Month: April 2016

Sneaky Pie had not been feeling well lately. She was in and out of the vets office over the last few weeks. She received medications and fluids for dehydration. She was put on a special diet and after a few days started refusing her food. She lost weight and was generally just unhappy. Poor kitty. She had an amazing life. From tip toes in the snow to bonding and fighting with her countless brothers and sisters. She will be dearly missed. 

Everyone got to spend time with her and say their last good-byes. She will be missed.

We spent a few nights over in Orlando before the words and heat kick in. We met up with friends to spend the day at Universal and Islands of Adventure. I enjoyed being silly all over City Walk on the way to the park. 

We played at the Camp Jurassic playground for a while. Everyone was hot and dripping wet. We all have our Harry Potter wands and were playing games.

We stopped in at the Jurassic Park area and I got to participate in the show.

My friend got chosen for the wand choosing ceremony at Olivanders.

We downed a butter beer and felt much cooler.

Cooling off on the Popeye ride.

Mom and Emmerson stayed off the Popeye ride and took silly pictures with my friends stuffed wolf.

Being goofy.

We spun until we were all green.

We spent the next day at Blizzard Beach and had a lot of fun in the lazy river, wave pool and the slides. We grabbed Tom and Chee for a late lunch. Man was that GOOD! I had a grilled blue cheese sandwich! YUM!

Dessert was a grilled donut with chocolate, graham cracker and marshmallow flavored marscapone cheese!

Epcot was next on our list. I loved the butterfly garden and all of the topiaries.

I bought some tiny hedgehogs with my allowance.

We wrapped up the end of the day with the parade at Magic Kingdom.

We had a great mini trip. The weather was too hot for April and the crowds were heavy but we found fun things to do anyway. We even managed to get on Seven Dwarfs Mine Train!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mom signed me up for a canvass class at Art from the Heart in Dunedin. I was very excited to go paint a hedgehog! The directions were easy to follow and I had a great time.

I did everything on my own with only a little help from Mom for the black lines around the hedgehogs.

I thought painting in the glass was a fun touch at the end. Also I added a darker shadow under the hedgehogs.

I have been waiting for years to go to Universal. Emmerson is finally brave enough to ride the rides, at least most of them. Mom and Dad surprised us with a trip for the weekend with special ride passes so we don’t have to wait in long lines, except for Harry Potter stuff.

We arrived Friday afternoon and went to Universal to get the lay of the land. It was amazing walking into Diagon Alley and seeing the books and films come to life. They did an amazing job.

We took a wrong turn and ended up waiting in a short line for what, we didn’t know! It ended up being the wand choosing at Olivander’s Wand Shop. E and I were selected and the ceremony was nothing less than amazing! I had to practice spells to find the correct wand. Finally the wands were chosen. Mine is a reed wand with dragon heartstring. E ended up with a birth wand with dragon heart string from the same dragon. It was a cool story!

We had our share of butter beer. I liked the frozen the best.

The rides were spectacular! The que lines even more so! I loved walking through Gringott’s Bank!

Saturday we were up before the sunshine and had pancake room service.

We arrived really early at the gates for 8am admission. We were chosen to the be “Opening Family” and got to open the park! We got in a few minutes early, received a free photo pass and had people asking us all day if we were having a family reunion. They gave us badges that said “Opening Family”. It was a running joke by the end of the day… Hello Mr. and Mrs. Opening!

We LOVED Hogwarts express. I was amazed how it really looked like the movies.

After a morning of Harry Potter we checked out Islands Of Adventure. I loved the Jurassic Park area and can’t wait to come back to ride the ride.

We were exhausted after the park but still found the entry to be in the pool for nearly 2 hours.

There was a family of mallard ducks enjoying the pool with us. Mom, Dad and 8 ducklings swam all over.

Sunday we spent the morning casting spells with our new interactive wands.

Grandma and Grandpa wandered around with us, drank more butter beer and had a great time.

I thought the Hogwarts Express line was awesome. From one spot you can see people disappear to platform 9 3/4. 

I got scolded for casting spells on the train.

The knight bus driver was hilarious! We also made a MAGIC phone call from the telephone booth! There are so many little details and hidden treats!

We checked out Jaws and headed for home.

Thanks for a great vacation!

Below are some of the photos from the free photo pass we had for being the “Opening Family”.

We have been taking Maker Boot Camp classes at Seminole Community Library! We learned about editing software this month, specifically iMovie.  We then had to use clips from our classes and make a short video.

I enjoyed learning the history of video editing and also how to make a really cool camera setup for under $100!

I am glad to have friends in the class with me.

I loved adding sound and transitions to my clips.