A Ghostly Birthday

The evening started off casually enough with a friendly gathering to celebrate a friend's birthday. There were appetizers...

And tasty treats in the form of Birthday Cake shots!!! That's what you call festive!

Around sunset, things got a little strange. A hearse arrived to chauffeur us around the city. This wasn't your average sight-seeing tour though.

No, this was a ghost tour of the nation's oldest city! Oh yeah, we were in trouble!

First stop, a National Cemetery and mass grave. The cemetery itself isn't creepy. It's quite beautiful, actually, and small in size. The cemetery covers approximately 1.5 acres, and you can't miss the three pyramids that line one side. Those pyramids mark the mass grave of 1468 unknown soldiers that died fighting the Seminoles.

I won't spill all the secrets & stories from the evening because honestly it was such a great experience, you really should consider taking the tour yourself. In fact, I must remember this adventure as a potential outing for any future guests that are brave enough to accept the invitation! Oh, and did I mention that the guide includes several pub stops along the way? Definitely a good time & a very happy birthday!!!

Quattro

Buon giorno!  It might look like we decided to celebrate Baylor's 4th birthday in Italy, but truthfully, we were only a few hours South of home at Universal Studios. I don't think the guest of honor minded one bit that we opted to stay in the States. Baylor much preferred the plan to ride roller coasters and hopefully meet a few super heroes.  

Knowing that our days would be spent among the masses of people that flock to Orlando's theme parks, Anh and I were relatively excited to be staying a calm laid-back family resort. At least the chaos would be left behind at the park. Our evenings were spent in Venice...at least that's what we pretended was our reality.

The boys were almost as impressed with the theming as we were. One would have expected them to be disappointed and prefer a hotel with loud, obnoxious colors and a circus-like environment. Maybe Jaxon and Baylor inherited the travel bug from us and enjoyed the idea of being in Italy. I can certainly say they'd fit right in with their love of Vespas.

Aunt Kelly seemed excited to tag along for the Universal adventure and to celebrate her nephew's birthday. It was great to have her with us. She contributed to the festive mood, and I won't lie. The extra pair of hands came in very handy at the park. Having a 1:1 ratio between adults and children made things a bit easier.

While this picture probably doesn't show it, Grant seemed to thoroughly enjoy his family vacation. He felt right at home in the hotel room. He passed out almost immediately in the bed. Traveling in the comfort of his car seat can really be exhausting, apparently. Grant really was a trooper the entire weekend. Never once was he fussy or difficult. Grant embraced the entire spectacle!

Slathered in sunscreen and armed with newly activated annual passes, we made our way to the theme park. We decided to explore Universal's Island of Adventure park on our first day, and we made a belie for the park's main attraction...

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter!!! It was every bit as amazing as the reviews described. You really do feel like you've been transported to Hogwarts as soon as you pass through the gate. Sadly, those snow-covered rooftops do absolutely nothing to bring down the intense temperature and humidity in Orlando. It was only late May, but I was reminded of why I vowed never to visit Orlando theme parks during the months of July & August. That would be hell on Earth!

Of course, we had to try the Butter Beer as a means of cooling off. It wasn't bad, but I wouldn't say it was particularly good either. If pressed to describe the taste, I'd say it was similar to drinking a cream soda with a butterscotch candy in your mouth. Odd, but not entirely disgusting. One tidbit of advice...enjoy the Butter Beer after the 3 roller coasters. We witnessed one man losing his stomach after exciting one the rides, and it wasn't even 9:30am!

Moving on from Hogwarts to Seuss Landing, we met up with a few friends.

Thing 1 & Thing 2

and The Cat In The Hat!!!

With all too many of Dr. Seuss' riddles and rhymes scrolling through our minds, we made our way over to see a few Marvel super heroes. Spiderman, Captain America, and Wolverine were all there!!! It was like they were just waiting for Jaxon and Baylor to arrive. Of course, the team was called away very quickly to squash some trouble that Dr. Doom was trying to stir up in another section of the park.

At that point, we stumbled upon a few other friends...Dr. Scott & Ms. Geraldine! Having them join us for Baylor's special day seemed perfect. After all, Dr. Scott is one of Baylor's best friends.

It was a thrilling & exhausting day for all! After sitting down to enjoy dinner and some much appreciated air conditioning together, we decided we'd had all the fun we could possibly handle. The kids were slap-happy, and the adults were almost as delirious. We made our way towards the exit, stopping briefly a few times to enjoy the water rides. Let me just say, the boys LOVE water rides. Getting soaked from head to toe is highly enjoyable for some. I don't include myself as a member of that club. While Baylor was most certainly the center of attention during his special weekend, it was Grant who deserved the MVP award. I said it before, and I'll say it again. He was such a little trooper!

Our bodies were shutting down due to exhaustion, but that didn't mean any of us wanted the fun to come to an end. Luckily, Spiderman and his trusty sidekicks had taken matters into their own hands. We returned to our hotel room to discover a surprise birthday party waiting. The cupcakes and balloons were courtesy of our new super hero friends, but Ms. Geraldine gets all the credit for the presents.

The smile on the birthday boy's face...Well, I'd say that was the result of a group effort. Congratulations, Baylor! We know this is a milestone you've eagerly awaited. It's going to be a GREAT year for you, buddy. Dad & I know it!

Holiday Weekend

Our Sunday was packed with family fun. We started the day at the beach, but rip currents kept us out of the water. It's okay though. There was still plenty to see. Because of the strong winds every surfer in the area seemed to be out showing off their skills. The kite surfers were especially interesting to watch. There were so many, I don't know how they managed to avoid tangling their lines. At one point, Grandfather asked Jax, "Are you and Baylor going to be surfers?" Jax stared out at all the surfers waiting for their next big wave and loudly proclaimed, "Yes!" Thank goodness we're moving farther North. Our current area is considered the Shark Attack Capital of the World.

Although it was cloudy and windy, it certainly wasn't cool, especially when you factored in the humidity. So from the beach we headed to a restaurant to enjoy cold drinks and appetizers. Yum! After refueling, our competitive spirits led us to mini golf. Rather than our usual round of Pirate Golf, we decided to try somewhere new and headed into the Congo. At the entrance, there was a pen filled with juvenile alligators. For $3 you could purchase "alligator food" (hot dogs) to feed them. You used a makeshift fishing pole to lower the pieces of hot dog down into the pen. We figured the gators would be full after being fed by all of the visitors, but they were fighting for Jax's hot dog. Of course, Jax enjoyed it, but I was surprised how entertaining it was for the rest of us.

Alligator feeding was followed by mini golf. The course design was fun with lots of "trick" holes that involved multiple levels. You'd have to putt your ball into a hole on the first level that then lead to a second level and sometimes even a third level. The elaborate designs meant that our scores were based more on luck than skill. In the end, Grandfather claimed victory with a score of 4+. Anh was one stroke behind. Kelly placed third. I placed fourth, just barely ahead of Jax. Both Anh and Kelly somehow managed to pull off hole-in-ones, nothing short of amazing given the course design.

We ended our day at the go-cart speedway. Jax decided to team up with Daddy for the first half of the race, but during our brief pit stop, he switched to Team Grandfather. Good call too because they captured the checkered flag and more importantly bragging rights until the next challenge.

Aunt Kelly

Today, Aunt Kelly arrived for the holiday weekend. She met Baylor for the first time, and it was a very similar experience to when she met Jax. Aunt Kelly still doesn't do drool or diapers. I guess my plans to use her as a night nanny aren't going to work out. Oh well! Grandma will be here in a few days!