RIP Poppy Ray

I am way behind on my posting lately. I meant to get this up on Poppy Ray's birthday -- August 14. Poppy you are greatly missed by everyone. We know you are looking down on us and smiling most likely with a cigar in your mouth, a fishing pole in one hand and your middle finger extended on the other. Love ya.

Lake Adventure

I am a little late in getting this up, but as they say....better late than never. The family recently went down to Pomme de Terre lake to visit Tara's Dad and Stepmom over the 4th of July weekend. This is always a big weekend for us because July 5 is our oldest son's birthday. Ryan loves to go the lake because we always get to do fun stuff...and this time around it was no different. We had a blast. All I can say is that Tara is an absolute trooper because these weekends are definitely slanted towards the "guy" activities. We went to the farm and did some target shooting with rifles. We went to the dirt track races on Saturday night at the Lucas Oil Race Track (one of the best dirt tracks in the country). And then we also hit the lake to do some water skiing. Believe it or not both of the boys got up on skis and had an absolute blast. Connor never really got all the way up, but for being 4 1/2 years old that's not too darn bad. Ryan was popping up out of the water like a cork and just having a blast. Can't wait to go back.

Royals -- Cardinals Game

We spent the evening at Kaufman stadium tonight with our friends the Lewis's -- Casey, Debra and Brigham. We had a lot of fun. The Royals won in an entertaining game 5-2. Connor was exhausted by the end of the game....we kept him going with regular doses of Cotton Candy, Gum and Kettle Korn...nice diet huh. But the boys had fun and loved the fireworks. We are already talking about heading out to another game sometime soon.

Vacation Wrap Up

Whew...all I can say is we are more tired now than when we left. How often do you hear that though. We did a lot, but it was fun and well worth the money and time. We had a blast. One of the most memorable and coolest things of the trip is that we got to watch the Space Shuttle Discovery launch from the balcony of our condo in Daytona....I have to say that was pretty cool. Check out the new slide show for some of the photos from our trip.

Orlando...It's a wrap

Well we spent 4 fun filled days in Orlando and have since moved onto Daytona Beach. We had a great time in Orlando and we were very happy with our decision to spend time at Universal instead of Disney World. The boys had an absolute blast and want to come back again once they have finished the upcoming Harry Potter exhibit -- due to open next year sometime. And after Connor has grown to a point he can ride more of the roller coasters. We hung out at poolside at the condo each morning and then moved onto either Islands of Adventure or Universal Studios each afternoon so it worked out great. The "favorite" ride was The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman ride...very cool simulator that showed the web slinger going after Doc Oc and his crew. Other favorites were the "Revenge of the Mummy" roller coaster (indoor), this was Ryan's top because he could actually ride it. Cliff, Dixie and I all loved the Dueling Dragons and Incredible Hulk roller coasters. I liked the Dueling Dragons because it was actually 2 coasters in one and it is the type that your feet dangle from...very aggressive and fun. Connor loved the Men In Black ride because he got to shoot aliens...I have to admit it was pretty cool. The Jurassic Park river ride is one not to miss either -- you will have to ask Tara about that one some time. Well have to run. Will post more on Daytona later, but have to tell you that Ryan loves the beach - he is already becoming a boogie boarding pro.

Orlando Day 1

Lots and lots of fun today. We spent the whole morning at the pool, then grabbed a quick bite to eat back at the condo and headed for Universal Studios. The boys were a couple of troopers today. They swam hard and then stuck it out at Universal until almost 8PM.

Universal is a pretty cool place. Lots of fun rides and characters for the boys to see. We started at Islands of Adventure today with plans to hit the other park tomorrow. As you can see from the picture here the boys got to meet the Grinch -- they thought that was pretty cool. Cliff, Dixie and I had a lot of fun riding some of the big coasters....the Incredible Hulk ride is pretty awesome and the Dueling Dragons are a lot of fun too. If Ryan had only been about 2 inches taller he could have joined us...maybe in the next couple of years. All in all the best ride of the day was the Amazing Spiderman Adventure -- it utilizes 3D technology and it was just very cool. You felt like you were right there in the thick of the action. Well that is all for today....more tomorrow.

First Flight

Well the first flight went well as evidenced by the picture of Connor. That was until we started the descent. We came to find out pretty quickly that the decreasing air pressure really bothered Connor's ears. That's OK...we made it and everything went well on flight two as well. We are now in Orlando and enjoying some fun in the sun . We spent the morning pool side and now we are heading to Universal Studios for some action. Be back later.....