission, and our capsule nearly plunged into a Martian gully, but we were able to land the craft successfully. This was the same time that we noticed that everyone was scanning in under different names, so we headed to Guest Services to get things straightened out, and the rest of the group caught up after the ride. Seth continued to sleep through all of this, but this was his only nap on the eight day trip.

Buzz Lightyear was standing outside Mission Space.

There is a ride sponsored by Chevy called Test Track, and it is super fast. Since Dax doesn't have a stellar record with roller coasters, we weren't sure how he'd do, and when he saw the cars zipping by at 60 mph, he was pretty nervous. We told him you got to design your own car and test it on the track, and his outlook totally changed. He had a great time choosing the shape, tires, paint, and accessories, and he actually thought they were going to build that car for us. Both he and Seth loved the ride, and Seth was pretending he was driving intensely the entire way. Dax was especially glad that his car scored highest on the Test Track, and he wasn't even upset that we took some major curves at 60 mph because his car did sowell.

Dax became a roller coaster lover at Test Track.

Seth loved designing his own car.

Of course, Lightning McQueen was outside the Test Track ride.

Dinner was scheduled at 4 pm, and we just had time to ride a little clamshell through the Nemo ride. You might think that Seth would really like this, but he enjoyed the speed and bumps of the roller coasters much more. For dinner, Grandpa had a reservation in Chip & Dale's Rotating Garden Grill, and the boys loved it. The restaurant actually slowly rotates, and you end up back where you started an hour later. At these meals, the characters come right over to the table, and when Pluto first showed up, both Dax and Seth ran right over and gave him a hug! All three boys mugged for the camera and got autographs from Pluto, Mickey, and Chip & Dale. The food was pretty great, too. It was all-you-can-eat, and there was great homestyle food: turkey, potroast, corn on the cob, fries, and about a million other things. There was even an amazing berry shortcake for dessert. It was so fun, and we all thanked Grandpa about a million times.

Look at those smiles! And for the Nemo ride!

There were some nice effects on Nemo.

Right before dinner, the boys found themselves being dinner for Bruce the Shark.

Seth and Dax didn't hesitate for a second when Pluto showed up. They rushed right into his paws!

Our boys aren't always good posers, but those smiles are genuine.

We are so grateful that Grandpa chose to do the character dinners.
They were expensive, but we loved them!

This restaurant rotated at an almost imperceptible speed.

Dad had to tell everyone that this was Dale. The key is the red nose.

Chip, with his black nose, was a hit with the kids, too.

Mom has taught Mark to use the camera so we can get a few pictures of us together.

After dinner, we went on a ride with Grandma and Grandpa called Spaceship Earth. This ride is inside the huge Epcot Ball. The ride was basically a history lesson that travels through Earth's past. It was pretty fun, and I guess it was educational for the kids. Grandma proclaimed it her favorite ride of the trip, but she doesn't really do roller coasters. Seth also enjoyed it, and Mom thought it was hilarious because they take your photo and use it in the ride. She got some silly pictures of us at the end, all of which she wanted to include in this post.

Mom thought these pictures taken in Project Earth were hilarious.

The ride took your picture and edited you in to the displays.

It taught you about how to treat the environment and take care of the earth.

Mom mostly liked it because she took the cutest picture!

The boys ended up saving the future at the end of the ride.

I'm not sure we needed this many pictures of Project Earth, though.

Grandma and Grandpa look thrilled to be a part of the program.

After we'd used up all our Fast Passes, we took the boat across the lake and worked on our passports some more. Dax fell asleep on the boat ride over, so it was his turn to sleep in the stroller while we continued through the rest of the countries. Our favorite stop was in Morocco, because the buildings were so beautiful. Dad wanted to wait in line to see Jasmine, but we didn't have time. We also went to Japan and then on to France, where Mom and Dad took pictures posing as Beauty and the Beast. There was a rock and roll band playing Bohemian Rhapsody in England, so we stayed there for a few minutes before hurrying along to Canada. It was getting late, but there was one more thing we wanted to do on our world tour. They have a pretty funny 360 movie in Canada hosted by Martin Short, so we woke Dax up and went into the show. The boys were getting tired, but Mom and Dad really liked it.

We all wanted to visit Morocco after walking the streets in Epcot.

We didn't spend a lot of time in Japan, but Seth liked it.

There was a Koi pond that Mark and Dax really enjoyed. Dax was asleep or he would have enjoyed it, too. 

After Knowledge Bowl, Mark was excited for the artists in France.

Mom loves Belle, so she jumped right in for this picture in France.

Dad thinks he nailed the Beast pose.

The whole World Showcase is awesome. Maybe the rides aren't as good as Magic Kingdom, but we loved Epcot!
This is in the United Kingdom.

Canada had a totem board, but Dax was asleep, so Mark's feet participated.

Everyone else in our group was pretty much pooped out after that, so they headed back to the van. Grandma and Grandpa had left after the Spaceship Earth ride. Even though we hadn't slept in what seemed like days, we didn't want to miss out on Epcot's signature ride, which is called Soarin'. Luckily, we had a rider swap so we didn't have to wait long, especially since Bob & Steph were waiting in the car with their kids who had already crashed. It turned out to be the best ride of the day. We were in seats that lifted and tilted and took us soaring over the major landmarks of the earth. We nearly crashed into Mount Everest, narrowly avoided the Taj Mahal, and swooped and soared over the ocean. Dad thought this was the scariest ride of the trip, but the boys thought it was the coolest ride ever. Mom loved how you could smell things as you soared around the world. It was the perfect end to the world's longest day.

Dad found the final place to take a picture of our epic Epcot adventure.

Orlando Day 1

Surprise Trip!

Well, by some miracle we managed to keep our trip to Orlando a secret all the way up to our arrival at the airport. This required a lot of finesse because the trip was planned a year in advance, and about 20 cousins, aunts, and uncles all knew beforehand. We had our boys convinced that we were staying home this Spring Break, though, and they were excited for a trip to Cabela's.

The boys aren't sure whether to be excited or worried.

On Monday our flight left at 10:35 pm, and we knew we were in big trouble if the boys didn't take a nap. Since Mark is an impossible napper, we did what every good parent does and resorted to bribery. At about 2:30, we told them that we had decided to go on a trip, but that we'd be leaving at 8 pm. Everyone was required to take a nap (the bags were already packed and hidden away in the basement). As a reward, everyone who followed the nap rules earned $8 to spend on our trip, wherever it might be. Of course, everyone stayed quietly in bed without books, lights or toys for 90 minutes as the rules required, though Dad and Mark didn't actually fall asleep.

Secret bags packed in the basement. 

That night we left around 8 and the kids were not paying any attention until we pulled into the airport. Mark finally noticed, but he couldn't seem to wrap his head around it. We met Laurie and she drove our van home. Then we walked into the airport and met cousins, aunts and uncles, and Grandma and Grandpa. We let Grandma spill the beans about where we were going, and though we were hoping for a big reaction, the boys were nonplussed. There was really no reaction at all. We think they were a little overwhelmed with a surprise trip and riding on an airplane for the first time.

Off on an airplane! A totally new adventure!

Seth especially loved having his own little suitcase.

We watched the NCAA Championship, which ended just in time for us to board the plane at 10 pm. Mom and Seth sat up with family, and Mark, Dax, and Dad sat in the back of the plane. The boys said they were a little nervous, but they did fine on the plane ride, aside from not sleeping much. Everyone seemed to get 1-2 hours except Dad, and we landed in Orlando at 4:35 am Florida time, which was 2:35 Utah time. By the time we got our bags, rented two massive white vans, and got to the hotel, it was time to start out on our first adventure. But that's a story for Day 2.

Seth and Raymond loved watching them load luggage onto the airplane.

Dad tried to listen to his audiobook, but Mom (and Mark) kept talking to him.

Dax was just glad he could watch the basketball game.

Here's the gang waiting for take off.

The big boys sat with Dad in the back of the plane.

Mom and Seth sat over the wing by Abby!

Seth Itty Bitty Ball

Seth loves running!

Seth had Itty Bitty Ball again. This time around it was All Ball where they learn a different sport each day. Seth had a ton of fun, and Mom had a ton of fun watching him play. I think Seth's favorite part of the day was the warm-up because he loved doing pushups and situps, and racing around the cones. He also loved playing all the sports.

The first day they played baseball. Seth's favorite part was hitting the ball off the tee. The next day, they did football. Seth was very good at pulling the other kid's flags. Next, they did basketball. Seth loves to pretend to be Michael Jordan, so he absolutely had to wear his Chicago Bulls hat, which we got for $5 at Ross. They also learned some volleyball skills. This was Seth's least favorite day, but Mom's favorite. She is a volleyball champ. The last sport they played was soccer. Seth had his first year playing soccer in the Fall, so he was already an expert at it.

Seth loves playing baseball and is always pretending to be Babe Ruth.

Bullseye!

All three of our boys have enjoyed this activity where they throw the footballs through the holes.

Seth already throws the football better than Mom.

Seth was a little intense during the football games. No one got past his defense.

Volleyball is kind of tricky for the little kids, but Seth liked using this large beach ball.

Seth wore his Chicago Bulls hat because he hoped they were going to play basketball, but it was volleyball day!

Seth is great at defense. He has learned from his brothers about staying between the ball and the basket. 

Seth loves to "play" Michael Jordan.

Seth is a great soccer player.

He would take it as far away as possible, and kick it as hard as he could toward the goal.

Seth usually made it! 

On the final day they played games against each other. It's so cute to watch the 3 and 4 year-olds try to play these sports. Seth is really good at all of them. He really enjoys Itty Bitty Ball, because he is already becoming a little athlete like his big brothers.

Seth likes to be around other kids, and enjoys playing sports with them. 

Knowledge Bowl

Dry Creek Elementary doesn't participate in Knowledge Bowl, but Mark is attending Highland with Dad, so we decided to sign him up. We weren't thrilled when we found out the topic was Arts & Humanities, rather than Science, History, or Geography. But Mark didn't seem to care. In no time, he was learning about Manet and Monet, Beethoven and Bach.

The Arts turned out to cover a lot more than just music and famous paintings, though. Mark also had to learn about Caldecott winning picture books, sculptures, and even musicals. This was Mom's favorite part, because it meant that each Sunday we watched the Sound of Music, Music Man, or one of her other favorites.

Every Wednesday after school, Mark stayed for an extra hour and a half and studied painters and composers and other things. He worked really hard, and one night he answered a trivia question during Family Game Night about Paul Cezanne, and everyone was really surprised.

We were so proud of Mark when the competition finally rolled around. We all went to watch him participate. He was clearly one of the top players on his team, and he was designated co-captain. They ended up winning all four of their matches and placed in the top ten in the district, which is the highest award (they only announce "These are the top 10 teams" without any ranking.)

There were two teams from Highland, but 4 out of the 12 kids were from Mr. Ockey's class.

Mark was one of the team captains, and he was a great leader.

They were so excited that they won all their rounds!

This is Mark's team!

Mark was far more excited for the teacher competition, though. As a bonus, there was a battle against the teachers, and Dad was the team captain. The kids jumped out to a big lead, but Dad brought his team roaring back (he was clearly the strongest player on his team, too). It came down to the last question, and the kids won!

Randy and Mark were very serious about this competition.

Can you see Mark over on the far end? He is so excited. Randy is plotting with his fellow teachers. 

The competition begins. Randy is so serious!

I love this picture. Randy is determined to get this question, but look at the teacher who has no clue? Ha ha!

Mark and the kids after they beat the teachers!

Knowledge Bowl was really great for Mark. So now Mom is considering bringing Knowledge Bowl to Dry Creek next year!

Jonny Appleseed Day

So, we don't normally celebrate Johnny Appleseed Day at our house, and I am used to it being recognized in September on his birthday. Apparently, other people recognize it on March 11 for the planting of trees. I saw something on Instagram about it, and so we tried to incorporate some apple related food into our day. We began the day with an apple German pancake, which was delicious, but it got eaten so fast that I didn't get a picture of it. You will see that we didn't really celebrate much with Johnny Appleseed, but we still had a fun day as a family.

Randy played in one basketball game, and refereed 3 other games, so while he was busy, the boys and I tried out a new park in Orem since it was such a beautiful sunny day. Apparently, everyone else thought it was a nice day to visit the park because it was super busy. The boys still had fun, and I walked around snapping pics for our other website. We had the most fun playing hide and seek, or as the boys called it, Spy on Mom. The boys tried to get as close to me as they could before I saw them. It was a nice way for me to keep an eye on them because before the game began, I was never sure where they were.

This playground is a lot of fun, but it was sooooo busy!

Dax has always loved the monkey bars. 

Seth liked this bridge, and you can see Mark and Dax in the background.

Seth kept hiding from me!

Mark and Dax got really intense playing this electronic game.

They all loved this merry go round!

After the park, we headed back home and beat Randy there by about 10 minutes. He wanted to go on a hike, so we packed up and headed to Battle Creek Falls. We found all the people who weren't at the park on the trail. Despite the crowds, we had a really enjoyable hike. There was no snow, which Mom had worried about, and we got a family picture. We did the hike pretty quickly, enjoyed the waterfall, and made it home in time for Dad to barbecue for the first time this year.

Battle Creek Falls is one of our favorite hikes!

We love this hike! 

Mom was trying out new features on her camera to get this special water effect.

The boys had been begging to go on a bike ride all week, so after dinner, we hopped on the bikes. The sun was setting, and we enjoyed watching the mountain change colors, the moon rise, and even had some swans fly over our heads. We went around the neighborhood once before it was starting to get a little too dark for riding!

Serious bike riders!

We kept stopping to admire the mountain in the sunset light.

Then the moon started to rise, and the boys insisted I take a picture.

We ended Johnny Appleseed Day with deep fried apples, a new treat we had never tried before. Everyone loved them except Seth. He asked for plain apples! Next year we will have to add a few more apple adventures into our day!

I think this picture sums up what it's like to take pictures of our children. 

Mom loved the fried apples.