Gatorland

So it sounds like a tourist trap, but we had some time to kill before heading to the airport so we thought we would go check it out. Turns out it is a really topnotch place with numerous Alligator's, a train ride, petting zoo, birds galore, and a splash water park . We would defiantly go back!

Disney... not the happiest place on earth!!

Well as our time in Florida neared to an end we cannot of went all the way to Orlando without doing something Disney now could we? We should of!!!

Charlie has been saying for days "I want to see animals" So we decide that Animal Kingdom would be the Disney park we visit. We wanted to wait till after nap time so that Charlie was up to the park plus it was a bit cold out so we thought the afternoon would be better.
Well the place was packed! Charlie and Daddy waited in line for 40 minutes for a 60 second ride. Then we headed to the safari ride which took about 20 minutes to walk They had the paths blocked for the parade. You could not move and it was just over crowded some guy tries to use his stroller to cut around Chaz who was following right behind me and carrying Charlie, we lost our friends in the crowd. When we did finally make it to the Safari ride there was a 90 minutes wait.
We decided at this point we were leaving, this place was a mad house. So we trek out which was worse going out then in people were just being rude and shoving and just not even trying to be considerate of others. We find our friends and head to guest service's where Chaz goes to stand in line, he is next in line and this lady cuts around the line and sign that says to form one line and wait until called. He is not happy and calls her on it and then turns to the Disney Representative and demand's his money back that this place is too crowded you cannot move and people are rude etc... the man tells him that they do not give refunds but they will make an exception. They have him fill out some paper and tell him this is an one time refund he is now on the Disney list. The Rep tells Chaz that the park is not any where near capacity. I would hate to see it at capacity!
On the tram ride back to the car I get talking to a couple... they say they have never seen the park, that busy and they live in the area and visit frequently They also tell me that the busiest day of the year at the Magic Kingdom is Christmas day that they close the gates by 9:15 A.M. because the park is at capacity. Would not that tick you off if you went all the way there and had your tickets then could not get in.
We thought we were ahead of the game but from talking to people it looks like we were literary a day late... the Christmas boom started on the 22nd.

Sea World

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Charlie meets the Ocean

Charlie was thrilled at the ideal of going to the beach to

dig in the sand and going swimming. We spent

an hour and a half running from store to store

looking for sand toys just to be told they are an

seasonal item... hello it's Florida people

come year round to play on the beach!!

I told our friends they should start a business

renting sand toys to tourist. We came up empty

handed so Larry and Pam set Charlie up with

a Coffee can (plastic one), spoon and strainer to play with.

The waves were crashing into the shore

with such power and a roar! Charlie wanted

no part of the water and showed real fear of

it. But he loved digging in the sand and

picking up shells.It's amazing how you

forget the sound and power

of the water when you haven't seen it in a while.

We were lucky enough to see some dolphins while on the beach. I did get a few picture which are not the best but we will remember them.

Charlie and Daddy but if you look close at about the 2 o'clock position there is a dolphin.

dolphin jumping

First Flight

Once we got on the plane Charlie was thrilled looking out the window and just taking it all in. He didn't really care for the sitting with his seat belt on but once he got the emergency information card to look at he was fine. This was an interesting read to him and he looked at it for 45 minutes if not longer. Calling it "my book". He enjoyed reading it on each flight!

Travel Trials

Well we have been home a few days but our travel is fresh in my mind... We left on the 19th and Chaz and I talked about how early we should get to the airport and he won and said two hours early (I had thought we would need less time). Well It turns out this is what they call a green day!! Which means you will be seeing a sea of green... about 8000 service men and women going home for Christmas!! We arrived at the airport at 5:00 AM to find a huge mess of line after line, that know one knew where they would end but someone had told them to stand in this line. We talked to many service men and women who were really just young kids ready to go home and see their families. Some had been at the airport since 12:30 A.M. standing in line... since the ticket counter's did not open till 4:00 A.M. Just an hour earlier then the normal 5:00 A.M. Turns out that they had started at midnight running 100 buses constantly round trip from the base to the airport with the soldiers on the buses in no real order!! Some did not have a flight until that afternoon or evening. I joked that the government saved 2.4 million by not having to feed them that day. Well the mess was no joke we had a 7:00 A.M. flight that we missed and Southwest was not very helpful in trying to get people on their flights. Well 7:00 A.M. came and went we waited in line.... then we finally made it to the ticket counter and was told the next available flight was at 5:40 P.M. but we could try stand by for the 7:40 flight and all the flights that went before the 5:40 flight which has a stop in Birmingham, AL ... A quick discussion of what we wanted to do ( at that point I wanted to call off the whole trip and just go home) But we decided to push on and hope for the best. The line for security was much more organized! This begin the day at the airport... we had a few minutes after security to see if we could get the standby on the 7:40 flight no such luck try the flight at 8:35 which has to stop in Louisville. Well we eat some Breakfast and then find a less congested area in the airport to let Charlie run around and look out the window at the planes, trucks and stuff moving around the airport. Then back to the gate to try to catch the 8:35 looks like we can get this flight... well I start talking to the agent and find out we are on the first leg but out of Louisville we screwed every thing's booked and we will have to hope for a stand by flight. Tell her no we do not want it... I am glad I kept talking to her! Next chance is 11:40 nonstop that would be great!! So we go down to the closed gate area where we can plug in the phones and DVD player and let Charlie wonder around. Hang out and try and not get upset about the ordeal. Well as the 11:40 gets closer, Charlie is napping and I tell Chaz I am going to talk to the agents and just go for a walk... Well 11:40 is delayed till 12:15 and I find out there is a nonstop at 3:00 So I go to that gate and talk to the ladies there which are actually helpful... They explain that I do not have to keep doing all this running that there is one stand by list, and it transfers to each flight after one closes. Two very pleasant ladies!! So at 12 we head to see about the 11:40 delayed flight it's delayed till 2:15 and people are saying it still has not left Chicago so it will be even later. So I head down to talk to my friends at the other gate to see what happens it the three o'clock flight leaves before the 11:40 flight. Well everyone is con fussed but they look at the stand by list and say we on top so the next flight that leaves if they have seats we are on it. So we go back down to the closed gate area we found hang out and head back at two to see about the 11:40 flight it is now delayed more. We eat lunch and here comes one agent I have been talking to and she tells us that they are only supposed to have the one stand by list but with the 11:40 flight delay and a glitch in the system they have a second list for the three o'clock flight and she puts us on there so be at the gate by 2:45. Thank you Roxie!!!!! Well we get there and allot of people hope for seats and they announce that they have some seats and will be calling stand by passengers! What a relief! One couple is called before us but they waste no time you have about 30 seconds to respond and they did not so we are up!! Tickets and stroller tagged now just wait to board. Eight hours after our original flight we are on our way!









The wait.

Off Line for a while

Heading on our trip so I won't be updating till around Christmas day. Merry Christmas to all! And since I know the real reason most come is for picture's of "Mr Man" here's couple....

putting on Daddy's socks







checking out the bell on Jen's Christmas tree.

Shoveling the snow

Well Charlie was begging to go out and "dig snow" So I bundled him up and we headed out. His ideal of shoveling was moving the snow from the deck to the sidewalk.

Goldfish

Charlie loves his goldfish. When he gets up in the morning he runs to see "goldfish". We have tried to get him to name it and when you ask what is his fish's name and he simply tells you "goldfish".

Too Quite!!

Well yesterday while Charlie napped I put up the tree and put a couple of things outside. Every once in a while I would look in the door and see if Charlie was up. Well I looked in the door and seen Charlie sitting nicely on the couch. I waved at him and he just waved back. I went back to what I was doing then it hit me... Charlie just sitting on the couch nice and quite and I'm outside something is up. So I come inside to find Charlie unwrapping Christmas presents. I distracted him by telling him to lookout the door where he then seen the Eeyore, Tiger, and Pooh inflatable and the two spiral trees I had put up out side and wanted to go out and see them. But as soon as we came back in he was back trying to unwrap the gifts... I may have to put then back up.

Every Mom knows when the kids get quite their up to something!!

Sleepy Little Man

Well Charlie woke up at 5:30 this morning and I guess it caught up with him because at 11:30 right after lunch he fell asleep in Daddy's chair.

Tomato Soup.....Yummy!!

Dearest Mother Nature,

Perhaps I forgot to send you my Change of address card... We have moved from Minnesota to Missouri. So can you please change the weather accordly. I'm not asking for much just please keep it Sunny and in say the 50's but if your feeling generous 60's would be really nice!!

I am very sorry for any inconvenience this has caused you and I hope to not have the normal 6-8 weeks for delivery. I would even be willing to pay the extra $19.95 for faster delivery!!!

Thank You,
Ronda

PAT... Event last night

Last night we attened the Parents As Teachers Winter Event. They had Santa, Crafts and just fun stuff to do.

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Gingerbread house...

Well really a Gram Cracker house. Today we went to the St. Louis Mills for their kids club build a Gingerbread house. Charlie had very little patience while I tried to build some sort of house he could decorate what we ended up with was closer to a brick then a house. It was an enjoyable event and we will go again next year. Before the build a brick we played at the playground with friends from out Meet-Up group.

A first today.. they have a train at the mall and Charlie has always wanted me to ride with him but today he rode alone and didn't even look back.
I had Planned on Charlie getting a picture with Santa but as I was finishing up my lunch he turned on his side in the stroller and went to sleep.

Another Artwork Update

Well Since the last update I decided I didn't like the nose and month so I erased them and have worked on them and erased them to the point that I am surprised that I haven't put a hole in the paper... So I decided to move on and go back to those features later.

Airplane Tune-up

This evening Charlie gave the airplane a tune up... he loves helping when tools come out.

Last weekend Daddy hung

up some new selves in his

room which required a drill

and hammer, Charlie

ran and grabbed

his tools and imitated

Daddy. Daddy was

a little upset that it took

Charlie less time

to find his tools.

Just wondering...

Why is it when your up at 5 AM and need to be some where at 10 AM it seems like you blink and it 9:50...But at night when it's 8 PM and Bed time is 9 PM it seems like that hour will never pass?

Healthy Breakfast of Berry Pie

So Charlie didn't want eggs, waffles or anything I offered just berry Pie like Daddy had. It was so yummy!

But it's healthy right? it has berries, eggs, grain, Kinda like the waffle's with peanut butter and jelly just a different shape.

If you look close you can see the purple filling is covering Charlie front tooth and it looks like he's miss one. Thought it was cute to get a sneak peek of what he'll look like when he gets a little older and the baby teeth fall out.

A little snow

Last night we got a little snow on the grass so this morning I took Charlie out to play in the snow. I did take him out a few times last year but I don't think he really remembers it. This year he was thrilled and had a huge fit when it was time to come in.

Resourceful

The other night Charlie came pushing his ball bin though the living room saying "hi Daddy" as he went by and into the kitchen. Where he first put in at the pantry door where he stood on it and knocked on the door then he moved to the sink where he washed his hands. Chaz said he was like a workman walking past with a ladder... nothing out of the ordinary just going about his business.

Here comes Santa...

Well before we know it Christmas will be here! This is going to be a fun year, Charlie loves the ideal of opening presents, he knows who Santa is and Chaz already has him saying "Merry Christmas". Which is so very cute!

I ordered Charlie's big gift online and it will be here in a week or two still waiting for Ryan's wish list, not a clue about what to get my Nephew (hint hint), or Chaz. We need to go buy a tree and I would live to just do like a paper chain, homemade ornaments and string popcorn on it but I think with Charlie's love for popcorn he would get up in the middle of the night and eat it.

Been a quiet blog time... we haven't done much since we came home for Osage Beach. Tomorrow... well I guess really later today we have to get out of the house maybe I can talk Chaz into going to get a Christmas photo taken so I can get our cards done this week.

Home Again...

Sunday we went to Lake of the Ozarks State Park twice. Once in the morning when we walked a little, threw rocks in the water and played on the small playground. Then again in the evening when we played in the leaf's they had in piles, hiked, threw more rocks in the water and played on the larger playground. Oh and in the evening on the way out of the park we seen a owl,raccoon and five deer. After the morning trip to the park we went to Miner Mike's which was a great time with tunnels to climb and then the rides. They have this Train ride that is a mini roller coaster That Charlie LOVED! I really thought that he would ride it once and be done. But as soon as the ride stopped he told Chaz "again". Chaz rode with him three times then they rode the wagon Ferris wheel. I rode the bumper cars and then you guessed it back to the Train for four more rides. Which wasn't as bad as I expected it to be. I am the master of waiting to get on the roller coaster and then when it's time for the ride you go to get on and just keep on going. Then it was nap time so back to the resort. In the evening we went to Holiday Magic Drive-Through Light Park which we thought was a rip at $10.00 a car.

Monday... Bummer time to head home... we decided to take the long scenic route. Before we left the Resort Chaz was in the living room and called to me to look out the window that a hawk was soaring right outside the window. Turned out it was a Bald Eagle! Sadly I wasn't able to get the camera in time. While packing it came by again... at that point Chaz said he would never get me to leave. But we did load the car... and headed to the Historic swinging bridge's. We drove over one but I was NOT riding over the other. We also walked them and the longer of the two which had a weight limit of only 5 tons had missing boards missing which left holes that Charlie could of easily fallen though. Then we headed to Vichy, MO to see some property that Chaz's Aunt and Uncle own. More wonderful views and just a nice scenic ride. After that Chaz wanted to go to some other property that the family has but it was as far away as home and after talking about it he decided that would be a trip for another day.

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Tuesday Well Charlie woke up at four but Chaz got up with him and I tried to sleep some more but gave up. We watched some TV and just hung out around the house at 10:30 we got ready to go to Incredible Pizza but once in the car Charlie fell asleep before we could get to 70 and Lake St. Louis. So we went to Quizno's for a sub and home to let him sleep. I cleaned out the fridge and made a list of things we still needed for Thanksgiving dinner. After nap time we ran to Wal-mart where not only did we get the things for Thanksgiving dinner but a fish tank and fish. Now we are just waiting for Charlie to name his new fish...

From the Tan-Tar-A Resort

Having a great time on our trip! Our room is nice but, the resort is just crazy with stairs we have to take 8 different set of stairs to get to our room. Yesterday we hung out at the resort and went to the water park. Which we have pretty much to ourselves. To day we went to Ha Ha Tonka State Park which is just beautiful! Then to the Bridal cave which Charlie didn't want to leave. We had a private tour of the cave. There is something to be said for going place's off season. Then we went for a ride and over the Bagnell Dam where we were going to turn around and seen another couple looking at something and taking pictures turned out there where FOUR Bald Eagles just hanging out in a tree!! Absolutely an Amazing sight! Just Love it when wrong turns turn into great surprises! This evening we had dinner at Half Sauced Barbeque which was great food. Wish we had on in Wentzville. Looking forward to what tomorrow brings.

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Drummer Boy

Well a while back for Charlies birthday he got his first drum set we pulled it out today and the kid just knew what to do with it.

Mr. Man Sleeping

Don't look too comfy to me.

'Tis the season...

OK so it's not even Thanksgiving yet but we did... we went and seen Santa!! Charlie's Friend and future wife (if Molly has her way) Norah is not thrilled with the ideal of Santa so we thought we could do a warm up visit before the fine cloths come out and the Christmas cards are waiting to be printed. Norah agreed to go if Charlie went with her so here it is...












After a few tears Norah did give a smile and Charlie was just like "whatever, let's go play". The cool new thing is they give you your pictures on a little USB thing and release the copyright so you can get all the prints you want made up.
One disappointment was the train lady kept going on break we tried three time and each time she was gone and the time on the clock was changed!! We had a great day with Norah and Molly and hope the will come out again soon!!