Super Sitters

I don't think I posted about this previously, but Reagan gets calls to babysit all the time. Most of the time, she is unavailable (she has quite the busy schedule), but a few times, she has really wanted to go. I - on the other hand - have quite a few fears. One family in particular has a 5 year old, a 3 year old and a baby about 16 months. I just had all of these fears. What if the baby started choking? Would Reagan know what to do? What if someone stopped breathing or swallowed a marble or something? I realize how crazy it is that I was worried about that - no one had me take a class before I started babysitting. I used to babysit my sibs from as far back as I can remember and I know I was 10 when I started babysitting other people's children because my first "job" was to watch the children of my Merrie Miss leader. Ugh - I used to watch entire families of children for whole weekends. I remember my mom coming to pick us up to take us to church. Why I have fears about Reagan and Cole babysitting... I don't know. Maybe I'm just wise enough to know everything that could possibly go wrong? Maybe I know that they haven't watched a lot of babies in the past, so, they haven't grown up doing this??? Maybe I've seen relatives and friends who have had potentially tragic situations while leaving their children in the care of someone who doesn't know enough??? Whatever it was, I would never forgive myself if Reagan or Cole was watching someone else's children and something went horribly wrong. So, I started looking around and found that Primary Children's Hospital offers a "Super Sitter Class". That didn't solve all of my concerns, but it made me feel a bit better.

So, I signed up Reagan and Cole (along with Reagan's bestie Sophia) and they took a half day class back in June. They learned all sorts of things to do and not to do. They did talk about CPR techniques, but there is a separate class just on CPR. I think we will sign up for that one next. The kiddos felt great after the class. They received a book and a bag and a Certificate of Completion.

Well, after that class, we headed to DC, then we were in Europe for a month, then school started back up and we just wrapped up Fall Break. The family that has asked most often actually called while we were at Universal in Florida and asked if Reagan could babysit. I explained that we were out of town until Friday. When we landed in Salt Lake, I had a message on my phone that they needed someone again because both the mom and the dad needed to go somewhere in different directions. They wanted to know if Reagan could babysit from 5:30 - 9:30. Reagan begged to do it. Three kiddos vs Reagan? I suggested she take Cole with her for extra help. She insisted she didn't need that. I convinced her that since it was her first time sitting, she could use an extra set of hands with three kiddos - one being a baby. We double checked with the parents that it would be ok for Cole to come along and they were on board.

The dad texted and pushed back the time to 6, but Reagan and Cole were already waiting by the front door with their bags and toys and coloring books on their arm. They were ready to go! By 6:10, I wondered if perhaps the dad didn't know where we lived. I texted him and he wrote back and said "Oh Sorry - I thought you were bringing them here." What?!? Why would he think that? Maybe that is how his other sitters have worked in the past. Well, apparently, the mom had already left with the minivan and he didn't have enough seats in his car for himself, his children and our children. So, I ran them over there.

I sent Reagan and Cole with my phone in case they needed anything. Then, Steve and I (nervously) sat down to watch a movie. About 2 hours later, Cole called. He was upset that the two older girls wouldn't go to bed. As we were talking on the phone, he would pause and say "Livie - go to bed!" He said "Mom - they won't go to bed - I even counted down from three!" I chuckled and said to offer to read them a story or sing a song if they would get into bed. He also said that the baby had not stopped crying for the entire two hours and that Reagan was stressed. Reagan came over near the phone and said "Mom - I need you here NOW!" I refused and said that they needed to figure this out. I told them how every baby is different - some like you to walk while holding them, others want you to sit and rock, some like you to wrap them in a blanket, others like you to sing. I suggested a few things they might try. After another half hour, we received another call from Cole - he said that he had finally gotten the girls to go to sleep ... in their parents' bed..... with the light on. (Whatever works, right?) He said that the baby was still crying and that now, Reagan was crying. He said "Mom - I've gone through every page of our Super Sitter manual and we have done EVERYTHING! He won't stop crying!!!!" I had to laugh, but didn't want him to hear me. Yep - a manual usually isn't going to cut it. You have to figure it out. I did tell him to take the baby for a while and give Reagan a break. Two and a half hours of a whining, crying baby can grate on anyone's nerves. Then, I told them that the parents should be home within an hour, so, they just had to get through an hour. I suggested putting on music or singing to the baby or even a show that would distract him.

Cole called back a half hour later and said that they had finally gotten the baby to stop crying. I told them that they only had another half hour and that one of the parents would be home. Then, I realized that in order to bring Reagan and Cole home, the parents would have to wake their children to put them in the car to bring my kiddos home. I texted the mom and offered to come and get them. She said her husband would be home before her and she would check with him. 9:30 came and went as did 10. Ugh!!! Steve and I were on pins and needles. We were talking that Reagan and Cole had been awake since 1am Utah time as we had to get up so early in Florida to make our shuttle. They must be exhausted! By 10:15, the mom's minivan pulled into our circle and she dropped off Reagan and Cole.

As we chatted with them, Reagan said "I think I just got frazzled when the baby wouldn't stop crying for his dad. The mom said he does that a lot, even when she is there. I'm glad you didn't come over, Mom. I needed to figure that out." Whew! I was wondering if I had made the right decision just throwing them to the lions.

So, they split the $30 they made for the evening and I'm not sure they will ever babysit again, but if they do...... we have our Super Sitter manual handy :)

Universal Orlando - Days 6 & 7

Our last day in the parks. We decided to sleep in a bit because we have mostly seen everything. We just want to hit our favorites. 

So, no dark water taxi ride this morning. The lagoon and the hotel was beautiful in the morning sun.

We went to Universal and ate at a bakery right inside the park. We had breakfast sandwiches and fruit. Then, we headed over to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

We noticed that, as in other theme parks, Fridays are busy - more than usual busy. That's why we try to only be in the parks mid-week. You can see how crowded Diagon Alley is - ugh!

The video below shows how crowded the park was. VASTLY different from other days and even more different from our early entry hour. Oh well :)

Also - it was (as was every other day this week) super hot and humid. So, we cooled off inside the dark alley. We sent Regan and Cole to buy frozen butter beer and we sat for a while on a bench. Reagan and Cole showed other wand holders how to make the skeleton dance like they did :)

After we had visited everything we wanted to in the Wizarding World, we headed over to Kings Crossing Train Station to zip over to the other park.

I love all the things to look at as we wait to get on the train. There are bags, train carts and even owls.

Again - I set up the crossing over on Platform 9 3/4 so that I could video. (Can't believe I missed this the first time we came in.)

Really, this whole train experience is so well put together. The views out of the windows and train cars. Plus, the different experience going to the other park and returning from the other park. LOVE IT!!!

It was pretty cloudy today, but it was still hot and humid. 

Over at the Islands of Adventure, it was super crowded as well. We visited Honeydukes and bought some gifts for our friends. Reagan's bestie is a HUGE Potterhead. We were lucky enough to get a bottle of liquid luck - a new item in the Honeydukes store. Score! We bought some chocolate frogs and some other treats.

Then, we went through the Jurassic Park gates and headed to the Dino Discovery Center. Cole had a blast in there.

He could be an archeologist and look for dinosaur bones, watch dinosaur eggs as they incubated, measure for fossils and scan eggs for the type of dinosaur that is inside.

Then, there was an area with big dinosaurs that kids could make move. There were also cameras inside so the kids could see what the dino sees. Super cool!

After that, we made our way through the rest of the park. We came upon the Hulk roller coaster. Cole had talked about going on this and wanted someone to join him. Reagan toyed with the idea during the entire trip, but when it came down to it, she chickened out. Steve, the cool dad, relented and joined Cole on the ride.

This is one serious roller coaster. The coaster starts by shooting the coaster out of the building, twisting, turning and looping around as it goes all around the area. I could barely follow where it went. Steve and Cole texted us when they got on the ride so that we could video their ride. Holy cow!!!!

After that, we were done. We headed out of the park into the main shopping area (sort of like Downtown Disney with shops and restaurants). We decided to have dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe.

What a fun place! We had great food and there were SO many musical pieces of memorabilia to look at - outfits and guitars and autographs and musical scores and pictures and records and CDs. 

After we ate, we walked around the entire restaurant looking at all of the memorabilia. This place is so neat! It was fun to see the different eras of music as well as the different genres represented.

After eating, we headed back to the hotel, packed up and hit the sack. We fly home tomorrow and our flight leaves at 7. So, we had to be up and meet our shuttle at 3:45am. Ugh! That makes for one early morning!

The next day, we flew home. It was one long day, but ended a wonderful trip. All in all, we LOVED the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in both parks. Personally, other than the Harry Potter stuff, the rest of the parks were just ok. I prefer Disney. But, those Harry Potter parks made it all worthwhile. Plus, the water park was epic. Finally, staying on property made it easier to get to the parks and the early entry hour and unlimited express pass made life much easier. Yep - we've had a great trip!

Universal Orlando - Day 5

We had a restful night in our new hotel and were up bright and early so that we could hit the early entry hour back at the park. It was actually dark when we lined up for the water taxi. It was still dark when we arrived at the park. No matter - we know just where we are going - straight to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. 

As usual, Diagon Alley was almost abandoned. We LOVED it.

There were very few people there which is just the way we like it. We could see the displays in the windows, visit the stores and use our wands without crowds of people around.

These wands are so fun and it is way better when you just walk around and make things happen, not stand in a line of 10 people, watching them make things happen and then waiting for your turn. We LOVE early entry!!!!

We walked around Diagon Alley for a while and rode the Gringott's ride again.

We really have gotten to see and do lots in this park. We've seen everything at least once (well, I think everything) and we've seen our favorites again and again.

I love to see the animatronics in the entrance to the Gringott's ride.

Next, we went back into the main area of the park. We saw Bumblebee the Transformer, the DeLorean from the Back to the Future movies and the train from the Back to the Future movies. Then, we picked up some breakfast from Starbucks.

Then, we headed back to the Harry Potter area and took the Hogwart's Express over to the other park.  This time, I finally got the entrance to Platform 9 3/4 filmed correctly. Yay!

It's fun to see the Hogwart's Express pull into the station with its steam blowing and it's horn sounding. Love it!

We rode the ride in the castle again and then headed around the rest of the park. We ran into Puss in Boots (one of our favs from the Shrek movies) and we went into a Jurassic Park area where the ride was only for kiddos but the play area was for everyone. We also rode a Jurassic Park ride where we went on expedition and almost rolled our vehicle - fun!

We saw some toon town type areas in the park. There were these ropes that the kiddos could hang from that made it look like they were being pulled by a dog. So funny.

We saw some of the vehicles from the Jurassic Park movies

We went inside the Jurassic Discovery Center to cool off and then Cole and I went to see about meeting Blue - the raptor. There was a long line of people and Blue would only be out for 15 minutes, then Blue had to take a break for 15 minutes. Reagan and Steve thought we were crazy to wait in that line. We were willing to do it. Then, we called them and they joined us right when we hit the front of the line.

We were able to meet Blue - they told us not to make eye contact with Blue. We tried not to, but when she was lunging at us, it was hard not to :)  The workers there took our pics and video. They wanted us to put the kids in the middle and to not look back. Cole had told the worker about the baby raptor and its less than desirable name - Strawberry. The worker told Cole to tell Blue to be nice to Strawberry. Blue wasn't having it and our photo session was over.

After that, we walked through the rest of the park. The kiddos had wanted to go on a water ride, but we knew we didn't want to be wet for the entire day, so, we kept saying we would do it at the end of the day. Well, we were sort of there. Steve was super hot (all of us were), but I wasn't about to pay several dollars to hold our bags and wands, so, I told them all to go and I would film them and hold the bags.

They hit the Jurassic Park River ride and they got soaked!

Next, we walked through Toon Town and there was another water ride. Well, Steve was already wet, right? He might as well go with Reagan and Cole.

Once again, I held the bags and filmed. Yep - they got soaked again!

They went underneath the bridge I was standing on, so, I ran to the other side to see them. They were drenched!!!

Then, there was a final, raft ride that they wanted to go on. 

I swear, every time there was water dropping on, spraying on or falling into that raft, it dropped on, sprayed on or fell on Steve. I couldn't believe it.

After that, they were so soaked that we decided to head back to the hotel. When we arrived, Reagan and Cole wanted to swim. This pool had two areas, a little fort in it with a slide in the middle and a hot tub right nearby. They had a great time. 

After swimming, I went to a restaurant on property to pick up a pizza and salads for us. We ate in our room and then hit the sack. Tomorrow is our last day in the parks.

Universal Orlando - Day 4

As I said in my last post, we were able to sleep in a bit more today since Volcano Bay opens later than the other two parks. However, we wanted to make the most of our Early Entry hour, so, we were up and at the bus stop on the bottom level of our hotel to wait for transportation. A person dressed in business attire said that we had just missed a bus. Ugh - we thought we'd be waiting another 20 minutes or so, but within 5 minutes, another bus showed up. She drove us to the park and we were the very first in line. Our friends, the Shapiros, came here last year on fall break and they insisted we reserve a cabana, so, we did. The cabana gives you a break from the sun, a private area to rest or change or eat and your own Tapu Tapu monitor. The Tapu Tapu is a wristband that you wear at Volcano Bay. You can walk up to any ride or attraction, tap your wristband on the screen and then it puts you in a virtual line. Then, your wristband tells you when it is your turn to come back to that ride. So, you don't wait around in a line - you can be on other rides, in the wave pool, in your comfy cabana or just kickin' it while you wait. Well, if you reserve a cabana, you have your own Tapu Tapu screen in your cabana - so, you don't have to run all around the park to tap the screens at the different rides or attractions - you just tap in on your screen in your cabana.

We opted for a second floor cabana so that we would have a better view of the park. They had a basket of fruit, muffins and cookies for us as well as a fridge stocked with water and a pile of towels. We wanted milk, so, they stocked our fridge with milk and chocolate milk. Also, we bought these mugs that you can refill with soda or slurpees all day long. Yep - we made the most of those mugs! Our view was of the wave pool and the volcano - LOVE IT!!!

Steve wanted to rest some, so, during our early hour, the kiddos and I hit the water coaster. It's like a canoe type raft that you sit in and it goes like a roller coaster. We went faster going up than we did going down - it was cool!!! We walked around the park a bit to get our bearings, bought Cole a pair of goggles (mom fail to have forgotten goggles) and we went on the beach.

The cabana was awesome and Reagan and Cole were loving it! So was Steve who sat down, laid down and literally took a nap. Reagan and Cole tapped in on some rides and we're off. I gave them my Apple Watch and told them to stay together, but to come back after a half hour or so. They were in heaven!

Later, they wanted Steve to hit the wave pool with them. Of course, they wanted to be right at the front where the waves are the biggest. Cole couldn't touch the bottom, so, he had to hang on Steve :)

The wave pool has times when there are waves and then times when there are no waves. They actually have island music and chants going when the waves are about to begin. There are drums playing and the people working at the pool put their hands up and then down, up and down, and the people in the pool mimic that and then the drums stop and the waves start.

Plus, every once in a while, the volcano would "erupt". There would be smoke coming out and we would hear sounds of eruption. Pretty cool. There was also a water slide that went in tubes around the volcano from the top to the bottom. PLUS - there is a clear tube that starts about 3/4 the way up the volcano. You stand in the tube and then the worker drops the bottom out from under you. You drop, in the tube, and then when you get to the bottom, you go through a tube that is in the middle of the pool. I was so intrigued to see people going through this tube that other people in the pool were hanging on. Crazy!

After the wave pool, we all went on the Water Coaster again. This time we took Steve. Then, we went on this raft ride that shoots you up and out and you go up on the "whale's tail". In the pic underneath this, you can see it in the background of the pic on the left. We were in a green, round tube with our feet all pointed into the center. We went down a water pipe and then were shot up against the blue "whale tail" as high as we could go and then we dropped down into another water tube and finished the rest of the ride. Let me tell you - when we hit the top of the whale's tail, my stomach sank. We were so high!!!! I think you can see a raft in the pic - you are almost sideways - it is crazy! In the right half of the pic below, you can see someone going through the tube before they get shot out of the tube on the other side of the rock formation.

We went back to the cabana for some lunch and some rest. Reagan and Cole didn't stay for long, though, they wanted to get back out there and onto the rides.

There are tunnels you can walk on through the volcano, there are tube slides, raft slides, and all sorts of rides and attractions. That first, Early Entry, hour was great. Then, things got crowded. Oh well - such is life.

Cole was the only one of us brave enough to go in that tube thing. It lasts 6 seconds and Cole said you couldn't breathe much of the time because the water was coming up your nose as you dropped in the tube. He was most mad that the worker counted down from 10, but dropped the bottom out from under Cole on 8! I was at the bottom filming and I probably filmed 10 people before it was finally Cole, but I couldn't see the top of the tube and wasn't sure who was in it. He goes by in the tube so fast that you can barely see his green swimsuit (it's like 3 seconds into the video). Then, at the bottom, whenever someone came out, the worker would ask if they were ok. I guess it is quite a ride and they want to make sure you are breathing and are ok. Cole did great!! (Sorry - by the way - that the film is sideways. I turned my camera and didn't realize it.)

After that, the kiddos and Steve wanted to hit the lazy river. Reagan and Steve were content just to lay on their tubes and go around a couple of times. Cole, not so much. It wasn't exciting enough for him, so, he just swam. He said the current made it so easy to swim. I would see him weaving in and out of rafts as he swam. Silly boy!

I had to get some video as well:

By the end of the day, Reagan and Cole were still going strong, but Steve and I retired to the cabana. It was so hot and humid - we just aren't used to that heat and humidity. Oh well - the kiddos had a blast. I happened to be looking out of the cabana as they walked toward the cabana - their slurpee mugs and pretzels in hand. Cute kiddos :) xoxoxoxo

Also today, while we were at the water park, the hotel moved us to another, on property hotel. This new hotel is called Portofino Bay. It is supposed to be a nicer hotel than the Hard Rock Hotel, but it is further away from the parks. No more walking - we have to take a water taxi. No matter - it's beautiful. We have a bright, nice room with a great view of the pool. The kiddos said that this hotel reminded them of when we were in Venice this last summer. Well, mission accomplished because that is definitely the theme of this hotel.

We came back from Volcano Bay, grabbed some dinner at one of the markets and hit the sack. Tomorrow we will be back at the theme parks and we are excited to rock our Early Entry hour there.

Because I couldn't film all of our adventures at Volcano Bay, I thought I'd include a video that I found on YouTube so that we could remember some of the other rides and attractions that I didn't get pics of. Here it is:

Universal Studios Florida - Day 3

 For day 3, we decided to hit the Early Entry and get in an hour before everyone else. Cole and Steve were ready on time, but Reagan was delayed. So, we sent them to the parks without us. We could see the Rock It Coaster from our room and it was running. Cole really wanted to do that, but no one else wanted to. I reasoned that he could go during the early entry and not have a wait. Then, we could be on to the next thing. So, by the time Reagan and I got to the park, Cole and Steve had already learned that the coaster wasn't open for the early entry. Drat! So, we met up and headed for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. 

The picture in the collage above shows what Diagon Alley looked like during the early entry hour. WOW - what a difference. It was totally empty. Just the way we like it. 

The middle pic in the collage above shows Cole jumping for joy while the dragon breathes fire. It was later in the day, so, there were many more people in the park. He was celebrating the email we received from his teacher which was forwarding us an email from his math teacher saying the following: Would you please let Cole's parents know, when they come in for parent teacher conferences that he is a rock star in math.  He has recieved a 100%  on every test given this year so far (4). I am super impressed by his attention to detail!! Thanks, Sherry Diener 

The third pic was in Hagrid's  motorbike and sidecar. Cole said "We HAVE to take a pic in Hagrid's motorbike."

During our early entry hour, we rode the Gringott's ride twice. We literally walked right in - twice! It was awesome!!!!

After that, we went back out into the main park. We got some breakfast at Starbucks and Cole was able to ride the Rock It Coaster. We also went on the Transformer's ride and the Race Through New York with Jimmy Fallen. It was a 3D ride that was actually really cool. He had the character Sara that he plays in a video and he talks like a teenage girl. Reagan and Cole were talking like Sara for the next several hours.... Ewww. :)

This was a serious coaster. I almost agreed to go with Cole, but I knew I would have a headache for the rest of the day, so, I just offered to go with him up to the coaster and then back out. He agreed to go by himself and we watched him all the way in the line and then on the coaster. He loved it! Brave boy!

Then, we headed back over into the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and walked around a bit more. There was a sort of show going on with puppets of the Harry Potter characters. We watched that and then decided to catch the Hogwart's Express over to the other park.

We went on the ride inside Hogwart's castle twice again and then went into Jurassic Park to have lunch at the Dino Discovery Zone. Cole went downstairs and was able to do several interactive activities that had to do with dinosaurs. He said that there was a baby raptor born and that the guy in charge let one of the little kids name it. He named it Strawberry, which Cole was so disappointed in. "Strawberry???? Seriously??? For a raptor???? That's a horrible name." Oh well - sorry Cole.

We love going on the Hogwart's Express and we love going each way. On the way back, there is Hagrid flying in his Motorbike, Mad Dog Moody waving at you, the Knight Bus, and other scenes.

We especially love that there is a Universal Express line for the Hogwart's Express. We saved tons of time using these lines here. Steve said he wouldn't come to this park if he didn't have these Express Passes. They have made such a difference.

We walked around more of the Islands of Adventure Park - much of it was for smaller kiddos. Then, we decided we were super hot and wanted to head back to the hotel to cool off and go to the pool. 

Reagan and Cole swam for a while and then Cole and Steve played volleyball for a while. Then, we ordered dinner by the pool and the kiddos swam some more. 

Eventually, it got dark and they put up the screen and started a different movie. This time, it was Ironman. We watched for a while and then headed back to our room to shower up and hit the sack.

The Hard Rock Hotel is a lot like the Hard Rock Cafe - they have lots of musical themed items and lots of pieces of history from musicians. The chandelier hanging over the spiral staircase that goes down to the restaurant was made of saxophones. In the hallways and elevator areas, there are outfits from musical artists or pictures of musical artists. There are lots of cool items to look at. 

In our room, there was a piece hanging on the wall that was records and CDs, there was a hanging item in the bathroom that was drumsticks and there was a mirror that had etchings in it showing how tall many musical artists were. It was really cool!

So, Day 3 is in the books. We are taking a break from the theme parks tomorrow to head to the water park. We are super excited and we still get an early entry hour, but it opens an hour later than the other parks, so, we get to sleep in a bit more. Yay!!!!