Florida!

We had a great week away and made many great family memories with Grandma & Grandpa Sluiter at River Ranch, FL. We also enjoyed our "free" day at Disney (we quickly learned that nothing is free at Disney, but at least we saved money on 3 tickets with the volunteer "give-a-day, get-a-day" incentive). The kids (and us, too) were just the perfect ages to have a magical time!

Here are some of the highlights and memories of the trip:

--Saturday night, Grandpa & Grandma took us to the rodeo at River Ranch. It was really cool! We're talking bull-riding and trick-horse riding and barrel racing. The kids just loved it! In the middle of the show, they invited the kids out for a mini "running of the bulls:" They had to chase around 3 baby calves and try to pull a small ribbon off the cow's tail. The first 4 kids to get one and bring it back to the MC won a prize. Anna was so excited because she got a ribbon! (But not in time for a prize; but she happy to keep the ribbon as her prize). Noah's favorite part of the rodeo was all the stomping, screaming, and cheering we were encouraged to do!

--Sunday we went to Church. A couple times in the service people clapped, and Noah, not realizing the behavioral-expectations differing from church and a rodeo, started stomping and screaming again! ooops! :)

--Monday we drove about an hour to Vero Beach. It was beautiful and the weather was gorgeous! The girls loved splashing in the HUGE waves (even though the water was frigid!) and Noah loved the big sandbox!

--River Ranch had tons of fun stuff to do each day: pet the animals in the petting farm, ride the ponies, hike on the Kicco trail (where we saw a big snake and a couple armadillos!), swim in the pool, and ride around in Grandpa's golf cart.

Wednesday was our BIG Disney day. It took about almost 2 hours to drive there, so we left at 7:00am, walked & had fun all day, and didn't get back until 11:00pm. We were all exhausted, but had such a great day! Here are some pictures of the highlights:

--The kids at the beginning of the day; excited for the day!

Meeting Ariel, their favorite Disney Princess:

And meeting Buzzlightyear:

Riding the teacups!

We went on all the rides we had hoped to, and even more. Some of our favorites were: Splash Mountain, Peter Pan, Mickey's Philharmagic, Buzzlightyear, Magic Carpets of Aladin, Monsters Inc Laugh floor and Space Mountain. The first time on Space Mountain, Anna backed out at the last minute...she was too scared. But Rylee was unfazed and rode the scariest ride without batting an eyelash! Then when we came out, Anna felt bad and really wanted to try it, so we went again (Amy & the girls). They both loved it!

The highlight of the day was watching the fireworks show at night. And seeing Tinkerbell fly from the top of the castle. It was so cool (and 4 days later and the kids are still wondering where Tinkerbell is... they couldn't figure out where she ended up. All part of the magic!) :) At the end of the day, we were all exhausted. This picture is taken in the exact same spot where we took the picture at the beginning of the day. Look at the difference! We had a fabulous time away and are so thankful for the great weather, for safety, for great family memories and an opportunity to have fun together!