Pirates, Witches and Pumpkins, Oh My!

We went over to some friends house last night for a halloween party. Jared and I were going to go as Wesley and Buttercup from Princess Bride but I couldn't find a red dress anywhere. So we went as pirates. It was a small group but so much fun. Cory and Annie and James and Emily hosted the party, and my family plus the Wray family came along for the ride. We had pizza, soda, salad, and sugar cookies. It was a great meal. Trying to get the kids to pose!

My sweet little witches! Yesterday Kenzie came up with this story, "mom, I'm a witch and I am going to turn you into a bird. Then I'll catch you and put you in a cage." She said, "Bibidy, bobidy, boo..." I started cawing and flapping my wings. She said, "Fly mom!" I did, and then she grabbed my shirt, and put me in the orange chair and acted as though she were locking a cage, and then walked away. Alexis, who was watching from the side, came up to me a few seconds later and said, "Here bird, I'll turn you back into mommy, bibidy, bobidy, boo!"

Decorating our sugar cookies that are in the shape of pumpkins.

Kenzie focusing on her decorating!

"EEEEsssssse! Eli is so freaking cute!

No, we did not string Eli up, this is a pinata.

Kenzie taking a swing!

Bobbing for apples. Mackenzie had a hard time but she finally got one. She was all wet though!

Yummy apples.

Paddle boats, Speed boats, and Air boats

This is my last post of Florida so rest assure, you will not have to read much more! We went to St. Petersburg, a two hour drive, in order to enjoy some more activities provided by our Go Card. One was a paddle boat dinner cruise. On board, they have a nice array of dinners to choose from and live entertainment. I think Jared and I were more entertainment than the singers. They had a dance area and no one was even thinking of using it. Finally, I told Jared that we got to get up there. Well, we started to really cut up the rug and finally other couples were joining in, including Dad and mom. Dad said he wouldn't go up, he didn't know how to dance, but I finally got him to take me up and then Jared and mom joined us. Dad dances very very well! By the end of the night, practically the whole boat of people were doing a line dance with Jared and me as their guides.They have draw bridges all along the way and apparently boats have the right of way because immediately a horn would blow and the bridge would start rising. It was very cool to see! It takes a good ten minutes or so to rise and get us through so traffic has to wait maybe 20 minutes or so. I bet in the summer time, people try to find other ways around the bridges to get to their destinations. This was a really pretty shot of the sunset, good job mom!

Mom and Dad on the paddle boat.
Jared and me, just hanging out. One of the things that we did to entertain ourselves while eating dinner was make a few bets on things. One bet was to see how many tattoos our waiter had. He had a very piratey voice and a diamond stud in his ear. Jared guessed 4, mom 1, dad 2, and me 0. I won, hehehe! We also bet how many the bar tender girl had. She looked very nice and put together but to me she had a little wild side. I guessed at least 2, mom 1, and Jared and dad said she had none. Well, she had 7, I win again.

Another ride we went on was the Dolphin Speed Racer. It was a big yellow boat and we went out into the Gulf of Mexico and the boat would slow down and create this big wake behind it. Well, the dolphins would jump through the wake. It was pretty cool!
The air boat ride was pretty cool. You get in a very shallow boat that just skims the water. You drive through a sort of wetland swamp area and they show you the wildlife. Mainly birds were all we saw but we did catch a glimpse of a few alligators.

Mom and Dad. What's better than a loud romantic boat ride with your mate and a mug in the swamp?

How about a loud romantic boat ride with your mate, your mug, and your children in the swamp!
This was while we were waiting for our Air boat to leave. They had this huge plastic alligator in the store. Jared and I immediately went into Steve Erwin mode and wrestled the croc. Said with an Australian accent, "Look at the size of those teeth!"

Wonder Works and Ripleys

Another couple of things we got to do on our Go Orlando Cards was go to some pretty cool museums. Ripley's believe it our not, and Wonder Works. Ripley's has those things that you see in the television show. And Wonder Works has different scientific stuff that you can experience. It was by far, the cool museum I have ever been in. Everything was very hands on.This man is the record holder for the tallest man in the world. And I thought my husband was tall! This was probably the size of Goliath...Good thing David had the Lord on his side!
This exhibit showed you what a hurricane would feel like. The winds in this little room only got up to 60 miles per hour but to me it was so windy! 60 mile per hour winds aren't even considered a category 1 hurricane, but it was still awesome to experience this!
It took my breath away!
This bed of nails had 3500 nails that would slowly rise up and lift you off the wood bed. It didn't really hurt, but it wasn't comfortable either!
Jared didn't like it very much!

Some other exhibits were the Titanic water. You put your hand in a container of water to see how long you can handle it. I was only able to do 24 seconds. It was so cold, my hand started hurting right from the start. I can't believe those that survived in the glacier water.

There was a virtual roller coaster that was pretty intense. Jared and I didn't know what it was when we did it, but it was really fun! Then, the got Jerry and Betty to do it. It was fun to see their reactions.

It was really fun to go to those museums and I would do it again.

Kennedy Space Center

We decided that Kennedy Space Center would be one of our Sunday approved activities since it was educational and we wouldn't be spending money on anything. It was a prime time to go because for the first time, they acually had two space shuttles ready to launch. One space shuttle crew is going up to repair the Hubble telescope. Normally if there were a problem to occur on the mission, the shuttle crew would head over to the space station and wait the couple of months until another crew could launch and go get them. Since there is no space station up there right now, the first crew would not be able to survive long enough to get a second shuttle ready to launch. So as a contingency plan, they have put a second shuttle on the other launch pad ready to launch if there is a problem with the first. This will not likely be necessary, but NASA is prepared for the worst. The two launch sites were about a mile apart so we couldn't acutally fit both in the view of our cameras, but it was neat to see both at the same time.This is the main building where they assemble the space shuttles. The said that the flag is so big, each stripe was like 8 feet wide, and the length of a football field long. It took 80 gallons of paint to do it. (Don't quote me on those stats, that is just what I think I remember!)

Classic Symbol of the Space ProgramOne of the Shuttles all ready to go. The Creeper, the huge vehicle in which they transport the shuttles from above building to launch pad A or B, looks like 6 battle tanks welded together. It is huge and travels one inch per minute. Which is why you see they have two shuttles all set up already, otherwise any problems in space would result in major problems because NASA wouldn't be able to send help for a long time.This is as close as you can get to the launch sites. Me hangin' with my homies. Just as a side note, all those me are actually very short men. You have to be in order to fit in those small compartments.
A replica of the Moon Rover.
First people ever to make out on the Land Rover!
I can see my house from way up here!

Dad, Jared and Mom next to one of the rockets. I wanted to show just how big those things are! I couldn't even back up far enough to get the whole thing in the picture!

See, you have to be short to fit in those little capsuls! Jared would never make it!
SPACE....Where no Heath has ever gone!

"Look at those snappers!"

On our Go Orlando Card, we got to go to Gatorland. They had all sorts of animals ranging from Iguanas, peacocks, turtles, possums, snakes, and especially alligators and crocodiles. It was a 110 acre wildlife preserve; so there were huge areas of swampy wetland with boardwalks running all through it. I kept thinking about those movies where there is something lurking in the water and as you walk along the planks, it is swimming just below, ready to pounce. "Lunch Time!" Hehehe, Good times! The entrance...Be careful or you might be next on the lunch menu.
This turtle is 100 years old and weighs 800 pounds. The said that most turtles sold at the pet store are these types of turtles and people don't know what they are getting themselves into. Can you just imagine, "Hester, our turtle, has been in our family for three generations."
While walking on the boardwalk, this is the view barely 3 feet below us. We were given hot dogs to feed them. When we threw the tasty morsals of hot dog in, the alligators would either sit there like, why are you even trying, or they would lung for it and fight with eachother.
"Quick! While I distract them, you go on the other side and snag 'em."
This was a baby alligator. They won't let you hold it on your own, but you can pretty much handle most of it. The top was really hard and spikey, while the bottom was very soft and smooth.

They had a show called Alligator Jumperoo. They have really huge alligators ranging from 8-12 feet that they would dangle whole chickens (they were ones like at the store) over them and the alligators would jump up 3-4 feet and grab them. It was pretty cool.

There was one alligator in his own cage called, The King, who plauged Olando. It kept catching and eating peoples dogs. The hunter who caught him, donated him to Gatorland. It was huge!! I couldn't put my arms fully around the fullest part of his body and he was at least 15 feet long.

Orlando Temple

I have a goal where I want to go to as many Temples as I can. I'v e been to 11 so far and when we planned our trip, I hoped I would get to visit one in Florida. As I searched to see if there was an Orlando Temple, I was pleased to find that it was only 8 miles from our condo, and on the same street no less. So we woke up early and drove over to catch the 7:00 session. We got there on time but found out that their first session starts at 8:00. We drove around for a while looking for a grocery store to get a doughnut, couldn't find one close, stopped at a gas station, still nothing and returned in time to go through the session. We were the only one's participating. Yep, just the three of us, Jared, Mom, and me. Dad...well, you know how dad can be. :)

(On a side note, we did manage to get him to go to a Spanish branch. He very nearly killed us on the way, but Heavenly Father spared us. Dad jokingly stated that had we stayed home, none of us would have been in any danger,Vacation means Vacation! That spawned a whole new discussion on do's and don'ts of driving. In the end, Jared became our primary driver and I his navigator. That's why we are still alive and here to tell the tale! Good thing Dad doesn't mind not driving so he can read his book. I love my father-in-law but of all the rides we went on during this trip, driving with him was the scariest!!!)

Anyways, So Jared and I got to be the witness couple which was pretty special. I was a beautiful Temple, and a beautiful day. I love Serving in the House of the Lord! And on another side note, you can see the Temple from the top of the rollar coaster, the Dueling Dragons, if you look over to your left.

Trip to Florida, Part 1: Universal Studios

Well, howdy ya'll. Good to be back in freezing cold windy Idaho. We've been gone the past week and a half in sunny, warm, green Florida enjoying the weather, scenery, and festivities. Our original plan was to do Disney all week long but after some deliberation, we settled on different activities. I have never been east of the rockies so I really wanted to see more of florida than just the Orlando, Disney Zone. We decided on Universal Studios, they were having a great deal on tickets, and a Go Orlando Card. With the card we were able to take small cruises, airboat rides, tour museums, take tours and see more of Florida. This is Jared and I just outside Universal Studios. It was not what I expected at all. I thought the place would be full of extreme rollar coaster rides but it was more like movie rides. I liked the twister ride, the Mummy ride, and oddly enough, the Simpsons ride the best. But my favorite was the Horror Makeup show they had. Jared, Jerry(my dad-in-law), and I went on Saturday to preview it and then again the following Friday so that Betty, my mom-in-law could see it. The hosts ask for a volunteer and we tried really hard to get Betty to be it, and luckily, she was picked. It was hilarious. She was the most perfect willing but scared helper they could have ever chosen.
The first trick they did was cut her arm with a knife. Mom was paying attention to the other host and didn't quite realize what they were doing with her arm.
The knife was rubber and it had a little attachment bubble thing ful of fake blood that they oozed out. It looks so real. Betty was hilarious, we couldn't stop laughing.
Playing the squeemish assistant.
This next picture, Mom put on the electromagnetic vest and glove and whatever move she made, made the monster robot move the same way. Afterwards, they took the stuff off of her and posed for a picture when the robot came alive and completely scared mom to death. She ran behind the counter and started grabbing rubber body parts to beat the monster back. It was sooooooo sooooo funny to watch. I think the anticipation of the whole thing made it that much better for Jared, Dad, and me.