Disney part 2

OK - so the Magic Kingdom is pretty cool - no matter your age. We got there early to see Mickey open the park and then ventured into see what Jakson (and Karla and I) would enjoy. We actually got to eat breakfest with Pooh and friends. Jakson was pretty psyched, and it was fun to see him meet some of his favorite characters. Jakson also got to meet Mickey and get his own set of mouse ears!

He wore them pretty much all day. We had his name embroidered on them too (apparently the thing to do when you get mouse ears!) We rode some of the classic rides and even some of the newer ones like Pirates of the Caribbean (old ride that has been updated from the movie), saw 'Capt Jack Sparrow' and rode the train around all the kingdom. We happened to run into Karla's cousin Kyle and his family in one of the stores (we knew they were there but what are the odds?). We also managed to find some prime street space for the daily parade to see many of the Disney characters. If you can imagine by now - not having a nap made Jakson a bit cranky - although he definitely enjoyed all the highs, but the lows followed right after. We decided to go back to Epcot to meet up with the other folks and have dinner (which we had done Monday night also). We ate in China that night (and in Morocco the night before). Mmmmm,..tasty. We finished off the night with the laser light fireworks show.

Disney 2007 Part 1

Since we have way too much to write about in one huge post - I "plan" on splitting this up between several. This year - Nana and Pap were gracious enough to take all the kids to Disney World! The up-north folks departed Friday the 16th for parts south (Charleston to be exact) to meet up with Jeff's family before heading to Mickey's house.

Early Saturday we took off for a nice long drive through Georgia and northern Florida. It wasn't terrible, but I am thankful for the fairly sparse traffic of the northern interstates. We arrived at the town home (a nice place) and got unpacked. All the kids were excited - so with an early bedtime - we set off to the Animal Kingdom. Very neat, and some great shows. We saw the Lion King show and the Bugs Life show (my personal favorite). I can't imagine the work that goes into making these places work!

Tuesday we made the day at the Magic Kingdom...but that's on the next post ( I have to keep wading though pictures).

Happy Thanksgiving from South Carolina

Happy Turkey Day from the comfortably warm south (it has been high 70's everyday so far) Sorry - I didn't have internet while we visited the Magic Kingdom this week - otherwise I would have added more already. That's right - we ventured down with Ray, Joyce, Jeff, Lora and the kids to see Mickey and all his friends! Now we are back in Charleston at Jeff & Lora's. I will plan on regaling you with stories of the trip when I get back and wade through the numerous photos.....(about the only downfall of a new digital camera is we to took TONS of photos - so if I can figure out to share them somehow I will.) Needless to say we had lots of fun. Now - time to look forward to eating a turkey, or ham or both. Have a Happy Thanksgiving - eats lots, drive safe and sleep well.

Bob the Builder...Handy Manny...

We trekked over to Owatonna this weekend for a prequel to Thanksgiving. Saturday morning we met the cousins at Lowe's for their kids workshop. Jakson had never been to one of these before. We had a great time and managed to save some fingers building the "Turkey Recipe Holder". He did a great job and was really excited. Allison and Jessica had fun, too.

I was able to walk away with all digits unharmed, and no one put any eyes out. Jakson also had his trademark - tongue out and concentrating hard (thank god!) as he hammered away. We are now the proud owners of a fabulous balsa wood recipe holder.

It's Vegas Baby!!

This week I had the opportunity to go to Las Vegas courtesy of PCS for a sales meeting and user meeting. I haven't been to that area in a good 25 years and it has changed a lot. I was there from Monday thru Thursday. We stayed at the Excalibur hotel. Not a bad place, but there are certainly better places on the strip to stay. Besides eating at too many buffets, we saw Danny Gans, walked the strip, and even saw some celebrities. We saw John Walsh (Americas Most Wanted) filming an episode, Ashton Kucher (filming a movie) and Paris Hilton (hosting a Halloween party at the Luxor).

I also went down to Fremont Street, or the downtown area of Las Vegas, one night and saw an amazing light show. For those not familiar, Fremont Street has a lot of the older casinos, and many of the old neon signs from hotels past that have been demolished. They have this street area covered in about 4 million lights that they use to produce a great light show every hour.

Very exciting, very exhausting. But I came home money ahead and some good ideas for what we can do the next visit!

Halloween

Sorry this is later than normal since Halloween was 2 days ago - I have been out of town. (more on that in the next post) Jakson got to try various excursions for Halloween this year. He dressed as kangaroo complete with pouch and joey. On Friday before, we went to the Spooky Science Night at the Washington Pavilion. We had a good time learning the science of liquid nitrogen ice cream, chocolate covered bugs (we didn't partake), dry ice bubbles, etc. Afterwards, we went to the diner where Jakson polished off the sundae we were "supposedly" sharing.

On Saturday it was time for Zoo Boo, where you can go wander around the zoo and gets treats. Of course we happened to show up about the same time as the rest of Sioux Falls. It was a nice night and we fared pretty well.

Sunday was time for pumpkin carving and Jakson wasn't afraid to help - although that's about the extent of it. He was much more interested in the final product. Karla and I both tackled a pumpkin and got them done in a reasonably sane amount of time.

On Halloween, Jakson was oh so excited to go Trick-or-Treating! Karla took him out to all the neighbors. Nana and Papa came up to hang out too. Needless to say, he scored pretty well. We have some nice tubs of candy. Sugar rushes are next on the list.