Florida '08: Emma and Me at the Animal Kingdom

Namaste.

Florida '08: The Family at Epcot

Okay, so I love this goofy photo. One morning, we were all at the Epcot Center, and I wanted to get a photo of my family with the Epcot "golf ball" behind them and then another with the Epcot lake too. My dad would not be "obedient" and join us in a photo, but kept tooling around in his scooter. Steve could tell right away what he was up to -- he was looking for shade. So, here's a photo of us as we broke our "pose" and turned to look at that crazy old dude that I call dad! Note that Clara in the photo has declared a personal time out!

Florida '08: My Favorite Curmudgeons!

Okay, I really dig this photo taken at the Epcot Center. Our little 2 year-old girl would be a real trooper and put up with our long days, early starts, late evenings, lack of naps. But every once in awhile, she would handle her business and just declare a personal time out. She carried her trusty blanket for just that purpose. Here's a photo of her and my dad, such cuties!

Florida '08: Our Brave Clara!

Clara is just a little girl, only 2 years old! But she's such a brave creature! She bolted away from us to climb this super tall slide and then slid in this enclosed twirling twisting slides which was at least 2 stories high. And you can see in this photo that she thought it was great fun! She was brave about climbing, sliding, swimming. She's our little natural athlete!

Florida '08: The Elegant Giraffe

I guess I had never seen a giraffe really. But I saw at least a dozen of them at Walt Disney World that week. There were ten of them at our resort alone with 6 spending most of the time in our "backyard." I saw adult giraffe, teenagers, and the most adorable baby giraffes who hung by their mamas, much like my Renny. I missed my little guy, so you can bet that I really enjoyed seeing those beautiful herd animals early in the morning, at dusk, and late at night right before I prepared for bed. I thought the Animal Kingdom Lodge was a treasure, just for those beautiful creatures!

Florida '08: My Dad with Emma!

Here is a photo of my dad in his scooter and his first granddaughter, Emma. They look very comfortable after their satisfying breakfast, and they are waiting to tool around the Animal Kingdom Park, enjoying the sites, trying the treats, and playing! Happy pair of troublemakers!

Florida '08: Mom and Her Girls!

Here is a photo of my favorite ladies by far! They are sitting under a palapa roof on a beautiful morning. They are very happy!

Florida '08: Enjoying the Animal Kingdom!

Here is a photo of my family on a really extraordinary beautiful sunlit morning in Florida at the Animal Kingdom Park. We got up early in order to have breakfast with Donald Duck, Goofy, and their pals. And then we were going to take a tour of Africa, ride a train through the jungle, visit animals on a nature walkway, and play, play, play, play in a big jungle gym area known as the Boneyard. We had an exhausting, drum-beating, skirt-swinging, dancing day. And we slept as deeply as we could for our naps before jetting off to the Magic Kingdom for the 'Not so Scary' Halloween! A big day!

Florida '08: Giggling in the Morning!

Here is a photo of my mom and her grandchildren. She could not be happier. Her girls just saw a savannah full of African animals and she knows that they are happy and ready for a day of adventures!

Florida '08: A Magical Morning

Here is a photo taken one morning on our porch at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. The girls were relaxing, Clara was still in her nightclothes and Emma too was in her nightdress, given that she had slept as Snow White! What a cutie! Anyway, the girls are looking out over our backyard which was filled with giraffes, zebras, water buffalo, deer, ostrich, and other amazing creatures. We were marveling that morning at the tall sweet giraffes and their babies!

Florida '08: Our Huffy Princess!

Here is a photo of Elena getting Clara ready for lunch at the Castle at the Magic Kingdom. She was getting ready to meet Cinderella, Belle, Mary Poppins, Jasmine, and Snow White, but she was fixin' to throw a fit because her mom was fussing with her Snow White outfit. Who can blame her. She was hot and she wanted that dress off. Clara would be happy to strip down in an instant, if she could be free to run barefoot!

Florida '08: Clara Dances in Water!

Here is a photo of my darling Clara at the Magic Kingdom. She was a real hoot. Her sister was determined to wear a princess outfit the entire week and mainly wanted to be Snow White. One night, I even had to sleep with a crunchy little Princess with her flouncy dress, tiara, and scepter! But my little Clara?! She was happy to wear a princess dress, but not if it was too hot or time to play. She wore the best casual clothes and would rip off her shoes and then dance in little water jets or pools. Little nature rocker girl!

Florida '08: Emma Sliding!

Here is a photo of my wild child, flying down a slide! She's a real little Miss Firecracker and I'm proud to know her!

Florida '08: Waiting for the Magic Kingdom!

My mom and dad hosted my family for a week's trip to Florida. We had an amazing time, celebrating Emma's birthday, swimming, visiting the parks in Orlando, playing with the girls, and being together. Here is a photo of us taken on the second day as we are waiting to board a bus for the Magic Kingdom. We were staying at the Animal Kingdom which is an amazing resort with a nature and animal preserve surrounding the rooms and villas!