The Crater

Let's just say it has been
a long time since I've been scuba diving.
However, with our upcoming trip,
we headed to the Crater for some
refresher dives.

Aar is the best
The first dive was only 10 minutes long
and 35 feet deep.
However, I was feeling much more
comfortable the second time -
20 minutes and 62 feet.
It was a lot of fun!
I think I'm ready for the open water.

As we got in the car
Aar noticed his wedding ring was gone.
He went back in and let
them know.
Before we even got home
we had a message that the dive master
had gone diving and found his ring.

The next day we headed up again to get the ring.
It was fun showing the boys the crater.



E and Al want to try
SNUBA on the trip.

Yeah, the ring was found!

Cousins

We love it when Kade and Addi
come to play!
First, I get to do Add's hair :).
I love it when she says,
"Dr. Nan do Add's hair!"
Then they play and play
until they can't play anymore.
Until finally it's time for...

A Show!

Scuba

Aaron rented a tank to check
out our scuba gear.
Look who loved trying everything out!

D is definitely a fish!
He can't wait to go snorkeling.

Winter Wonderland

Well it snowed another 8 inches today!
We shoveled the driveway 4 times!
It's great to have boys to help with that job!

With all the snow
the boys have been having
a blast sledding.
There is a new favorite spot near our house
that the boys love.
Kids have even built jumps
which makes for more fun.

E loves sledding!

Dare Devil Drew

Alex loved the jumps!

After 1 ride, Peyton
preferred watching :)
even though he kept saying
he loved sledding,
only he'd go again later.

White Christmas

We had a wonderful, white Christmas!

Aar got to break in his new
coat and boots!

Christmas is always so magical with kids
and this year was no exception.

We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!
It was so great to be with family.
We miss everyone who wasn't here!!

Happy New Year!

Very Merry Christmas Party

It wasn't until our last day that the bad weather came.

It rained like crazy. We were all soaked - even through our ponchos.
The upside...
the parks were empty.
We rode Expedition Everest
until no one wanted to ride anymore.

After lunch at Tepan Edo
we headed back to the hotel for a little
rest before the Very Merry Christmas Party.
We found a Build-A-Dino
in the T-Rex Cafe which the boys loved!
The forecast said that it should be
clear by the party.

And clear it was!
The weather was perfect and better yet
the park was empty.
We got to ride Goofy's Barnstormer,
the Rocket Ride, and the Blue Line
over and over again without getting off.

Everyone loved Mickey's Philharmagic
and the all you can eat
hot chocolate, cookies, apples,
and apple juice.

The castle looked so festive
in all the Christmas lights.

The fireworks show was AMAZING!!
What a perfect end to a great trip!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Day 6

We started the day off as Disney Studios opened.
Aaron and Troy ran ahead to
get Fast Passes to Toy Story Mania.
Just as they finished getting the passes
we all arrived to walk on the ride.

After the ride we had about 30 minutes
before we could use our Fast Passes,
so the Dads and the 4 big boys
headed to their favorite...
Rockin' Rollercoaster.
Tanya, Ella, Dylan, Peyton, and I
went to meet Woody
and then we happened upon the Power Rangers.
Peyton insisted on meeting
everyone of them, except the pink one
because that's for girls like Ella,
twice. He's never seen
Power Rangers before, but he was intrigued.

After a fun morning at Disney Studios
it was off to Epcot for more fun in the sun!

Just a Week Ago

It's a winter wonderland here.

D and P had so much fun
sledding this afternoon.
They played in the snow for a good hour.
After a warm bubble bath and snuggly pjs,
P insisted on putting on all
his snow gear again, by himself,
just to watch a show.
That boy loves being outside!

It's hard to believe that this was just last week.

Day 5 - Magic Kingdom
Drew's homework assignment
was to get a picture with Tigger.
This was easily accomplished
at our breakfast at Crystal Palace.

Notice Drew's breakfast
sausages and bacon -
a breakfast of champions!

After 5 days of playing hard
everyone was ready to call it a day around 6:00,
but not Drew and Aaron.
They dropped us off at the hotel
and headed to Epcot.
They rode all of D's favorites -
Test Track, Mission Space,
Nemo, and the Ball Ride.
D told Aar,
This was the best day of my life!

Disney Studios

Day 4 - Disney Studios

First up, the new Toy Story Mania ride.

Definitely a new favorite!

Captain Ric -
this photo is for you!

D, Pey, and Dylan
loved meeting Lightning and Mater!

E, Al, D, and Nate
all said the
Aerosmith Rockin Rollercoaster
was their favorite ride.
Thanks to no crowds, they were able
to go on it as much as they wanted.
Too bad Tower of Terror
wasn't a favorite!

Animal Kingdom

Day 3 - Animal Kingdom

The day started out with Donald Duck's
Tusker House breakfast.

Donald's Breakfast was all
of the boys' favorite last year.
They all had a great time
this year too.

After breakfast we headed
straight to Expedition Everest
which turned out to be Ella's
favorite ride.
She is a major dare devil.

I think Ella rode
this ride half a dozen times.
She out did the boys!

Epcot

Day 2 - Epcot

First ride on the agenda
none other than Test Track.
Peyton was tall enough to ride this year.
It was so fun to go all together.

Even after arriving at 2:30 am,
Troy, Tanya, & Co
met us bright and early
to enjoy all the rides.
Favorites included -
Test Track, Mission Space,
Soarin', Finding Nemo,
the new Epcot Ball ride,
Figment,
and of course Club Cool.
It was great being able to spend the
week with you guys!
We had so much fun!!
Why don't we live closer.......

We ate lunch at Nine Dragons.
Yummy!! It was there that Peyton
discovered that he loves noodles and meatballs.
Dinner was at the Garden Grill
with Chip, Dale, Pluto, and Mickey.
What a fun day!

Notice no pictures of E with the characters.
He's too old now :(