HorseTail Falls

Mmmmnnn...wanna go see this.
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the photographer's
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Favorite Coaster

Matt, Eli & Phillip's Favorite The Maverick

Cedar Point

Okay so...we went and we're back
and OH MY GOODNESS, the stories there are
to blog about...just you wait...

Anyways, more to come but here's a pic of the
favorite coaster among The Schantzes...The Maverick.

Did I happen to mention that it was spontaneously
a "Needler Family Trip" minus only the Papaw who
is (I'm pretty sure) REALLY glad that he stayed home.

There are SO MANY stories to tell and not all of them pretty...
Here's a teaser to get you to check back in
the next couple of days when I get a chance to blog it all...

Warning...this is potty talk...

Okay, so...of our party of 13, 3 members,
not all small children had near brushes or hardcore run-ins
with poo in their pants...let's just say we nearly shut-down
the hotel pool...TWICE.

OH...and there was underage drinking involved...here's that pic.
Isaac, cash in hand buying everyone a round jell-o shots
(oh, stop, I'm kidding he was getting a popsicle).

Eli is so stoked!

mR. eLI...FOURTH GRADER (can't believe it)
has taken a new and intense interest in his dress
(he NEVER really cared before) and so
school shopping this year has been quite interesting
especially since his feet are huge-o-mongous and
we're shopping men's sizes now for his gi-go-normous footsies.
So, anyways...skater shoes...apparently, is what he dreams of
and after much looking and debate, we ordered these today.
You woulda thought it was Christmas Morning.
I figure that he's more like me than I realized if he gets
this excited about shoes. That's my boy!

There Were Tons of Other Magical Moments...

Our Magic Moments Captured
by Disney PhotoPass

The nightly parades and fireworks were fabulous!
We saw Cinderella's Coach.

But mostly we truly enjoyed unforgettable moments together...

Ah...the cars. This was the most fun Isaac ever had
in his entire life. The least fun he ever had was getting
off of them. We won't show pictures of that...not pretty
BUT we have them for later when we need them.
--Giant tantrum pictures of screaming and wailing have
to be good for something, right?

Uncle Eric is a fabulous Manny.
He helped so much with Isaac that it was
our running joke that he was in fact Our Nanny
along for the trip...that term of endearment
transformed in to THE MANNY and when
The Hosmer's left it was truly hard on everyone.
Isaac especially missed Uncle Eric.
They saw all sorts of things together...just the two of them.
Isaac still likes to "fight" like the guys at The Indiana Jones Show
at MGM. As a side, Jeri (aka Momma) got to ride all
sorts of rollercoasters and subject everyone to her
mini panic attacks prior to each ride.

This was the day that we stood in line the longest
to get on possibly what was the shortest yet wettest
ride of any park. A thunderstorm rolled over
as we were waiting to go down Kali River Rapids
and so it was shut down until the storm was over.
We spent nearly 1.5 hours watching little green
lizards crawl among the Tibetan statues, talking to nice
folks in line and trying to not knock Shelby and Eli out.

Once we finally got up there though, it was fun.
Kristen stated adamantly that it was worth the wait
to see Jeri get completely soaked and watch her skirt fly up
as we went down the biggest rapid. Shelby
was drenched and remained so loudly
for the rest of the day. Hence the aforementioned
t-shirt purchase and tank-top travesty.

Through The Looking Glass...

We had a wonderful breakfast at
The Grand Floridian with
The Mad Hatter, Alice, Mary Poppins
Pooh and others...

Nana and Paw's Resort

The Grand Floridian.
We're sure if we ever get Nana and Paw
down to Disney with us that THIS
is where The Nana will want to stay.
It has a spa and everything.

Coincidentially, we rode boats like
those pictured above out on the lake.
It was in one of these very boats that lake
patrol pulled Jeri over for driving too close to the shore.
They were very appreciative of the fact that the BIG
passenger boats were freaking her out and she was
just trying to give them their right of way (and as much
of it as she possibly could). Yikes!
Being pulled over by Disney water security is VERY magical.

Isaac's Return to Pooh Corner

This place Isaac dearly loved last year. His return this year was even more enoyable. While the big kids were off riding rides that make most people dizzy and sick, Gus and Momma and (lots of the time) Uncle Eric found enchanting little corners to play. Pooh's place is perfect for that.

UGH! Disney Pins...they NEVER shut up about them!

They traded pins everywhere with everyone.
Shelby's pin passion was pins featuring groupings of characters.
Eli spent his time trying to trade for the
baby faced versions of the characters.
The both were on the hunt for Hidden Mickey's.

Look closely at Shelby's gorgeous green and maroon
tank tops in this picture. They were brand new.
Sadly, this was the last time that anyone ever saw
them on her body again. She made the mistake
of buying a t-shirt at Animal Kingdom and having
Uncle Matt "help" carry her wet tanks after we
rode Kali River Rapids...
Uncle Matt managed to lose several things on this trip
(he was so enamored with Mickey)
like his Treo and OUR CAMERA as well as
Shelby's tanks. Thankfully, we got the phone
and THE CAMERA back but as far as we know
Shelby's tank tops are still riding the bus between
Animal Kingdom and Saratoga Springs.
The phone had a great ride on the Epcot Bus
before we found that and THE FREAKIN' CAMERA
was almost headed back to the airport before we
realized the mistake... We teased and teased
him since no real harm was done but we
made dang sure that he wasn't in charge of the baby!
(just kidding Uncle Matt)

Dinoland at Animal Kingdom

Larger than life...

Up and Down...

Riding High...

The PRIMEVAL Whirl...they thought it'd be cake.
They didn't need us. It was a kiddie ride.
Suckers...

Here they are on the right screaming their little heads off.

Spirit of Aloha

We had a wonderful time
at The Spirit of Aloha Show at
The Polynesian Resort but
we were all simply amazed
at the fire-eater guy...ouch.

He not only licked the flame BUT...

It looks as though the flame licked him...OHMIGOSH!

Dinner was delicious, served family style.
Isaac really liked the sweet bread.

Obviously, Eli was THRILLED with the chocolate
volcanoes that arrived flaming and overflowing
with their yummy lava!

Where OH WHERE have we been?

Well...from June 10-ish until July 4th
we got lost in Disneyland and then it took us
until school started to recover from vacation.
Then, school started and well...you know how that
goes and then soccer started and so FINALLY
it is fall break and we have a chance to breathe.
We'll try to bring ya'll up to
speed with our goins'
and doins'.

Main Street - Magic Kingdom

Eli and Shelby entering Magic Kindom!

Here we are with a special little visitor. Think Tink!