Our day at the Magic Kingdom was as magical as I had hoped. Things started off a bit rocky ( as is usually the case)… First, I got the technology adverse Cast Member at the ticket window and it took her days to fumble through my transaction. Next, when I gave her my credit card to pay it was declined… WTF. I began to freak out and alerted Shemp who then said to me “oh ya they called, they shut the card off cause they were worried about fraud” While this was welcome, although somewhat tardy information, I was still freaking out and wanted to get to the bottom of the situation. So I called customer service right there and then at the Ticket and Transportation Center. Turns out that in fact my visa number had been compromised… someone was running a muck with it, but it wasn’t anything that could not wait until we return home. So, we headed on the ferry to the Magic Kingdom… only problem was…. by now we had missed the opening ceremony. Crap! Oh well… I keep missing the fly over on opening day at Comerica park as well…

From then on it was a wonderful day. We went straight to Pixie Hollow to meet the fairies in hopes of missing the awful wait times I have heard about. We were successful. Tinkerbell and her friends are wonderful and it is true that the reason the line moves so slow is because they do give each give each guest such personal attention. We got to meet Fawn, Tinkerbell & Terrence. Emily was a little bit scared but they were very kind to her and they spent a lot of time teasing William & Jack. It was awesome!

Next we met Cinderella, Super Booty & Belle… the Princesses were successful in getting Emily to pose for pictures and sit with them. They also tormented the boys which made for additional fun!

From there we did Tea Cups, Its a Small World, The Haunted Mansion. Later in the evening we were lucky enough to be on Dumbo during the Fireworks Finale…. that was spectacular.

See this? Isn’t it awesome? Can’t you imagine riding around in it at our house after a few drinks? Don’t you think I could make a killing dressing Shemp up like a clown and renting him out to birthday parties? Well too bad, because Shemp didn’t buy it at the auction we went to today!

Truthfully, the circus train was only one of the really cool things we saw today at the Yoder & Frey Heavy Equipment Acution in Kissimmee. There are lots of pictures on Flickr so be sure to check it out! We rented golf carts and cruised acre after acre looking at excavators, high lows, bulldozers, big hoe’s (hee hee) and something Shemp calls “betty boppers.”

The golf carts were a little stressful as we experienced several “golf cart incidents” but all in all it was a good time! Tomorrow we hit the Magic Kingdom and I am really, really looking forward to that. Better get to bed as I am making the crew leave at the crack of dawn in the morning. Here’s hoping for a magical day tomorrow! Nightie Night!

Yesterday we enjoyed what will probably be the warmest day of our week… and spent it at Sea World! We have never been here before and I have to say, it is a lovely little park! As Shemp said “see good things can happen when you open your eyes to more than that damn mouse!”

The day started with the usual stresses and strains including but not limited to traffic, parking, having to get the stroller on the little tram thing and so on. Initially, I forgot our previously purchased tickets and had to make the entire crew run back to the condo… and Shemp got so frustrated at the entrance turnstiles that he simply lept over them…. to my complete horror I might add.

However, once we got inside and settled it was all good! We enjoyed the dolphin show & shamu shows and we fed stingrays, sea lions and dolphins! We looked at penguins and sharks and enjoyed a delicious lunch “sea side” All and all it was a wonderful day!

Today we are gonna take it slow in hopes of resting up for tomorrows big day at the Magic Kingdom… Emily is very excited about meeting Cinderella! I plan on having the troops up and out early so that I can see the “Opening Show” and get in line to meet Tinkerbell before it gets too crowded.

In the meantime we will head to a heavy equipment auction and maybe the Orlando Premium Outlets. So far we are having an awesome time. My sister and her family are enjoying the “little” kids especially when William happens to punch Jack in the face “on accident” or when Emily goes on and on about “Super Bootie” (the way she says Sleeping Beauty)!

Yesterday we had a lovely day in Deadwood.  We spent the whole day exploring the old west town.  In the evening, William, Pops, Shemp and I went on a ghost tour of the Bullock Hotel.  We didn’t see any ghosts first hand, but we heard lots of great stories.  William had a blast and it was an awesome tour!  I would highly reccomend it to anyone passing through Deadwood!

Today has been spent driving… South Dakota is a long state to get through.  We will be home on Monday but we will have to drive our butts off to get there.  Its alright though, as it will be good to get back to everyday life… as long as reality remembers to go easy on us until we get our bearings back!

On our second night in Canada we were treated to a night at the Calgary Stampede. The weather had turned iffy on our way into Calgary and I was nervous that we may get rained out. However, just as Pops predicted it cleared up and the races were ago. The Stampede itself is like the biggest fair you could ever imagine… all sorts of games, attractions, rides & food. We spent some time walking the midway trying our hands at a game or two. We are now the proud owners of several stuff animals. We enjoyed a corn dog or two and then it was time for the Chuckwagon Races.

The Chuckwagon Races were awesome! It is so fun to take part in something so exciting and new. The fans are really into it. I didn’t know who the people racing were but I just cheered for the team who had the prettiest wagon. It was an excellent once in a lifetime experience.

It took us two hours to cross the border in Sweetgrass Montana. They only had one window open… not nearly enough man power to handle the last day of a holiday weekend. It was stressful all around, especially after a less than positive experience at the Duty Free Shop. The boys were full of questions like “whats duty” and why are their guards here and little did I know that once I crossed the border I would also be without wifi for like 10 days or something. In the end, we made it into Canada without much ado and headed off for the adventure of a lifetime!

We have no reservations tonight… we are going where the wind takes us… lets hope the wind is blowing in the direction of Lethbridge Alberta… all we really need it to make it to Calgary tomorrow for the Calgary Stampede.

As we head into pioneer land, I am unsure as to what type of connectivity to expect. Don’t worry if you don’t hear from us right away and remember… I love you!

Well we made it another 640 or so miles today. The two worst days of driving are behind us and tomorrow we make the crossing into Canada. The kids are doing pretty well riding along in the car, although I have had to break up an argument or two.

Tonight we stayed in Montana and were treated to a local fireworks show.

I know these posts have been pretty boring so far… but I guess that is because we really haven’t done that much. Stay tuned I promise it will get better… in the meantime enjoy a few of the new pictures I have posted on Flickr! Happy 4th of July!