Florida Summer 2011, Part VII

July 21st continues for the next couple of entries, we have a lot of pictures. Granted some of them are “mood” shots (like the next one, below) just to give you an idea of what the kids were seeing to make faces like this. (Keep in mind that the blog is for you and I for now… but someday this is for the kids. They’ll probably want to see things in context.) See this image larger.

We happened to be in time for a show with a bunch of trained wild critters. See this image larger.

Ian loved it! Kaylee loved it! See this image larger.

Nina loved it! See this image larger.

The weird lady in charge loved it! (This kangaroo-like animal, called a wallaby, was not nearly as in love with it.) See this image larger.

It was honestly enjoyable, even for adults – mostly because of the array of trained animals that they had there. See this image larger.

We left the show happy and perhaps a little cooler than before. Mommy posed with this happy boy! See this image larger.

It was around here that Nina noticed a familiar face on a nearby banner. See this image larger.

“ELMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” See this image larger.

Yup, Busch Gardens has a whole chunk of the park dedicated to Sesame Street! Of course, as a toddler, meeting the six foot tall version of your heroes is different than the one on TV, that appears to be about your size. Tears were involved. Ian wouldn’t even stay in the picture! See this image larger.

From that previous ride, Ian graduated immediately to the Air Grover. See this image larger.

If you squint, that’s us there in the background. See this image larger.

The Air Grover goes up, steeply down and to the left in a tight circle, then right in a tight circle, and is done. It is, for all intents and purposes, a very real roller coaster. So this counts as Ian’s first roller coaster ride! See this image larger.

Did he like it? You tell me! Wait, don’t tell me, I’ll tell you: He loved it. A second, and much later third ride on the Air Grover was in high demand by our little man. See this image larger.

Kaylee and her Aunt Dissy were right behind us on that first ride! See this image larger.

Of the millions of ways I adore Ian, this is one of them. This was a mini-log ride. It was an extremely flat track, except for one bump, that Ian had apparently overlooked as he was standing in line. He went from looking a little concerned… to what you see here… flat out terror… *WHAT IS HAPPENING!!!!* See this image larger.

…to understanding… See this image larger.

…to relief… See this image larger.

…and finally hysterical enjoyment! See this image larger.