One last vacation "catch-up" post

We were so amazed at the Lizards we saw everywhere in Florida. The above pictures is of the Orlando Temple. They were crawling all over the temple!! The kids loved it.

I spotted this little fella on our walk into the hotel the day we arrived. I put everything down and dug out my camera. I could actually see his tongue eating sweetness from this bird of paradise. I was hoping to get more shots, but Spence scarred him off. Such a pretty green.



Here are some lizards we saw at various places in the amusement parks.
They were everywhere!! Especially around the pool-we would play a game and see who could spot the most. Some of them were soo tiny-so cute.

T Rex Cafe
When we hear there was a restaurant with a dinosaur theme, we knew we had to go. Spencer is totally into dinos right now-has been for a long time. We heard there was always a long line, so we made a reservation. Maybe because it was pouring down rain, or just the timing, we got in even faster than expected. It was a really cool place-done by the same people who do the Rainforest Cafe. It was divided into the different dino eras, really cool.

Here is Jordan at the Restaurant. She wasn't too thrilled. She basically ate with one hand while trying to plug at least one ear. Poor thing...she did not enjoy herslf at all!! She hates loud noises, so this was not up her alley. This is during one of the "meteor showers" when it gets really loud.
One of the friends we made during dinner. Every 30 minutes there would be a "meteor shower" where it would sound kind of like a thunder storm and would get dark. The kids did not like this part at all.
I guess I should have put this picture up first. This is the outside of T Rex Cafe. It is a really cool place, even in the pouring down rain.


After we ate, we found a fun place for the kids to play. Since it was a torrential downpour outside, we were happy to kill some time. They had a dinosaur dig, where you got some brushes and could dig for bones. At first Lanny did not like it. They had these tiny little stones covering up the bones-took him a while to get used to it. I loved rubbing my feet in it-was therapeutic. Anyhow, kids ended up loving it and we stayed there for a while til the rain dyed down.

Would you like to have dinner with this guy? I asked the waitress what it is like to work in the "ice age" part of the restaurant and she said it is hard because the lighting is horrible; but people love sitting there.


The boys loved the restaurant-Jordan, not so much!!We were happy to see that the Lego store was right by the restaurant so we went over there for a little while. The kiddos loved playing with the legos.

Spencer concentrates so much...think I know what Santa may bring for Christmas!!
Spencer and Landon loved the huge Lego statues
We could have stood here all night!


Gatorland

The last time we went to Florida with Darin for work, I took Jordan and Spencer to this local attraction when he was at work. It was so cool that I really wanted to take Darin there, and I also thought that the kids would like it more this time since they are older.

It started when this guy wanted to rescue alligators and other animals and wanted to show them to people. He first took it on the road in the back of a truck, then finally got land and it went through a couple names and ended with Gatorland. It is really fun. If you ever go to the orlando area, you should really go.

Landon and I make a great friend.


Various shots of the gators. The albino gators were really cool. We also saw a gator wrestling show that was cool. I think it was even the same guy that was there a few years ago. The announcer was definitely the same guy. Anyhow there were lots of animals to see, gators everywhere, a bird refuge with a gator breeding ground, a fun train ride. Oh, they also added a water feature since we were there, but since we were heading straight to the airport, we had to skip it. Too bad because it was sooo hot that day. We were all dripping sweat.


I loved this shot...had to put it in.
You could hold a baby alligator and snake and pay to have your picture taken with it. Jordan didn't want to be in the picture, which is below, but she did touch this little guy.
They also had a show called Gator Jumpin, where they fed the gators. Very entertaining. The guys were pretty funny and it was cool to see them come up out of the water for the chicken. I have a cool video, as well, but have to figure that out.

They had a tank with babies inside the giftshop. They were so cute. I love that my camera takes great pictures through the glass tank!!
So bummed Jordan wouldn't come in the picture with us....would make a great Christmas card, don't ya think? She would not come near us....wonder why? I wanted to drag her over but Darin didn't want to make a scene since there were lots of other people waiting.

By the way, some of you may not know that when Darin and I got married he had two snakes exactly like the one around his neck; although they were probalby a little smaller. They were Kaa and Kate. Some people couldn't believe I didn't make him get rid of them when we got married. They just sat in the tanks all day; and it was actually fascinating to watch them eat a live mouse every other Saturday. It was pretty funny when one time a mouse escaped in Darin's car for a few days:) Kaa died when Spencer was a baby and we gave Kate away to a very excited lady.
Here ends another fabulous vacation!! Can't wait to see what next summer brings!