WHIPPERMAN FAMILY ADVENTURES

October 31, 2007

Halloween (October, 2007)

October 14, 2007

Whipperman Family Vacation, Lake Powell, UT (October, 2007)

Sawyer and Granny To-To

Eliza and Mandy getting ready to Sea Doo

Kippy and Sawyer soaping up.

MWAH!!

Ryder in his new lifejacket.

Eliza, taking a dip off the back of the houseboat.

Sawyer, chillin' in the back of the boat.

Scott, captain of "The Whip Ship".

Ryder's black eye from the Sea Doo.

Eliza, just being beautiful.

Enjoying some lunch on the back of "The Whip Ship".

Ryder driving the Sea Doo.

Courtesy of Randy Mellor (Kip's boss, and a friend of the family), we were able to enjoy Lake Powell aborard a luxurious, 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom houseboat which was docked at the Bullfrog marina. Ronnie, Lisa, and Patrick Romero; Mandy, Shawn, and Anna Moyes; Ian and Loni Spencer; Toni, Scott, Kip, and Whitney Whipperman joined us in this adventure. Kyle was in Oklahoma City finishing up his training to be an air-traffic controller at the Salt Lake City airport.

We had a great time wakeboarding, waterskiing, wakesurfing, riding Sea Doos, cliff jumping, exploring canyons, and just being on the water. Ryder loved the Sea Doos so much; he didn't want to let go of the handles and we pretty much had to peel him away when it was time to get off. Sawyer had her first waterskiing experience on this trip. She was so brave and stood on the front of Cody's skis while they both held the rope. It took just about all of her courage to try it, but she was very proud of herself after it was over. Eliza loved wakeboarding behind the Sea Doo because the wake wasn't as big as behind the boat. She also tried her hand at cliff jumping. It took her a while to finally get up the courage, but she jumped about 25 feet. Cody got his adrenaline fix by cliff diving about 40 feet and then cliff jumping about 65 feet; the family gave him a hard time about it, as they always do.

The kids loved getting up every morning and feeding Trix and Lucky Charms to the carp and ducks off the back of the houseboat. Ryder wasn't sure if he liked it when Daddy stuck his toes in the water so the carp could suck on them, but he didn't seem to be too bothered by it. Ryder even went off the big slide from the top of the houseboat while sitting on Daddy's lap.

September 26, 2007

Pittsburgh Zoo (September, 2007)

Sawyer and Savannah having lunch in "the beast".

Heath, David, and Eliza taking a break from the stroller pushing.

Checking out the grizzly bear.

Emily (Eliza's sister), J.R., Savannah, and Maddox Pudder and Heath and David Haws (Eliza's younger brothers) joined us for a Saturday at the Pittsburgh Zoo. Eliza's youngest brother, Heath, was temporarily sent home from his mission in Atlanta, Georgia to recover from mononucleosis. The kids enjoyed being together and seeing the animals.

September 16, 2007

Vacation to Disney World and Sea World (September, 2007)

Daddy with kids at Swiss Family tree house.

Cody and kids with Shamu.

Shamu show.

Shamu show.

Cody and Ryder at hotel pool.

Eliza and kids with Tigger and Pooh.

Mickey Mouse!

Goofy.

Pluto.

Eliza at Swiss Family tree house.

Meeting Minnie Mouse.

Ryder, hanging out in Winnie the Pooh's tree.

Entrance to the Magic Kingdom.

Sawyer, playing in the pool.

The carousel at Sea World.

The underwater dolphins exhibit at Sea World.

On our first day, we went to Cocoa Beach, built some sand castles, collected seashells, chased the birds around, and played in the waves.

The next day, we spent all day at the Magic Kingdom. We were able to go on just about every ride (with the exception of Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, and the others that the kids were too small to ride), meet every Disney character, and experience every show. We were there when the park opened and were still there when it closed.

The kids loved the Buzz Lightyear, Dumbo, Aladdin, Winnie the Pooh, ET, Small World, and Pirates of the Carribbean rides, but their favorite is still the carousel. The highlight of the day was probably the "Mickey's Philharmagic" Show, which is a show where you wear 3-D glasses and you pretty much become a part of all of the Disney movies (Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, etc.). It was amazing for the kids and for Eliza and me as well. We had goosebumps when it was over.

Sawyer was a little disappointed when we met Cindarella, Sleeping Beauty, and Belle from Beauty and the Beast because she thought they were going to be cartoon characters, not real people. Ryder loved meeting the Disney characters in "Toontown" and took the opportunity to kiss and slobber all over Donald Duck's beak.

We also went to Sea World. We saw the Shamu "Believe" show, the dolphin show, the underwater circus show, and the Pet's Ahoy show. Eliza and I enjoyed the shows, but the kids were a little restless. We spent a lot of time in the kid's play area on all of the rides and in the small water park. They let Ryder on all of the rides, despite his size, and he appreciated it greatly.