Journey Concert

Terrence and I went to the Journey Concert last minute with our friends Gary and Louise.  It was amazing! I wasn't planning on loving it because the last concert I went to was not my favorite, but this one was incredible.  It took me back to the good 'ol 80's.  The decade of the best music ever.  Journey, Boston, Styx, I loved them all.

Just a Thought...

Space Shuttle Atlantis

Our final day in Orlando I didn't have anything scheduled.  I usually like to leave the last day open to do whatever we liked best or something we've heard about while we're there.  So we all decided to sleep in.  Around 9:00am I asked Terrence what he wanted to do and he mentioned it would be cool to see the Kennedy Space Center.  I started surfing the web to see what time they opened and get an address and said, "Hmmmmm, too bad we're not staying awhile.  It says the final space shuttle is launching on the 8th. Today's the 8th!!!  It says it launches in a couple of hours."  We had the kids out of bed in the car by, no joke, 9:15.  We thought there would be no way of actually getting there since there was a predicted one million people that would be attending, but we couldn't be that close and not try.  The roads were packed but we made it within 3 miles with 15 minutes to spare!  They just shut the freeway down and everyone parked in the middle of it.  There were people there from all over the world to watch that had come just for this event.  We felt pretty lucky to be there by the skin of our teeth.  It looked like one of those alien invasion movies where everyone is waiting for the world to end or something.  It was sooooo cool to be there for this historic event.

Up...

Up...

and away!

The entire visual lasted around 10 seconds before the shuttle went into the cloud cover.  The crowd was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.  Then when it went into the clouds there were laughs and cheers.

We didn't even hear the blastoff sound until we were walking back to our cars.  You could see the plume for miles and for quite some time.

Then we headed to Cocoa Beach for a burger on the pier.  It took about 2 hours to go 30 miles.

Everyone was much happier after we fed them.

We figured the crowd had cleared out and it would be safe to head to the Kennedy Space Center to see if there were any activities going on.  I thought the astronaut was hot so we had our picture taken with him.

Happy Anniversary!!

I love that we've been married for 24 years and still looking forward to every new day.  I have been with you longer than I haven't.  We've grown up together and shared more together than I can even recount.  You've made growing older not only doable, but enjoyable.  If it gets better every year, I can't wait to see what the future holds!

Happy Anniversary
(I'll save the mush for later.  You're all welcome.)

Universal Studios Orlando

We thought we'd try Universal Studios since we'd never been there before.  I had checked the weather forecast obsessively before and during our visit to try to plan the best days to do things.  Everyday  said rain.  It never rained... until.  The day we woke up for Universal Terrence looked out and said, "It's gonna rain today."  In true Savage style we threw our water bottles and rain ponchos in the car and headed for the park.  

This was their first ride.  I opted to stay off this bad boy or I would be Hulk Green the rest of the day.  They said it was a head jerker- so I'm glad I chose instead...

 to go on the teacups with Sam.  I ended up only slightly green but was able to keep my breakfast.

 Conner was in heaven at this BMX/Motorcross show.

 Jurassic park was very cool.  A few of us chose to go on the river rafting ride through Jurassic while wearing our ponchos.  Some stayed back because they didn't want to get wet.  Little did they know in a short time it just wouldn't matter.

 Harry Potter was like they built a village of castles and Hogwarts.  It was very cool, but definitely the most crowded place at the park.

 We couldn't come to Harry Potter land and not ride a few rides so we waited about an hour to ride the Harry Potter Virtual reality ride (kind of like Disney's Soarin' over California strapped in concept).  It was worth the wait.  Absolutely amazing, look at the skies before we rode!!!

 Look at the wall of water that was waiting for us when we got out!!  After the ride there were hundreds of people waiting in this small alcove trying to wait out the rain.  We figured it would be hours and what would it hurt us.  It's just water, right?  I was the one that had entered my fingerprint for the locker so I had to buy a poncho in the store and make a mad dash to get everyone's things from the locker.  Within the first step my shoes and ankles were completely soaked.  People were leaving the park left and right.  We were already pretty much wet so why not see what we could do in the park with everybody gone?  We were running in the rain and goofing around when all of the sudden there was a giant flash and loud boom that shook the earth.  Lightening.  Good time to leave.  We joined the hoards of people and left to get pizza and come back in a few hours so my family didn't end up crispy fried.

 This is when we went back after dinner and the last time I pulled out my camera because it was pretty much raining the rest of the time.  Ironically, this was one of our favorite days!  Everything we went on was new and we didn't know what to expect.  We would definitely go back again and wished we could've spent more time there.

Cocoa Beach

I have never had so much fun swimming and boogie boarding in the ocean as I did at Cocoa Beach.  The Atlantic Ocean is so warm compared to the Pacific and you could walk out forever and still reach the bottom.  Not a surfer's dream, but for me it was paradise.  I think the kids liked it too.  Too much sun, not enough applications of sunscreen.  We all look like beef jerky with a coating of Elmer's glue.  We'll be peeling for weeks.  

This was our last vacation with Kinsey Savage before she becomes Kinsey Lossee.  Where did the time go?  

I know I need to enjoy them each much more while I can.  Sometimes they drive me nuts, but this day, it was amazing.  

This is Kacey trying to find her "thumbs up"

Kacey and her dad going out to catch some waves.

 Don't be alarmed by the skeleton in this picture- he thinks it's a six pack so it's all good.

 We rented a $12 umbrella for $15 and it was worth every penny, especially for these two.

If Utah just had a beach it would be perfect.

Seaworld

I love SeaWorld.  I think everything about the ocean is mesmerizing.  There is something magical about the whole water world- like visiting another planet without leaving this one.  It's exciting yet calming at the same time.  I thought it was so cool when I was a kid I even wanted to be a Marine Biologist, but instead I ended up on land with these monkeys.  I guess that makes me a Primatologist.

There were things at SeaWorld Orlando they don't have in San Diego like RIDES!  The crowds were minimal and the weather HOT.  This is the Manta.

We're melting...

Cooling off in the shade before the Shamu show.

I think they're mesmerized too...

These two are always so haaaaaappppppy!

and the star of the show...  Shamu XXIV and Shamu XXV

This guy could hold his breath forever.  

 This was one of my favorite creatures.  It's a Sea Dragon.  So cool.

 Ahhhh.... a soundproof timeout booth.  Could I get one of these for home?

More great shows...

I think Conner's getting a little tall for the front row.  We need to start sending him to the back so he doesn't look like he's doing the potty dance.

There was a show every night with performers, fountains, and fireworks to end your stay.  Fabuloso.