Sonic Booms

Our first morning in Florida, we awoke well before 6 am so that we could go out on the balcony and listen for the space shuttle's sonic booms on reentry.  We weren't sure whether we would hear a quiet "pop pop" or nothing at all.  Well, what we heard truly shocked all three of us!  It rattled the doors of our room, which you can hear, and even woke up G for a moment.

Because it was dark, we couldn't drive to Cape Canaveral to see it fly overhead; it doesn't have position lights like an airplane.  Being the last mission of the space shuttle program, it was extremely important for P to be a part of it in some way, so we took a big chance on staying at our resort near Orlando without 100% certainty that we could hear the booms.  Feeling that wave pass through our bodies, we definitely do feel as though we were a part of this landing.

Now we've seen both a space shuttle launch (STS-131) and landing (STS-135).  Please pardon the language in the video; we were truly in shock!

Sleepover

G is ready for a fun filled night at Bun and Papa's!  Wowo has a great night planned.

Disney World, Days 3 Through 5

On Day Three of our vacation, we visited Typhoon Lagoon, one of the two Disney water parks.

G and Wowo with Lagoona Gator

Poor, poor Chip

What in the world could have made such an interesting trail?

Why, it's G!  During the rain, when the attractions closed, the adults huddled under shelters while G found two other kids to play with in the sand.  The one on the right is Phil, and he's British.

Making a sand angel.  The rain didn't slow him down one bit!

Getting ready to swim in the coral reef with SCUBA tanks

I made her hold my hand until I stopped being terrified.  Yes, there were sharks and sting rays, but it was the fish that freak me out!

We all got caught!

That evening, we arrived back "home" to find a beautiful sunset.  We spent the next day lounging around the lodge.

Beautiful sunset over the savanna

Ping-pong at the Kidani Village pool at our resort

A drum lesson in the Sunset Savanna Lounge

The most giraffes (three) we had at our feeder at once, along with a zebra grazing in the background

Big Boy checks in for his second evening in Simba's Cubhouse

On our date at Sanaa restaurant, a giraffe wandered by the window.  Our room is in the building you can see across the savanna.

Happy to have some alone time on Saturday night with fantastic food and great scenery at Sanaa.

The entry to Kidani Village had this beautiful candelabra, along with the quote, "One who goes back to his home does not consider the night too dark.  He knows his way.  --Uganda".  We think it is beautiful.

The three of us played Pictureka in one of the lobby sections...

while G watched Disney cartoons with lots of other kids in an adjacent section.

We played Human Pictureka in the lobby on the bridge:  can you spot a Chipster?

Always ladylike, Laura sips her Chenin Blanc by the pool

At the Animal Kingdom Lodge, even the drains around the pool are decorated to look like pretty suns

Typical camera face in front of our room

On Sunday, we went to Downtown Disney to see if Disney Quest, the indoor interactive gaming center, looked like fun.  It was so hot, and since one of us couldn't interact with much of anything due to a pregnancy complication, we decided to ditch Downtown and head for Blizzard Beach.

Of course, we had to visit the Lego store.  Chip made this guy in the play area and ended up buying him and two others, since you can only buy your own minifigures in multiples of three.  Mainly, he just wanted the hair for Luke Skywalker.

G found the most creative "hidden Mickey" of the trip - in the floor mat at the exit of the Lego store.

One of G's favorite places on Earth, if not THE favorite

Think we used enough sunscreen on top?

Nothing says "hot summer day" like a sleigh ride in your bathing suit!

Two more days of vacation photos to come.  Stay tuned!

What Does A Jedi Dream?

One of the best parts of vacation is sleeping in the same room with G.  We think he is beautiful when he sleeps, especially cuddled with Charkie and his pillow, Dolphie.

Disney World!

We are in our first full day at Disney World.  We woke up before 6:00 am so that we could hear the space shuttle's twin sonic booms, and boy did we ever hear them!  We'll post that once we have the chance to edit it into a format that we can post.  

We are staying at Animal Kingdom Resort, and this place is amazing.  There are things to learn, see, and do everywhere, and we have zebras, giraffes, crowned cranes, and many other things right outside our room!  

When the others went back to sleep after the shuttle landing, I stayed up to watch the sunrise.  The animals were beautiful, and I took some photos.

A giraffe and zebras outside our balcony at breakfast-time.

Sharing their breakfast - aren't they sweet?

Beautiful from every angle.

At the Star Wars section of the Lego store, he was in his glory.

We got to sit in the ice cave at the T-Rex Cafe.

 Still celebrating his birthday.

Do you think he knows what's coming up behind him?

Making his Darth Maul light saber at Once Upon A Toy.

Striking a pose with his new light saber.