Christmas and New Years in Florida

This Christmas Mike and I decided to head south and have Christmas with my Uncle Bill and Aunt Maureen in Orlando. We hadn't seen my uncle in over 4 years and only briefly saw my aunt at Sharon's wedding in September. We got to spend 10 days and we made a vacation out of it. It was great to spend time with our family and enjoy a relaxing time together without Mike having to constantly think about the clinic.

While we were there, my uncle had a friend who got us free tickets for the Champs Bowl...Miami vs. Wisconsin. It was a very cold night for Orlando and it took us quite awhile to get into the game but once we were in, we had a great time. The majority of the fans present were Miami fans but Wisconsin came up with the win. One of the best parts of the game was the Wisconsin marching band. Mike and I were totally impressed.

We also went to the Disney Boardwalk and D0wntown Disney with my aunt and uncle. Trying on hats at Downtown Disney.

We went to the Swan and Dolphin Hotels at Disney and in the lobby of the Dolphin hotel was this huge gingerbread house.

Mike and I also went to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure for 2 days. While we were there, they still had the Macy's Day Parade. I didn't know this but after the Thanksgiving Macy's Day parade in New York, a bunch of the balloons and floats are brought down to Universal Studios and a mini parade is then done everyday. Mike and I got to see a good bit of it as we were running around the parks.

We also got to spend time with Mark and Val who joined us in Florida for New Years. After all that has happened to all four of us this year, we thought it was fitting we brought in the new year together. When Mark and Val first got there, we headed to downtown Orlando for the Citrus Bowl Parade. The commentator for the parade was Shawn Johnson, the Olympic gymnast. We were lucky enough that they stopped right where we were to do some recordings.

The Anheuser-Busch Dalmation

After the parade, we headed back to our car by taking a stroll around Lake Eola.

For New Year's Eve and New Years Day, we went to my favorite place ever...SEA WORLD!!! Mike and I had not been there since Mike proposed to me in December of 2004 and I was so excited to be celebrating New Years Eve there with three of the closest people in my life!!!! On New Year's Eve the park was busier since it was such a huge day and the park was open until 1 am. We went to all of the shows, saw the Anheuser-Busch Clydesdales, Val and I went on the Kracken (a roller coaster), went to a big band concert with ice skaters and brought in the New Year with fireworks. We watched 30 minutes of fireworks and could also see the other fireworks from the other parks in the area in the background. It was unbelievable! I couldn't of asked for a better way to close out one decade and bring in a new one.

Since we had such a good time on New Year's Eve, we decided to trade our tickets back in that night and get a free pass to come back on New Years Day and see everything else we didn't get to because of the crowds. New Years was cold and damp in the morning but warmed up and was beautiful by the end. There were less people so Val and I decided to do all of the rides that we missed. Sea World has a new ride...the Manta...where you are flying as if you were a manta ray. The whole ride you are in a horizontal position. It was crazy to go flying around loops and down towards the ground head first and then at some points to be on your back staring up at the sky. Val was a little hesitant at first especially when they kept announcing there were technical difficulties...only because they were making sure it was okay to ride due to the light rain...but once we went on it, we both loved it! I love riding roller coasters with Val, before every one she freaks out, starts confessing things to me, tells me she loves me, starts praying out loud...then she screams all the way through it, feels sick at the end and then tells me that she wants to do it again. Beneath the Manta ride, they also put in a new aquarium (this is where Mike and Mark hung out while we waited in line for the ride). They had this cool tank where you could go up into the tank and get your picture taken. Of course we had to do it, even though Val underestimated how tall it was and banged her head really hard on the top.

This is one of my favorite pictures of New Year's Day, it tells so many stories. We were freezing our tailends off but we made many memories. Also, about the stuffed animals...Mark won the big Elmo and Chimchar for Val and I, while Mike played 2 games of skeeball and won a huge K-State shark. It was fun trying to fit these in our car for the drive home. : )

Here are some shots from our trip to Downtown Disney:

You can never get enough of the pirates : )

Val with two of the men in her life.

Who makes the better Jack Sparrow?

These dogs and the Lochness monster are all made out of Legos.

On our last full day together, Mike had a day to himself to relax before heading back to work while Mark, Val and I headed off to Clearwater to go to the Gulf of Mexico and Honeymoon Island. We were freezing but that made it even more memorable.

The three of us collecting shells and sand dollars on Honeymoon Island...we actually preferred this beach over Clearwater.