Happy Birthday, Kathy

Todd was out of town, so the kids pitched in and made Kathy's birthday pancakes...and according to her, they were pretty good.

That evening, after my "birthday call", they went out and had dinner and a delicious dessert.  Happy birthday, Kathy.  I'm glad it was a fun day.

ZZZZZZZZZ

A kids gotta get his nap!

He also fell asleep in Amy's lap on the flight home...I wish I had thought to get a picture...darn!

Universal Studios Florida

Our last day in Orlando was spent at Universal Studios. 

We were greeted by Curious George and Woody Woodpecker
(the kids didn't know who Woody was!)

Owen volunteered to be in the Animal Actors on Location show.  He worked with a dog and had a bird land on his head.  He was very cute and stole the show!

One of the favorite places was Fievel's Playland in the Woody Woodpecker's Kid Zone.  It was a playland with cargo nets, bridges, and a really fun water slide.

Owen enjoyed the ball pit...

...and wanted to be a minion

The rest of us enjoyed just hanging out...

You know it was a successful vacation when everyone is completely exhausted by the end of the week.  This is us waiting for the shuttle to take us back to the hotel.

Islands of Adventure

We decided to do only 4 nights on the cruise so we would have time to stay in Orlando a few days and do Universal Studios.  We figured we might never be this way again and I really wanted to see Harry Potter World.
Islands of Adventure is broken into several different lands, the most popular being Jurassic Park, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and Seuss Landings.












The night before, to get ready for the day ahead,
we all gathered in Todd and Kathy's room for popcorn
and the movie, Jurassic Park.

 

Harry Potter World...amazing...it felt like you walked back into Harry's world...Diagon's Alley,  Ollivander's Wand Shop, and even Honeydukes.  Yep, I had to buy a jumping frog for mom.  They told me to eat the legs off first or it might just jump away!

The kids all bought wands and the butterbeer was great. 

 The kids loved the Hippogriff ride...and by kids, I mean Todd, too!

Seuss Landing...everything Dr Seuss

 












This is where we had our longest wait time for a ride...the Trolley Train Ride!

 

Toon Lagoon
Yep, the name tells it all...lots of wild, wet rides...and at the end of a rather warm, humid day, it felt great.  Particularly fun was Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls.

The kids managed to get wet even when not on the ride.  Notice Todd's attempt to lure the kids in, and then hightail it out at the last minute.  Way to take one for the team, Todd!

 There were some really fun signs throughout...

And what we seemed to do most of the day...

look at maps... (somehow, I ended up with a Portuguese one!)

 ...walk, walk, and walk some more...

 ...and count kids...and yes, we ended up with all 8!