Fall Sports Begin

Soccer and Flag Football games started this week and I just wanted to show you a couple quick pics. As the season progresses I will post more.

Jackson is the second from the left in green, running toward the ball. Jax is in the 7-9 yrs old group this year so he is one of the younger kids on the team. Even though the others are bigger he is not afraid to get in there play tough.

Bay is the farthest away in the white with a number 6 on his back. Here is is making the first touchdown of the season. They lost the game when the opposing team caught a pass in the end zone on the buzzer. He also scored another touchdown in the game last night.

Wes and Katie's Wedding September 20,2008

Mr. and Mrs. Wes and Katie Cammon

Katie with her Mom, Terri. Two lovely ladies.

My sister, Tiffany with Richie stopping to pose for a photo. They have a little girl, Vayda who is almost 3yrs old and they are expecting another girl this December. Somehow I didn't get a photo of Vayda last weekend. When the professional photos come back I'll post a big family shot with her in it. She was in a previous post at Easter in an adorable peach dress....check it out in the archives.

Joe and I at the reception. We were both very honored to be in the wedding party. I am so proud of both Wes and Katie. They have a beautiful family and future ahead of them.

CONGRATULATIONS TO WES AND KATIE!

Wesley and Katie's Wedding

Last weekend my brother Wesley and his fiance Katie held their wedding at the Gardens of Heartland in Effingham, Illinois. Our cousin Anthony and his wife Jill along with their 3 children Lita, Hiram and Micah made the long journey from Montana to share in this special event. Of course my family and I traveled to Illinois for the excitement as well.

My niece Ava was the flower girl. While we were getting ready she wanted to put on make-up too, so I let her have some powder. It was so cute to watch her primping in the mirror, just like a big girl.
Here I am with my Mom and Dad, Debra and George.

The beautiful young lady and 2 fine young men are of course my niece Sydney and my boys, Bay and Jackson. They were passing out wedding programs and then bubbles after the ceremony.

This is little Miss Ava with her mom, Holly, ready for the wedding and both looking very classy.

Last morning in Disney and we're headed home

Well, this was our last morning in Disney World. We didn't fly out until after 4pm so we had the morning to pack and enjoy the pool for a little while. The boys really enjoyed the Fantasia pool. In the background you can see Mickey Mouse on top of the cliff conducting the symphony of water. We really did have a wonderful vacation. Sure, Disney is great, but the chance to spend a whole week together, without distractions, was such a blessing. Life is so busy right now that sometimes we forget to stop and take time to be with each other. I guess it's a good reminder that we all need time to slow down and be together as a family.

Jackson and Bayley trying out their new goggles before we leave the resort.

To give you an idea of just how HUGE Buzz Lightyear is...Can you find the boys in the photo?...They are sitting on the tops of his feet!

The boys were all smiles as we waited for our driver to take us to the airport.

The boys are becoming seasoned travelers. They know to pack a backpack of goodies for the plane ride and to stow it under the seat in front of them. You should see it...they have it down pat. The boys really liked getting to see the full plane up close and personal before we took off. Oh, and yes that is Chip and Dale in Bay's arm.

Our last evening at Disney World

Joe with Bayley and Jackson at the Fantasmic fireworks show in Hollywood Studios. Bay was really excited about watching this display. He remembers seeing it last time.

Well, this is one of those pics moms love. My sweet little boy cuddled into bed with his beloved stuffed animals including two new additions, Chip and Dale. On returning from the fireworks we visited the Disney shop in our resort. It was time to get our souvenirs! In the photo below you will see Bay got Chip and Dale too. They were sooo tired after a long/quick week of Disney Magic.

More from the Animal Kingdom

One of the cool things Disney is doing is granting Magical Moments. These can include free snacks, VIP seating for show, being the Parade Marshal or even winning a free vacation. We were lucky enough to be granted a magical moment as we got ready to ride Expedition Everest. We were approached and given a fast pass to the line that would have been at least a 30 min wait. Sure it's no free vacation, but still really cool.

Joe with our magic moment granter, Sara, as we were walking toward the fast pass line.

Here we are at the entrance to Typhoon Lagoon. The idea behind this water park is that a typhoon hit a tiny resort village many years ago and the storm, followed by ensuing earthquakes and volcanoes, left the village in ruin. However the locals were resourceful and rebuilt their town as this "wateropolis". It is an AWESOME water park, by far my personal favorite. Yep, I have a HUGE hat on. Seriously, the sun was killer.

How gorgeous is this?! And yeah, all the vegetation, real. You will notice at the top of the Mount Mayday is Miss Tilly, a shrimp boat marooned after the storm subsided. Every 30 mins a 50-foot flume of water erupts into the air from her smokestack. If you look closely you can see the waterfalls and the beautiful, blue wave pool at the base. They even have real soft white sand on the "beach".

This is a little out of order. Here the boys are waiting for a bus to take us to Typhoon Lagoon.

Our last full day at Disney

Just a quick shot of the Wishes fireworks display at the castle in the Magic Kingdom. This was actually finishing the posting from the night before.

Animal Kingdom

On our last full day we started off with a character breakfast at the Tusker House in Animal Kingdom. The food was wonderful! It is in the Africa area so, of course it is African themed with a really warm and inviting atmosphere.

Jackson checking out Mickey as he signs the autograph book.

Bay and Jackson with Goofy...acting a little, ah...goofy.

More of the Magic Kingdom

My favorite display in the "It's a Small World" ride are the can-can dancers. The hula girls have always ran a close second. This is a ride that takes me back to being a 4 yr old little girl completely mesmerized by the beautiful, dancing dolls. There is nothing better for you than reliving a little childhood wonder.

A view down Main Street USA. The park was pretty busy since it was a Saturday and the SpectroMagic Parade was that evening.

Cinderella in her carriage! Don't get me wrong I love Cinderella, but I'm a Snow White fan myself. This pic is for Anji who loves Cinderella...and looks like her too!

More from Epcot and the Magic Kingdom

Hey guys, I know it's been about a week and a half since we returned from Disney, but I am just now getting some free time to do some blogging. We were out so late the last couple of days in Disney that I was not blogging. We've been quite busy with soccer, football, work, school and my brother's wedding, so there is a lot to catch you all up on.

EPCOT

Bayley and Jackson at the entrance to Epcot. The hats we purchased at Animal Kingdom were very useful in the super hot and bright sun of Florida. Off to the left are large slabs with tiny photos of visitors. We took a memory photo of the boys last time we were here, so Bay and Jax can be at Disney all of the time. They are no longer adding photos to the slabs, so I'm really glad we took advantage of making that memory on our last visit.

This is a shot of the Germany area of the World Showcase in Epcot. One day when the boys are older and riding the crazy rides I'm going to take time and just walk through the different countries enjoying the food and atmosphere.

MAGIC KINGDOM

After spending the morning at Epcot on rides and having lunch at the Cantina De San Angel on the lagoon in Mexico we headed to the Magic Kingdom to finish our day.

When we came 5 years ago Jackson's favorite ride was the "Tea Tups". This classic is one of my favorites and now one of Jackson's too. Of course we had to ride the Tea Cups at least once.

Stopping for a cool treat on a hot afternoon. I have to get the chocolate covered Mickey Mouse ice cream while at the Magic Kingdom...it's tradition!

A few more pics from day 4

Outside of the Rock N' Roller Coaster in Hollywood Studios. Wow, that thing goes upside down several times...and fast...geeezz Oh pete! The first thing the boys said as we got off....can we go again?!

DOWNTOWN DISNEY

WEST SIDE

At Cirque Du Soleil to La Nouba that is unique to Disney World. It is an amazing circus where reality smashes into the dream world. There is the aerial ballet, tons of trampoline acrobatics, bike tricks, trapeze, chair balancing and tight rope walking. The only thing is, it's all "extreme" with everything they do being not humanly possible...or so we thought. No photos from the show since cameras were not allowed. I did get a couple of the clowns prior to the start. It was incredible and everyone who has the opportunity should see it!!

The clowns, Balthazar and Sergey, warming up the audience for the big show.

The marque in front of the showplace in Downtown Disney. By the way this was our first trip to Downtown Disney. After the show we enjoyed dinner at Planet Hollywood and now we are back to get ready for tomorrow. Till then....Have a MAGICAL DAY!!

HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS

Today we went to the Disney Hollywood Studios. I really like this park because of the amount of entertainment in the form of shows. There are the stage shows with stunts, musicals or even the traveling stage show like the one below, High School Musical. Then the number of cool rides is just staggering. We picked our favorites and made sure to hit them all. The only thing is the Toy Story Mania had a 70 min wait so we are going back tomorrow morning and hitting it first thing.

This was a high energy traveling stage show in front of the Sorcerer's hat. Kids were invited to join in the fun and dance along. I think most of us parents were singing. Sure the songs are catchy and cute, but we have heard them repeatedly for the last few years, so yeah...we know'em.

Jackson and Bay getting ready to ride the Star Tours ride based on the famous Stars Wars movies and games.

A quick shot from the Indiana Jones Stunt Show that was very entertaining. Bay is thinking he wants to be Indiana Jones for Halloween this year.

This was Jackson's main ride of request for the Hollywood Studios day. That child wants to ride the craziest things. I'm OK with it since I am always sitting right by him if he needs me...usually I'm holding his leg just in case.

Wrapping up a busy day

As you can see Joe and Jackson were having a great time at the Hoop-Dee-Doo Review.

Epcot

Illuminations Fireworks Display

We spent a little time in Epcot riding prior to seeing the fireworks. It's been a full day and we are ready for some rest back at the Disney All Star Movies resort.

Ok, I realized that I forgot to include the photo of this adorable dessert created just for Chef Mickey at the Contemporary Resort. The little Mickey ears dessert is actually an Oreo cookie topped with a dark chocolate mousse and two little dark chocolates for ears. It's an Oreo, what are you kidding me, of course I loved it! Tastes wonderful, wish I could get them outside of the park.

HOOP-DEE-DOO REVIEW

This was a quick post River Ride photo to show that they all got wet.

HOOP-DEE-DOO MUSICAL REVIEW

at Fort Wilderness in Pioneer Hall

This is one of the best dinner shows I have seen. It was super funny and the food was really good. The review has been going strong since 1974 and certainly doesn't look to slow down anytime soon. A troupe of entertainers is making their way through the Wild West stopping at all of the new towns. The stagecoach just got in and the guys and gals are ready to sing and dance. It was so cute I hope to see it one day when we return. The boys and Joe just laughed and had such a wonderful time. Everyone who comes here should take in this show.

Dinner is served in metal buckets and eaten from metal plates while drinking from mason jars. We had a terrific waiter who also kept us entertained between bits.

The cast of the show during one of the numbers. It was tough to get photos since I was laughing so hard and kept shaking the camera.

Jackson getting into the show and playing the washboard with his spoon...of course.

ANIMAL KINGDOM

Below are more pictures of our day at Animal Kingdom and some of the things we wanted to share with you.

I can't remember what this lady is called, but she is one of my favorite things to see. We were totally enthralled the first time we saw her in 2003. This time the boys are old enough to be amazed by her too! She is so graceful and mysterious...I wonder if that costume is horribly itchy, probably.

This is the view while ascending Mount Everest in search of the Yeti. Keep in mind this is a roller coaster that goes forward, backward and then forward again plunging and twisting in and out of the darkness. Jackson and Bayley LOVED it, in fact we rode it 3 times...in a row! We even bought the photo from the ride. I will scan it and posted it after we return home next week.

Bayley and Jackson giving their favorite ride a thumbs up for an "Awesome" good time!

Joe, Bay and Jax before getting on the Kali River Rapid Ride. For those of us "six flags kids" that is like the Thunder River only on steroids. The boys loved it and Joe almost stayed dry.