Disney World

My parents (Grammy and Granddaddy) took me and Evan, as well as my sister and her family, to Disney World last week. (Carl was unable to go due to work.) We went to Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom and Typhoon Lagoon. We also made a short trip to Cocoa Beach one day! Evan had a absolute blast on the trip. He really liked the safari at Animal Kingdom, the "fast choo choo" at Magic Kingdom, the water slide at Typhoon Lagoon, and seeing all of the local wildlife (lizards, frogs, and worms). Of course, he also really liked spending a lot time with Granddaddy, Grammy and his three cousins!

Day 1 - Travel and Exploring

"I am ready to go to Disney World!"



"Look! There's a lizard!" (We heard this about 500 more times while on vacation!)





Evan liked all of the cool animals that were near our condo!





Day 2 - Magic Kingdom

We had fun riding on "real race cars!"



"I love you Granddaddy!"



Evan was really excited to ride the train with Granddaddy.



"Here is the train!"



"I LOVE this train ride!"



The boys enjoyed a treat while watching the parade.



Evan really liked seeing some of his favorite characters in the parade. (He was not at all interested in getting his picture taken with the characters. He wasn't scared, he just had no desire to stand in line to have his picture taken!)





The Buzz Lightyear ride was a hit! Evan really liked making us spin!



The teacups were so much fun!



Evan was so excited to ride the "fast choo choo!"



"Whee!"


The lollipop was very good and very messy!



Evan was fascinated with these birds that we saw around Disney World. He would see them and say, "Look! There are my birds!"






Evan really liked the Electrical Light Parade.



"Granddaddy, you are so silly!"



The fireworks were so pretty. We were happy that Evan was able to stay up to see them!



Day 3 - Typhoon Lagoon

Evan had a lot of fun at the water park. He loved the kids' area, as well as the big wave pool. (He managed to figure out how to do underwater somersaults in the water!)







The water slide was Evan's favorite activity. He must have gone down this slide 20 times in a row!



Day 4 - Hollywood Studios



Evan really liked the Star Wars ride. He also enjoyed seeing the Star Wars training session.





Evan liked this Star Wars vehicle and insisted I take his picture. How funny!



The Indiana Jones Stunt Show was lots of fun! Evan really liked the scene with the "big plane."





Toy Story Mania was my favorite ride and Evan really liked it too!



I was excited to get Evan's picture taken with at least one character. Evan agreed to getting his picture taken once. As you can tell, I am more excited than Evan!



The parade at Hollywood Studios was wonderful. Evan got to see lots of his favorite characters.













The Mickey Mouse ice cream was a hit! I think Evan ate one each day that we were at a Disney park!

"Look at this!"



"Yum!"



Day 5 - Cocoa Beach and Downtown Disney

Evan really enjoyed the beach. He spent the first part of the day running in and out of the ocean in time with the waves. Then he enjoyed wading out and splashing in the water. Later, he enjoyed making sand castes.

I don't have a lot of pictures, but you can tell from these two pictures, that Evan had fun!






We went to Downtown Disney World after the beach. We ate the the T-Rex restaurant, which was a BIG hit! (It was hard for Evan to eat, because he wanted to see all of the dinosaurs!) After dinner, we walked around Downtown Disney for awhile.



Evan fell asleep on the way to the restaurant. Once we finally got him up, he had a ball!







Evan liked the big poster for Cars 2. I was glad that he got to see something Cars related, since none of the parks had any Cars things while we were visiting. =(



Day 6 - Magic Kingdom

Magic Kingdom was so much fun that we decided to go back! Evan got to ride on many of his favorite rides, as well as a few new ones. We saw a new parade and we also got to see the fireworks again!

I wanted a family picture in front of the castle, but Evan wasn't thrilled with the idea. (He was eager to go on the rides!) At least he is looking at the camera!

The rockets were a blast!

We got to ride on the magic carpets. Evan liked making the carpet go back and forth.

The new parade gave Evan a chance to see many more of his favorite characters.

Having fun sure can wear a little guy out!

Evan and this little boy had fun despite the fact that it was raining. I love that he can have fun no matter what the circumstances are!

Day 7 Animal Kingdom

On our last day of vacation, we went to Animal Kingdom. There were lots of great rides, but Evan REALLY liked seeing all of the animals. Our favorite part of the day was getting to go on the safari, but we also liked the walking trail where you could see many more animals, including a baby gorilla!

Tree of Life

Evan had so much fun seeing this mama duck with her babies. He quietly followed them around the park for a few minutes. It was super cute and mama duck didn't mind at all!

We all loved the animal safari. We saw many cool animals. I took a bunch of pictures, but I am only including a few of Evan's favorites.

Father's Day 2011

Evan and I are going to be in Disney World on Father's Day, so we celebrated Father's Day at our house tonight! We had planned on playing golf, but we couldn't because of the rain. We were still able to order Mexican food, eat a giant cookie cake, play in the basement and take a short walk in the neighborhood though! We had so much fun celebrating Carl. He is a wonderful dad and husband!

Here are a few pictures of Evan and Carl. It is easy to see how much Evan loves his daddy!

Summer Fun

We have had a great summer so far. We have had fun going to Henry's Ark, playing on the new Slip and Slide, attending Abbey Road on the River, going to the air show, going for walks at the park and nature preserve, and swimming at the pool. (We just joined the Hunting Creek Country Club, so Evan and I can have been going to the pool most mornings. After Carl gets home and we eat dinner, we all head back to the pool for more fun.) I am really enjoying my extra time with Evan and I am looking forward to LOTS more summer fun!

Henry's Ark is always a lot of fun. Evan enjoyed feeding and petting the zebras and the deer. He also liked seeing a GIANT pig!





We purchased a slip and slide for Evan to use this summer. Carl explained how it worked and then Evan hopped on for a ride! He and Carl had a lot of fun playing together!

"Whee! This is fun!"



"Is this a water fountain or a Slip and Slide?!?"



Abbey Road on the River has become a summer tradition for us. We take Evan to hear the music in the afternoon and then he goes to play and spend the night with Grammy and Granddaddy. Carl and I go back at night for grown up time! As always, we had a great time.

Evan and I were proud to show off our new Beatles t-shirts!



The music was great, but Evan had just as much fun watching the trucks and cars go under the bridge and pretending to be an acrobat!





Evan fell asleep on the way to Grammy and Granddaddy's house. I think he was exhausted from having so much fun!



Britbeat is a great Beatles cover band. We got to meet them in the afternoon and then hear them perform at night!



The Wings for Kids Air Show is a local fundraiser for Kosair Children's Hospital. It is a really cool event where kids can watch remote controlled airplanes and helicopters do some amazing tricks.

Evan got a good view of the airplanes by climbing up on the fence!



It was really hot the day of the air show, so we found some shade and Evan enjoyed a milk break.



The airplanes were cool and so were the helicopters! (This helicopter was a REAL helicopter!)





Evan and Daddy got a close look at the planes, while waiting for the candy drop!



Evan has NO fear of the water! He remembered the diving board ("jumping board") from last summer and wanted to jump as soon as we got to the pool!

"Look at me!"



"Here I come!"

Final Day of 2 Year Old Preschool Program

Evan had a wonderful first year of preschool. He made lots of friends and learned many new things! We are glad that he had a successful first year of school and we are looking forward to lots more fun and learning in the fall when Evan will enter the three year old preschool program.

Evan and Mrs. Kahne



Evan and Mrs. Stoess

Potty Trained!!!

Evan is FINALLY potty trained and Carl and I are thrilled! We have been working on potty training since last summer, but Evan has not shown much interest. Two weeks ago he announced that he was ready to wear underwear. We were very excited to learn that he really WAS ready to wear underwear! He has done SO well with potty training and we are SO proud. What a big boy!

(I am not going to post any pictures of Evan using the potty, since it might embarrass him one day!)