Night at the Beach

We are spending tonight in Tybee Island. We have a beautiful view of the ocean from our hotel room and I am really looking forward to a relaxing evening with my three boys, enjoying the area and hotel. This trip has been very busy, so it is nice to take an evening and relax with ocean sounds, a good dinner, and a relaxing evening drink of wine.

We have had an amazing trip and have enjoyed every part of it. We will be heading back home to Spartanburg tomorrow and will start the process of slowly unpacking and cleaning up Christmas. I anticipate that it will take a about a week to be fully back into our old routine.

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas with their families. I know that this will always be a very special trip for us.

Freezing in Daytona

We have had beautiful weather all week, up until yesterday. The weather was terrible and our riverboat lunch cruise got cancelled. Grandpa recommended the Daytona Museum of Art and Science as a backup and it turned out to be a great suggestion. There is not a lot of art or science at the museum, but there is a great kids museum there!

Mission to the Moon

Shuttle Pilot, and ladies' man, Graysen.
Mission Specialist, and quiet genius, Caleb.

Hollywood Studios

Hollywood Studios was a great end to our week at Disney, with the highlight being Caleb's enrollment into Jedi Training School. Here are a few pictures from our day:

Graysen was obsessed with Handy Manny. He had been asking for him all week and was thrilled to finally meet his hero.
We signed Caleb up for Jedi Traning. He was made it into the last show of the day and was put at the front of the stage since he was one of the littlest ones into the class. Lee got video of the show and it is hilarious!!! He will post video later, but here are a few still shots that I captured.

The one from "the Jedi nursery" learning how to use his light saber.
The "hobbit" fighting Darth Vader.
Caleb's graduating class, our first graduation ceremony!!!
The boys loved eating dinner at the Sci Fi Drive In Diner.
The boys insisted on sitting the in the front seat of the car together and Lee and I got to enjoy a peaceful and quiet dinner behind them.
Amazing Christmas lights.

EPCOT

My parents went around EPCOT with the boys so that Lee and I could have a special day enjoying the park alone. It was great!!! We had a wonderful (and very relaxing) day enjoying the World Showcase and tasting and trying new things.

Islands of Adventure

Today could be summed up as a little bit of everyone's favorite things. First, Lee enjoyed spending time in Harry Potter World. Then, the boys LOVED meeting all of their favorite super-heros. Finally, I enjoyed the evening back at the hotel with a horse-drawn carriage ride followed by glowing drinks at the bar.

Just a tip that Lee and I learned about the ride at Harry Potter, doing "kid-swap" can make the wait only 20 minutes instead of 120 minutes! I have to say that Lee and I LOVED having kids this morning!!!

As usual, I only got a few pictures from the day. Lee is the main trip photographer. Here are a few that I captured:

Lee enjoying Butterbeer (non-alcoholic, very yummy) in Hogsmeade.

Graysen on a motorcycle in Dr. Seuss Land.
Graysen running from a VERY real Grinch...
Only Caleb was brave.

Animal Kingdom

Animal Kingdom is a great park for little ones. Caleb and Graysen loved all of the shows, including "Finding Nemo" and "Festival of the Lion King," and seeing lots of animals. Lee and I enjoyed the atmosphere of Africa and Asia. It was a really fun day and we are loving sharing this time with our boys.

Caleb is an absolute angel and, in my opinion, probably the best behaved child in all of Orlando. He takes in the park, does not ask for anything, and is immersed in the excitement and new discoveries of the day. Graysen is, surprisingly, a close second. He is a joy and very well behaved.

I was going to post a few pictures from our day, but I am having trouble with the internet, and only two loaded. Lee will post more in a summary post when we return. Here are the two that uploaded before the internet crashed.

Mommy was the only one interested in the petting zoo...
We ended our day with "Festival of the Lion King," which is a fun circus-themed show.

Magic Kingdom

We had a wonderful day at Magic Kingdom. I didn't get a lot of pictures because I was enjoying the day with the boys. Lee, as usual, took great pictures. He is going to post his when we get home.

The boys' favorite rides were Buzz, Riverboat, and the Speedway where they drove their own cars. I was a little scared to be in Graysen's car. It was not the most comfortable ride.

The park is beautiful at night and Lee and I really enjoyed the ambiance. We had a magical day with the boys and are enjoying this special time.

Wow!!!

Wow!!! That is all that I can say about our first day at Disney. It has been great!!! Our hotel, Port Orleans-Riverside, is wonderful. We checked in this afternoon and then took a water taxi to Downtown Disney. We ate at Planet Hollywood with my parents and enjoyed spending time at Downtown Disney. We finished the evening at the "River Roost" with a few special drinks for all of us and are now ready for bed. Off to Magic Kingdom in the morning!!!

Here is our hotel room, on a courtyard, on the river, across from the main "hub."
Grammy and Grandpa.
Two new "friends," Charlie and Fly, added to the boys' crew from Build-A-Dino.
Topping the night off with a few special drinks, including glowing Buzz Lightyear drinks for the boys.

Fun Travel Day

Considering today was a travel day, we had a pretty relaxing day. We arrived in Richmond Hill, GA around 3 PM. We had a great dinner at a Scottish pub, Molly McPherson's, where we had our first tastes of scotch. The pub boasted having 150 kinds of scotch, so we felt a "starter flight" would be a good place to start.

After dinner, we returned to our hotel which offered an evening snack of cookies and hot chocolate, followed by some time swimming.

Hopefully the boys are tired enough from all of the activity to go to bed...

Sweet Friends

Elf Yourself

Elf Yourself - Slusher Cousin Edition:

Slusher Christmas

Yesterday we celebrated our family's "Christmas," which we usually do the Sunday before we travel.

I was woken up by Graysen telling me, very excitedly, "Santa drank the milk!!!"

Here are the boys comparing gifts from Santa.
Oh no!!! Lee only got coal in his stocking...
Or, Santa may have made a financial decision and spent most of the money on the Nook Color.
Graysen opening his present from Caleb.
Caleb LOVED the hat that Graysen bought for him.
Or... Did Graysen buy that hat for himself?!
The boys' "Bobbies" are stylin' in their new Jeep, just like Papa's.
My present from Graysen. Uh hum... Beautiful?!
The favorite gift of the morning was the gift from Aunti and Uncie...
That evening, the Taylors came over for Christmas dinner. More presents for the boys!?!
Uncle Allen.
Aunt Kim.
Devon and Amber having fun with the boys and "Ele-fun."
Three shots, Aunt Kim!?!
What a great evening with family!
And, at the end of the night, Lee and I found the boys passed out in their new tent from Aunt Kim.