Ending our time in Orlando

To end our stay in Orlando, we hung out at the pool on Friday.  They had a new kids area with slides and water guns/fountains.

 Raleigh couldn't ride the big slides with Jason so he put her down the one in the kid pool.  She wasn't a fan.  I think if he would have been able to do it with her she would have loved it.

 Laying out...aka drying off.

 On Saturday morning we checked out of the hotel and headed over to Downtown Disney to watch Cars 2.  I couldn't think of a better place to see the movie!  Very cute!

Next stop...Sanibel Island, FL!!!

Sea World!!

Last year when we went to Sea World we were all exhausted from Disney the day before.  The only thing Raleigh talked about were the dolphins because it was the first thing we did and the only thing she was in a good mood for.  This time Sea World was our only stop in Orlando...thankfully Raleigh didn't know how close we were to Cinderella's castle!  I had looked online to "plan" our day out and for the most part we followed it, but made a few changes along the way after planning our lunch/supper at the Sharks Underwater Grill.  I know we picked the best day to go because it only rained for a little while and that was while we were waiting on a show to begin.

Once again we started with the dolphin show...it's the first show of the day.  While we were waiting Raleigh wanted to know if the girl was going to come out of the door...she remembered this from last year and I don't have pictures of that...blew my mind!  Here she is waiting on her to come out!  This girl was also her favorite and she reenacted her the rest of the week.

 I love watching the dolphins.  I just think they are amazing and I sat here and wished the whole time that I had been a dolphin trainer.  I really think that would be the coolest job!

 The parrots in the show are so pretty!

 I've always wanted to do this although I would be too scared to actually do it.  :)

 After the dolphin show we had missed the feeding time for the dolphins so we went to see some of the other things around while we waited for the next time.

Raleigh watching the stingrays

 My favorite picture...in front of the manatees.

 Flamingos...it was so funny to me that Raleigh's seen flamingos at the zoo before, but she was so amazed that there was one standing on one leg.

 We also checked out the alligators and turtles and let Jason ride Manta (luckily our hotel gave us Quick Queue passes for free (normally $25!) so he didn't have to stand in line at all!) 

Finally...dolphin feeding time!!!  We didn't want to pay for both Jason and I to go in and feed and Raleigh was free so I gladly handed the camera over to Jason and went in with Raleigh.  Actually there was no way Jason was going to get to do it and not me...it was the highlight of my day!

Getting her first look

 Giving the dolphin its fish

 "Here's your fish...Bone out your teeth!" ~Raleigh

 After the dolphins we went to check out the penguins and seals and sea lions.

 After our midday snack it was time for the Pets Ahoy! show.  Raleigh laughed and screamed so hard during this show. She thought it was hysterical and it was pretty cute!

 Two of the dogs in the show...they got married.  :)

 We had just a little bit of time after that to take a ride in the sky tower (again thanks to our Quick Queue passes), check out the shark encounter, and then eat at Sharks Underwater Grill.  It was great and I can't believe I didn't take a picture, but I guess I was just enjoying the time to sit down in some air conditioning!  After lunch/supper we rode the sea carousel and went into the wild arctic (to see polar bears, beluga whales, and walruses).

 We weren't sure we would have time to see the daytime Shamu show, but we did.  I'm glad we did.  It was different from last year.  Still not as good as it use to be, but much better than last year.

 Waiting for it to start

 Another animal that I think is absolutely beautiful!

 Since we didn't see the daytime Sea Lion show we went to the Sea Lions Tonight show.  It was a parody of the favorite Sea World shows and attractions.  It was hilarious!  Here they are reenacting the Pets Ahoy show.  Funniest part was the outfits...and in the actual show they wear 80's outfits!

 Manta ride

 Shamu...One Ocean.  Again...hilarious!

 Raleigh watching...she was a little wet because she ended up needing to go potty after it started raining.

 Doing the YMCA

 And our last show of the day (because we weren't hanging around until 9:50 to see the fireworks when Raleigh had not napped and we had to walk to the hotel).

 To me this show is much better.  Maybe it's just the lights and music, but I definitely enjoy it more.

 Notice how small this killer whale is...

 then this one is a little larger...

 then this whale comes along...

 and is absolutely huge!  We found out later in the week that this is the whale that killed the trainer and was not use to people being in the water with him.  Also we learned that there really isn't a whale anymore named Shamu (and most people like us think this is Shamu because he comes out at the end)!

We had a long, but absolutely fabulous day!  Raleigh got a little fussy and we debated taking her back to the hotel for a little nap, but decided against it and she was a trooper.  I was so proud of her!  Until next time...

Downtown Disney

Vacation...finally!  We headed down to Orlando, FL for a couple of days.  After checking in at our hotel we decided to have dinner at Downtown Disney and we had some time to look around as well.

Raleigh in front of the Lego dragon.  It's amazing what they can do with legos!

 This is Raleigh back in August when we were at Downtown Disney...

and in June this year!  Amazing how much she's grown in almost a year!

 And this is where we ate!  Very similar to the Rainforest Cafe and once again Raleigh was not a fan of the "meteor shower" that came every 30 minutes, but the food was delicious!

 Raleigh and Daddy at dinner!

Raleigh funnies

Sometimes Raleigh says the funniest things and I forget to write them down.  I've got to be better about recording these special/funny times!

She was invited to a pool birthday party and was asking about the pool.  First she asked if it was inside or outside and I told her outside.  Then I told her it would be so fun with a slide and "waterfalls" (easier to say this than try to explain the water shooting up and out all over the pool).  She very excitedly says, "just like burger king!"  I try to figure out what she's talking about and first think she's talking about Burger King's playground, but she's never played on it.  Then it hits me.  When we went to Gatlinburg and swam there was a slide, but she kept calling it burger.  Now Gatlinburg is known as burger king!

We were talking with Memaw about going to Sea World and Raleigh was telling her that she was going to feed the dolphins.  She told Memaw that after she gives the dolphins their fish she'll tell them "Bone out of teeth!"  Also known as Bon Appetit!

We heard it!!!

Today I went for my first OB appointment.  First off they got the office wrong when they made my appointment.  I usually go to Johns Creek, but they made this one at the New Northside office.  We had to go through the whole OB workup, blood work, and seeing the midwife.  Our appointment was at 8:40 and we didn't get out until 10:30!  The one nice thing about the appointment was that we were able to hear the heartbeat!!  It was beating around 160 bpm!  Wonderful!!  I was secretly hoping they wouldn't hear it with the doppler so I could get an ultrasound, but yet I'm thankful it was beating strongly and it was able to be picked up!  Now I don't go back until August 3rd...going to be a long wait!

Father's Day

For Father's Day this year Mama said she'd cook everyones favorite food.  Well, the men didn't really tell her their favorites, but she did a great job and of course we had lots of food!  We had a house full too...my parents, us, Todd, Cindy, Lacy, & Robby, Cindy's parents, and Jason's parents.  Happy Father's Day to our wonderful fathers!

 Funny story...Raleigh wanted to know why Lacy was doing "that" with her eyes so we asked Raleigh to show us and this is what she did!

Jason's gift this year was a little different.  Amy and Mandy came up with the idea of sending the guys away for a day so that's what we did.  Jason, Ben, Chad, and Bowdie loaded up and went to Birmingham, AL for a motorbike race.  They had a great time and Jason really enjoyed it.  Now he's talking about getting a dirt bike!  :)  I'm so glad he enjoyed his day because he's a wonderful and hard working father that provides so much for our family!  Love you Jason!!

Swim Lessons

Raleigh took swim lessons at Swim Atlanta for two weeks.  She completed preschool 1 and 2.  It's amazing how much she learned in two weeks.  The first day she cried the whole time, but after that she did great and really enjoyed it despite saying that she didn't want to swim some days.  So proud of her!