Gatorland!

This is in the breeding marsh. I can't even explain how close we were to this gator.
This one is a retired wrestler...he's 13.5 ft long.

No joke...the gator almost got this man's hand!
This was almost as cool as "Swamp People."

My sweet boy!

Bahaha...Jake got a hold of my camera!

My future gator wrestler!

My 2 sweet boys...well, sometimes.

Walker finally got brave enough to get near the fake alligator! It only took 10 minutes to get him to do this, though! Ha!

Yesterday, I took the boys to Gatorland. We had a good time, but by the end of the day, the boys were like, "oh...another alligator." Ha! It was really cool, though, seeing the Jumperoo show where the men fed the gators right in front of us. There was a Gator Wrestlin' show that I really wanted to see, but we didn't stick around long enough to see it. Turns out, Walker was scared to death of the gators and was getting really cranky towards the end.

The other thing Jake really liked, other than the Jumperoo show, was this zip-line that they had above us. People were literally zip-lining above the alligators...so cool.

My favorite part and my least favorite part (does that make sense?) was the breeding marsh. It was my favorite part because we got to see the alligators in their natural habitat and we were really up-close to them. In fact, all that separated us and the gators was a wooden rail that only went about waist-high, which is why it was also my least favorite part. I was scared to death the WHOLE time; I could just see one of the boys falling in and be eaten by a gator before I could get to them...and then I would be eaten...and then the lone child would jump in after me and be eaten, too. No joke, I was shaking the whole time, which is probably why Walker was scared to death by the end. Ha! It was a very educational moment, though, for Jake, so I wanted him to see it. Thank the Lord, though, that no one fell in and that we all survived. :)

4 Year Stats

Jake kept saying, "Mama, I feel bidiculous."

Practicing some of his karate moves.

When we first moved to Orlando, I took Jake to our new pediatrician for his 4 year check-up. All went well, and we have a healthy little boy! And because I love being able to look back on the stats as a reference, here they are: height 42.25 inches (80%) and 44 lbs (90%).

Enjoy my karate kid's pictures!

Future So Bright: Part II

Future so bright: part 2

Click here for the original "future so bright"

Orlando's version of Barney Fife
Yep, the police car has gotten a good amount of laughs from our new neighbors. Hey, along with the new puppy, the police car has helped break the ice!


I love that palm trees are everywhere!

And for those of you asking to see pictures of the house, here is a front shot.

And here are some pictures from Jake's karate class last week. He now has a karate outfit (what are they called?) like the little boy behind him in the bottom picture...I'll have to get a picture for you. It is so cute!

Since we live in the "Sunshine State," I thought it was only appropriate that the boys get some new sunglasses. And since Walker was mean muggin' in the Disney World pictures, I thought I'd share some of him smiling, which he does the other 99% of the time when he isn't being photographed at Disney. :)

Our First Trip to Disney!

Thanks to my wonderful husband for not telling me just how awful I looked today! Ugh! And this will always be our first family photo at Disney World. :( Oh well, let the memories begin!

Tea cups!

It's a small world!

Pluto!!

Jake thought this was pretty cool. :)

Daisy Duck

And the ferry boat ride that was Jake's 2nd favorite part of Disney World.

And finally a picture of Walker since he isn't attached to my hip here.

Tyson and I took the boys to Disney World for the first time today! We're all pretty tired, but we had so much fun. How in the world do people go to Disney World for several days in a row? I'm so thankful that we could come home and rest and go back another day! I'm pretty sure my body wouldn't allow me to do Disney 2 days in a row! Ha! I also discovered that I'm not going to be able to do Disney by myself with the boys as I was hoping. I honestly thought I could just take the boys on a day of the week that neither of them had school...yeah right! Well, at least not right now...maybe when Walker is a little older.

Walker was a really good sport even though we were pushing his nap time, it was hot, and the lines were pretty long. He was absolutely fine as long I was holding him. :) Walker's favorite ride was the tea cups; he kept spinning us faster and faster and was dieing laughing the whole time. I wish I would have gotten a picture of him, but he was glued to my side.

Jake was AWESOME at Disney World; he never complained one time about anything! He waited in the lines so patiently, walked the entire time, and just went with the flow. His favorite ride was Peter Pan, but he also said he really liked the ferry boat ride home, too. Ha!

I asked Jake when we got home if he was ready to go back to Disney World, and he said, "not today...maybe another day." :) I can't blame him...it was fun and I can't wait to go back, but it definitely won't be tomorrow or the next day.

All complaining aside, I am so thankful that we live this close to Disney World and can come and go as we please. I'm also very thankful that my hardworking husband finally got some much needed time off and that he used it to spend with us at Disney. I'm one lucky girl!

First Time in the Pool!

It was so hot this past Saturday that we were finally able to get into our pool. I say "we," but I still haven't found my bathing suits from the move yet (how convenient, huh?), so just the boys got it. Tyson said it was still a little chilly, though, but tolerable.

The boys had a blast! Jake immediately tried swimming and wasn't scared at all, like I thought he would be. I kind of figured we'd have to kind of start back over with swim lessons until he got used to it again, but not at all. And Walker was just as I thought he'd be- a wild child. We put the "football pads" on him, and he was good to go. He LOVES the water! I'm so happy for my boys that we have a pool that they can get into everyday.

Sam also enjoyed the pool...psych! While I was taking pictures, I accidentally bumped Sam and he fell into the pool. The water was just low enough and the wall was just high enough that he couldn't get out, so Tyson dove in and saved him. I'm pretty sure he's gonna steer clear of the pool from now on.

Ok...I'm gonna use my bullets again to hit the highlights of the week:

• Jake started Karate this past week. I've been thinking about signing him up, but we literally stumbled upon lessons. He really likes it so far. Karate seems to be pretty popular around here.


• We've made new friends! Tyson said I sounded very lonely in my last post, and believe me, I've had my ups and downs since being here and I've REALLY miss my neighbors and my besties, but I'm ok. It has just been extremely difficult to meet people here, and not working has only made it harder for me. I've stepped up my game, though, and I think it's working. :)


• Sam is doing well and adjusting to our family. Turns out, he was really sick when we got him. I took him to the vet last Monday and we found out he has a skin infection from all the fleas and ticks from the breeders' house, an eye infection, and coccidia and hook worms, which are parasites that can be dangerous for Sam and the boys. Needless to say, Sam quickly went from an inside/outside dog to mostly outside dog.


• We finally started hanging pictures in our house! Ha!


• Jake and Walker have gotten to skype Ryan and Kaitlyn twice since we've been here. Love them and miss them soooo much.


• Walker has started calling Jake "Jacob" this week. Ha! He heard Sensai Matt call Jake "Jacob," so it kind of stuck with Walker. Surprisingly, it doesn't bother Jake...it just sounds really strange since no one else calls Jake "Jacob."


• Tyson has Spring Break this week but is working hard. :( I'm hoping he gets Friday off so maybe we can try out Disney for the first time.


• I'm still sweating like crazy. I actually went to the doctor this week, and this is how the conversation went: Doc: So do you have any other problems you want to discuss? Me: Yeah...I'm sweating profusely, as you might notice, and I don't know why. Doc: (Laughing) Hmm...I don't know what to say about that. Me: (sensing the awkwardness) Ok, well thanks for your help! Ha! The last few days haven't been as bad, but something has to give! Any suggestions?


• So, about my "other problem" the doc was talking about...before I left Birmingham, I found out that I have a large cyst in my right sinus that is causing sinus infections and pink eye (and a few other problems) about every 3 weeks. Miserable!!!! I'm meeting with an ENT next week to discuss surgery. I'll keep you posted.

Other than all that, we're good. We are finally getting into a routine here, and that makes me happy. I still miss Birmingham soooooooo much, though, and think about our friends there constantly, but this is life in the coaching business- and unfortunately, this isn't going to be our only move. This doesn't mean I'm lonely, Tyson; between our 2 children and the dog...there isn't time for loneliness. Ha!