Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Softball Already?
The local softball organization is running a girls program in the gym of one of the area schools. This gets the girls to learn skills and gets them into game readiness earlier than spring. There has been some springs up here when you can't get on the fields until May due to the weather or run off. Keyra has done 2 practices now. She is definitely among the smallest of the group. They may not be able to run a Jr. Mite team this year due to the lack of numbers. If not, that is ok, she can play in the backyard nightly and do that for the summer. The local house league program is absolutely terrible, so there is no point putting her into that. Trinity is gearing up for her first gym meet in May, so that will be fun as well. I can't wait to see her compete...finally.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Post Disney update
It has been crazy busy, since we got back from Disney. So here is an update.
The trip was great. Doug and Vickie looked after the dogs for us while we were gone, which was a huge peace of mind considering the health of them.
So, we started out on Sunday morning to head to Syracuse. We left really early so we had time to grab a bite to eat and shop a bit down there, as well, in case of weather, which changes drastically down there form Lake Effect Snow. Once we got to the Carousel Mall, the girls were constantly asking when we were going to the airport. So, after a couple of hours of this, we decided to just go to the airport. Trinity was a bit nervous about the plane ride, but we gave both girls a window seat anyway. Trinity has flown 3 times to Disney now, and once to Australia, so she is a seasoned pro. A couple of hours later, we arrived in Disney. We boarded the Magical Express bus, and we had to wait there a bit for a few other arrivals, which drove Keyra practically crazy. They were so excited to get to the hotel, only to rush to bed as it was now 11pm and we were to be up by 7am to head to Magic Kingdom.
DAY 1: MAGIC KINGDOM
We really forgot somewhat, that this was like the first time for Keyra all over again. She was almost 2 years old when we went the last time, so she really has no memory of it. On the bus ride towards the Magic Kingdom, she could see glimpses of the castle but she didn't truly get the magnitude until she rounded the corner at Main Street USA and saw the entire thing full on. The look on her face was priceless. The whole trip was worth it just for that moment. The first thing we did was take some pictures in front of the castle and then head to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. Trinity got the princess treatment the last time we went, so this was Keyra's turn. Sure enough, they had a spot available. So, Trinity went out and did some rides while Keyra was getting Princessified. From there, we went to the Peter Pan ride which we monitored as being a tough one to get on. Then to Splash Mountain and the adventures of Brer Rabbit. The girls both like the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, so we hit that ride next. We found a few characters along the way to have our pictures taken with and the girls filled up their autograph books nicely. Ange even got in the action, having her picture taken with the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland. The last time we went, Trinity was just barely tall enough to ride most rides, and Keyra was unable to ride really anything. So, this was such a treat to be able to go as a family of 4 on all rides. Trinity and Keyra really fell in love with Space Mountain. We had to go back for a couple of extra goes on that one. They also loved Stitch's Great Escape and Buzz Lightyear's Spin. We watched the night parade which is so amazing. Disney doesn't leave any detail out and Keyra was bounding with joy everytime she saw another character that she recognized. Once the fireworks show was over, we headed for the hotel for some rest.
Day 2: EPCOT
Epcot may be my favorite park. There really is something for everyone. Where else can you sample a beer around the world? Trinity was really excited about Soarin'. She says it was one of her favorite rides. We did the Finding Nemo ride which ended in a smaller aquarium. We got a front row spot to watch the dolphin trainers put the Dolphins through a game of match. We ended up doing the lighter side of the Mission Space ride(BOOOO). I think Keyra would have done the harder side with me, but I didn't really want to split us all up. We did get to do test track which is still really cool. We went around the world through the world showcase, finding lots of characters along the way. The girls had an especially fun experience with Aladdin and Princess Jasmin. They talked to the girls for probably 10 minutes, asking them questions and telling them stories. I even had fun with it. After a couple of alcoholic drinks along the walk, and a few more character spots, we had dinner at the Chinese Pavilion. I am not huge on Chinese food, but this stuff was amazing!! Once that was over, we just found a nice spot to watch the fireworks and camped out there until the show started. The girls entertained us and a few other spectators with a "Chinese Fan Show" as they called it. There were lots of people laughing at the stuff they were doing. I can't believe they still had energy at this point.
DAY 3: ANIMAL KINGDOM
Animal Kingdom had extra magic hours in the morning which is a huge advantage to getting on the Kilimanjaro Safari Tour and actually seeing the animals awake. Most of the animals were out. Some were VERY close. The Giraffes and the Antelopes were running around and playing. If I would have reached out my hand, I could have touched a Giraffe as it ran by. Several times, our driver had to hit the brakes to avoid hitting one running around us. An amazing show to say the least. Once we were done, we went down to the area where the Gorillas are kept. We had a private viewing of them with the park ranger for about 20 minutes. People didn't know you could go down there as it was blocked off from the other side. We all learned a few things and enjoyed watching the 2 year old Gorilla playing with toys. Now it was time for the first real roller coaster. Trinity was really nervous again. Keyra was ready to rock. On the first big incline, I look over at Keyra, and she is sitting back with her hands in the air. It was awesome to see considering this was her first ever roller coaster. Keyra loved the ride, Trinity, not so much, but she stuck with it at least and rode it once. We did some shows, the parade and then hit the Dinosaur ride. The ride broke down in the middle and we ended up spending about 15 minutes stuck on the ride, so that lightened the scariness of the story. From there we did the Lion King show. We had done this same show when we took Trinity at under 2. It was amazing with lots of gymnastics and singing. Both girls were so impressed by the show.
Magic Kingdom was open until 9pm, so we took the bus system over there to spend the evening. We figured that since we did the light parade and the fireworks, we should be able to get alot of rides in while everyone else was doing that. The park was not busy at all due to the fact that it rained lightly most of the day. We ended up riding Space Mountain a bunch of times and also got in a last minute park closing ride in the Haunted Mansion. We were mostly alone heading on the ride. It was a little spooky riding the ride alone in the dark at park closing but the girls wanted to ride it once more as we all knew we wouldn't be coming back here. We got off the ride just as the fireworks were ending and beat the rush to our bus.
DAY 4: HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS
The first thing we had to do was rush in and sign the girls up for the Jedi Training show. Trinity was lucky enough to get picked out of the crown when we went last time. However, due to the disappointed kids, they changed it to a sign up first thing in the morning. Once the spots are full, that is it. So we rushed right there and got them in for the first show. Both girls are really big into Star Wars...thanks to me. I could see that Trinity didn't really want to get into it at first, but once that light sabre was in her hand, it was game on! The kids all get a Jedi Robe and then the Jedi Master comes out and gives them all Light Sabres and teaches them how to use it. All of a sudden, Darth Vader and 2 Storm Troopers appear. They try to sway the Padawans to the dark side of the force. One by one, each Padawan gets to have a light sabre duel with Darth Vader! How cool is that! Keyra went right at him and followed every instruction from her Jedi Master. Trinity hit Vader so hard, that her Sabre glanced off and hit her Jedi Master in the arm, causing some laughter in the crowd as the Master made a joke of it. It turns out that this Jedi Master was the same one when Trin did it before. At the end, each Padawan gets a certificate of their participation in the Jedi Training academy. Then we hit the newly "remastered" Star Tours ride. It was awesome! Definitely one of the best rides there! We knew the biggest demand ride there is the Pixar/Toy Story Midway. So we did that next. I was disappointed. From all of the hype, I thought it was going to be amazing, but all you do is get flung around in a cart and have a pop gun to shoot at targets. Pretty lame for the wait time really. We did alot of the shows at the park as we really missed out on those before. The Beauty and the Beast musical was nice and the kids really loved that! We also took in the Stunt Car Spectacular starring Lightning McQueen from the movie Cars. Keyra's birthday party last year was at the movie theatre to see the Movies Cars 2, so she was super excited to see alive working Lightning McQueen! The rest of the show was pretty amazing and they explained how some of the stunts happen which was really cool. We also did the Indiana Jones show which is a staple at that park. I took Keyra on the Tower of Terror. Trinity would not go on it. It was definitely a thrill, and although it scared Keyra, she wanted to go on it again. Ange did Rockin' Roller Coaster by herself(Trinity wouldn't ride that one either and Keyra was too small). I took the kids to the Magic of Disney Animation where there were a ton of characters. I got in on the picture with Mr. Incredible and Frozone too. Once Ange returned, we did a few other things at the park and left for the hotel.
It was now Friday morning, and since the girls had been asking about going swimming all week, we said lets do it. We didn't have time to swim all week as we were cramming the parks in and crashing hard at night. Luckily the pool is heated as it was only about 50 degrees farenheit that morning. Leave it to the Canadians to be swimming at those temperatures. We had the pool to ourselves. A solemn bus ride to the airport, and a flight back to Syracuse. We flew into Syracuse at about 5:30, and we knew we were in for hell by the weather report we had saw the night before. Sure enough, it was a blizzard. I have never driven in white-out conditions like that. The girls slept pretty much as soon as we got in the car. We pulled off in Watertown for fuel and food. The snow stopped, so we pushed through. Once we got across the border into Canada, the roads were much better. I guess we know how to clear the roads of snow better up here.
It was a great trip, and I would love to go back there every year if we could. I think we will probably be back there in another 3 years or so.
The trip was great. Doug and Vickie looked after the dogs for us while we were gone, which was a huge peace of mind considering the health of them.
So, we started out on Sunday morning to head to Syracuse. We left really early so we had time to grab a bite to eat and shop a bit down there, as well, in case of weather, which changes drastically down there form Lake Effect Snow. Once we got to the Carousel Mall, the girls were constantly asking when we were going to the airport. So, after a couple of hours of this, we decided to just go to the airport. Trinity was a bit nervous about the plane ride, but we gave both girls a window seat anyway. Trinity has flown 3 times to Disney now, and once to Australia, so she is a seasoned pro. A couple of hours later, we arrived in Disney. We boarded the Magical Express bus, and we had to wait there a bit for a few other arrivals, which drove Keyra practically crazy. They were so excited to get to the hotel, only to rush to bed as it was now 11pm and we were to be up by 7am to head to Magic Kingdom.
DAY 1: MAGIC KINGDOM
We really forgot somewhat, that this was like the first time for Keyra all over again. She was almost 2 years old when we went the last time, so she really has no memory of it. On the bus ride towards the Magic Kingdom, she could see glimpses of the castle but she didn't truly get the magnitude until she rounded the corner at Main Street USA and saw the entire thing full on. The look on her face was priceless. The whole trip was worth it just for that moment. The first thing we did was take some pictures in front of the castle and then head to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. Trinity got the princess treatment the last time we went, so this was Keyra's turn. Sure enough, they had a spot available. So, Trinity went out and did some rides while Keyra was getting Princessified. From there, we went to the Peter Pan ride which we monitored as being a tough one to get on. Then to Splash Mountain and the adventures of Brer Rabbit. The girls both like the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, so we hit that ride next. We found a few characters along the way to have our pictures taken with and the girls filled up their autograph books nicely. Ange even got in the action, having her picture taken with the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland. The last time we went, Trinity was just barely tall enough to ride most rides, and Keyra was unable to ride really anything. So, this was such a treat to be able to go as a family of 4 on all rides. Trinity and Keyra really fell in love with Space Mountain. We had to go back for a couple of extra goes on that one. They also loved Stitch's Great Escape and Buzz Lightyear's Spin. We watched the night parade which is so amazing. Disney doesn't leave any detail out and Keyra was bounding with joy everytime she saw another character that she recognized. Once the fireworks show was over, we headed for the hotel for some rest.
Day 2: EPCOT
Epcot may be my favorite park. There really is something for everyone. Where else can you sample a beer around the world? Trinity was really excited about Soarin'. She says it was one of her favorite rides. We did the Finding Nemo ride which ended in a smaller aquarium. We got a front row spot to watch the dolphin trainers put the Dolphins through a game of match. We ended up doing the lighter side of the Mission Space ride(BOOOO). I think Keyra would have done the harder side with me, but I didn't really want to split us all up. We did get to do test track which is still really cool. We went around the world through the world showcase, finding lots of characters along the way. The girls had an especially fun experience with Aladdin and Princess Jasmin. They talked to the girls for probably 10 minutes, asking them questions and telling them stories. I even had fun with it. After a couple of alcoholic drinks along the walk, and a few more character spots, we had dinner at the Chinese Pavilion. I am not huge on Chinese food, but this stuff was amazing!! Once that was over, we just found a nice spot to watch the fireworks and camped out there until the show started. The girls entertained us and a few other spectators with a "Chinese Fan Show" as they called it. There were lots of people laughing at the stuff they were doing. I can't believe they still had energy at this point.
DAY 3: ANIMAL KINGDOM
Animal Kingdom had extra magic hours in the morning which is a huge advantage to getting on the Kilimanjaro Safari Tour and actually seeing the animals awake. Most of the animals were out. Some were VERY close. The Giraffes and the Antelopes were running around and playing. If I would have reached out my hand, I could have touched a Giraffe as it ran by. Several times, our driver had to hit the brakes to avoid hitting one running around us. An amazing show to say the least. Once we were done, we went down to the area where the Gorillas are kept. We had a private viewing of them with the park ranger for about 20 minutes. People didn't know you could go down there as it was blocked off from the other side. We all learned a few things and enjoyed watching the 2 year old Gorilla playing with toys. Now it was time for the first real roller coaster. Trinity was really nervous again. Keyra was ready to rock. On the first big incline, I look over at Keyra, and she is sitting back with her hands in the air. It was awesome to see considering this was her first ever roller coaster. Keyra loved the ride, Trinity, not so much, but she stuck with it at least and rode it once. We did some shows, the parade and then hit the Dinosaur ride. The ride broke down in the middle and we ended up spending about 15 minutes stuck on the ride, so that lightened the scariness of the story. From there we did the Lion King show. We had done this same show when we took Trinity at under 2. It was amazing with lots of gymnastics and singing. Both girls were so impressed by the show.
Magic Kingdom was open until 9pm, so we took the bus system over there to spend the evening. We figured that since we did the light parade and the fireworks, we should be able to get alot of rides in while everyone else was doing that. The park was not busy at all due to the fact that it rained lightly most of the day. We ended up riding Space Mountain a bunch of times and also got in a last minute park closing ride in the Haunted Mansion. We were mostly alone heading on the ride. It was a little spooky riding the ride alone in the dark at park closing but the girls wanted to ride it once more as we all knew we wouldn't be coming back here. We got off the ride just as the fireworks were ending and beat the rush to our bus.
DAY 4: HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS
The first thing we had to do was rush in and sign the girls up for the Jedi Training show. Trinity was lucky enough to get picked out of the crown when we went last time. However, due to the disappointed kids, they changed it to a sign up first thing in the morning. Once the spots are full, that is it. So we rushed right there and got them in for the first show. Both girls are really big into Star Wars...thanks to me. I could see that Trinity didn't really want to get into it at first, but once that light sabre was in her hand, it was game on! The kids all get a Jedi Robe and then the Jedi Master comes out and gives them all Light Sabres and teaches them how to use it. All of a sudden, Darth Vader and 2 Storm Troopers appear. They try to sway the Padawans to the dark side of the force. One by one, each Padawan gets to have a light sabre duel with Darth Vader! How cool is that! Keyra went right at him and followed every instruction from her Jedi Master. Trinity hit Vader so hard, that her Sabre glanced off and hit her Jedi Master in the arm, causing some laughter in the crowd as the Master made a joke of it. It turns out that this Jedi Master was the same one when Trin did it before. At the end, each Padawan gets a certificate of their participation in the Jedi Training academy. Then we hit the newly "remastered" Star Tours ride. It was awesome! Definitely one of the best rides there! We knew the biggest demand ride there is the Pixar/Toy Story Midway. So we did that next. I was disappointed. From all of the hype, I thought it was going to be amazing, but all you do is get flung around in a cart and have a pop gun to shoot at targets. Pretty lame for the wait time really. We did alot of the shows at the park as we really missed out on those before. The Beauty and the Beast musical was nice and the kids really loved that! We also took in the Stunt Car Spectacular starring Lightning McQueen from the movie Cars. Keyra's birthday party last year was at the movie theatre to see the Movies Cars 2, so she was super excited to see alive working Lightning McQueen! The rest of the show was pretty amazing and they explained how some of the stunts happen which was really cool. We also did the Indiana Jones show which is a staple at that park. I took Keyra on the Tower of Terror. Trinity would not go on it. It was definitely a thrill, and although it scared Keyra, she wanted to go on it again. Ange did Rockin' Roller Coaster by herself(Trinity wouldn't ride that one either and Keyra was too small). I took the kids to the Magic of Disney Animation where there were a ton of characters. I got in on the picture with Mr. Incredible and Frozone too. Once Ange returned, we did a few other things at the park and left for the hotel.
It was now Friday morning, and since the girls had been asking about going swimming all week, we said lets do it. We didn't have time to swim all week as we were cramming the parks in and crashing hard at night. Luckily the pool is heated as it was only about 50 degrees farenheit that morning. Leave it to the Canadians to be swimming at those temperatures. We had the pool to ourselves. A solemn bus ride to the airport, and a flight back to Syracuse. We flew into Syracuse at about 5:30, and we knew we were in for hell by the weather report we had saw the night before. Sure enough, it was a blizzard. I have never driven in white-out conditions like that. The girls slept pretty much as soon as we got in the car. We pulled off in Watertown for fuel and food. The snow stopped, so we pushed through. Once we got across the border into Canada, the roads were much better. I guess we know how to clear the roads of snow better up here.
It was a great trip, and I would love to go back there every year if we could. I think we will probably be back there in another 3 years or so.
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