Orlando, It's been a long time coming

So yeah, we went to Orlando a month ago now!  Crazy how the time has gone by.  It was a fun family vacation, thank you parents! We came back to the most glorious summer weather ever in Alaska, so there hasn't been much time for blogging about Florida.  Today is the first cloudy/occasionally rainy day we've had this month. (shocking!!!)  So I guess that means it's a good day to post some pictures from down south.  I didn't steal pictures from my parents or siblings so this is a bit incomplete, but there's still some good ones.

Drew and I ended up going to Seaworld on 3 different days.  We got great weather and we were able to see all the shows and ride all the rides, sometimes twice.  Drew's not much of an amusement park guy, so Seaworld was a good one for him because there are so many non ride shows/exhibits.  I still managed to get him on the Manta Ray once, and my dad went with me once.  Definitely my favorite ride.  We were surprised that Saturday was by far the least busy day we went.  There were almost no lines for anything until Saturday afternoon.

Paper hat made by Grandpa

We happened to be there the week after the new Antarctica ride/exhibit opened.  We timed our arrival at the park twice so that we could go straight there when it opened.  We got in almost instantly both times, but by the time we finished the ride the line was 2 or 3 hours long.  

We stayed at my parents Marriott timeshare.  This was my second time being there with them and Drew's first.  It's a beautiful resort with a lake and several pools, restaurants, tennis, a gym, jogging paths, activities, etc.  We spent a good portion of our week just relaxing at the resort.  Drew and I took a salsa lesson together and Drew got chosen out of the audience to dance the hula during the Wednesday night luau.

bean bag toss with Joe and Isaac

Dad and Drew at a chocolate tasting

We also spent a day at Aquatica, the water park that's associated with Seaworld.  It was such a great water park and we had a fun time.  Once again, we hit up every ride at least once.  We had fun racing on the speed racer slides all at once and floating in the raging rapids together.  My dad and I actually tied to the HUNDREDTH of a second on the racers TWICE! We waited the longest to do the clear water slides that go through a pool with dolphins in it.  It was not anything like it makes it look on the website.  It was probably my least favorite of all the rides.  Drew pooped out a little early, but my dad was willing to stay a little longer and ride a few slides again.

Taking our lunch break during the one 10 minute rain spell we had that day.

These little dolphins like to swim upside down a lot.  They think it helps them look for fish.

 My favorite ride was the Walhalla Wave, which was the best with three adults in it to get really high up on the sides of the slides during turns.  Drew took our waterproof camera on several slides and set it to take pictures every few seconds.  As a result we got tons of unflattering shots of my dad and I. :)

These rapids were the funnest way to get from one side of the park to the other.

Love that he's smiling with his eyes open underwater.  Isaac's swimming has really improved since we saw him last.

We also spent an afternoon at Gatorland, where we saw a lot of alligators and crocodiles and I got pulled out of the audience to hole a big yellow python.  I also got to do a little shopping, something that just isn't much fun in Alaska where there are barely any stores.  I finally found a bathing suit I liked, just in time for the last day of our trip.  Still this new suit better last me for the next 15 years or so, because it will probably be about that long until I can manage to find another flattering one again.  On the way back north we stayed with Drew's parents and my dad got to take a spin in the Mustang. 

My dad's first car was a 1966 mustang so it was fun to take the Harlos' 1967 for a spin.

All in all we had a great trip to the east, but we are glad to be back in Alaska and back to earning some paychecks.   If Drew comes home from kayaking tonight then maybe I can post on our packrafting adventures this weekend.  No promises!

Have a lovely last weekend in June...

Drew and Isaac's Fishing Adventure

Drew and Isaac had a lot of fun one afternoon in Orlando trying to catch something.  It was Isaac's first time fishing and he lasted longer than we though he would.  Check out my sister's blog for more fishing pics.  I'm proud to say I was willing to touch a worm (unlike my nephew!) and I even ended up putting it on the hook when Drew left for a little bit.  Maybe I'm more prepared now for some serious fishing this summer...

Tom and Kelly Ann's Wedding

Congratulations to my brother and his new wife!  We were glad to be able to attend the wedding while we were back east this May.  It was also fun to see lots of family.  My Grandma, 2 aunts, and 4 uncles came out for the wedding.  It was fun to spend some more time with all of them.  The rehearsal dinner was Thursday.  The venue Kelly Ann chose was very beautiful.  I had no idea it would look as cool outside as it did.  It was a little rainy during the rehearsal, so we practiced inside.

I love how so many of the attendants seem to be biting their nails in this picture.  What are we all so nervous about?

 The rehearsal dinner was awesome.  My parents chose this place called Da Vinci's in Collegeville that had great food.  I definitely recommend it if you're ever in the area...

We sat with my wonderful Aunt Kathy and Uncle Darsono, who flew in from San Diego.

What an adorable family!

My parents.

 The wedding was Saturday afternoon.  It may have rained for the rehearsal dinner but the sky was clear for the wedding!  It was really beautiful, and yes I cried.  But hey, so did the groom, so I guess it's a family trait! It was fun to see some old friends from high school Tom invited as well as to dance at the reception.  My favorite moment was when we were trying to get the dancing to really happen and we decided a conga line might be appropriate.  My Aunt Kathy said, "Uncle Darsono is great at leading conga lines!"  Sure enough, he got us a good conga line going.  Drew danced for two songs with me...once I had the DJ page him to the dance floor. :)

This is blurry but their custom cake topper was too cute to leave out!

Joey and I got matched up...lucky us. :)

My nephew was the ring bearer as well as the dog escort.  They even had a corsage for the dog!  Isaac did a great job.

The beautiful bride...

Hanging out at the reception...

The mother son dance...my brother actually pulled out a few moves!

Isaac went outside to kick around his soccer ball during the reception.  Turned out that was a popular idea for most of the groomsmen as well. :)

I'm sorry, but my nephew is pretty much the cutest kid ever.

So the wedding was a big success.  The next day we took of for a family vacation in Orlando, and the happy couple left on their honeymoon to Hawaii!  More on Orlando later...

Flat Stanley Comes to Alaska

My nephew, Isaac, sent us Flat Stanley in the mail this month.  I had never heard of Flat Stanley, but Drew knew all about it.  I guess it is a pretty common activity for young kids in school.  They all send out their paper Stanley to different places and then they come back with pictures and postcards and stories about what they saw and did.  Isaac's Flat Stanley was dressed in a Laker's jersey.  (He's a big fan, which is a huge embarrassment to the rest of the Stephensons.)  Turns out his first choice was to send it to Kobe Bryant.  When my sister vetoed that one, he settled on his aunt and uncle in Alaska.  We're second choice, but hopefully we weren't second rate!  My sister made it very clear that we had to do a really good job.  We certainly tried.  We drove for three hours one night hoping to get to an area clear enough to see the Northern Lights, to no avail.  We also braved sub zero temperatures with bare hands several times setting up Flat Stanley for pictures.  (I think Flat Stanley should be named Flimsy Stanley...or maybe Overly Reflective Stanley.)  Isaac also requested of us near the end that we take Flat Stanley to Denali National Park, because he had read a book about it.  We didn't come through on that one either, but we did take some pictures (and get some postcards) that are probably just as good. :)  It was really fun though and it seems like such a great way to teach kids about all kinds of things.  I would love to see where else Flat Stanley went with his class.  Here are our contributions:

Flat Stanley saw how much snow Alaska gets, and that it piles up because it  doesn't get warm enough to melt all winter long! 

This is the sidewalk, which gets plowed by a miniature bulldozer.  You can't even see over the snow to the street on the left.

 Flat Stanley saw people shoveling the roof of this building because there was so much snow on it , it might cave in. 

Flat Stanley saw that lots of people build their buildings like triangles so that they don't have to worry about shoveling the roof.  All the snow just slides right off.  When it goes, it sounds like thunder right above you.

*Side note:  This is our church, isn't it so cute?!

To get around on top of all the deep snow you can wear snowshoes.  This lets you walk on top of the snow without sinking in.

 

Flat Stanley learned that Alaska is very big...more than 14 times bigger than Pennsylvania, but has less than half the people living there than live in the city of Philadelphia alone.  Most of Alaska is wilderness, and there aren't roads to get to some of the towns that are very far away.  You can only get to those towns by boat or plane.  Lots of people in Alaska have little planes like this one to get to travel to places in Alaska where there aren't any roads. 

Flat Stanley learned that there are lots of animals in Alaska, like bears, bighorn sheep, wolves, bald eagles, and moose.  We found moose tracks along the same sidewalk we were on one day.  Moose are very big and sometimes mean so we decided to go back to the car.

Later on we saw a little baby moose from the safety of the car.

Flat Stanley learned that people used to travel through Alaska on sleds pulled by dogs.  Now people still go dog sledding, but just for fun.

Flat Stanley spent a day on the slopes with Uncle Drew.  He took the tram up to the top of the hill...

...and skied down.

Flat Stanley met other skiers on the mountain too.  This skier has a white cross on his chest.  That means he is part of ski patrol and can help you if you get hurt.  

*Thanks Rich!

Flat Stanley and Uncle Drew helped people with disabilities ski.  This girl is learning to ski on a sit ski. 

*Thanks Challenge Alaska!

Flat Stanley saw the ice sculptures in downtown Anchorage.  They sit all winter long for everyone to enjoy.

Thanks for the fun, Flat Stanley!

We hope Isaac likes everything we send home with Flat Stanley.  We thought this was better than taking Flat Stanley with us to work.  Maybe my work would be better for an older sex ed class or something.... (Flat Stanley gets a girl pregnant.... Flat Stanley goes to prenatal appointments.... Flat Stanley coaches said girl through labor.... Flat Stanley sees a placenta...  Flat Stanley is a Dad...  Flat Stanley learns about breastfeeding.)  Drew's work wouldn't be much better.... (Flat Stanley feels depressed.... Flat Stanley stands on the edge of a bridge....  Flat Stanley decides to call the crisis hotline... Flat Stanley gets picked up by the police... Flat Stanley gets a visit to the Psych ER...  Flat Stanley in restraints...  Flat Stanley gets a dose of Haldol... )  Yeah... better to stick with the pictures of cute baby moose!