Over The Top

On September 12th we ventured down to Conseco Fieldhouse to watch the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey circus. This was Kayla and Jordan's first time to the circus. They really enjoyed it a lot.....I believe that Jordan liked seeing all of the animals (especially the tigers) and Kayla loved the trapeze artists.

We got there a little early to enjoy the pre-show:

Kayla got to dress up just like the performers

Juggling!!!

Waiting for the show to begin



The Ringmaster

BOUNCE!!!!!!





VROOM!!!!
This was my favorite part.......seven motorcycles in one huge metal ball. I couldn't believe it!



Near the end of the show Kayla was playing peek a boo with the people behind us

Labor Day Weekend

Once again we made our way up to Plymouth, IN to visit with the family over the holiday weekend. We arrived on Saturday afternoon to a gorgeous day. Greg and Jackie had rented a bouncy house/slide for the entire weekend.

This is Andrew (along with Jackson) after his mishap with the bouncy house. He ended up hurting his ankle (also visiting the doctor) and needless to say he wasn't the only victim of the inflatable monster. Many rug burn type injuries were felt by many!!

Other fun things to keep the kids occupied:

Playing dressup with Kayla's necklaces, bracelets, and huge fake diamond ring (as shown on Jordan's finger)

tractor rides

climbing up the slide

playing basketball

riding bikes

playing with the mysterious cat that showed up out of nowhere


Playing the organ that has now found a home at our house


We always try to make it to the Blueberry Festival at least once to shop and to see the fireworks spectacular on Sunday night. This year the girls went without kids and walked the entire thing (not nearly as many cool things to buy as in years past.....but, I still spent money). Later that evening we braved the crowds to watch the fireworks. Everyone had a great time!!!

Cute kid alert:






Enjoying quality family time:

Please pardon the delay

I have to apologize for how behind I have become when it comes to keeping you informed with the happenings of our family. We have had such a crazy, fun summer. I have about a million and one posts that I am behind on and hopefully one day I can get them all on here. In the meantime I am going to start off with things that we have done in September. Thanks for your understanding.

love,
Tanya

4th of July delayed due to rain!!!

We were all set to have a grand celebration with just our family on Saturday. Mother Nature decided to change our plans for us. So, we celebrated America's birthday yesterday.

Jeromy grilled hamburgers and brats (this was the first time on our new grill that my dad gave to us almost a year ago!). We ate outside enjoying the nice weather. I brought out a bunch of outside toys and let the kids go crazy.



They were jumping on the trampoline, playing in the sandbox, and blowing bubbles. Around 8:30pm we decided to start with some sparklers....what fun!



We then made our way out front to light some worms and some transportation fireworks (a helicopter, car, and firetruck......these were neat to see because I don't remember ever seeing these as a kid....the firetruck was awesome.....highly recommended for the cost if you want to purchase anything like this for your child).

These worms are so disgusting.....they look like a pile of you know what. The kids were intrigued by them...at least for a little while.

Now time for the fountains!!!! These were the biggest fireworks that we bought this year. We thought this would be exciting enough for Kayla and Jordan. We got out their chairs and waited for the show that Jeromy was going to put on.


In the background you can hear the screams. By this time they were jumping on the trampoline and all over each other. Jordan lets you know when we are all done!!!

Happy belated 4th of July!!!!

Day 4: Hollywood Studios

May 9th: Today was Hollywood Studios and we started out early. We knew that we would only be here for 1/2 of the day and we were hoping to meet a bunch of characters!

We had to take a bus to the park so we took this cute pic while on the way there.


Once inside we made our way over to rent the double stroller and then before walking down Hollywood Boulevard caught a little of the High School Musical 3 show.



We then took a few pics in front of Mickey's hat and hurried over to Toy Story Midway Mania. This was the newest ride here at HS and I had read that you should grab fastpasses as soon as possible since waits can get very long. We got there a little after nine and our time to come back wasn't until 2pm.



1st attraction: Playhouse Disney-Live on stage!!


This had to be number 1 on our list. The kid shows that were shown during this were:
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse:


Watch near the end of the video: the back of Daisy's head fell down. They caught it fast before the kids realized it.



Handy Manny:





Little Einsteins:




My Friends Tigger and Pooh:


Once we were done with this great show we found ourselves in line to get some autographs. There were a few lines for different characters. Since Jordan and Kayla had just started really getting into the Little Einsteins we decided to wait in that line. When we first got in line Annie and Leo were giving autographs


By the time we got to the front they had left and June and Quincy were there instead.



The Voyage of the Little Mermaid was starting soon so we raced over to see the show. While waiting in line Greg called to say that he was at the park. He had stayed back at the hotel because he wasn't feeling well, but made it just in time to watch the show with us.

Next up: more characters!!!! This was how the whole rest of our day went. This is a great park for adults when it comes to the rides, but not so much for little kids. We knew coming here that this would be a day of waiting in lines to see characters and getting autographs. I missed going on Tower of Terror and Rock N Roller Coaster, but I knew that the kids would only be this young once. There will be more Disney trips in the future I predict.

While waiting for Buzz Lightyear and Woody we got to have some fun with the props.




Right after leaving the Toy Story friends we ran into this guy:

GREEN ARMY MAN



We then made our way down the Streets of America

and found our way to Pizza Planet to eat lunch. Yummy pizza!!! This was just the break that we needed.


Once everyone was energized we then made our way over to the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Movie Set Adventure. I love this playground and have fond memories of this from many years ago. It was great to see my kids having such a good time.

I have this same photo of me sliding down the huge leaf:


giddy up ant!!



Water fountains kept squirting in their faces and they thought that this was hilarious



One of my favorite parts of this area is that there is a big dog nose that not only sniffs (you can hear it) but you can feel the air as it sniffs out.

We had a little time left before our fastpasses for Toy Story Mania so we decided to see Lightning McQueen and Mater. Jordan was so excited!!

Both vehicles' eyes moved and Lightning would rev his engine every so often. Right after this pic, he did just that and the kids jumped back a little freaked out.



Off to Pixar Place
Look how cute using the barrel of monkeys


Green army men and Scrabble



While waiting for the rest of our group to meet I decided to walk around and take a few photos of some things that I missed.

The American Idol Experience:


Michelle, Ben, Dad, and Fay got to experience this and said that it was a very good show.


Hollywood Tower Hotel:
One of my all time favorite rides!


Familiar scenery:


Time for the ride:

Huge Crayola crayons

I rode with Jordan and here were our scores.

Look at the cool dudes!!


This ride was so much fun. It is in 4D meaning that you have things coming at you (because you have the 3D glasses on) and you also have real live stuff that hits you (water for one). It is based on carnival rides so you get to play some fun and interesting games.

On our way out of the park we saw a little of the Block Party Bash


Stay tuned for more: we had to hurry and get back to the hotel so that Cinderella could get ready and not be late for the ball.