Universal Studios Florida

This year we took our summer vacation super early to avoid the crowds and to fit it into our crazy summer schedule.  We took the kids to Universal Studios in Florida where the main attraction was visiting the land of Harry Potter.

 We went to the wand shop in Diagon Alley where both kids picked out their wands.

 Then we headed next door to look at school robes.  They both looked smashing!

 While playing with our wands we were fortunate enough to catch the dragon breathing fire!

 After kicking around Diagon Alley we headed over to the train station to take the Hogworts Express to the other park.

 Inside the train!

 A few more Harry Potter photos....

 Universal Studios also has a Simpsons section complete with a duff beer bar.  Eric and I had to get a duff beer, of course!  Ummmm   Beeeeer!

Flyboarding

We wanted to try something different on our trip so Eric booked us a flyboard lesson for the whole family.  Let me tell you this is a lot harder than it looks!  I took videos too and will have to get those uploaded soon.

Here is the family before photo.

Eric went first...

This is what the boots look like.

This is Logan flying high.

This is me (Diane).  : )

Amanda didn't weight enough to fly solo so she went up with the instructor.

Last Day in Florida Bird & Manatee Watching

Logan and Amanda REALLY wanted to see manatees in the wild so we took them on a drive to a national park.  Logan was in charge of taking photos of the birds we saw and I think he did a great job!  Here are a few of his photos.

Very Artistic sideways photo! 

 We even saw a few alligators!

Near by we stopping a favorite hang out for some of the manatees.  There were at least 7 animals hanging out and feeding.

They were very active!

I love family photos!!!!

Can you tell that Florida was really really bright?!?  I guess they don't call it the Sunshine State for nothin'!

We were getting ready to leave when the drawbridge alarm started sounding so we had to pop a squat and watch the show... Logan thought it was fascinating.

Puerto Rico Green Iguana

Day Two and Three

Day two in Puerto Rico... on tap was the Bacardi rum factory tour and Old San Juan.

Rum.... YUMMMMMMMM!!!!!

Old Town has a really cool fort that we were able to tour...

 Very reminiscent of Pirates of the Caribbean!

 What a view from the top!

 We toured with Eric's friend from work.

 The locals came out to greet us.

Day two took Eric and me to the South side of the island.  We went to a nature preserve that was hopping with wildlife!

 I have NO idea what these big nests are in the trees... Eric thinks they are termites... we need to look this up!

This giant iguana was a noisy fella as he was looking for some yummy green leaves.  

 Tiny lizards were easy to spot too!

Eric was wearing a bright red shirt and the hummingbirds kept trying to get the nectar from him.  He was a little concerned for his eyes as the hummingbirds got THAT CLOSE! I wasn't fast enough with the camera for that.

Videos to come!