Wassup!

Where has the time gone?! Florida, of course!

We took a much needed and long overdue family vacation to Orlando. For 2 weeks, we were worry free (except for the threats of Hurricane Hanna and Hurricane Ike).

Going to a state that has seasons means SALE! I'm almost embarassed to say I bought socks and bras. No shoes. No bags. 90% was undies. It was too hard to resist Victoria's Secrets sports bras... $3.99 each! And I found a pair of Easy Spirit house slippers (lovely cushioning) for 50 cents! You know I'm all about the great deals!

But, that's not why we went to Florida, so back to the main topic. We used VRBO (vacation rentals by owner). It was our first time, and we were a bit nervous about not staying at a traditional hotel. We had a 2 bedroom condo at Vista Cay which was a few miles from Walt Disney World. Having a full kitchen was great. Plus, there was a grocery store (Publix) nearby that we frequented.

Z was in love... with "his room." There was a bunk bed and a twin bed. Plus a television with dvd player and a Playstation 2. No games, though, for which I am grateful! The room had a Disney "Cars" theme which was the icing on his cake. He had so much fun climbing to the top bunk (and coming down), but we made him sleep on the bottom. I did not want a trip to a Florida ER to add on my itinerary.

We went to Walt Disney World, Gatorland, Green Meadows, Universal Studios, and Busch Gardens. I would recommend the first three, especially if you have a young child. Of course, if your child is really into animals, then you may want to add Busch Gardens to the list.

Disney World has so much to offer the younger set. Rides they can ride! Z loved the Toy Story rides. He loves Toy story. We finally outgrew our fireman costume. It was our one and only costume and served us well for 3 years! This year Z will be Buzz Lightyear. "To infinity and beyond!"

Of the DW parks, Z enjoyed the Magic Kingdom the most. Although we went during "hurricane season", the weather was bearable and the crowds were down. The few times it actually rained made the temperature nice and cool, and my guys had a blast jumping in puddles and kicking water at each other. We stayed up 2 nights to see the "Wishes" fireworks display. By the end of the trip, I was getting kind of tired of DW. It reminded me of a Vegas casino. You know how you walk through one, and it's all lights and noise? That's DW. Loud. I had my fingers in my ears because I was getting overstimulated (and not in a good way).

Z also enjoyed DW Hollywood Studios. That was where the second Toy Story ride was located. And they had an awesome stunt car show! Z totally loved it! It was exciting and educational since they showed a few of their "movie tricks."

We also enjoyed Epcot. Z liked "the ball" which was a bit of a history tour of technology and communication. At the end, it had a cute personalized show with your faces in it and you could email a picture of yourself "in the future." We visited the other "countries", but the best part was eating at the Japanese restaurant. Mmmmm, real rice! Not cheap but totally worth it. I am now a fan of ponzu. Weird that I have never tried it before. We went twice! Outside was a booth selling shaved ice. We had that both times too. Passed on the funnel cakes.

Gatorland had a fun water area. We didn't know about it prior to going. If we had, we would have dressed appropriately. But, we couldn't resist. So we all got soaking wet. That was the best fun! Z did get to touch a year old gator, and we all tried gator nuggets and gator ribs. I'm not a convert. Gator is a bit tough, much like eating way over done chicken. The shows were cute, and you can ride a train around the area. There are some paths that take you into the swamp. I can't imagine living in a swamp. There is something so eerie about it. Although you have a wooden walkway, you are completely alone, surrounded by murky water, trees with spanish moss hanging from its limbs. Spooky.

Green Meadows is a petting farm. Located in Kissimmee, it's something us city folks enjoy, or at least I did. Why? I got to milk a friggin' cow! It was much easier than I thought and totally cool! You go with a guide on a 2 hour walking tour. You learn about the different farm animals and get to try your hand at farm things. Like...I caught a goose! I was stoked! They had the sweetest goats that wanted to be touched and pigs that loved to untie your shoe laces. We got to feed some of the animals. Fun! We rode a train and had a wagon ride. We even saw a water buffalo and a zorse! For your edjamacation, a zorse is a sterile offspring of a zebra stallion and a horse mare.

Since we were in Florida, I figured I had to have key lime pie. It was alright, but not my thing. My sweet tooth had a craving for apple pie... which I had too much of. Ice cream added to my problems and I found myself up 6 pounds after Florida, despite all the walking we did. I enjoy food way too much. Crap. Back to the exercising and eating healthy.

I'll post some photos later. Right now, I need more coffee, and I need to play some games on Facebook.