Last January my blogging plan fell apart. I tried to cover everything that had happened in January, got behind, and then decided that Facebook updates would be good enough. But now at the start of a new year, I want to remember some of the great things that happened in 2009!
In January we took the boys for the first time to Disney parks in Orlando. It was also my first time at Disney! We took in Sea World, Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom in the course of 3 days. It was too much for a 2 1/2 year old for sure... and we hit the parks right in the middle of a cold stretch where temps reached a low of 38 degrees!
Despite the weather and the naps that interrupted Owen's day, it was a fun trip. We went to Sea World specifically to see and touch Sting Rays in an exhibit that was CLOSED that day. Ben cried... but the other animals, especially the sharks, rays, and manatees were a big hit. And feeding the dolphins... to this day Ben says that was his favorite part. We finished the day at Sea World with an event sponsored by one of the drug companies (it was part of the Veterinary Conference that Jason was attending in Orlando) and the boys wore me out on a giant playground with tunnels, rope nets to climb, etc. Jason was occupied for a bit and I nearly lost both boys while trying to keep up with them!
At Animal Kingdom Ben really loved the 4-d experience, A Bug's Life. Owen had fallen asleep by then and missed most of it. It was fun to watch Ben reaching out to try to touch the "creatures" that were coming right for us.
While we were in Orlando we stayed at the Nickelodean hotel. The boys had lots of fun in the outdoor pools which were heated to something like 78 degrees. Not so warm when you came OUT of the water though... the days we were in the pool it was a sweltering 60 degrees. Lucky for Jason he missed most of the pool fun as he was at his conference all day on those days.
After we finished our day at the Magic Kingdom, we loaded the boys into the rental car and drove through the night to the Naples area to visit Jason's parents and his brother and family.
The boys got a kick out of the trailer park where John and Judy stayed, and especially the fact that Grandpa rode a big tricycle. They also loved the beaches, and though the water was way too cold to go into, managed to get their pants soaked at each stop. We gathered a wide array of shells, and even found a starfish, as Ben had hoped we would.
We hit the Everglades and the boys got to hold a small alligator and ride on a swamp boat. They loved both. We visited with Brad (Jason's brother) and his family, and hit another beach in Naples before heading back to Indiana via Ft Myers. Both boys did great on the plane both ways... it was Owen's first flight and the first that Ben could remember!
Lots of great photos of the trip are on Facebook, so I won't repeat them here...
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=57051&id=518670535&l=e8cae80241
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=56917&id=518670535&l=96c56cae07
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