Our Weekend with Gordon

As previously mentioned, this was Tyler's turn to have a weekend with his preschool class bear. Gordon and Tyler had a great weekend that started off with dinner at Carrabba's. Then, of course, Gordon joined Tyler and his friends at the farm for the party. And today the pair had fun at yet another birthday party for Georgie.

Tyler's Birthday Party

It was a day of celebrating our son's 5th birthday. The party took place at a farm where we had a total blast with Tyler's friends. Pony rides was the first thing on the agenda. The kids loved the pony and they had so much fun going for a ride on Sugar. This was Tyler's second time riding a pony. He was smiled the whole time. And because Tyler was the birthday boy he got a special gift from the farm, a cowboy hat and shirt. I didn't think he would keep the hat on, but he loved wearing it.       

Tyler got to be the first on the pony, so after he was finished he went over to the playground area of the farm where he joined some of his friends waiting for their turn. The farm had two pretty big jungle gyms to play on. I went over to check on Tyler and at the time they were pretending they were on a ship and Tyler said he was captain.

After the kids were finished with the pony and the play area, they checked out the chicken coop where they were encouraged to pet, chase, or even try and pick them up. This is what Tyler has been talking about ever since we picked the farm to have his party. He couldn't wait to try and pick up one of the chickens. LOL The kids spent a good amount of time in there before it was time to go on our next fun event at the party.



Then the kids enjoyed a bouncy good time in the inflatable moon walk. This was another fun thing that Tyler couldn't wait to do. He was telling the kids in his class that there was going to be one at his party. Once the kids were in bouncing around, it was not easy trying to get them out to go onto the next activity. LOL

While the kids were jumping up and down in the moon walk, we got a bucket of feed. It was time to go in and see the goats. This was Tyler's very favourite part of his party. It was sooo funny because I went in the goat pen with the big bucket of feed and as soon as I got in there, I got attacked by the biggest goat I've ever seen. He wanted that bucket of feed so badly. LOL It was soo funny, I nearly got knocked over before one of the parents rescued me. One of the other parents got it all on video. I'll probably be on a future episode of AFV. LOL There were several newborn goats that were super cute. I so wanted to take one of them home with us.


Soon it was time to say farewell to the goats. Everyone was starting to get hungry. We precooked 40 hot dogs for the party. The kids and some of the parents gobbled them down pretty fast.

And of course it wouldn't be a birthday party without the cake. Tyler asked me to make him a race car cake this year. We used one of the race cars that his Auntie Erika sent him for his birthday. It was perfect for it. The cake turned out super delish!!!

Once cake time was over, the kids had a blast in the barn. The farm attendants had set up several games for us to play including giant horseshoes using hula hoops, toss the bean bag, and tug of war. The kids played these games, but also enjoyed playing in all the hay. Then they found the wagon we used to bring in all our supplies and the rest was history. LOL They pushed and pulled each other around the barn with them all in it. It was sooo cute. It was so awesome seeing all the kids playing so good together. They really were a great bunch of kids. And we were so very thankful that they could all come out and celebrate Tyler's special day with us. The weather was really nice too. We were very blessed. However, with all things, everything must come to an end. We said goodbye to our friends, however when we were packing up we noticed there was some feed to for the goats, so we went back with Tyler's friends Casey and Rachael.


The party was a great hit. This was the first time we had such a large party for Tyler and everyone said they had a fantastic time. There were parents thanking us for wearing out their kids at the end. LOL When we got home, Tyler opened his presents. His friends gave him a lot of nice things. He will have a great time playing with all his new things. But you know what the best thing about his birthday party was? Having his dad there to share in the fun too. Because of deployments, Steve had to miss two birthdays in a row. Having him there today to watch our boy blow out his candles meant so much to us. We are so thankful for all the special times together.

Mr. VIP

We already know that Tyler is a very important person, but this week at preschool he is being recognized as one. Tyler was asked by his teachers to fill out a questionnaire about himself and we had to submit some photos. He also had to tell his classmates all about his hobbies and interests. At the end of the week, the VIP gets another chance to take home the beloved class bear, Gordon. It's pretty cool being VIP at preschool.

Happiest 5 Years

It is so hard to believe 5 years has past since the day we were first blessed with our one and only baby. Since then our lives have never been the same. This little baby gave our lives so much more meaning, so much more joy, and so much more love. More than we could have ever dreamed of. We watched him grow from a little precious infant to this amazing person that is so full of life and love. Tyler, we are forever thankful for you. Our birthday wish for you is to continue being the special person that you are. We love you so very very much!!!

Birthday Cousins

Since Garret just turned 5 a couple of weeks ago and Tyler's birthday was a week away, Grandma wanted to get everyone together and celebrate both of her grandson's birthdays. Cousins, Brye, Abbi, and Javan came to party as well. Grandma made yummy chocolate cupcakes and cake for the occasion and we had hot dogs, as requested by Tyler, for the birthday dinner. After dinner, the boys blew out their candles and then opened their presents. The cousins then played together until it was time for them to go back home. Overall, it was a fantastic time!!! Thank you, Grandma for making Garret's and Tyler's birthdays even more special. We love you very much.

Disney Dream Cruise: Day 3

Our last full day on the cruise we actually slept in. The late night pirate party wore us out. It was kind of OK that we slept because the weather wasn't the greatest and the director on the ship made an announcement that all activities on Castaway Cay island was canceled due to the low temperature and wind. So we decided to take our time getting ready, though we did miss out on breakfast at the restaurant. We grab some goodies at the cafe for breakfast.
Once off the ship and on Castaway Cay, we had found the weather was tolerable and so after dropping Tyler off at the Kid's Club on the island, Steve and I decided to go find a cache. It was a good thing that Tyler didn't come with us because it was about a mile walk to the cache location. There are a few bike trails throughout the island that we walked on to get the cache. The island was beautiful and it was even better exploring it with just Steve and I. We never get to spend time with just the two of us.

The cache was cleverly hidden inside a coconut shell. After signing the log and placing the cache back where it belonged, we decided to keep on the bike trail and see where it went to. It brought us to a dead end, but a great view of another beach that wasn't occupied. Steve and I hung out for a bit and then headed back on the trail.

Upon coming out to the runway on the island which is just off the trail we took, we got on the tram to take us back to the more populated part of the island. We checked on Tyler and asked if he wanted to join us for lunch, however he already ate with the other kids and he was having way too much fun to join us. So, Steve and I got some lunch which was barbecue food. While eating it started to rain, so we moved from our picnic table to a pavilion. Even though it was poring rain outside, we still really enjoyed the food and music. 

The rain started to really come down hard, so we picked up Tyler and waited for the tram to come take us back to the ship. By the time we got back on board, we were soaked. We went back to our room and got changed. Tyler wanted to go back to the kid's club so badly, so we dropped him off there again. Meanwhile Steve and I got some goodies at the cafe and enjoyed some cappuccino while watching the farewell show with the characters in the main lobby.

There was still lots of time before dinner, we decided to take the last show at the theatre. We missed the previous nights' show, so we really wanted to see this one. The show was fabulous! It was all about believing. There were a lot of characters featured including Peter Pan, the Lion King, Mary Poppins, the princesses, etc.

After the show, it was dinnertime. We headed straight for the Kid's Club and picked up Tyler. Our waiters, Louis and Louis, were very excited to see us. They even made a special hat for Tyler out of a napkin and gave him some soy beans. They knew he loved his vegetables, especially green beans.

As always, the desserts were super delish. I especially loved the one I picked out that night. It was a sampler of three different types of desserts.

By the time we finished our meals and headed back to our room, we were sooo tired. Waiting for us was a special surprise for Tyler. Aunt Janell told us that if we left a white pillow case at Guest Services when we boarded that all the characters would sign it for us. She was right. They did! It is so cool! A terrific souvenir from our trip.
The next day we basically woke up, had breakfast and left the ship. Did we have a good time on our cruise? You know we did!!! :) It was a great first experience being on a cruise. Mickey and his friends definitely showed us a good time on his ship.

Disney Dream Cruise: Day 2

We had a great first night on the ship. Everyone slept good and felt rested to start our busy day. The ship was already in dock in Nassau when we woke up. We went out on our balcony to see our new destination we were going to explore today. However first we had to eat some breakfast. We ate at the Cabana restaurant which offered a delicious assortment of breakfast foods including fresh fruit, homemade yogurt, pastries, eggs, donuts, and the usual. From the restaurant we had a nice view of our new surroundings outside. We ate fast so that we could hurry and enjoy it all.
Once off the ship, we couldn't believe how hot and sunny it was. This was awesome especially after all the recent gloomy weather we had been experiencing in Florida during the past few days. We took a few pictures of the ship and then proceeded through the little market on the dock. The first thing on our list was to get a geocache to add to our list of places. It was fun walking through the streets, past some of the little tourist shops. We love exploring new places. It's always so exciting for us! The GPS showed us we were in the right area and Steve took down the info we needed to complete the find.

Then we had the rest of the afternoon to do whatever we wanted, so we walked around and took some photos. Parts of Nassau reminded us of Sicily, the colours of the buildings were brightly painted the same colours. Steve found some old abandoned buildings to take some great shots. We then decided to check out some of the shops. We just browsed around mostly.
Steve's sister, Janell, who has been on the Disney cruise several times before with her family recommended we go check out the pirate museum. We are so glad we followed her advice because the museum is a must if you are in Nassau. It was very well done with a real wooden ship inside, awesome and informative exhibits, and a real life pirate at the very end. The pirate took us captive and all three of us did some funny photos with him.
Tyler was excited to go back on the ship to go in the Mickey pool and slide, so we quickly walked through the main market in town. We ended up buying a turtle for Tyler made out of coconut. It is set up with string so it can walk by itself. The woman also talked us into buying some necklaces. Actually, she gave them to us at first and then asked for a donation to help some needy kids. LOL
On the way to the ship, Steve stopped to look at these handmade baskets. He picked one out to match our plates at home. It is the perfect size for some to put some dinner rolls in. Then it was back through the market on the dock, where we enjoyed some steel drum  before going back on board.

We changed into our swimsuits and headed down to the pool area. It was a little crowded, so it took us a few minutes to find a lounging chair to put our stuff. Meanwhile, Tyler was off to enjoy a swim in the Mickey pool. It wasn't long before he decided to go on the slide. This was the first time for him to go down a water slide. I thought perhaps he would be a little scared, but he was all for it. He had so much fun on the slide.
He then went into the Nemo Splash Pad area where he enjoyed being squired by Dory and the gang. Later after enjoying the Mickey pool and the slide, he spent a lot of time in this area.
While Tyler was having a great old time, we noticed that the crew from AFV (America's Funniest Videos) was taping a segment on the Aquaduck. Low and behold, there was Tom Bergeron on the stairs. It was sooo cool!!! Steve and I were like the paparazzi taking loads of pictures with our cameras. Steve borrowed a camera from work with a great zoom in lens. He got some great photos of Tom going on the Aquaduck. Tom ended up going on it twice. The first time he had a camera in front of him attached to the ride. The second time, it was just him and he waved to the people below. I don't think half the people recognized him because there was hardly anyone around him and you could easy walk right up to him. He took a quick photo with a fan before leaving and we saw some kids wearing AFV t-shirts the next day. They said the crew were giving them out during the taping. The segments on the ship were being filmed for the season finale to be aired in May. So can't wait to watch it. AFV is Tyler's favourite show! We still can't believe they were on the ship at the same time as us!!!
Steve wanted to check out the Aquaduck, especially since we promised Janell and Wyatt we would for them. I was too chicken to do so myself since I don't like heights. Steve waited a good about 40 mins. The shut off the ride for about 10 of those minutes. I took a few photos from below of him going on the ride. Soon it was ice cream time. Tyler and I got our own ice cream and added some syrups. Ice cream was free and available 24/7 on the ship. Later on we grabbed a snack at Flo's V8 cafe. We had a choice of going to Luigi's Pizza, Mater's Grill, or Fillmore's.
After eating, we got changed and cleaned up. Tyler wanted to go back to the Kid's Club, so we dropped him off. Meanwhile Steve and I got the chance to be alone and explore the ship. We missed that night's broad way show. When it was time for dinner, we picked up Tyler, and went to the Animator's Palate. This was our favourite restaurant. Of course, I forgot my camera back at the room, so I will have to do my best to describe it for you all. They had awesome chairs that looked like Mickey's shorts, the walls had screens that would come on with an underwater screen from the movie, 'Nemo'. The characters from the movie actually came around and talked to the people at the tables sitting close to them. It was the coolest thing!!!
Unfortunately, we had to make dinner fast that night because we didn't want to miss out on the fun at the pirate party up on the top deck. And what an incredible show it was! There was fireworks, dancing, and real life pirates!!! It wasn't long before we were exhausted and decided to call it a night. Wow, what a fun filled day we had. Lots of great memories were made. :)

Disney Dream Cruise: Day 1

We woke up early in the morning and after packing our things in the car, we headed to Cape Canaveral to start our Disney Dream vacation. Even though the weather wasn't the greatest, it was overcast and drizzling, our spirits were still quite high. Just seeing the beautiful Disney ship at the dock was very impressive. It was hard to believe that this was going to be our "home" for the next 3 nights. The first thing we did upon arrival was check in. Then we had a few hours to spare before boarding the ship, so we signed up Tyler for the kid's club which he was very excited about. After doing so, we just waiting until it was boarding time. However, being the great company that they are, Disney made our wait extra special with visits from Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Daisy. And just before we were about to board, Goofy came along. Tyler and I were lucky enough to get close enough to him to get a quick photo with him.
Upon boarding the ship and taking a family photo by the Disney crew, they told us we could have lunch at the Enchanted Garden. Just so that you know, all meals on the ship were free and food was available all the time. We entered in the beautiful restaurant all decorated with a whimsical garden theme. We felt as if we were transported back to a quaint restaurant somewhere in France. The meal was buffet style which was the only buffet we received on the ship during the 3 night cruise. The remainder of the meals were sit down with our servers. The food was fantastic; some of the best I've ever tasted. Disney spared no expense by hiring some great chefs to cook for us. The lunch I picked out for myself consisted of lamb chops, crab legs, potato salad with apricots (still remember how delicious this tasted), cheese mashed potatoes, and for dessert I had ice cream.

After eating, our room still wasn't quite ready so we decided to have a look around the ship. The lobby was incredible with blue glass chandler, grand piano, grand staircase, and beautiful carpeting. It was like you were staying in a mansion. Tyler was excited to go to the kid's club, so we put that next on our list. Wow, it was like a kid's dream come true. They had 4 different areas they could play in, not including a big dance floor with lights that lid up on the floor. First there was the Toy Story room. It was by far the coolest play room we have ever seen with life size toys from the movie. There was a huge Mr. Potato head complete with the pieces, a T-Rex that you could climb on, a giant Piggy Bank that came with giant coins you can put inside, a massive Barrel of Monkey set, a huge Slinky Dog that the kids could climb through, and RC the Race Car you can sit in. Even Steve and I wanted to stay in this room! While we were checking things, our Pluto came by. It was practically just him and us which was super awesome for photos. He played with Tyler for awhile. He liked to crawl on the floor like a real dog and jump around. We had a great time! Then it was off to see the other rooms in the kid's club which was a forest like setting that you could colour and play dress up, also a computer room, and a jungle gym, as well as a room for eating or making crafts.

Then we noticed the time. Our room was ready! Steve booked us with a stateroom instead of a cabin because he really wanted a balcony since all of his "free cruises" only come with a little port hole to look out of. Our room was really nice and so was the balcony. The ship is only a couple months old, so everything was brand new and beautiful shape.
After checking out our room, we decided to check out the top deck outside. This was the pool area. The ship had three pools, two of which were for the kid's. One was Mickey shaped and the other was right in front of the outside stage so you could watch shows while you swim. The other pool was in the adult area where you could enjoy a live band. There was also a Mickey slide and the brand new Aquaduck. While in the pool area, we happened to catch the welcome aboard show with dancers, singers, and Mickey and his friends. It was very cool! Before we knew it, the ship was moving and we were officially on our way. Woo hoo!!!
After the show, we noticed the time. The kid's club was now opened and Tyler couldn't wait to get down there and have fun in all the play rooms. So after saying goodbye, Steve and I went to a show called "The Golden Mickeys" which was like a broad way type show. It was very impressive and shown in a beautiful theatre. When the show was over, it was time to pick up Tyler and get changed for dinner. Tonight's dinner was in the Royal Palace, another fantastic restaurant on the ship. We met our servers, Louis and Louis. They were our servers for the remainder of our cruise. Louis #1 was from India and Louis #2 was from Portugal. Both were very friendly and made us feel very welcome. The meals on the ship were three course and we could pick anything and everything on the menu. So if we wanted one of everything, we could which was very cool. Louis #2 liked to do Ketchup Mickeys especially for Tyler every night. And every night Tyler would ask for an ice cream Mickey...mmmm. What a terrific first day! It was a little overwhelming, but we were super excited to see what else was in store for us.

All Ears

While out caching with Steve's friend, Jason, we did this really cool cache named 'Get an Earful'. The coordinates brought us to this tree known as Monkey Ear. The tree contained these pods that look like actual ears. I've never seen them before and I thought they were neat, so I took a photo of the cache container with them glued on it. The cache itself was hidden by fishing line in a tree. While Jason lowered the string, Steve could reach the container. Another clever cache to add to our caching memories.

Super Fun Day at Universal Studios

What a terrific day we had a Universal Studios! It was Tyler's very first visit to the theme park. We started off in Seuss Landing, which is sooo much fun especially for a 4 year old. In fact, it was Tyler's very favourite part. We went on various rides, including the Cat and the Hat, where Steve unfortunately smashed his camera. Luckily, we still had mine to use. Tyler's favourite ride in the entire park was the One Fish, Two Fish ride. We also rode on the Dr. Seuss train ride which was located above the park.

After we completed the Seuss area we decided to seek food. We found this awesome restaurant called Mythos. It rated the #1 theme park restaurant in the world and it's plain to see why. The food, service and atmosphere was superb. There was lots to look while waiting for our food to arrive. It was like being in cool cave with fountains. We ordered a pizza for an appetizer which was one of the best pizzas we have ever tasted. Steve had steak fettuccine Alfredo, Tyler had cheese pizza, and I had Pad Thai, which was super super super delicious.

Then it was Harry Potter time. This attraction is new in the park and for Harry Potter fans it is quite a treat. It is like entering in a real world of wizardry. There are wizards everywhere and the buildings are just like in the Harry Potter movies. Steve said it was a must for us to sample the butter beer, so we purchased a cup to share. It was a good thing we only bought one cup because it was a little bit too rich. It sort of tasted like cream soda with butter. Tyler had a taste as well and liked it. The whole time I kept thinking of my friend Erika, who is a huge fan. She would have been in her glory.

Jurassic Park was next on the route where we ran from dinosaurs and had a blast in the camp where you could walk in the netting, slide, and get sprayed with water. After Jurassic, it was Toon Lagoon where we were surrounded by tons of characters from various comic strips. Then we entered the Marvel Superhero Island. This is what Tyler had been waiting for all day, to see the place where his favourite super hero lives, Spider-Man. We rode his ride and saved the city. Tyler had his eyes closed for most of it. Then after he got off, we were quite surprised to see none other than the big guy himself chasing after a villain. We chased him and ended up meeting him in person. He stopped to talk to Tyler for awhile. I think Tyler was in shock the whole time. LOL Then we went into the other part of the park where we did the Jimmy Neutron's ride which Tyler loved. Afterwards we walked through the movie sets and went on the Jaws adventure. Next on our list was another attraction that was new to us-The Simpson's ride. We noticed Tyler had his eyes closed again and when we got off, we asked why he had them closed. He told us he was sleeping. LOL Our last ride was the E.T. Adventure where we got to ride on bikes through the air and space. Tyler thought it was neat that they said his name at the end of the ride.

At this point, it was starting to get late and so we made our way back. Along the way we stopped in the different shops to browse. The "Lucy-A Tribute" attraction was neat. Tyler really liked the Nascar cars we saw on the way out. A big thank you goes out to Uncle Wyatt and Aunt Janell for making our special day at Universal Studios possible. We had an awesome time!!!