By George: June 2009

In case you were waiting with bated breath, here is a compilation of our Florida trip a couple of weeks ago. Here are some things I wanted to remember about the trip. It's super long, but I'm a forgetful bear. Watch the movie and you'll get the jist in just 2 minutes:

We landed on a Wednesday night with our 3 suitcases, a pack n' play, 2 carseats, a twin stroller, a tired boy and a slaphappy girl. She was so excited to go to the "O-port" and get in an "A-plane".

To solidify ourselves as the cheapest people you know, we did a timeshare deal to save on the hotel and tickets. Our "tour" was on Thursday morning with Marilyn, who may have been the human inspiration for Ursula from Little Mermaid, green and purple eye shadow and all. She didn't talk much about the property, but she sure shared a lot of "information" about Disney. For instance, she said Disney was building a new Magic Kingdom "in the desert" between Austin and San Antonio. She also said that you have to have 7 interviews to work at Disney and the last interview (this was "TOP SECRET" info that I should not be posting, but I'm living life on the wild side) contains only one question. That question is, "What's your favorite Disney character?" Marilyn answered, "Cruella DeVille" and was almost not hired, but then she explained her answer and mentioned the Dusenberg car Cruella drove. I, on the other hand, assumed she drove a DeVille. Her interviewer told her that there are magic words at Disney that will open doors for you wherever you go. "Dusenberg" was one of them. For the rest of the trip, we would yell, "DUSENBERG!" throughout the Disney property. No special doors opened, but alas. That night, Jason's family came in and we walked around Downtown Disney and ate at T-Rex, which is like Rainforest Cafe only dinosaur themed.

The next day was Magic Kingdom. I had been waiting for the moment Maizie saw the castle, because she's been obsessed with Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella lately. The morning parade was happening right when we got there, too. Maizie did not laugh or flip out or cheer. She was in stunned silence for at least the first full hour. I think she was just soaking it in, because there was ALOT to soak in, including 98-degree-humid-heat.

At the parade, we finagled our way to be close to Mr. Incredible who was dancing with gusto at first, but began to fade at the end. As we walked toward him (in his heavy styrofoam muscle suit) he walked away and toward 3 Disney workers who escorted him off, we believe, to keep him from passing out. It was a little hard to explain to Maizie that Mr. Incredible can run through a burning building but he can't finish a few dance moves in the Florida heat.

Maizie's favorites were the Country Bears and the Bird Hut. She also was brave enough to go on her first coaster ride, the Mad Hatter's Spinning Tea Party Ride and Aladdin's Magic Carpet ride. Snow White's Scary Adventure and the 3D movies may have produced nightmares the next THREE nights. She would wake up saying, "Don't Eat the Apple, Snow White!" Pitiful. Anderson did great all day and could actually go on most rides.

The next day, we went to Epcot. We went to the Nemo building first and I believe Maizie could've stayed there all day. She loves Nemo and fish. Jason and I also got to try the new Mission: Space ride and Soarin'. Pretty awesome. The whole group pretty much stayed together the whole day and Rusty made sure we all put our hands up and yelled at every given opportunity. The day ended with a bang with the Epcot fireworks and laser show.

The next day we went to Celebration, Florida before we headed to Tampa. Celebration is one of the first attempts at new urbanism. So it was kind of like visiting our neighborhood's granddaddy. They had a farmer's market going on and a nice fountain for Maizie to play in.

Next, we made our way to my grandpa's house to RELAX! We got in that evening and did NOTHING. The next day, we drove to Clearwater Beach and gave Maizie and Anderson their first beach experiences. Maizie was afraid of the sand at first and called it "hot snow." I thought she would be afraid of the waves, but she LOVED trying to jump over them, collecting seashells, and building her Cinderella sand castle. Anderson loved feeling the texture of the sand and even took a turn sitting in the warm ocean water.

On Tuesday, we took Maizie to her first movie in a theater: Up. She sat still as a stick through the whole thing, hugging Jason when she got scared. It was a great movie and she could remember quite a bit of what happened afterwards. Jason's sister, Emily, and her family met us that night on their way home and we went to Tarpon Springs for some Greek food. The girls had a great time and acted like they hadn't seen each other in WEEKS! Outside the restaurant, we met a Great Dane that the owner said was just an inch shy of the world record. Definitely the largest dog I've ever seen. His back was a good 2 inches taller than Maizie's head. The owners were really nice to let the 3 girls fawn over the "horsey" with a leash.

The next morning we got up and headed for the airport. Smooth sailing. Flights to and from Orlando are typically filled with kids, so the noise coming from ours blended in quite well.

It was one of the best trips I've been on. I think it's because I didn't plan it too far in advance and build all these expectations for it. We just rolled with the punches and everything turned out great. Who's coming with us next time?

Anderson is 6 months today, and I'd have to call this the "Month of the Tongue". His favorite new tricks are scrunching up his nose in the sweetest smile and alternately sticking out his tounge as far as it will go. He's scooting, rolling all over the place, grabbing things and bringing them to his mouth (he especially likes to do this to my cheek, which is highly uncomfortable). We call him our "monkey baby" because he holds on and goes with us wherever we go. He LOVES his sister and watches her every move.

We went to the dr. yesterday and here are his stats for those of you who are keeping track. Weight: 14 lbs., 13 oz. (4%), Height: 25.5 inches (10%), Head: 44.75 cm (69%). The doctor wasn't concerned about him dropping down to the 4 percentile, so we're not going to be concerned either. He is starting to eat more solid foods and pretty much downs anything we give him, so I anticipate that we'll be watching a quickly growing boy in the next few months. Oh, and yes, the head is large 'cause he's so smart.

My camera is dead and in "the shop" so thanks to my dad and Tanya for these shots!