YAY!!! I finally got the pictures uploaded from Noah's trip. http://www.flickr.com/photos/barkerzoo/?saved=1


I have to say, the next time we go....it will definitely be in the winter!!! Going there in the winter was soooo nice. The weather was warm but the evenings were nice, not smothering like in the summer.


Coming back, welll... that really was no fun! It was -29 below with the wind chill the day we came home. So when we left the Orlando airport it was 60 at 8a.m. when we arrived at lunch in Indy, it was -29 with wind chill. That's 89 degrees difference. Talk about shock! It took us three days to feel "warm" again, seriously. I wore heavy sweaters and wrapped in blankets for the first few days. We decided then and there, we realllly need to move! I could get used to that weather in a heartbeat.


One of the highlights of the trip was that Noah was able to really enjoy himself. He has been having more and more arrhythmia's now that he is growing so fast. His meds go by his weight. So, as he grows they change the dosage. However, he is at his maximum right now. We got back to Riley in 2 weeks to see the cardiologist to see what our options are. They originally told us that if the problem didn't get better by his 13th bday, it wasn't going to get better so we needed surgery. At his last visit they cardio said the meds were maxed out. They will have to change his med probably. But HEAT really makes his day hard. It causes his heart to beat fast. So, when we went in August, he was pretty miserable some days in Florida.


This time was so different. He was able to do more since the heat wasn't a factor. HE wanted to try a bigger coaster, but we were afraid his heart couldn't handle it. OK, MOM couldn't handle it either :-) I went on a few small ones and that was enough for me. Not a coaster gal!


Noah had lunch with an astronaut at Kennedy. Then got his picture made. That was nice. But I think he had more fun counting the crocs on the way to Kennedy on the side of the road just as much! We were in awe. I assume they are always that way, but they were all over the place. Just kinda hanging out in the watery areas in the grass.


We went to every park at Disney. We got to see the castle all decked out for Christmas. It was beautiful. On our last night there, we stayed until midnight. The babies pooped out around 10 so I let them sleep on a bench with me directly in front of the castle while Josh and the twins rode some more rides. That was a beautiful sight to see. The castle still changed colors but the castle had an *additional* 2 million lights (we were told) for the holidays. It was stunning. So bright! I had fun just sitting there watching it. What a way to end your day!


Our flights were great. On the way home we saw the Smokie Mtns.. Noah loved that. He loves flying!


Noah says the highlight of his trip was Siemens. When you stay at GKTW they give you passes. In that packet is a code for Siemens VIP lounge. Apparently this lounge is normally for their employees and "V.I.P." guests. Although it appeared there were some offices inside as well. So, we go to Epcot expecting fun. What we got was WOOOAHHH! We were very very very wowed!


Under the big "golf ball" as Jo calls it is a top secret door. If you open it there is a teeny tiny foyer. Reminds you of Charlie and the choc factory. This computer voice says "Welcome to Siemens, please enter your VIP code." We did and then this Jetson like door slid open in the wall. We had to walk this long mysterious hallway to an elevator. When we got off on the next floor it was so cool!


It was a lounge with very modern furniture. A soda fountain, a Starbucks center, bottled water etc. Every wall had computers where you could put your hand up to the screen and the heat from your hand turned it on. There were animated and interactive activities for the whole family. The floor changed colors too. Down the hall was the coolest bathrooms in the world! Even further down a private and awesome view of Epcot. The staff was wonderful and friendly. It was like walking onto a Jetsons cartoon. Noah said this was his favorite thing to do!


We also got to use two other private lounges but this one was by far the coolest to us!


Noah also got to see a few art galleries which made his day!


We did so many things its hard to name them all but we had a blast. Lots of ice cream and good food too. I have bigger hips to prove it!


Enjoy the pictures


Love,


Andra