Finishing up in Florida!

We only had a few days left of summer vacation and we made sure that we used them wisely while at Nana and Grampa's house in Florida.  It was a great way to unwind from all of the travelings we had done for the past 3 weeks.  There was a lot of water involved (pool, fountain and beach)...

and a few impressive rainstorms...

Which just forced me to come inside and pack the 4 large suitcases and all the carry on bags we would be taking back with us.  I even got a little help from ChaCha...

Our final night we celebrated Nana's birthday (a week early) and saw a spectacular sunset before calling it a summer...

The next afternoon it was off to the airport yet again (if you are counting that makes 5 flights in 10 days!)

We made it home the next morning after a smooth flight and no sleep so this is pretty much what Stinkerbell looked like for the next few hours...

We are over the jet lag and into our second week at school already but we are already planning our next adventures.  Stay tuned!

Breck Check-In III

Our final full week in Breck.  We tried to squeeze it all in but really just couldn't.  Just means we will have to be back again soon.  As for now, we are off to cruise Alaska with the family.  See you in about 2 weeks...or more...

 Another hike.  This time through the backyard path.  We had to first learn what to do if we encountered a moose.

We also encountered a mermaid at the pool...

And some sneakily hidden grasshoppers.

A solo hike to admire the beauty around me...

Tea at a Victorian House from the 1800's.

 Hummingbird spotting in the gorgeous wildflowers!

 My Rapunzel's needed haircuts...

 We had to turn back from a playdate with our German friends because of this storm which resulted in a mudslide and a tornado...

 We "split" the Continental Divide :)

And on our final day, we finally met up with our friends from Germany for a quick breakfast before saying our final see you later's...It was a great way to end our summer trip to Breck!

Breck Check-In II

Our second week in Breck was full of creativity of all kinds (and a birthday celebration)...

3 types of cereal (Froot Loops, Cinnamon Life and Chocolate Krave)...Why not?

Posing with a family favorite...

Hiking Peak 8.

Creating at the BreckCreate event on a Saturday Morning...

Visiting with friends from Germany who also happen to have a house nearby.  I love that they will always be close even though we will be living far away.

Incredibles 2 on a rainy day!

Giant Dandelion blowing on a walk home from downtown.

Work on the quilt progresses.

Birthday wishes from Stinkerbell.

And rounding out the week with my Birthday dinner!

Breck Check-In

We have been in the U.S. for almost 3 weeks now, and I have been very remiss in keeping up with the goings on.  Partly it is because we are keeping busy but mostly just because we are enjoying our downtime.  So much so that I have yet to even unpack the big camera from its bag.  That doesn't mean that my iPhone hasn't snapped a few pictures of the adventures so those are what I will share...This was Week 1...

 One the plane and ready to go.

 This one finally had a way to relax a bit.  She is not tall enough to reach either the floor or the footrest.  And she is too tall to curl up in the seat like she used to.  Enter the foot caddy.  It hangs off of the tray table and makes an envelope for her feet to rest in on a giant inflatable pillow!  She said she has never been so comfy.

 Home for the 4th!

 Hot tub!

 Learning to quilt with Nana.

 Finally celebrating the big 9 with Nana and Grampa.

 Working on their scooters with Grampa.

 Seeing an oldie but a goodie with the added bonus of having music played live by the NRO.

 Sunday donuts as big as our heads.

Finally getting to ride their homemade scooters!

Walt Disney World...Again!

Disney World.  We had made a quick stop at the Magic Kingdom about 10 days before Christmas as we flew into Orlando from Germany for home leave.  But that was just the warm-up.  The 28th found us once again saying goodbye to family (B's this time) and driving back to Orlando.  This time though was different; this time we were going to my brother P and his fiancee S's wedding!  A wedding.  At Disney World!  It doesn't get much more magical than that.  We had rented a huge house that we could all stay in together (with a pool for the kids to jump in and the adults to relax).  We let the kids jump and play for a bit but needed to get them, and ourselves, into bed as we had a very early wake-up call.  Seems that if you want to be able to ride the most popular rides at Epcot (Soarin' and Test Track) you need to be there an hour before the rides even open.  Which meant leaving the house at 6:40 in the morning.  Too early if you ask me but understood.  We ran/walked our way straight to Soarin' and only had about a 20 min wait; Test Track was not to be though as the line was already over 2 hours long by the time we got there.  Not a problem for us though as we moved on to Frozen and never looked back.  We spent our day popping into whatever ride we wanted and managed to drink our way around the World (which was the goal of the adults).  We even stopped for lunch in Germany.  

As darkness and even colder temps descended upon us we gathered all 18 of us back into our cars and toward the house for a dip in the hot pool, some dinner and another early bedtime as tomorrow's wake up call for the Animal Kingdom was just as early.  

The Bride and Groom

 And that isn't even all of us.

 We spent our time waiting in line playing Heads Up.  Highly recommended.

The new Frozen ride and the Troll afterward.

 

 In Norway, after the Frozen ride we stopped for a Skoleboller (not as good as my Norwegian friend, IH's but good) and a traditional shot of Akvavit (horrible).

  Stinkerbell bought herself a bubble wand with her Christmas money and spent the afternoon blowing it in peoples faces...

 Part of drinking around the world includes the Coca-Cola version of drinks around the World.  Most of them were very good but the Inca Kola that we used to get in Chile was my favorite.

  

 Mexico...

 A beer in Germany, a Limoncello in Italy

 A few more rides (piggyback and the other sort) and we were ready to call it a day.