Sea World and Shamu

Well we made it back from Disney - Arturo was our rock, who drove most of the time and never complained once. The girls did incredibly well with the ride also and everyone had a great time. We went during a heat wave which wasn't so nice, but getting to meet the "real" princesses was definitely the highlight of the girls' trip. Emma kept wishing that we would the family "chosen" to stay in Cinderella's castle for the night, and was very disappointed when it didn't happen. We ate out so much we are still in detox from the junk and will be for a while!

We spent our first day in Orlando at Sea World, meeting Shamu and seeing the very well put together shows there.

Waiting for the Shamu show to start:

This was the highlight of the day for Emma. There is a ride very similar to Splash Mountain at Sea World and if you stand in the right spot, spectators can get splashed by the boats coming down the chute. Emma spent about 30 minutes here, jumping up and down in anticipation of getting splashed by the boats. That's right - $70 entrance fee for a 5 year old, and her highlight is getting splashed every few minutes...

Disney World!

The famous Dumbo ride - this was probably the longest line we waited in the whole trip - and when it was over, Emma exclaimed, "That's it??!!" It did seem like an awfully short flight...

The Peter Pan ride was Alexa's favorite ride throughout the whole trip - and in total, she rode it 3 times during our time at Disney. To be fair, Alexa was fairly exuberant about every ride she did - in fact - she rode EVERYTHING twice.

Emma loved the "splash" factor and did Splash Mountain with Arturo. We think she liked it ok - but she looks pretty happy in this picture:

We waited it out for the evening parade - the girls were in awe - couldn't believe they were seeing the "real" princesses and characters...

...the only bad part was when Ursula (the "villain" in the Little Mermaid) also got her own float. I caught a picture of the girls covering their eyes and ears, but they still can't resist peeking at Ursula...

Meeting all the Characters!

We spent a lot of time meeting all the characters - the princesses were definitely the highlight of the girls' trip...

Emma and Alexa being the daredevils that they are - they jumped off the roof of Pluto's "House."

Alexa loved the speedway - especially getting to drive "by herself."

Yet another ride that she rode multiple times...

Choosing some sweet treats at one of the candy stores on Main Street.

We got to ride up front on the mono rail with the driver...

Happy Emma at the Jogathon

I absolutely love this picture taken by my friend Nancy at the Jogathon. It really captures Emma's exuberance during the run!

Future Olympian

Today at Gymini, there was a special observation class where parents could get on the floor and see what the girls have been working on all year. It really was eye opening to see the things that Emma can do now!

Cartwheels and Roundoffs:

Bridges and Back Walk overs:

They moved onto the Trampoline where they showed us front hand springs and back handsprings. The girls are supposed to jump on the trampoline to get the momentum and height and then flip over. Easy, right!?

Emma and Virginia prepare for their flips:

Front handspring:

Back handspring:

Uneven bars:

Ok, this really wowed me. Emma basically dived off the the side and did a front flip in the air and landed in the foam pit (which is a huge pit filled 6 ft. deep with huge blocks of foam). You gotta click on the next picture to enlarge!

Balance beam, where they practiced doing cartwheel dismounts off... So neat!

And now without a spotter, dismounting on her own!

Last, but not least, was the "medal ceremony." Each girl got a medal and got on the podium while Olympic music played in the background. It was great!

Emma, and her friends Virginia and Larissa (all in the same kindergarten class) doing the victory celebration: