Giving Thanks

Having a Gymnast for a Son Means Position Tolerance While Listening

This year we gave thanks by living thankfully. Chase, Krista, Josh and I took to the road, a 1,200 mile camping trip across the Florida peninsula. We lived as Traci liked to live: seeing new things and riding rollicking roller coasters. We coastered through Busch Gardens in Tampa and Universal Studios in Orlando. We endured park-wide tinny Christmas tunes at Busch Gardens in 85 degree sunshine. We visited the new and improved Kennedy Space Center, went to Coco Beach on Thanksgiving day, and ate Thanksgiving dinner at IHOP. We skipped St Augustine to get back home to visit with family longer.

Josh is now 54" tall and can ride all coasters. He was afraid of the Hulk coaster, however, so he shrunk down to stay off it. That night I bought him 'platform' tennis shoes, and put a 3/4" duct tape heel riser in it to keep my 'shrinking son' on the roller coasters! He liked the other ones he went on.

What part of "Don't Feed the Animals" don't you understand?

Good looks + Attitude

You are going on the ride, young man!!!

This talking fountain converses with you, then squirts you!

The bad guys from the Sinbad show.

Yes, we even went on the water rides in November! (Don't tell Grandma Jacobs)
We encountered some strong winds in our campgrounds.

Somebody isn't cool enough to stand close to somebody else.
Chase woke up right about here.

Our Campgrounds were beautiful.

The fishing was pretty good some of the days.

Ask me if I wasn't tempted to send them into space!!!

This was a water suspended constellation globe the kids could rotate.

We were lucky in that the shuttle Atlantis is on the launch pad (behind the kids in the distance) for next weeks space station launch.After the Space Center, the kids wanted to go to the beach. We drove down to Cocoa Beach to let them play in the surf on Thanksgiving Day.

The water was cool but the air and sand were warm. They dug at low tide....

...but soon got flooded out.

Nothing but the best for our Thanksgiving dinner!!!