It's time to say goodbye to another fun summer in the USA. Our time here was quite short this year because of the timing from leaving one school and starting at another with a slightly different calendar, but that did not stop us from fitting in some awesome time with friends and family.
Just after the 4th of July, we flew down to Florida for a week where we spent time in Orlando and Vero Beach. Uncle Joel first met us in Orlando for a few days where we hit up the two parks at Universal Studios. Because we stayed in a Universal resort hotel, we were given an hour early admission to the Harry Potter parts of both parks. This privilege made such a difference! On day one, we rode all of the Harry Potter rides several times, got some butter beer and pumpkin juice, and watched a little demonstration about wands at Olivanders. Then we visited the rest of the as it just opened for the rest of the public. Most rides were about a 5-10 minute wait, and we rode everything by noon! We all found the Harry Potter rides awesome, but we also liked the Riptide Falls water ride, Spiderman and the King Kong ride. King Kong is new and only open for an hour a day to test it out; we happened to get on during that hour, and it was really worth it! We also enjoyed the Jurassic Park ride, although Kaelia did not like when T-Rex almost ate us at the end.
The next day, we went to Harry Potter at the other park to ride the Gringott's ride and then ventured over to the rest of the park. The highlights here were the Mummy, Transformers, and the Simpsons ride and part of the park. Justin and Joel even enjoyed a Duff beer at Moe's while the girls tried their luck at the Love Tester! Kaelia got a rating of Casanova while Taelyn got Dead Fish. Before leaving the park, Uncle Joel allowed the girls to each pick out something as a gift. Kaelia chose a stuffed animal cat, and Taelyn chose a new wand from Harry Potter. She couldn't decide which wand to get, so the saleslady asked her about her personality and showed her the wand that would match. Taelyn was sold and then went off the various parts of the park where she could wave her wand and say a spell, and then "magic" would happen. It was a unique experience and a fun way to end our time at Universal Studios.
For the rest of our time in Orlando, we swam at the pool at our resort and then went an escape room one evening where we had an hour to find gold in the old West. Even the girls helped find clues, and we got out in time with no problem.
After Orlando, we went to Vero Beach to see our great friends from high school, Adam and Michelle. All of our kids had a wonderful time together swimming in the pool, going to the beach, playing mini golf, and getting lots of ice cream! It was a wonderful and relaxing visit.
Our other big trip of the summer was to the west side of Michigan where we went to Michigan Adventure with Uncle Matty's family and the Jettner's and then on to the Jettner's lake house. Michigan Adventure was a blast - they had rides and waterslides for every age. Taelyn and Jayden liked some of the more extreme rides while Kaelia and Ari preferred the milder rides. At the lake house, we spent a lot of time tubing, kayaking, jet skiing, and hanging out. It was a great way to end the summer.
In between these visits, the girls had plenty of cousin time with Jacob and Riley and quality time with Grandma and Grandpa Pepera and Walker - including camping for a night with Grandma Walker. They also started the summer off with a week-long day camp; Taelyn went to Harry Potter camp, and Kaelia went to Barbie dream camp. We really had a nice time seeing everyone again and enjoying summer activities. Now we are on to our next adventure: India!
Just after the 4th of July, we flew down to Florida for a week where we spent time in Orlando and Vero Beach. Uncle Joel first met us in Orlando for a few days where we hit up the two parks at Universal Studios. Because we stayed in a Universal resort hotel, we were given an hour early admission to the Harry Potter parts of both parks. This privilege made such a difference! On day one, we rode all of the Harry Potter rides several times, got some butter beer and pumpkin juice, and watched a little demonstration about wands at Olivanders. Then we visited the rest of the as it just opened for the rest of the public. Most rides were about a 5-10 minute wait, and we rode everything by noon! We all found the Harry Potter rides awesome, but we also liked the Riptide Falls water ride, Spiderman and the King Kong ride. King Kong is new and only open for an hour a day to test it out; we happened to get on during that hour, and it was really worth it! We also enjoyed the Jurassic Park ride, although Kaelia did not like when T-Rex almost ate us at the end.
The next day, we went to Harry Potter at the other park to ride the Gringott's ride and then ventured over to the rest of the park. The highlights here were the Mummy, Transformers, and the Simpsons ride and part of the park. Justin and Joel even enjoyed a Duff beer at Moe's while the girls tried their luck at the Love Tester! Kaelia got a rating of Casanova while Taelyn got Dead Fish. Before leaving the park, Uncle Joel allowed the girls to each pick out something as a gift. Kaelia chose a stuffed animal cat, and Taelyn chose a new wand from Harry Potter. She couldn't decide which wand to get, so the saleslady asked her about her personality and showed her the wand that would match. Taelyn was sold and then went off the various parts of the park where she could wave her wand and say a spell, and then "magic" would happen. It was a unique experience and a fun way to end our time at Universal Studios.
For the rest of our time in Orlando, we swam at the pool at our resort and then went an escape room one evening where we had an hour to find gold in the old West. Even the girls helped find clues, and we got out in time with no problem.
After Orlando, we went to Vero Beach to see our great friends from high school, Adam and Michelle. All of our kids had a wonderful time together swimming in the pool, going to the beach, playing mini golf, and getting lots of ice cream! It was a wonderful and relaxing visit.
Our other big trip of the summer was to the west side of Michigan where we went to Michigan Adventure with Uncle Matty's family and the Jettner's and then on to the Jettner's lake house. Michigan Adventure was a blast - they had rides and waterslides for every age. Taelyn and Jayden liked some of the more extreme rides while Kaelia and Ari preferred the milder rides. At the lake house, we spent a lot of time tubing, kayaking, jet skiing, and hanging out. It was a great way to end the summer.
In between these visits, the girls had plenty of cousin time with Jacob and Riley and quality time with Grandma and Grandpa Pepera and Walker - including camping for a night with Grandma Walker. They also started the summer off with a week-long day camp; Taelyn went to Harry Potter camp, and Kaelia went to Barbie dream camp. We really had a nice time seeing everyone again and enjoying summer activities. Now we are on to our next adventure: India!
 |
 |
| This slideshow customized with Smilebox |
No comments:
Post a Comment