I hugged Chewbacca!

Disney's Hollywood Studios

2.14.17

I hugged Chewbacca!

That's pretty much the best thing that happened this day.

Of course.  What could be better!?!

These are the people who made this hug possible...

Bobby and Laurie are friends of Tim's family and some of the coolest people on the planet.

They are retired Disney employees who used the force to host us for 2 Disney World days.

Jedi for sure.

We are super super thankful to them for the gift of our time at Disney.

Since I'm doing the blog, I get to hijack this post however I want, right?

The two previous pics are all we really need to know about this day.

OK... here are the rest of the photos of our time at Hollywood Studios,

less important as they may be... 😉

Ellie: Star Tours was amazing!!!! 

(Best thing in all of Hollywood Studios.)

Waiting in line was pretty fun. We got to see R2-D2 and C-3PO! 

There was a robot going though "luggage." He was very amusing.

Brie:  During the ride, my picture was randomly taken- showing that I was the rebel spy that needed to be safely delivered to the Rebel base!  Our reaction was pretty hilarious.  :D

Jadan also had an entertaining one-sided conversation with a Storm Trooper.

He's been on the galactic most-wanted list ever since.

Ellie: I hugged Chewbacca too...But Mom said that isn't important.😉

Can you tell that this family is full of Star Wars fans?

Yes, most of our time at Hollywood Studios was spent in "Star Wars Land."

But we did also spend some time with these guys...

We are thankful that Walt worked so hard to make his dreams come true!

Sea World

Sea World

2.12.17

The Shows

Blue Horizons

Blue Horizons was a beautiful show.

Dolphins, parrots, acrobats... It brought tears to my eyes!

Pets Ahoy

Dogs, cats, rats, ducks, doves, a cockatoo, a pig... all well-trained rescued animals.

(Well, the cockatoo needs a little more work to get to "well-trained," but she'll get there.)

Ellie had tears in her eyes.  😉

One Ocean

 

Orcas are awesome.

Clyde & Seamore's Sea Lion High

Talented people.  Talented creatures.  They made us laugh.  😄

The Creatures

Manatees!

These are the 3 "babies"... The mamas were HUGE!

We enjoyed learning about the manatee rehabilitation program.

 💙 Dolphins 💙

Beautiful blue seahorse... with cool creatures in the tank behind him. 

 There's a sea horse in this photo... Can you see him?

(Jadan interrupts: They're actually called leafy sea dragons, and there's two of them. 😜)

(Mom interrupts Jadan's interruption: It's there are two, not there's two. 😉)

 At the end of the Antarctica ride, we ended up hanging out with these cool dudes.

 Jadan was loving seeing sharks in the underwater tunnel!

A saw-nose shark even snuck up on Tim and freaked him out.

Jadan loved that, too! 😜

Crush recognized Jadan and said hi.

 So much fun to "pet" the rays!

 ...or to have them smiling down at you...

The Coasters

Tim alone went on all of the roller coasters,

including Mako, Orlando's tallest, fastest, and longest coaster.

He loved them.

Here's a video of him on the Manta... Can you spot him?

(He's on the left side, second car.)

We walked all over that park and were exhausted by the end of the day.

Exhausted but happy!  What a wonder-filled day! 💙

Daytona Beach

Gramama's visit!
Daytona Beach

2.4 through 2.11

Beautiful people and beautiful beaches.

The weather wasn't awesome, but that didn't keep these crazies

from being in or near the water as often as possible! 😉

School in the sand!

You might notice that the weather did improve during our week at Daytona Beach,

but several of the days it was windy and cold.

The first day we were at this awesome hotel, I saw a lady "laying out" by the pool.

She had her hoodie tied tight around her face and was covered in towels, like blankets.

We chatted and laughed at her determination to have some pool time

since her family was here just for a weekend respite from cold, snowy Pittsburg.

It can be disappointing to have not-great weather when you're in a "tropical" location,

but it's all in how you frame it!

These three ladies in the photo above are great at framing it all with happy, thankful hearts.

Kindness Adventure!

Tim's mom, wife, and daughter got to watch his show!

We could not be more proud of this man.

And we're so thankful that he gets to share his talents and his heart

in this amazing way that truly impacts kids' lives.

Wow.

💛💜💗

Marine Science Center

at Ponce Inlet

At the Marine Science Center we got to touch sting rays, see rescued sea turtles, 

and watch a rascally octopus give the guide a little grief.

(Unfortunately the rascally octopus was not willing to pose for a photo.)

These tiny turtles were for sale at a tourist shop.

"For educational purposes only," of course.

It's like God hand-painted them!

Maybe sometimes he just has some fun...

...and then sometimes...???

I guess they're cute when they're little. 😜

This is a mini-golf place.  Wonder what they do with them when they grow up...??

On the way to Orlando to begin our vacation week,

we stopped at Smyrna Dunes Beach.

Next stop... Orlando!

(Yes, again.  But this time, it's to play!)

😃