Randoms...

I edited both of these photos the other night and just now remembered them...

I took this one a couple weeks ago.  Owen had a long day fishing with dad and wanted to watch t.v. on his little dvd player (not sure why thats a thrill).  Anyway, Dave came downstairs and was talking to me while I worked on dinner.  I don't know how much time had passed when I finally realized we hadn't heard from Owen.  Dave doesn't realize how much excitement fishing can be for a little boy...he was absolutely exhausted!!  Of course, pants were off as soon as he walked through the door...when is he going to outgrow this "stage"!!!

This is just a shot from our photo shoot the other day.  I missed it when I first edited the photos, but, caught it later and especially like it for some reason.  I think because its truly how our little man looks without a cheesy picture grin on his face...plus, I love how the pink in his cheeks shows! ;O)

What does $250 Buy You....

Hockey gear for a four-year-old!!  O.k., not really, we already had the "expensive" parts...his skates and helmet...thank goodness!!  I just had to share these shots of Owen in his gear, I couldn't decide between the two photos, so, you get them both.  We were just trying everything on, so, don't mind the tags.  All I can say is this kid better get a scholarship out of this!  

There was a guy in the store that had two kids in hockey...we'd have to re-finance the house for a second one! ;O)  Owen is absolutely ecstatic though, so, hopefully it's as fun to him on the ice as it is at home!!  We'll keep you posted...

Lil' Kicker...

I have tons of photos to go through from our 4th, but, couldn't resist posting these really quick.  I took them of Owen after soccer practice today.  He's sure enjoying it, he starts hockey on Tuesday and is super stoked!  It's only a 3-week class, but, I'm hoping he gets a lot out of it in preparation for hockey season in September! ;O)

Gold Cord Lake...

We stayed close to home this holiday weekend, so, to make up for it, we tried to get out and do something every day.  On Friday we saw Cars 2...they've really made this one a boy movie.  I enjoyed it, but, thought it was a little dark and very James Bondish...they even killed off a few cars!!

On Saturday, we headed up to Hatcher Pass and hiked around for a few hours.  We typically just make our own trail up behind Independence Mine, but, this time, Dave decided we try something new and hike up to Gold Cord Lake.  It was a fairly steep hill, but, the trail weaved back and forth and made it a lot easier.  Of course, the scenery didn't hurt either!! 

They've done a really nice job on the trail and even have bridges built in here and there where necessary.

There was a lot of low hanging fog on the way up the mountain, but, it cleared as we approached the top and we got to see more and more of the mountains.

Owen led the way all the way up and seemed to really enjoy the hike.  But, he was definitely worn out by the time we headed back downhill and thought we should carry him...fat chance of that, he's too big!!

The lake was absolutely breathtaking and the water was so clear...all those brown rocks you see in the picture below are under water, crazy huh!

Of course, no trip to Hatcher Pass is complete in Owen's mind without taking some time to play on the little mine train they have on display (I don't know the technical term for this thing, but, I'm sure Dave will correct me when he reads this!). 

Magic Kingdom Part 2...

We had SO much fun at Disney, I'm already so ready to go back.  The weather was amazing, we were never bored, and Owen was thrilled.  Can't ask for more right!!  We really took advantage of the park hopper tickets and the late hours at Magic Kingdom and pretty much visited it every night after spending the day at one of the other parks.  There was so much to do there, I couldn't get over it.  When Dave and I went last time (pre-Owen) our focus was so different.  We totally bypassed all the little people rides and that cuts out quite a bit of the park.  But, of course, that wasn't an option this time!

 Shawn and I spent a lot of time waiting for Dave and Owen....Owen was totally infatuated with the Toy Story ride in Tomorrowland and would have just rode it over and over if we'd have let him.  So, Shawnie and I amused ourselves by taking pictures with this random dude under the Astro Orbiter ride...I don't know why, but, we thought we were really funny! ;O)

 

Owen's other infatuation was the monorail that toured the park.  I know he rode it at least 3 times while we were there.  It was funny what he found exciting!!

My all-time favorite ride out of all the parks is and always will be Space Mountain...Thunder Mountain comes in a close second however! ;O)  Dave does not love Space Mountain, but, Shawnie was up to going on it with me.  We had the craziest experience, right as we were ending the ride the whole thing shut down, it totally made our vacation!!  We were literally ready to turn into the room where you get out of the car when it happened, so, unlike the rest of the riders, we weren't out anything...which made it better.  Plus, they give you this ultimate Fast Pass to ride any ride at any time to make up for it.  This is Shawnie and I waiting for them to let us out...

 This is a picture of all the tracks inside with the light on, crazy huh!!  Notice the car with people in it in the upper left of the photo...that was just one car behind us...they had to take the stairs all the way down along with all the others trapped behind us.  Can you imagine!!  We saw some HUGE people there!  I can't imagine how they extricate them from the ride!  Anyway, it was a total thrill to get to see the inside of this ride, I probably would have been less amused if I'd been one of the ones who stood in line for over an hour however! ;O)

If I had to guess, I'd say Splash Mountain was Dave's favorite.  We did everything to try and talk Owen into going on this one, but, he just wasn't having it!  We got sidetracked and missed Shawnie and Dave during the drop, but, snapped this photo of them as they rounded the corner at the end of the ride.

Alright, I'll be back with more pictures...I still have Busch Gardens and Sea World left...I may have taken too many photos! ;O)

Magic Kingdom...

I think I mentioned it before, but, I made the BIG mistake of hitting the Animal Kingdom on our first day in Disney.  Owen was devastated...there was not a castle anywhere to be seen!!!  The idea behind my decision was that the Animal Kingdom closed at 5pm, so, we could do our thing and then go to a nice dinner and still be in bed at a decent hour.  Fortunately, since we had the park hopper option and the Magic Kingdom is open until midnight, we were able to head over after dinner.

Owen was thrilled beyond words when he got his first glimpse of the castle.  To this day, if you mention Disney, he turns and says, "Thats where the magic begins you know..."!  I think I've mentioned that before, but, it amuses me to no end every time he works it into the conversation! ;O)

One of the first rides Owen went on was Dumbo.  Shawn and I amused ourselves by taking pictures in one of the cars they had on display while Dave and Owen rode the real thing.  We had to fight off a spanish speaking family with about a dozen kids just for her to sit in it...in fact, I think there was one playing on the floor by Shawn's legs when I took this shot! ;O)

 After the ride, Owen got his chance for a shot in the Dumbo car...

This is Shawnie preparing to watch one of the many 3D shows in the park, I think it was Mickey's Philharmagic...I love that show, it hasn't changed at all even though its been there forever, but, I still think it's fun to watch!!

 We of course had to get this kid some ears.  I took this picture after it got dark so the ears are kind of blurry, but, thought it was still cute of Owen.

Of course, a trip to the Magic Kingdom isn't complete without watching the light show at night!!

Shawnie actually took better pics of the fireworks with her Iphone....but, I had fun playing with some of the settings on my camera.

I have more pictures from Magic Kingdom, but, I'm worried Blogger will freeze up if I put them all in one post.  I'll split into two parts...

Epcot...

Yes, I'm still weeding through these...I'm getting there though! ;O)

We really only spent one day at Epcot, it's really not that kid oriented and has very few rides.  Although, we did the Soarin' ride for the first time and we all really enjoyed it.  Dave and I ran out of time last time we were in Orlando and figured we didn't miss out on much, but, we were wrong!!

I get such a kick out of all the topiaries in the parks.  They are absolutely amazing, I can't imagine the time and energy and care that go into these things.  Everyone got tired of taking pictures in front of them, but, where will you ever see this kind of thing again! 

We spent a lot of time waiting in line for food or drinks at Epcot.  I kept Shawnie and Owen entertained by making them take even more pictures! ;O)

 We managed to get photos with the Donald from Mexico while we were there, but, it was a long wait too.  I thought this was a cute shot of Owen while he sat in the shade patiently watching the other kiddos get to meet Donald.

 One last picture of us being goofy...how many people can you fit in a photo booth? ;O)