Tampa Bay Downs

My grandmother is Director of Security at Tampa Bay Downs.  While we were visiting her in Tampa, we decided to go to her work to see the horses (Alex had been talking about it for a few weeks).  Alex had a very full morning.  He got to sit on a horse, drive/ride in a big green tractor, got a pair of glasses from one of the jockey's, drove a golf cart and sit in a police car and activate the sirens and lights.  All of that happened before noon...he is a lucky little boy!

Thanks Grandma for having such a cool place for us to come visit!

Here are some pictures of Alex on the horse...he really liked it:

Feeding the horse some peppermints...yes, horses like peppermint:

Grandma and Alex looking in at the horses:

Alex on top of the big horse!  He loved it:

Love this one:

He was so excited watching the other horses get fed.  They were neighing and jumping around like crazy.  Alex thought it was great :)

Capital One Bowl Pep Rally

On Thursday afternoon, we decided to go to the Capital One Bowl Pep Rally.  It was held at an Orlando outdoor mall.  They had face painting for the kids, balloon animals being made, music being played and an all around fun atmosphere.

While we were waiting for the fun to start, one of the photographers for The Decatur Daily took a great picture of Alex and Larry.  It was even published on their website!

Going into it, we knew that each team would have their band play, cheerleaders cheer and the head coaches talk for a minute.  Fortunately for us, they also had a few players for the teams show up as well and Eli Gold (the voice of Alabama football) was there to introduce Nick Saban and the rest of the team.  It was so neat and something great to be a part of!

Here are a few pictures from the Pep Rally:

Alex as Batman:

Larry:

Ok, these pictures are pretty funny....Alex is checking out his face make-up in Larry's glasses:

Our Batman:

Eli Gold - the voice of Alabama football:

Larry and Alex:

The Million Dollar Band from Alabama:

Nick Saban and his players:

Another picture of the band:

My boys:

The Alabama Cheerleaders and Big Al:

The picture that was posted in The Decatur Daily:

Unfortunately, we didn't stay for the part of the Pep Rally for Michigan State University.  Alex didn't nap all day and he was getting cranky and we knew that we had a 2 hour drive ahead of us to get to Tampa to see my family!  We had a great day and loved all of the Capital One Bowl festivities.  

We can't wait for the game....we are so excited!

Citrus Bowl Parade

Little known fact:  I am a Michigan State Spartan fan (my grandfather and my dad both went to college there), Larry is a HUGE Alabama fan (well, that isn't a little known fact).

Normally, this little known fact is not a problem for our relationship.  Michigan State is in the Big Ten and Alabama is in the SEC.  They have never played  each other...until this year!  This year, based on their records for the year, they were scheduled to play at the Capital One Bowl in Orlando on January 1, 2011.  Because we were going to be in Orlando for Disney, we decided that it would be really fun to go to the game!  We also found out about a few of the festivities surrounding the game and thought they might be fun to attend also.

The first thing we were able to go to is the Citrus Bowl Parade on December 30, 2010.  Alex had never been to a parade before, so we thought that it would be really fun for him.  There were floats that were decorated all with Citrus fruit, both of the teams bands played and the mascots were there, high school bands from across the country were there and there were also people throwing necklaces and candy (Alex's favorite part)!

Alex was making friends with the people we sat near and dancing for the crowd.  Our kid really never meets a stranger!  I think he had a great first parade and Larry and I had a really good time, too!

Here are a few pictures from the parade:

Larry and I before the parade started showing our team pride:

A few of the floats:

Big Al and the Million Dollar Band (from Alabama):

Alex was asking the little girl next to us if she was okay because she covered her ears while the bands were walking by:

Another float:

Sparty and the Michigan State University Band:

A float:

Our little dancing fool (yes, he was wearing his bandana from his Pirate Day at Disney):

Another picture of Larry and I taken by the people at MyFanPics.com:

Jaxon's Ears

While we were at Disney, we got Jaxon his first set of mouse ears!  I love them!

Now both of our boys have Mickey Mouse ears :)

Disney - Day 3

PIRATE DAY!!

On Wednesday, December 29, our third morning at Disney, we started out by going to Magic Kingdom.  Alex had an appointment to get made into a pirate!!  We got there a little early, so Alex and Larry rode the Aladdin carpets and then we all rode the Pirates of the Caribbean ride.

Alex did amazing during his pirate make-over.  We let him choose the design that he wanted on his face (they had several to choose from) and of course he decided on the one with the most make-up and scariest looking face!  Once he decided on the design, they gave him a "pirate name" and took him to get his make-up on.  He sat so still and followed all the instructions they gave him.  He loved it!  Walking thru the park, he was a great hit...most people stopped to look at his face and Alex loved all the attention.  He was quick to give anyone and everyone his fiercest "Argh"!!  After he was fully dressed like a pirate (make-up, bandana, earring, sash and sword), we rode the Pirates of the Caribbean ride again.

We left the Magic Kingdom with our little pirate and headed to Hollywood Studios.  We tried to get a fast-pass for the Toy Story ride, but all of the fast passes had been given out for the day and the wait for ride was over 180 minutes.  We decided to grab a quick bite for lunch and then see the car stunt show.  I can not even begin to tell you how much Alex enjoyed that show!  He had a great time seeing the cars do stunts and cheered out loud the entire time!  After the stunt show, we headed over to see the Disney Playhouse show.  He really liked seeing all his favorite characters and singing along with them!

We headed back to the hotel for Alex's afternoon nap after the Disney Playhouse show was over.  After we all got ready, we went back to the Magic Kingdom so we could see the electrical parade and see the park all lit up for nighttime!  The Christmas decorations were absolutely beautiful and the parade was just as magical as I remembered it.

Here are pictures from our third day at Disney:

Getting all pirated up:

And a few pictures during the Stunt Show: