Downtown Disney/Animal Kingdom

Sunday we met up with our buddies Davey and Kathy in Orlando after we checked out and went out to lunch at Bahama Breeze (one of my favorites). Liesl has been watching Finding Nemo nonstop and is a little obcessed with it. We had a great time with Dave and Kathy as usual and caught up on things with them for a little then went to check into the hotel at Port Orleans in Disney. Our room is right on a corner overlooking Magnolia trees and the river. It is super cool and the inside of our room is phenominal (wouldnt expect less from Disney though. We are quite comfortable here. Liesl needed a little nap before dinner so as we unpacked she snoozed. We then headed over to Downtown Disney for a little shopping excursion and some dinner at the T Rex Cafe which is owned by the Rainforest Cafe so it is basically the same but with Dinosaurs instead of the usual Rainforest animals and meteor showers instead of the thunderstorms. Liesl really liked it but she has been doing this grab hold for dear life thing when she is a little spooked and the dinos were definately doing that for her from time to time. The river out in front of our hotel room has a water taxi that took us to and from Downtown Disney and Liesl absoloutly loved riding it to and from the hotel. She pretty much crashed hard as soon as we got back.

This morning we headed out to Animal Kingdom. Liesl enjoyed the bus ride ...which was good. no meltdowns. She was very excited to see the zoo like theme park and was a good intro to Disney in my opinion. We first visited "it's touch to ben a bug" which is a 4D show with Flick from Bug's Life. She enjoyed it but definately was spooked when the water splashed in her face and all of the 4D effects came out to "greet" her. She calmed down when the villan was pushed out though. We all enjoyed the African jungle treck where we saw an infant gorilla which I unfortunately didnt get very good pictures of. It couldnt have been more than a few months old if that. It's mother was so cute with it the way that she coddled it and Liesl was very impressed with it. She also made some friends while we waited out a thunder storm in the hippo/fish tank that you could walk right up next to see into the water. A couple also celebrating thier anniversary there made fast friends with Liesl and kept her very occupied talking to her about her Nemo stuffed fish she had to have and her silly bands she hasnt taken off her wrists other than to sleep. We then went on the Killamanjaro Safaris which Liesl enjoyed because she got to see the African animals from a truck in a more natural setting. Then she got to see her first African Elephants among other african safari animals. She enjoyed itk very much but was very ready for lunch at 2....We had reservations at the Tuskar house ...however we didnt get in right away so it was a little bit of a challenge with a hungry toddler. Once we got in though she was much better knowing that her food source was secured which she got all over herself (mac and cheese) then later a birthday cupcake which she blew the candle out like a pro and thoroughly enjoyed being sung happy birthday to as usual. Lunch was fantastic (disney style). We then breifly watched the parade which a great one again Liesl saying " I love Donald" when Donald came by. We then had to high tail it to the Finding Nemo Musical which was amazing. I think my cheek muscles hurt from smiling so much and Liesl loved the show because she is so obcessed with Nemo and knows the story. It was definately a must see and we were so happy we got the preferred seating from having the reservation at the Tuskar house. It was kind of a Circqe Du Soliel kind of thing with them flipping and flying on wires and also a muppet kind of musical thing. very cool show. We then tried to make it back to Asia to see the animals there but it was getting kind of late and that was closed... the train was closed to get to the petting zoo so I decided to do the Everest ride which was phenominal! It goes way up the mountain and then stops and then you roller coast backwards into the dark! scary scary. Then you start forwards and again and twist and turn through the mountain. I was screaming the whole way through. We then went back and rode the Killamanjaro Safari and got a much better guide. this one didnt sound like Ben Stein and was very entertaining but we didnt see as many animals because it was getting to be dusk. I almost forgot! Liesl rode her first ride today, Triceratops spin which is like the Dumbo ride at Magic Kingdom where it goes in a circle flying up and down. Then the went to the dino playground and decided to eat dirt in the "excavation area" I got it all on film. She fell asleep for the bus ride back to the hotel thank god because no nap and she was done.. But I think little girl smelled dinner when we stopped by the cafeteria and woke up about an hour and a half later and ate most of my double cheeseburger WOW. I rounded the evening out with a swim in the pool which has a giant dragon waterslide. She is resting soundly clutching her Nemo dreaming of the Magic Kingdom tomorrow

Seaworld Rocks

Today we went to Seaworld because we had an extra day before Disney on Sunday. We pulled into a hotel in Orlando last night about 1 AM and got a good night's rest and went out into the Florida heat. Sea World was a lot different than I remembered. There are a bunch of roller coasters there which I was suprised at. Liesl had a great time seeing all of the animals as usual. She especially liked the dolphin show which was a litttle like a Cirque du Soliel with all of the swinging, diving and dancing involved. Her little face lit up watching all of that and those dolphins jumping and diving in the water. We think next she loved the shark encounter where she got to go through the tube to see all of the sharks swim around. We went to the dolphin nursery where the momma and baby dolphins have privacy to nurse thier young. We got to pet the stingrays and dolphins in the stingray cove and dolphin cove. We got to view the dolphins under water and the manatees. All very good exhibits. They also had some very good sea horse tanks even better than in Chicago in the aquarium. We seemed to just accidentally make the dolphin show and the Shamu show. We didnt of course miss a major downpour and thunderstorm though, We were all drenched by the time we made it home. We decided to pick a local pizza place that looks amazing and our friends Dave and Kathy that live in the keys are supposed to hook up with us tonight and Liesl is getting a little shuteye so she can see them too. Downtown Disney tomorrow! What a great day. Cant wait for PIZZA

Elephant Day

Wednesday we spent most of the day packing for our trip and head out the door about 8 PM. We drove through some of the night and made it through one of my least favorite parts of the trip to Florida.....Ohio at about 2. We stayed the night in Cincinatti so we could go to the Cincinatti zoo in the morning. When Liesl and I were waiting for Jim to get showered Liesl went to what I thought to be the bathroom door and I thought she opened it....when I realized that she had actually ran out of the room and was 50 yds down the hall I sprinted my bitt down there. From the time that Liesl got up in the morning until we go to the zoo I kept letting her know that she would see elephants that day so she started calling it "Elephant Day" which I think is kind of appropriate being our anniversary. I think Jim did very well in planning the zoo trip for our anniversary so we all could see elephants. It was the first thing that we saw there. Good thing it was in the front. It was kind of expensive but definately worth it. Too bad I couldnt find my zoo card because we would have gotten 50% OFF. Errrrrgh. Oh well. The zoo and botanical gardens were absoloutly beautiful. Liesl got to go into the Children's zoo where she went in and fed the farm animals with me and pet the goats and sheep. All of the exhibits were set up very aethetically. You could definately tell that it is one of the top zoos in the country. I couldnt believe I was actually more impressed with thier polar bear exibit. You could get very close to all of the animals. One exibit we were especially impressed with was the Mexican Wolves. They came right up to the glass. Liesl and Jim were hanging out in a cub cave and they were right outside like they were watching thier cubs from the front of the den. I was also especially impressed with the manatee exhibit. There was a very large aquarium indoors and they swam right by us. The Kimodo dragon exhibit, the white and black rhino exhibits, the bird exhibit.....we ran into a zookeeper meeting at the end of the exhibit and were waiting on it to end and when it did... Liesl and I almost got run over by what we thought to be a toddler which was in fact an emperor penguin that was being escorted by the zookeeper. Thier cat house was interesting, all indoors with the cats all behind glass. The gorilla exhibit brought the gorrillas very close to us as well. Liesl had a very long day and was biting my shoulder in the end...which is really bruised right now by the way but we still managed to visit the elephants again. Last night was kind of rough leaving Cincinatti as Liesl seemed to have missed her nap and also was late getting to bed again, so she was quite crazy vocal. We did manage to get her to sleep in the car finally about 9:30 and found a steak and shake hours down the road.

Today we tried a different tack to the drive. I think it was quite successful. Liesl remained happy and we got some of our shopping done at Walmart, Liesl played in the play place at Chick-fill-A and we were able to reach Orlando right out of Sea World at 1 AM. Looking forward to Sea World tomorrow. We are scheduled to be in Disney Sunday so driving went quite well.

Barbie Cake Birthday weekend

Saturday, Liesl's Birthday, we visited Opa and Oma Fritz for dinner. (mmmmm it was good) Liesl and I spent the morning icing her Barbie Cake. Liesl and I used a Cinderella Barbie and pink icing. I was rather impressed with the job we did on it and so was Daddy and Oma when we "cake bossed" it over to their place. We had a very nice time with Opa and Oma playing and eating wonderful food that Oma Ronnie made.

Sunday morning, Liesl and I visited the Farm Center at Wolcott Mill and saw the new piglets, saw the horses up close and personal and the cows as well. Liesl knows the calves by name that are there as well which I was surprised to find out. She was begging me to pet the sheep as well which I was surprised at. She had a lot of fun "driving the tractor" on the way out.

This week Liesl has been home with daddy for 2 days so far and they have been having a good time playing around the house. I was so glad to hear that she slept in until 10:30 today for him. He let me know that this morning she got hold of the camera and was saying to her Barbies and Farm Animals to "Say cheese", "take picture". How funny!  I am so glad to be off for some time! Looking forward to it. Missing Oma in AK and hoping she is having a great time.

Schneider Family Reunion and Birthday Party

The Tierneys had a very busy weekend. Friday night Liesl and I drove up to the reunion in Blanchard so we could make the kayaking trip Saturday morning. Liesl and I had a very good time kayaking in the back with Clara, Aunt Barb, Kaethe and Oma Gabi. We of course had diplomatic immunity  from the water guns because of the royalty on board (Princess Liesl)....all except Aunt Barb of course.

  
We had a really nice time hanging out with everyone. Liesl especially hung on to Heidi and Kaethe Tante and also Dee and Evelyn. She wanted to "see Heidi" alot Saturday and had fun with Kaethe Tante tickling her. She also took a real shine to Inge and Uwe when they showed her the chickens and let her feed them her left over corn on the cob. She also visited Kaethe Tante's chickens as well. Liesl also had a really good time playing in the pool and on the swingset. She is extremely comfortable in the pool now and wanting to get on her belly and kick and I am thinking is on the fast track to learning to swim. We left (very slowly) Saturday night so we could celebrate Liesl's birthday.

 

Sunday, we had Aunt Gloria, the Tonkins, Heather and Gavin, Oma and Opa Fritz, Grampa Jack and   Oma and Grandad Halsall over for BBQ and cake and icecream. It was a very nice party, very laid back and very little stress for me. Thank you all for all of the wonderful gifts and cards and conversation. Liesl felt very special that day and it was all thanks to you. It was wonderful hanging out with family this weekend.

We were also glad to hear from Opa Peter Monday night when I got home from work and Liesl and I called him. We are happy that he is home and resting now. Hope to see you soon Opa. Wishing for a quick recovery!

Barbies Sailing

 Monday morning I dropped Liesl off at Oma and Grandad's house and transferred her right into Oma's car for some sailing adventures with Barbie and a little Beach time in Port Sanilac. On the way to the boat Liesl told Oma that she needed to go potty.

 Oma obliged by stopping at McDonalds and putting the potty chair on the tailgate so she could pee. Which worked out quite well that she did have the potty chair because Liesl did use it. Good thinking Oma!

  I got a big kick out of it. Oma even had a potty prize for Liesl in case this happened.  She did very well on the boat wearing her life jacket the whole time.  She enjoyed climbing up from the cabin and touching Grandad through the windows and saying " I touch Grandad" and "I cook corn down here Grandad" when she and Oma were prepping lunch.

 The water was quite calm out there but there was a little rocking when they passed other boats with which Liesl responded with a "Wheeeeeeeee"!
















 Liesl even got to help Grandad by  pulling the sails up.

 She brought along all of her Barbies and instructed them in the proper sailing etiquette "Sit down Barbie, sit down" and Grandad in the proper use of his life jacket.

   After their sailing adventure they were able to go to the beach for a little sandcastle making and she even squoze a little nap in before she came home to Momma and Dadda.

 Momma and Dadda had prepared a little surprise for Gavin's birthday (kind of last minute) and got a cake to add to their taco night and invited Oma and Grandad for tacos so they could squeeze that extra time in at the beach.

 All in all it was a great day and Liesl got to have a lot of different kinds of play time.

Great Weekend with Grampa Jack

This weekend we picked up Grampa Jack up on Friday night. Saturday we spent the day at the Farm Center with the Animals as requested by Liesl. I packed a wonderful picnic lunch in our wonderful big picnic basket with PBJ sandwiches, beverages, fruits and chips. We met up with Oma Ronnie and Opa Peter there and they have added the Farm Center to their "adventures we can go on" list. Everyone had a great time hanging out with the animals. Liesl especially liked watching the horses, as they were in their stables after they got their bath. Momma enjoyed watching the cows this time because they were right up against the fence. Grampa Jack enjoyed it very much because it reminded him of his farm growing up and he loved petting the animals. So much so that I was worried one of those crazy goats would off and bite him. Liesl really enjoyed showing all of her grandparents around the farm center as it is one of her favorite places.

Sunday we spent a little time out in the pool and on the swings after a few errands in the morning. I dont know how Liesl stands water so cold in that little pool but she didnt want to leave it and it was strait from the hose and cold! After Liesl went for her close to 3 hour nap, whew, I couldn't believe it we decided to go to the member event at the zoo. There were rides and a show there with princesses and "Barney" (a green dragon) which she loved and wanted to go back to see the princesses. We met up with Shannon and Aunt Gloria at the Tiger pen (one of Liesl's favorites) and went around to the rhinos, lions, snow monkeys, giraffes, zebras, kangaroos and then ran back to see the hippo who was walking around for once. The zoo security turned us back a couple feet from the pen. Liesl was pretty upset about not being able to see the hippo and it would have been great to see them out of the water. When we got back we took Grampa Jack home. All in all it was a great weekend. Today, Liesl is going to Port Sanilac with Oma and Grandad to go sailing and to the beach.Tonight we are having the Perrys over for fun food night (TACOS!). One more week and we will be having a birthday party for the little princess. YAY 2 years old.

She has been doing awesome with her potty training this weekend and today. This morning on the way to the lake she told Oma "poo poo" so Oma stopped and put the potty chair on the tailgate and Liesl did a #1 and earned another "pottie beanie". This weekend she earned one for a #1 and a #2 Saturday and Sunday. I think I am going to have to take the potty and some prizes with us when we go on vacation.