We went to Orlando last week to spend Thanksgiving with my dad and family. The long drive down & back went much better than we anticipated. 
Once there, it did not take long for Mercer to spot dad's fire truck collection & start pushing all of the buttons / pulling on all of the ladders / and driving them around.... at least the ones he could get to. He also got to try on his grandpa's fire-fighter hat -- which is very heavy, so it's being held up on his head in this pic.
It took awhile longer for Mercer to warm up to their dog, Kinsie, but once he was not afraid to be around her, they became great play mates! 
Mercer would dance around, kick his legs up, and giggle if the dog would catch a toy that he tossed her way. The leg kicking thing was hilarious.... perhaps this is a new thing he's doing when he gets really excited? On Thanksgiving day, we ate good food and caught up with most of the extended family.... step siblings , nieces, and nephews. 
Mercer was pretty outgoing, but got a little shy around Michelle's daughter, Katie. Hmmm.... It was really great to see how Charlie, dad, and the cousins interacted with Mercer and how he interacted with them.
Mercer was pretty outgoing, but got a little shy around Michelle's daughter, Katie. Hmmm.... It was really great to see how Charlie, dad, and the cousins interacted with Mercer and how he interacted with them.
The day after Thanksgiving, the three of us (Todd, Mercer, and me) took a little drive south of 
Orlando to LEGOLAND. The park opened in October & I think that the word was out about it - as it was very crowded. This is the first time that Mercer has been to a theme park... and... he had a blast. 
The park was built on the site of a previous botanical garden from what we've heard. There was a section of the park that looked lush - but most of it had been transformed into what images follow. The first thing we did was go on a double-decker carousel... probably let over from the previous park. The rest of the park looked like an iconic lego blue, red, and yellow plastic explosion. Being a new park, it seemed that there are some kinks to work out (mainly with the timing of the rides and the lines) Commentary from people in line behind us was that they could learn from Disney in that regard.But - we had a good time. There are lego-related things of course, 
but there are roller coasters, boat rides, jeep rides, and even cars that the kids can drive by themselves. Yes - at 3 - there are cars that they can drive. Notice that Mercer is looking at a girl and 
ended up running onto the curb. An early lesson he can hopefully remedy before he's driving a real car! 
The park is ideal for children from 2 - 12. Mercer could ride most of the rides there. Because of the lines, we only got through about 1/2 of what we wanted to try out. (Mercer, of course wanted to ride the giant roller coasters for the older kids, but those had the longest lines of over an hour.)
The park also has an area with rides that are interactive. One ride that Mercer & I did... you go high when you pedal fast. Another "ride" was for the whole family where you have to pump an air-driven fire truck or police car to one end of a short road. 
Everyone hops out & runs to a water pump where you have to pump and shoot to put out a fire or knock down a burglar. When that's done each family hops in their vehicles & pumps their way back to the beginning. 
It was actually a lot of fun.
Finally, it is amazing what all can be made out of legos~ there were life-sized animals in the safari area, cool dinosaurs built that stood in front of a roller coaster, and the comprehensive mini cities that are extremely intricate.
I don't know when/if we'll be back to that park or explore a different one when we're back down there - but we're very glad we went.
but there are roller coasters, boat rides, jeep rides, and even cars that the kids can drive by themselves. Yes - at 3 - there are cars that they can drive. Notice that Mercer is looking at a girl and 
ended up running onto the curb. An early lesson he can hopefully remedy before he's driving a real car! 
The park is ideal for children from 2 - 12. Mercer could ride most of the rides there. Because of the lines, we only got through about 1/2 of what we wanted to try out. (Mercer, of course wanted to ride the giant roller coasters for the older kids, but those had the longest lines of over an hour.)
The park also has an area with rides that are interactive. One ride that Mercer & I did... you go high when you pedal fast. Another "ride" was for the whole family where you have to pump an air-driven fire truck or police car to one end of a short road. 
Everyone hops out & runs to a water pump where you have to pump and shoot to put out a fire or knock down a burglar. When that's done each family hops in their vehicles & pumps their way back to the beginning. 
It was actually a lot of fun.Finally, it is amazing what all can be made out of legos~ there were life-sized animals in the safari area, cool dinosaurs built that stood in front of a roller coaster, and the comprehensive mini cities that are extremely intricate.
I don't know when/if we'll be back to that park or explore a different one when we're back down there - but we're very glad we went.Running behind. I'll have to post soon about some advent activities that we've started. Have a great week~ 
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