Blizzard Beach

Today we went back to one of my favorite water parks, Blizzard Beach.  We were all very excited since I could now go on some more of the slides.  Not the super big fast ones, but just about all the rest.  And I couldn’t wait!

But first, I wanted to show Daddy how many “Pipers” there are in the bathtub in our room.  That’s a lot!

At the water park, I “warmed up” a little on the kids slides at first.

 

But then we were off to ride as many of the other slides as we could.  I had a new life vest so I didn’t need to worry about going under water.  I did really well and was very brave even on some of the scarier slides.  I wanted to go on them again and again, although on some there were a lot of stairs to get to the top!  We got to float in the “lazy river” for a long time too, and Daddy and I played a lot in the wave pool.  I wanted to be Ariel and him to be her daddy, King Triton!

At the end of the day I wanted to do something that even Mommy and Daddy thought might be a little much for me.  There was a “zip line” where you hold onto an overhead bar and slide down a line.  When it gets to the end the bar stops and you go falling into the water.  I did really well holding onto the bar on the way down.  In fact, I did too well!  I held onto the bar even after it stopped, causing me to swing forward, swing back, and the bar even backed up the zip line a little.  And I still held on, dangling a few feet above the water!  I was pretty scared at that point and needed help.  Daddy jumped into the water, swam under me, and I let go to fall into his arms.  Safe!  Of course, when I got out, I said “I want to do that again!” but Mommy and Daddy thought maybe we should try something else for a bit.  We did a few more slides but I scraped my knee on the pool floor exiting one of them.  So we decided to call it a day as it was getting late anyway.  We’re going to go back three more times, so I’ll have lots of chances to do all the slides again!

After dinner we came back to the hotel and I got to play on the same playground as last year.  When we got there, I pointed out that there weren’t any ants by the ladder where they were last year.  Daddy and Mommy don’t know why I remember these things, but I do!  And I always like to scare Mommy!

Magic Kingdom

We always like to start off at the Magic Kingdom.  And as soon as we got in the gates, they had a parade!  It was a great way to start off the day, seeing Minnie and all of the other characters.  I even got to dance with Baloo, and he gave me a kiss on the top of the head!

We spent a lot of time on the Buzz Lightyear ride trying to “zap” the Evil Zurg’s batteries.  We went three times – once all three of us where I steered and they shot, and then once with each of them where I got to shoot too! 

Daddy and I got stuck in jail with Zurg! 

Next we went to a new roller coaster I had never been on before because I wasn’t tall enough.  But I just made the cut this time for Space Mountain!  It was pretty dark and Mommy and Daddy thought it might be too scary, but no way!  I’m brave and loved every bit of it.  It was so fun, I told them I wanted to do it again, but the line was too long!

All my recent practice with golf carts really paid off on the racetrack. 

Of course I love the carousel.

I flew Mommy around on a magic carpet!

I also had a great time, like last year, riding Thunder Mountain.  Almost the whole day I asked “are we going to Thunder Mountain?”  Once we worked our way over there, we went on it twice! 

We also went on Splash Mountain and not only got wet from the ride, it started raining on us too!

It was a fun day, but it was time to head back.  On the return boat trip, we saw a rainbow and Daddy got a really neat picture of it. 

We're flying to Disneyworld!

I’ve been excited about it for weeks, and finally today we are flying to Disneyworld!  I was so excited this morning that I got up before Mommy and Daddy, got my own cereal and milk out, and ate breakfast.  I wanted to be ready as soon as possible!

Before we got on the airplane, Mommy bought me a hot chocolate and a big chocolate muffin.  Yum!

It seemed like a long flight to me, but it was only about 2 hours.  I watched some Disney movies on the way to prepare myself.  We checked into our hotel and I found out that I got my own big bed.  And look who I brought with me!

I can’t wait for tomorrow!

Young's Dairy

It was another “unlimited pass” holiday at Young’s Dairy, so we were excited to head over for more fun.  On Saturday when I played with Shobhana it was a record-setting hot day.  Today, two days later, it was a record-setting cold day!  We all wore long pants and jackets to stay warm.  Much different than playing in the sprinkler!

We got to play miniature golf again, and I worked on my technique.

Then I wanted to go to the “real” golf driving range.  Daddy reminded me on how to stand when hitting the ball.

And I did pretty well!

We went down the slide a lot, and I was happy when I would beat Mommy or Daddy (I figured out that if I asked them for a little push, I usually won)!

We also went in a corn maze.  This was my first maze since the Dole Pineapple maze in April 2009.  It was pretty muddy after all the rain we had yesterday.  But it was still fun.  Sometimes I strayed a little off the path.  Hey, I don’t think this is the right way!

We had fun!

I've grown since I was 8 months!

I wanted to lay on Daddy's lap, so I crawled on up there.  It reminded him of when I was 8 months old, falling asleep like this on his lap.  http://pipersbabyblog.blogspot.com/2008/02/sleeping-on-daddy.html

I've grown a little bit!

Playing with Shobhana

My friend Shobhana has come over to our house to play a couple of times, but today her mommy wanted to have us over there.  It was a pretty hot day (a record high for the date) so one of the first things we did after eating lunch was to play outside in the sprinkler.  We needed a good run to try to jump over it!

She has a funny whale sprinkler! 

We played at her house for a few hours and had a great time.  I hope we get to go back again soon!

Helping Daddy with car maintenance

I love helping Daddy, especially when it comes to working with tools.  Today he did some brake work on the car, and of course I wanted to help.  The first thing he needed to do was remove all the wheels, and he knew just how I could help.  He gave me some gloves so I wouldn’t get my hands dirty.  I thought they were pretty funny gloves!

He loosened the lug nuts a little and asked me to remove them all the way while he went to the next wheel.  I did, and was a big help!

 

When it got to changing the brake fluid, though, he thought that was a little too messy for me to help with, so I went inside and played with Mommy.

Flying to dinner with Daddy again

It was another nice day, so Daddy and I headed up to the other airport again for the Wednesday night BBQ fly-in.  I was great on the ride up and mentioned a few times how I hoped I could drive the golf cart again.  Well, what was the first thing Daddy's friend said when we arrived?  "Piper, would you like to drive the golf cart?"  I ran right over!  Daddy helped me steer again, and we went super fast.  This time, since we arrived early, we were the only airplane on the parking ramp, so as long as I didn't hit it we would be fine.  I made lots of tight turns and circles and showed Daddy I can really drive well.  Then I told him I wanted to drive all by myself!  Not quite yet, he said.

Since we were there early, I was even put to work loading soda cans into the cooler.  I was excited to help, and did a great job.  When the other planes arrived I made sure to get a good look at all of them, including crawling under the ones with retractable landing gear to find out where the wheels went!

Too soon we had to leave because it was getting late, but I know we'll be back again soon.  On the way back we flew right over our house and made a big circle.  Mommy came out back and got a picture!

When we got home and told Mommy all about the flight, she asked me what my favorite part was.  Without any hesitation, I answered back "Being with Daddy!"

Kite flying!

It was pretty windy today, so Daddy and I went outside to fly a new kite I had - a gecko!  It's a silly kite but I like it.  Daddy told me I had to run really fast when he said go, and I did!

After a few tries, I really got the kite up high.  And it stayed!  Daddy eventually let out all the kite string so the kite was super high up.  It flew for a long time, and I held on tight.

Stay up there, kite!

Too soon, the wind died down and we were done with the kites.  But Mommy had bought a little plastic bat and ball and I was eager to try playing baseball.  I even hit the ball a few times!

Zoe and Mia came over to play!

Today was Zoe and Mia's parents anniversary, so we invited just Zoe and Mia over to our house to play while their parents went on a date.  We had a super time, between running around outside, playing in the basement and in my room, dressing up, having snacks, and just being three happy girls.

Daddy even turned on the sprinklers for us!

When we were tired of the sprinklers, we looked over at the birdbath and decided it really needed cleaning.  Daddy and Mommy thought we were really weird, but we were pretty dedicated to cleaning the birdbath, and thought it was great fun as we got even more wet.  When we showed no signs of stopping, Mommy went ahead and brought us a brush too.  They couldn't figure out why we were so interested in the birdbath, but weren't about to stop us.  We now have a super clean birdbath!

Then we all sat and swang together while we dried off.

We had a great day!

I lost another tooth!

I've had another wiggly tooth for a long time now.  The bottom one right next to the one that already fell out has been super loose for almost two weeks!  Every day I've let Daddy check it to see if it's ready to come out, but it kept hanging on.  Until tonight!  We were out eating Mexican food when I said to Mommy and Daddy, "there's something crunchy in my burrito".  There sure was, my tooth!  I was super excited and made sure to show our waitress the tooth!

Huffman Prairie "Aero Carnival"

On the air force base is an area called "Huffman Prairie".  It's where the Wright Brothers did all their practice flying after they flew at Kitty Hawk, and where they taught others to fly.  Today there was an "Aero Carnival" run by the National Park Service.  We didn't know what to expect, but the advertisement said they'd have "bouncy houses" so we figured it couldn't be too bad!

First we had to stop by Daddy's office so he could do something for a few minutes.  I got to see all my drawings he has put up!  I also got to wear his hardhat and safety glasses!

Then we headed to the Aero Carnival and met Zoe and Mia there!  We had a lot of fun for a long time on the bouncy houses. 

They even had a replica 1911 Wright B Flyer for us to look at.  Of course I wanted to touch the propeller, so Daddy held me up.  We asked if it was okay first!

They also had some antique cars and some games for the kids to play, so I had a good time.  But mostly I just wanted to go back to the bouncy houses!

Mommy's work party

Mommy's office had a picnic lunch today, so Daddy picked me up early from school and took me over.  He couldn't stay the whole time since he had to get back to work, but he stayed a little while and then it was just me and Mommy.

They had a bouncy house, so I was set!  I also had some lunch.  But then I found out a lady was doing face paintings, and I ran right over!  I wanted to be a kitten!

Too soon it was time for Daddy to go, so I gave him a big hug goodbye.  Then I realized I could see my reflection in his glasses!

Ewww!  Mommy got a third eye.  Silly Mommy!

I practiced playing a local favorite game called "cornhole".  I discovered it was much easier if I pushed the two boards together first!

We were there for the rest of the day, and I wore myself out!  I even got to play in the sprinkler, which was a lot of fun but naturally washed my kitten whiskers off!

Flying with Daddy to dinner

A friend of Daddy's hosts a fly-in BBQ dinner every Wednesday night at an airport about 25 minutes away.  We haven't been able to make it yet (and it has been really hot this summer) but finally today we went!  I was a great girl on the ride up and mostly just played with my dolls.  Occassionally Daddy would tell me "20 more minutes" and I'd respond excitedly, "I can count to 20!" and of course then show him how good I could count.

When we got there, Daddy's friend had a golf cart parked near the hangar.  Daddy said it was okay if I sat on it, but he wisely took the key out and went and talked to the other people there.  A minute later, he heard "Daddy, it's moving!!!" I had released the parking brake and was rolling down the slight hill it was parked on!  Daddy came to my rescue, though, and his friend asked if I wanted to drive it.  Of course I said yes!  So with Daddy sitting next to me, we drove around the airplane parking area (fortunately it is big and had only a few planes on it).  Daddy helped with the steering, but I worked the pedals by myself!

We had a great time eating, playing and looking at airplanes.  When we flew back home, I told Mommy that I wanted to go back every day!  Daddy liked the sound of that!

What do you mean I'm not speaking in church?

This morning before Mommy and I left for church I was practicing the Scripture I'd presented last week in Primary.  I mixed up the verses a little bit, but still had the overall idea memorized.  I told Mommy I would be ready to speak again to my Primary class and that I wouldn't need her help at all.  Then she told me I wouldn't be speaking in front of everyone today.  I was really sad because I like getting up and talking in front of everyone.  Mommy assured me I'd have plenty more opportunities.  I can't wait!

Toy helicopters!

Today at Sam's Club there was a "special sale" on tiny remote control helicopters.  An employee was demonstrating them as Daddy and I watched, and Mommy saw the look in our eyes!  How could we pass this up?  It was a two-pack!  We took them home and Daddy taught me how to fly.  There were only two controls, so he operated the throttle and I operated the steering.

Whee!

I really wanted to try to catch it if Daddy could land it in my hand.  And I did!

Unfortunately, one of the helicopters broke after just a few minutes.  But we still had the other one, and will return the first one.  I told Daddy I'd lay out a landing pad to see if he could land the helicopter on it.  I then laid out a whole blanket on the floor.  I wanted to give him a big enough target!  He thought this was pretty funny, and he was able to land on it no problem!

Toenail painting with Mommy

Mommy had stopped by the store looking for some toe-spreaders to use when she's doing my toenails.  She couldn't find any that were quite my size, but found some we tried anyway.  I thought it was pretty fun.  I keep telling Mommy I can't wait until I'm older and can do her nails too!

I got flowers from Daddy!

Last night Mommy and I stopped by to get some flowers for a friend of Mommy's who is in the hospital.  I picked out a super pretty assortment, and really wanted to keep them. But when we went to give them to the friend's husband to take to the hospital, I didn't fuss at all, handing them right over because I knew she needed them more than me.  Daddy and Mommy thought this was very grown-up of me and told me how proud they were.

Well, Mommy picked me up from school today and when we got home, Daddy had a big surprise for me - he bought ME flowers!  And not one, but two bunches so I could keep one on the dinner table and one in my room.  I was super excited!

I Gave My First Scripture Reading at Church

Last week I was asked to present the Scripture for today's Junior Primary lesson at church.  The Primary theme for the month of August is:  "My body is a temple of God."
So even though Mommy and I practiced 1 Corinthians 3: 16-17 for several days, she knew I probably would need some help during the presentation.  So she whispered a few words to help keep me on track, but I had the whole thing memorized!  (Note:  Mommy did a little editing due to the age group in the Junior Primary.)  Here's what I said:
"Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? ...for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are." 
I want to speak every week in church!

Shobhana came over

Today after school my friend Shobhana and her mommy came over for dinner.  We had pizza and then wanted to run around outside and play in the sprinkler!  Daddy set it up and we spent a long time just running and jumping over it and having a great time.  He even surprised us by sneaking inside and turning on the in-ground sprinklers while we were playing!  We got really wet!