Georgia Aquarium

Continuing to try and catch up with our vacations before we moved, around the middle of May we went on vacation with friends.  On our drive down to Tybee Island off the coast of Savannah, we stopped in Atlanta to check out the largest aquarium in the country.  I tried to get a good shot of the boys by the dolphin statues in front of the aquarium, but Riley was the only one willing to give me any smiles... 

Our first stop was the big shark tank!

Next stop was the frog exhibit -- the boys liked trying to find the little guys hiding.

The boys played in the playground, we saw the cheesy dolphin show, and we walked around through the entire aquarium by lunch time.  The boys loved seeing all the fishies and sea creatures!

Next post will be all about our stay at Tybee Island -- we had a blast so I have a lot of pictures to share soon!!!

Disney

To finish sharing pictures from our trip to Florida in April, the last stop during our ten day trip was Disney World!  We started out our four day Disney whirlwind at the Magic Kingdom...

I thought the boys would love to say hi to Mickey and Minnie...however, both were scared so that wasn't such a great idea.  Riley was a good sport and at least stood next to them...Sully had the look of fear on his face the entire time we were trying to get a good picture!

We took the train all the way around the park and the boys loved it...no scary characters on that ride!

We rode Pirates of the Caribbean and Riley and Sully both picked out a Jack Sparrow sword as their one treat for the day.

The next day we checked out Hollywood Studios...Riley loved getting his picture taken with Lightning McQueen and Tow Mater!

Sully...not so much.

Sully wasn't up for any pictures so the Miss Piggy fountain was just Daddy and Riley yet again.  The kids loved the 3D Muppet Show!

 By far Riley's favorite ride was Star Tours!  Unfortunately Sully was too short, so Cody and I switched off going with Riley.  I think he rode it eight times over the two days we did Hollywood Studios!  Here's one of the speed racers just outside the ride...again, Sully was not game for the camera in his face.

Riley picked out the Star Tours ship for his one toy at Hollywood...he liked the box just as much as the toy - go figure!

We did Animal Kingdom the third day...the boys loved brushing and petting the goats.

We did the safari tour and saw lots of animals -- the boys loved how close the giraffes got to us!

The dino park was a huge hit too...especially digging for dino bones.

Riley loved swimming in the pool at our condo after a long hot day at the park...he's doing pretty well with his freestyle stroke.

And loves being thrown too!

We let Riley and Sully pick the park they liked the best for our last day at Disney...they both chose Hollywood Studios.  Partly for the Toy Story ride...and partly for Star Tours.  Cody and I managed to take turns and ride Arrowsmith too :)

It was an awesome trip!

I have lots of pictures to post from our trip to Tybee Island in May...stay tuned!

Legoland Florida

Catching up on pictures from our trip to Florida in April, we took the boys to Legoland Florida...I'm not sure who was more excited, Riley or Cody!!!!

The first thing we did was check out the water ski show...

I was pretty impressed the performers could do the jumps with the huge costumes on!

Of course there was a bad guy who had to be defeated...and he was with a little help from the audience.  Overall, a very cheesy show but the kids loved it.

Legoland used to be Cypress Gardens...they kept the gardens intact so we walked through and it was gorgeous.  Check out this tree!

After the walk through the gardens we checked out the rides...but had to get a picture with Lego Batman and Robin!

Riley and I went on the kid powered tower.

Mommy got a little workout pulling us up to the top...

But was rewarded with a moderated "free fall" back to the bottom!

Both boys enjoyed creating "heroes" in the Hero Factory.

Riley and I got to ride the kid powered flying bicycles too!

There was a section full of huge Lego creations...it was very impressive.

Riley's favorite part of the day was, of course, the gift shop.  He chose a Pirates of the Caribbean Lego set -- a huge pirate ship!  It was a great day and the boys (all three) had a blast!

Waldo Canyon Fire

We arrived in Colorodo after a 3-day drive from Ohio on June 17th...within a week of our arrival, the Waldo Canyon fire started.  I'm thinking we're bad luck.  We live pretty far east of the city so we were never evacuated or in any danger but here's the view from the top of our neighborhood as I was heading to Target last week.

Then on Tuesday the winds kicked up to 65 miles per hour and wreaked havoc with the fires...ashes and smoke were covering the city.  Here's the view from Powers Blvd...Riley said to me, "Mommy, why is the sun red?"  I said, "It looks kind of spooky, doesn't it?"  Ever since I made that comment, Sully has been saying, "I don't want to go outside, Mommy...it's spooky out there."

As of this morning, the fire is 45% contained...I'm hoping the weather (and winds) cooperate so the firefighters can get it completely under control.  Looking at the mountains this morning, I could still see small plumes of smoke in several places.  I have lots of pictures, updates, and stories to blog from our vacations and move...my goal is to have everything posted before Riley starts kindergarten on August 15th :)

Swim

The packers are coming at 8AM tomorrow morning so needless to say we've been very busy lately getting ready to move.  I have a backlog of pictures from our Florida trip in April plus lots of pictures from our Tybee Island trip in May.  Once we get settled I will get through them -- I promise!  For now, here are some pictures of the boys (all three!) swimming.  Sully and Riley loved Nanny and Pappy's pool!  Sully enjoyed squirting everyone...

Riley enjoyed diving for the water rings and swimming to the floating penguin.

The main reason for our trip to Florida was so Cody could participate in the YMCA Nationals meet in Ft Lauderdale.  I took Riley down to see him swim on the last day.  They showed off their tattoos...Riley claims it makes him swim really really fast!

We got to watch Cody win first place in the 100 fly, 200 IM, and 200 breast!  It was awesome!

Aunt Trish came with us to cheer Cody on...she's a pro and cheers really loud!

Riley showing off one of Daddy's first place medals!

The most exciting event was the 100 fly...Cody went head to head with the guy in the lane next to him.

He just barely touched him out...it was an awesome race!

The next stop on our Florida trip -- Legoland...I have plenty of pictures but probably won't get to it until after we move.  Stay tuned...