So, we took Chloe out of school for 6 days and headed for a much needed vacation. It has been 4 years since our last one. I was pregnant with Gavin then, so this is really his very first REAL vacation. Darin's brother Ryan, his wife Rochelle, and their kids met us in Orlando that night.
Gavin's first time on a plane. He looks a little nervous, don't you think.
Somehow I got these pictures out of order and can't figure out how to fix it. This is the last day in Florida, and we drove to Clearwater Beach to hang out for a few hours before we caught our plane home in Tampa.
Okay, so can you say 6 parks in 6 days. INSANE. My legs hurt for a week after we got home. The kids were so exhausted. I would definitely take an extra week next time (IF there will ever be a next time) and take a day off between parks. But, we all had a blast!!!
SEA WORLD
Kraken was by far the best ride of the whole trip. Chloe refused to go on it the first time, but we convinced her that she would miss out if she didn't. I think she and Cole rode it at least 5 times. It was great to have Ryan and Rochelle with us. We would trade off watching the little kids while we went on the
rollercoasters they were too short for. Chloe and Cole loved it because they could go
everytime.
Gavin,
Kamden, and Carter. Gavin made the funniest faces the whole trip. I wish I could post all of them. He also said quite a few memorable things. Such as "Mom, are we on a crack farm"! No idea where that came from, but we were taking a boat ride through
Epcots greenhouse.
This is a view of
Kraken from the
Shamu Stadium. It flipped you upside down 7 times, while over a lake.
ANIMAL KINGDOM
Gavin went on any ride he was tall enough to ride. This was the Mount Everest ride and probably our #3 favorite ride. He screamed like a girl, but couldn't get enough. Once again, crappy camera.
Chloe and Cole infront of the Mount Everest ride.
MAGIC KINGDOM
Chloe, Cole, Kamden, Gavin, and Carter Bassett
I love these two!
The sword in the stone. The kid who pulled on it right before our kids actually pulled it out and got prizes. A guy was standing nearby and had a button he would push to release the sword.
The Buzz Lightyear ride was sooooooo fun. You are in a video game, and on your car you have a laser gun you use to shoot targets, and compete against each other.
The MATTERHORN! Gavin just barely, by a hair, was tall enough for this ride. You can't see him, but he is between Cole and Darin in the front. He rode it once, and then the 2nd time Darin got all the way to the loading zone and they remeasured Gav and made them walk out. We of course tried it again later and got him on. After riding all the newer rides, this one seemed very jerky and not extremely nice on the back and neck.
HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS
I should have posted the video of us riding the TOWER OF TERROR, even though most of it was in the dark. Drama Queen Chloe decided that she was terrified of it, and we forced her to ride it twice. Lots of screaming and crying going on. You went into a haunted motel, got into an elevator with seats, then they would take you all the way up and drop you about 4 times.
#2 favorite ride of the whole trip. The Aerosmith Rockin Rollercoaster. Chloe once again refused to go on it, and we never could talk her into it. It was very fast, in the dark, and went upside down. Many of you may think we torture our child forcing her to go on rollercoasters and other rides. What you need to know it that she LOVES rollercoasters, it just sometimes she feels like having a drama moment.
EPCOT CENTER
Not much to post about Epcot. It wasn't a huge kid place. We went there the first day to get it over with.
We went to Kennewick, WA for Thanksgiving. We got to see all of Darin's family while we were there. This is Tristan, Chloe, D.J., Malachi, and Hailey at the skateboard park. 
Bret, Darin, Darci, Ryan, and Denny. Darin's with his brothers and sister. It is rare that they all get together at the same time. We took all the kids bowling and had a blast. Below is Grandma Bassett with all of her grandkids but one, Anthony was with his mother.
Notice, no pictures of Darin sitting behind a bull elk, showing off the antlers. Needless to say we did not get to eat yummy elk meat all winter.
Hannah, Remington, Chloe, and Marianne. Notice the double rainbow in the background.
Chloe wanted Guitar Hero for her birthday. The girls (and Darin) had a lot of fun playing this.
We did get to actually see Darin once in awhile this summer. Normally he was working 7 days a week. He took us to Teton Village and we rode up the gondola and had lunch at the resturaunt up top.
My cousin Sharon and her kids came up to Jackson after the Thompson Reunion in Utah. We went hiking with them up to Phelps Lake in Grand Teton Park.
Ahhhh, how cute! These 2 really love each other. This was at Phelps Lake.
The kids and I went swimming 2 to 3 times a week at the Star Valley RV Park. Not much else to do in Podunkville, Wyoming. Especially with gas above $4/gallon. We didn't have much choice but to stay close to home.
