Class picture

Cameron's class picture came home today. I think it turned out pretty cute! They included the children's names (cropped out to protect the innocent) which I think is really great. Now in 30 years when Cameron reflects back on her days in Kindergarten, she can easily match a name to a face. For me, it's all a blurr... "Oh yeah... I kind of remember that kid. No clue what his/her name is though." Then there are the ones that I just have no memory of at all!! Of course, it's been more than 30 years since Kindergarten for me.

Oh... and Cameron is in the long hippy dress bottom right.

Bird Momma

We have a visitor in our backyard. It's been fun watching her lay her eggs & tend to them but it sure will be nice to have the run of the yard again. We've been curtailing our play time so we don't disrupt her sitting!

Gosh I haven't done one of these in a long time! I wasn't able to run my work systems and scrap at the same time so scrapping took a back seat. Dave updated my computer with more memory & faster drives and now I'm back in business. Unfortunately in a real bonehead move on my part, I deleted all my scrapbooking supplies so now I'm back to building my collection from scratch again. Feel sorry for me?

Hoppy Birthday

Cameron asked me to make a card using my frog stamps for her little friend Maggie's birthday tomorrow. This is what I came up with. Scan isn't that great but I just love this little card!

Disney day 4 - Animal Kingdom

Wednesday we went to Animal Kingdom. I really like this parks beauty. There are so many plants and animals - really it's like an overgrown Zoo!

There aren't a lot of rides though so the family is kind of "iffy" on the place. I'm not exactly sure anymore in what order we did which ride. I guess it doesn't really matter. Cameron wasn't interested in the "Tough To Be A Bug" 3D movie so we completely skipped the whole Tree Of Life "Discovery Island" area and started out over in Dino land. The only ride there that Cameron could ride was closed, Hester & Chester (which Jordan & I love) had a long line so we wandered over to the Dinosaur Ride. I was a little nervous - I didn't know if Cameron would love it or hate it. Luckily it was a love it. She didnt' even freak out when the T-Rex jumped out at us! I'm pretty sure from there we debated trying to catch the Finding Nemo show, but the timing wasn't right, so we headed over towards Everest & grabbed some fast passes.


We took in one of the walking tours where we found no animals! All the cold blooded animals had stayed inside because it was darn chilly out. Normally we see the Komodo Dragon and the bats but today, Nada. Just a couple of sleeping Tigers.

Eventually it was time for us to Ride the Everest ride. Cameron was kind of antsy, claiming she'd be cold because it was outside. After a bit of hemming & hawing, she did decide to try the ride. She didn't hate it - but she didn't love it either. I could tell because she didn't ask to ride it again like she had with Space Mountain. I'm not sure why really. Maybe the Yeti scared her more than she let on? Maybe it was just cold....

For lunch we ate Chinese take-out out doors. I do like that they have things other than hamburgers & hotdogs at Animal Kingdom. Not only is the food a little different, but so are the scavengers. This pair was at our feet the whole time waiting for food to drop.


Next up was the Safari ride. This one has always been a favorite of mine. I don't care for the quirky spiel the drivers go through, I just like looking at the animals. One of these years I'd really like to stay at the Animal Kingdom lodge so I could look out my windows and see the animals. (hint hint to my sweetie)



After the Safari we took the train to Rafiki's Conservation Station, which was something we'd never done before. There was a big building where they had a nursery/hospital of sorts and also a small petting area. I'm not sure what this guy was trying to tell me but he sure looked funny doing it!


Jordan & I watched the parade (no pictures because we were facing the sun) while Dave & Cameron rode the Dinosaur ride. After that, we caught a really funny bird show and headed home for the day. We'd planned on an early evening since it was mid week and Cameron needed a bath/some-rest. However, plans changed when I got a surprise call from my parents letting me know they were also in Orlando! So we used our free evening to meet them for dinner instead. Also no pictures because, well.. I'm lame.

The crack house

Ok. I know it doesn't look like a crack house .... but it's become a family euphemism for any house that we don't "get" the goings on. This particular house is 2 doors up from me. It's been occupied by the same family (?) for as long as we've lived here - almost 10 years. In that time period, I've never seen adults. Not real adults anyway. I've noticed the occasional older teenager come & go. No one has ever bothered with lawn work, there's a dead car in the back yard and the dog. Oh my word the dog. Poor thing is always left outside to yelp non-stop. He's also been known to charge the door and go for a run in the neighborhood. I assume he goes home when he gets hungry because they never bother to look for him, or try to catch him when this happens. While these people have never done anything to me, or even said anything to me in the past 10 years, I can honestly say I rejoiced when this little addition went up in the front lawn a few days ago.

Disney World - Day 3

Tuesday morning we woke up to clear skies. Although it was chilly, we were dry & happy! On tap for today was Hollywood Studios.


We immediately headed over to the area that has Tower of Terror & the Rockin Roller Coaster. We were really hoping Cameron would go on the tower ride. I really thought she'd enjoy it. However, I don't know what it was, maybe the name? But she flat out refused to go on despite numerous attempts to convince her to go. Jordan & I rode (it really is one of my favorite rides) while Dave & Cameron waited. We tried to catch as many shows as we could. This particular park is full of them. We managed to catch Beauty & The Beast, the stunt show, Indiana Jones , The Voyage of the Little Mermaid and more!






Cameron kept insisting that she hates the Muppets so Dave & Jordan went to that one alone while Cameron & I kicked around. We managed to spot Lightning McQueen & Mater from the
Cars movie. Since they can't sign or talk, the line
moves quickly and Cameron was willing to pose.









They've added a few new things since our last Disney vacation 2 years ago. One was the "Honey I shrunk the Kids" play area and another was a new Toy Story ride back in the Disney Animation area. The ride had super long lines & by the time we went back there, fast passes were all gone for the day so we didn't get to ride that one today. We did spend a little time in the play area though. It's really kind of neat. It was set up to look as though you'd been shrunk and were in your back yard - much like the movie. There were slides and places to climb etc... and of course, it was PACKED!

Jordan & I "forced" Dave and Cameron on the Great Movie ride. Unlike the kids in front of us who cried out loud, Cameron was completely unfazed by the alien. No doubt she's Dave's daughter. lol Her favorite for the day though was Star Tours. Same as 2 years ago, we rode it over & over & over.

Another new attraction is the American Idol experience. It wasn't slated to be open until after our visit but they were holding auditions. Jordan really wanted to try out. She was given an appointment time and was to report to the "backstage" area at the appointed time. They would only let one person in with her and if she made it, she'd appear in something where the audience judges you (not sure how thats pulled together since it didn't appear open) and then eventually you can make your way to the real AI if you're lucky. Unfortunately for Jordan, although she was told she had a nice voice it just wasn't in the cards. Perhaps if she'd known it was there and had some time to prepare ....