Disney, Day 5

 It was a wee bit windy

 Nassau, Bahamas

 The kids wore their ponchos.  It made walking in the wind even more fun.

 We were seated with a family of 3 from Baltimore at our evening meals.  Their daughter, Isabelle.  Was also 5.  Her birthday is Jan 5th.  No kidding.  We called them Disney Twins.

 No LaFleur Family Vacation would be complete without one day of rain.  That day was Day 5.  The Dream was docked at Nassau.  We did not book any excursions for this day, but did hope to get off the ship so the kids could see a different country.  We ate breakfast at Cabanas.  Eric had what would become his standard breakfast of a chocolate glazed donuts and bacon.  Next, we explored the ship a bit.  The kids spent some time at the Oceaneer's Club/Lab, which is this awesome kids' area with games, movies, crafts, etc...  They loved being there.  After lunch, the rain slowed down a bit, so we did venture in to Nassau.  Megan got some braids put in.  We walked up and down a few streets in the safe, tourist section.  The poverty of the region had a big impact on the boys.  We returned to the ship to catch "Chimpanzee" in the Beuna Vista theater.  It was great.   The evening meal was at Animator's Palate.  There were over 170 flat screen tvs in the restaraunt that featured scenery from Finding Nemo.  Bruce the shark would "swim" from tv to tv across the restaraunt.  The kids went back to the Oceaneer's Club after supper, and Don and I went swimming and took a ride on the Aqua Duck!  This was also the evening we discovered that there are 'midnight snack' restaraunts, that serve pizza by the slice, hot dogs, burgers, chicken tenders and fries.  They also had a soft serve ice cream station.  We picked the kids up at 10:30, then got some junk food!  Eric tried to make a Mickey head w/his mustard like our waiter does with the ketchup at supper.  Jonathan had a brat w/saurkraut.  Meg and I had ice cream. Don had chicken tenders.  None of us were really hungry, but who can resist junk food after bedtime!

Disney, Day 4

 Hanging out on the verandah of our cabin before we left the port

 One of many meals at Cabanas

 Another picture with Goofy

 Chillaxin on Deck 4 after the Mandatory safety drill

 Eric was mesmerized by the ocean.

Don ordered a Mango Puree to drink.  He also let the boys order one.  It was then that I told him they cost extra.

Jonathan posing with his breast of duck appetizer.  He said it was amazing.

Disney, Day 3

 We again chose to let the kids sleep in

 A reflection of how fun and busy our days were

Day 3 we ventured to Animal Kingdom.  The boys may have been most excited for this park due to the Everest Expedition roller coaster ride.  They were also excited for the Kali River Rapids ride.  Animal Kingdom was the most congested of the parks.  It was hard to move around, especially with the wheelchair.  The animal viewing areas were hard to get close enough to see any animals.  Despite our disappointment with this park, we LOVED the Tusker House restaraunt.  It was an African themed buffet.  The boys did like the roller coaster.  They were disappointed with the River ride, since they thought it was too short.  We did get to see a lot of characters here.  We only spent half a day here before moving on to Downtown Disney, where Eric fulfilled a lifelong dream of shopping at an official Lego Store.  We were back to our hotel relatively early, and spent the rest of the day at the big pool at the hotel.  We did not see the family with the screaming kid this day.

Disney, Day 2

We made no attempt to be to Magic Kingdom by the time it opened.  We preferred to let the kids sleep in a bit.  The first thing we did when we crossed through the gates was.....get a wheelchair.  Then, we powered our way to Splash Mountain.  Don and I had been building up this ride to the kids for weeks!  We told them how we went on it over and over on our honeymoon.  We did get to bypass some of the line due to the wheelchair :-).  The kids loved it!  Megan was a little scared, Big Thunder Mountain was closed :-(.  We also went on The Pirates of the Caribbean, Magic Carpet Ride, Jungle Cruise, The Haunted Mansion, Prince Charming Carousel, and a second round of Splash Mountain.  We ate at the Crystal Ballroom, which is a Winnie the Pooh themed restaraunt.  The family with the screaming kid was also there dining.  We took a mid-afternoon break to go back to the hotel for swimming, then returned to the Magic Kingdom.

 The boys thought the "It's a Small World" ride was absolute torture.

Megan loved it

Splash Mountain was by far the favorite.  We did not venture at all to Tomorrowland or Space Mountain.  Too much to do in one day, especially with the wheelchair.

Disney, Day 1

We woke the kids up at 3:30 am on the 26th for our 5 am flight to Orlando.  On the first flight, each kid had a window seat.  Eric's smile was endless.  Megan hollered "We're on our way" as the airplane took off.  No naps on the flights.  There was a screamer on the plane sitting behind us. 
Once we were settled in to the hotel (where the screamer and her family were also staying), we headed to Epcot.  The screamer and her fam were also going to Epcot.  First stop:  wheelchair rental for me.  Second stop:  Mission Space for the boys.  They loved it.  Megand and I explored the gift shop for a bit.  We had a quick lunch, then went right back to Mission:Space for Megan and Mom to try it out.  Thumbs up from both of us!  We also took in the Nemo clamshell ride and explored the World Showcase.  The kids had a blast at the shooting fountains.
For supper, we ate at the Coral Reef.  Megan had a cheese pizza.  The rest of us had Mahi Mahi.  I wanted to lick my plate clean. 

 At the airport waiting to board our plane

 The first pout of vacation

There was a lot we didn't see, mostly because of time.  Plus, we were tired.  Very, very tired.

The Butterfly Ball

Megan went to her first Ball last night.  Don took her to the Butterfly Ball.  She was beyond excited.  She originally planned to wear a 'gown', that was black on top and white on the bottom with a pink ribbon at the waist.  (This was passed on to us from a co-worker).  She thought that one was too itchy, so we wore a pretty pink dress instead (also passed on to us from a co-worker). 

She had a blast.  The first thing she told me when she got home was that she danced to Kelly Clarkson 'Stronger', her current favorite song.  She can't wait to go next year.

The Easter Cup

Last Saturday was the long anticipated 2nd Annual Easter Cup in Park Rapids.  As you may recall, the 1st Annual Easter Cup ended in a 7-7 tie.  Click here.

This year, the boys competed against the girls.  Jason and Whitey competed on the girl team (I'll let you make your own jokes about that).  The boy team also included 2 friends of Tasha and Tif.

 Megan and her BFF

 Megan and Grandma keeping warm on the sideline

 Tif was a spectator.  She said her foot hurt.  Maybe her 2nd metatarsal is fractured?

 Jason showing his skills.  Not bad for a girl.

 Eric smoking Holly with his skills (sorry Holly....I had to add this one....)

 Newlyweds.

 Jonathan was trying really, really hard to impress this young man with his athleticism.

 Same pose as last year when he was injured.

Team Boy started strong, but Team Girl won in the end.