Water Day

It was our day to spend at the lake house playing in the water and roasting marshmallows!  It was nice to have a down day and be able to relax.

We went out on the boat and Ethan tried to wake board but couldn't get up.  Later, Jessica tried to water ski and had a hard time getting up so Ethan felt better.  He enjoyed paddling around with his cousins.

Grandin Publishing Building, the Hill Cumorah and the Pageant

We started out at the Grandin Publishing Building where the Book of Mormon was printed. We were able to take a tour and find out more about how it was just a miracle that the Book of Mormon was able to be published so near the farm of Joseph Smith.

 We then drove to the Hill Cumorah to look around and go to the visitors center.  Ethan has a theory that the Lord inspired men to place the marker over the spot where the plates were so no one would find it.  Good theory.

 We then walked to the visitors center to watch a movie about the restoration and see the Christus.  It was fun to see the kid's faces.

We went to the lake house for dinner and the kids got to play in the water for a little while.  Ethan loves to kayak so it was fun for him to be able to do that.

Ethan was playing with some lake weed that looked pretty gross and Julie told him she would give him $5 if he would eat it.  So he ate it!  Soon after all the little kids were eating lake week from the shore so they could get $5 too.  She ended up taking them another day to get ice cream instead of handing out $5.  It think they got a good deal out of eating that gross stuff!!

Then we got ready and went to the pageant.  I thought it was fun and they did a great job.  I was really disappointed/disgusted with the hecklers but it gave us a great chance to talk to the kids about loving people who hate us and being persecuted for what you believe.  Still, I would have loved to been there without them swearing at us.

 He really isn't choking her, although it looks like it.

The Joseph Smith Farm, the Sacred Grove and Family Pictures

We woke up, got ready and went to Lisa and Mike's house.  The kids were happy to wrestle and chase Ethan.

Then we loaded up and drove to the Smith farm and the Sacred Grove.

Because it was pageant time they didn't have tours but for the morning they had volunteers that would tell you about the different locations.

 Ethan outside the log cabin:

 Inside:

 Courtney and Brooke inside the frame home:

 The gardens:

Courtney just liked playing with her cousins and holding Tyler:

We then walked into the Sacred Grove.  It was really peaceful and Ethan and I took a minute to sit down and talk about the gospel.  Courtney went off to explore with Brooke and Bryan went to keep an eye on them.  It was a neat experience to just be able to explore around.

Then we went back to Lisa and Mike's where we had hamburgers/hotdogs and salad.  The girls put on a little skit for us all.  We aren't sure what the plot was and the actors were a bit confused as to what they should have been doing but it was fun and kept them busy.

It was then time for family pictures so we all went our separate ways to get ready.  Hopefully I will post those pictures soon.

That night we had a family meeting to catch up on everyone's lives and went back to the hotel for sleep.We were exhausted!

Airport Blues

On the way to the airport I received a text saying that our plane was an hour late.  By the time we got to the airport I had gotten a series of texts that told us that the plane was now on time.  We were excited to get to Baltimore and meet up with Courtney and Bryan.  The plane ride was uneventful and we got to Baltimore on time.

It was great to see Bryan and Courtney!!  We got some dinner and waited for our plane.  The plane was delayed an hour and we were a bit nervous because we had our rental car waiting for us but we weren't sure if the place would be open when we got there.  Bryan tried to get a person on the phone in Rochester who could tell us whether or not we would get our car and he couldn't get anyone.  It was really annoying.  We had gotten a great deal on the car and paid cash for it.  The fine print said that we wouldn't be able to get a refund but I decided to call anyway.  Bryan called his dad to see if he would pick up the car for us (they were waiting at the airport for all of us to arrive) while I called the travel club to see if we could get a refund.

The man at the travel club checked to see if we had picked up the rental car or not (honesty people) and then told me we could get a full refund.  So Bryan's dad talked to Lisa and Mike and it was decided that we could use their car. So we cancelled the reservation.

We finally got on the plane and got in to Rochester really late!  The kids were exhausted.  Andrew and Jessica were getting in even later than we were so Bryan's parents had to wait for them to come in.   Mike had brought the van and so he took us to the hotel in Geneva and then Bryan went with him to their house to pick up their car.

I was so happy to get to bed that night!!

Day 4 - Epcot

We decided that we would go back to Epcot on our last day so we could play on the Test Track again.  The shuttle was actually on time and so we got there in plenty of time to go through security and get into line.  We were actually 4th in line to get into the park!  Because the ride had broken the last time we were there, we had a paper fast pass and a wrist band fast pass so we were excited.  When they opened the park we ran to Test Track and went on the ride without a wait at all.  Afterward Ethan and I designed another car.

 Ethan's car:

My Car:

 Since we had designed them, we decided to go on the single rider line and got right in!

Then we designed another car and used our fast pass and raced them.  I made mine as ugly as I could.

We went back and used our fast pass and guess what?!?!  My car beat Ethan's.  Here is the proof!

We walked around for a while and then decided we needed to go back to the hotel and catch the airport shuttle.  It was time to say goodbye to Disney World.

We had a great time!

Day 3

It was Magic Kingdom day for us. We didn't want to miss the opening like we had with Epcot so we got to the shuttle station early. It was great timing because a shuttle came about 5 minutes later.

There is a opening performance with Mickey and his friends before they open the gate. I thought it was good but Ethan just wanted in the park. Our plan was to go as quickly as possible to the Seven Dwarfs Mine ride. We had a fast pass for this one but it wasn't until later in the afternoon. We were worried that it would rain before we could use it so that's why we went there first. Everyone else had the same idea but we still got in pretty quickly.

It was a really fun ride! We were hoping we could use the fast pass for it later on.

We then walked around and saw the Beast's castle and Gaston's pub.

I made Ethan go on Ariel's Grotto ride with me. There wasn't a wait and I thought it would be fun. He was a good sport.

There was only a 10 minute ride on the Speedway so we made our way over there.

Ethan drove his own car and did a great job.

Ethan hadn't ever been on Space Mountain and the wait was only 15 minutes so we decided to try it. He did well but it wasn't his favorite ride. He likes roller coasters but not when they are in the dark. Here is his after face and he is still smiling!

It was then time for our fast pass to Splash Mountain. There were a ton of your groups from other countries in the Magic Kingdom and they all had fast passes. Luckily we were able to get in front of them so it was a 5 minute wait to get on the ride. The regular line was 60 minutes.

Here is Ethan's wet face.

He thought it was a blast!

We made our way over to the Haintes Mansion and the line was about 20 minutes long. It wasn't too bad but it was hot so Ethan was kind of miserable. He was fine once we got in the air conditioned rooms.  

He thought this tomb stone was hilarious so we had to take a picture.

We made our way to Casey's Corner for lunch. It was baseball food and prices the same as it would have been at a baseball park. ;)

Since we were full we didn't want to go on a crazy ride and it seemed like most people showed up after lunch (not smart!) so lines were really long. We thought the Carousel of Progress was going to be something cool so we went there. It ended up being boring but we got to sit for a while.

On our way out of Tomorrowland we saw the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor so we thought we would try it. It was a comedy show by the characters from Monsters Inc. using audience members. Ethan was actually spotlighted and used in one sketch. It was a lot of fun!

When we walked out of the show it had just finished raining. We have been very lucky/blessed this vacation! It was time for our fast pass to Pirates of the Caribbean so we made our way over there. The fast pass line was SO LONG!!! Everyone was trying to avoid another rain storm by going on the inside rides. But the line actually moved fairly quickly. It only took us 10 minutes to get on.

We were disappointed that the ride was quite a bit shorter than it is in Disneyland. Too bad!

When we got off the ride and walked into the gift shop it was really crowded. It was pouring rain and everyone was taking cover! We had already decided that would be our last ride so we put on our rain ponchos and made our way out of the park. It was crazy because there were huge puddles/lakes of water everywhere. The park ended up being shut down because of lightening. We were glad we were finished!

We caught a shuttle and got back to the hotel. Once again we changes into dry clothes and then went to the laundromat to dry our clothes. 

An hour later the rain had stopped and there wasn't any lightening so the pool at the hotel reopened. We changes and went swimming. It's a cool pool that is shaped like a flower and each pedal is shallow with the center being the deep end. We almost had it to ourselves.

When we were done, we went back to our room and got dressed then went to get some dinner.

It's too hard to catch a shuttle and run to another park unless you have quite a bit of time so we just hung out at the room, packed some things and relaxed.

This has been a great vacation. We have one more day (or half day) at Epcot then we fly to meet Bryan and Courtney in Baltimore. We are excited to see them!

Day 2

We started the morning by getting ready, eating pop tarts, making a plan and getting to the shuttle stop. It was our day for Epcot today. We had fast passes for mission space, test track and maelstrom. 

The shuttle from the hotel to Epcot was 30 minutes late so we didn't get to Epcot until after it had opened. We were so bugged because it meant we were in the middle of the crowd instead of ahead of it. But it worked out okay.

Epcot has a weird tiered system to their fast passes so we couldn't get one for soarin' and test track both. We had decided we would run to soarin' first thing and them use a fast pass for test track.

We were worried we would have to wait in a long line at soarin' because we were so late but we ended up walking right on the ride. It wasn't very crowded at Epcot. I did my research and it was supposed to be a great day to go.

I was a bit disappointed because I thought it would be a Florida version of soarin' but it was the same as California. I love soarin' so it was okay but a bit disappointed.

After soarin', we realized that our water bottles were in the fridge back at the hotel and Ethan needed sunglasses so we went to get some things. There weren't mirrors in the store so I took pictures so Ethan could decide which glasses to buy. I think he looks handsome.

It was time for our fast pass to Mission Space so we made our way over there. The line was really short so we only had to wait a few minutes. 

This ride was a flight simulator of a space flight. You were put in a four person crew and had to work together to get yourself to Mars. They kept warning you that it was a very dark and enclosed space and they weren't lying. Once you sat and strapped in, the console came down over you and it was tight. But it was a fun ride.

On the way out they had games and Ethan played one where you had to find the other people in your crew and rescue them. 

We had about 30 minutes before our next fast pass so we went into Innoventions to explore but were very disappointed. In California it is a huge Exploritorium where you can play games and things. This one wasn't like that at all. It was boring but they did have a few games to play.

They did have a hybrid car there that Ethan thought was cool.

By now it was time for our fast pass to test track. We were so excited for this ride because you design your own car and then race it against other people. We got right on which was kind of sad because they had cool cars you could look at while waiting.

They out is into teams and we had 3 minutes to design a car. I let Ethan do it.

We were then put on a 6 person car where we each touched our magic bands to a sensor and it attached our designed car to the one we were riding in. Then we took off and the car we were riding in went through maneuvers where it tested the various car designs we had made and scored them. Ethan's designed car came in 3rd in our car!

As you walk out of the ride you can touch your magic band to sensors and make a commercial for your car and race it against others. It was a lot of fun!

The "single rider" line was really short when we got out so we decided to try it. Ethan was really disappointed when we realized that we couldn't design another car. But then we realized that his car was still programmed on his magic band so he got to race it against the other people in our car. So it was okay.

When we walked out of the ride Ethan decided to design another car. They had a station where it wasn't timed and you could do a lot more. Ethan spent about 30 minutes making another car. 

He made a commercial for it and even raced it in the games with other cars. He was really excited to go back on the ride and see how it would go against other cars. We decided to come back later and do the single rider again.

We had some time left so we went to Club Cool. I had seen this place mentioned in some of the places I had researched so we thought we would try it. It is all-you-can-drink soda from other countries.

You grab a taster cup and push the button under the soda you want to try. It fills up just a little and then you try it.

Most were really yummy but a couple of them were disgusting!

We drank ourselves sick!

By this time we had to go to our other fast pass ride Maelstrom. This was a Viking ride that started out seeming like a pirates of the Caribbean ride but it was a dud. We were kind of disappointed.

We walked around the various countries to look around but we were hot and tired so we took the boat back to the other side of the lake.

We decided to see if we could so another single rider for test track. They tell you that you will be split up but Ethan and I had ended up in the same car last time. The single rider line was so short we just walked on. We touched our magic bands to the sensors and were waiting for our car to come to load into when the ride malfunctioned and shut down. They evacuated everyone and gave us a fast pass that we can use anytime. We are pretty excited about that!

We were tired and wanted to go to the hotel pool so we loaded back up (we actually caught a quick shuttle which was a miracle!) and went to the hotel. But it began raining and the pool was closed by the time we got back to the hotel.

We just relaxed and then decide to go to Aminal Kingdom for some rides. It had stopped raining but we figured people would be leaving the park and we could ride anything we wanted. But we had a fast pass for a roller coaster. 

When we got to Animal Kingdom we went to the Dinosaur ride first. 

It was okay but nothing great. When we came out and started on out way to the fast pass ride it started to pour rain! I put on my poncho but Ethan is too much of a man. We bee lined it out of there. And, another miracle, there was a shuttle waiting when we finally got to the bus stop. Again, that NEVER happens here!!  Ethan was soaked all over. I was soaked from the knees down and our shoes are so wet!

We got back to the hotel, showered, put our wet clothes in the drier at the laundromat and them went to dinner. We split pizza sticks, salad, minestrone, and a drink. Then we spent the rest of the evening relaxing in our room.

One gross thing is that there are worms all over the sidewalk trying to get out of the rain. They keep trying to get in the doors and it is just creepy! One hotel door had works all over it, crawling all over. Gross!!

It was a good day!

Greetings from around the world!