Winifred

 

Princess Winifred

June 4, 2000- June 16, 2013

 

Sadly, Wini passed away while we were on vacation.

The day before we were leaving she was having a hard time breathing. I took her to the vet where he said that she had congestive heart failure. He gave us some meds and hoped that she would respond to them but they did not help her. We want to thank the Swiggum family who cared for her in her final days. She was an awesome dog, and she will be missed.

Other FL attractions

 

Next stop, Peter's choice, LEGOLAND!

We loved the Lego structures that were all through the park!

Peter had enough of the rollercoaster thing, so we hung out by this triceratops while Pat and Jamison did this one.

Legoland's version of a safari had these little guys...so cute!

and these guys!

and this was the vehicle. A little different that Disney, but everything was made out of legos!

The boys took a driving class and learned the rules of the road. They weren't fast...but they were, you guessed it, made out of legos!

On the site of the old Cyprus Gardens, LEGOLAND kept some of the beautiful gardens, but added some special touches.

and a whole StarWars area!

And where else can you find waterskiing Lego figures.

Yes, Jamison is picking Einstein's nose. Awesome. Yes, that is my kid.

My favorite spot.....SEAWORLD! We caught all the shows and pet all the critters. During the Shamu show I noticed that the trainers did not go in the water. Felt a little weird but I wouldn't go in the water either if I were them knowing what happened earlier. Trainers were in the water for the dolphin show, I told the boys that is what I wanted to be when I grew up. Still kind of do.

Jamison continued his quest for rollercoasters....I am not convinced that he really likes them by this photo but he says he does!

But I told him if he rode all three I would get him the t-shirt with all of them. And he did. (Peter photo-bombed the picture.)

Final day in Florida...a relaxing day at the beach. No crowds, no lines. Just sun, sand and surf babe!

and shells, Peter liked collecting shells.

and yes, their mother needed a photo with their names in the sand. Goes with the other ones from Lake Superior.

Not sure what Jamison was doing....nesting turtle, beached whale-

crab?

Best part, wave jumping!

or crashing? Peter took some good hits...and learned the hard way that salt water is WAY different than lake or pool water.

On our last morning....I had to do it....yes those are Mickey-shaped pancakes. We had a great time but are looking forward to our beds, no lines and cooler temperatures.

The Happiest Place on Earth, part 1

This year our family vacation took us to Florida, and Disney, the Happiest Place on earth. Can you tell? I said SMILE BOYS!

Jamison declared that he was not going to go on another car-camping family vacation...the next one had to be on a plane and a hotel. So instead we did a plane and condo. It worked out nicely! The seven dwarfs welcomed two more dwarfs in the party..."Shaggy" and "Grumpy". Wait, there is already a "grumpy", so Jamison could be "Feisty", "Brainy"? Not sure.

The Magic Kingdom was not their favorite...there were too many princesses and were horrified that I wanted their picture by Rapunzel's tower. We did enjoy the fireworks and light parade. Disney sure knows how to put on a show!

Peter was pretty happy to go to the Hall of Presidents and spot his favorite one, James Monroe. We did enjoy the first set of animatronics that Disney did.

We were tickled pink by the Nissan Sentra that we rented...or that is what we originally wanted, but were "upgraded" to the Charger. A much larger car than I am use to.

Next on to Epcot, where the boys thought it was fun to "bunny-ear" their brother. I think I got one or two photos without bunny-ears.

The boys also had no interest in standing in line to get a picture with the famous cast members. I had to paparazzi photo bomb Donald, Peter's favorite character.

and I took this one to horrify them even more. They really did not want a picture of Snow White.

We had to treat ourselves with Mickey shaped ice cream! Yum!

Did you know it is hot in Florida in June, who knew!? But ice cream makes everything better.

At Epcot, we traveled around the world, we visited Japan and ate sushi. Keiko would be so proud.

And Germany. We would have had a beer, but we were too dehydrated to have one. We needed all the water we could get. More to come....stay tuned

The end of the year...

Where did the year go? this was the last day of school!

When they return they will be 4th graders! (if they pass)

Look, there they are! 4th graders...or are they? Both boys passed...but since Jamison's teacher did not say he "passed" on his report card he was not sure if he did or not. Good thing I went to the end of the year teacher party and I confirmed with Mrs. Farnsworth! He was worried!

We also had our end of the year BBQ with the boys classes.

And a Cullen Party is not a party until the water balloons come out!

It was cold filling them, but the weather was nice by the time they were thrown!

WW18, at the cabin! Shopping, eating, poker playing, and more eating. What a great weekend with old friends...and after 18 years, "old friends" is starting to have a new meaning. Man! we are getting old!

Thanks Don and Jill for letting us use the cabin!

It was also the weekend at the cabin where all the dragonflies emerged! I have never seen this many dragonflies hatch at once...there were hundreds! Super cool!

The Happiest Place on Earth, part 2

 

Next up...Animal Kingdom. Man, that tree of life is a cool thing...did you know that they used the base of an oil rig? We learned that when we watched the History Channels, Modern Marvel dvd.

The base if it were all these animals! I think that was my favorite part!

First stop was the safari! A must do!

It felt like we were really in Africa! Even with a broken bridge crossing and giraffes that crossed the main road.

Not an actual attraction....this HUGE grasshopper/locust. Who knows! It was big and cool.

"I play bongos while walking down the stairs....never play bongos while walking down the stairs"

Sugar coma...the largest lollypops the boys have ever had!

And finally I got a picture with genuine smiles! and a large lollypop. We also rode the Expedition Everest rollercoaster ride. All of us, even Peter!! He survived. Not sure if he would do it again, but he came off smiling!

I insisted we go back to the Magic Kingdom to do a couple other things we did not get to when we fist arrived. One of which is the Small World ride.

it's a world of laughter, a world or tears
its a world of hopes, its a world of fear
there's so much that we share
that its time we're aware
its a small world after all

THE HORROR! the boys gave it a three thumbs down. Come on people....it's a classic!

Now this is a treehouse! I think the boys are looking to upgrade their treehouse. And I have an idea of a book to read for us to read...although Jamison is on an "anti-reading" kick.

We captured my favorite characters, Chip and Dale.

and were able to catch a glimpse of the main celebrities! Mickey and Minnie!

One more stop, Disney Hollywood, and to get there...we took advantage of the relaxing ferry ride.

Some were too relaxed

At Disney Hollywood Jamison volunteered for a skit/competition. I was surprised to see that he wanted to do it! They won second place, out of two. Bummer.

The best part of Hollywood, the car/stunt show (except for the Tower of Terror that Pat and Jamison did together). The famous Lightning McQueen!!!

and Jamison's favorite part....he was amazed that the guy was not hurt!

Overall, Disney was a great experience. They sure know how to put on a show and more importantly, move people around!. In order of favorites...Animal Kingdom, Epcot, Magic Kingdom and them Hollywood.