Gatorland, Medieval Times, and the Temple

I was really excited to go to Gatorland because I knew the boys would love it. I didn't realize how much they would love it though! I thought we might see a few gators. Yeah, just a few.

We saw really cool leucistic alligators. They were so big. They have to be kept separate from the other gators because they don't get along.

The birds were ridiculous. They were pooping everywhere. Edison loved chasing them all over the place.

We saw gator wrestling and it actually bothered me a little bit. I don't consider myself an animal lover, but the gator wrestling was ringing an animal cruelty bell in my head. They drag the gators around by their tails and poke them in the eyes to show that their eyes retract. I was impressed to learn that gators don't have very strong jaw opening muscles. All the muscles are for snapping it closed. It is a very powerful and loud snap.

I wasn't sure if we were allowed to bring in our lunch, so I asked. And of course we were not. Sam said, "You had to ask." I just didn't want to get eaten by a crocodile or alligator. Or more importantly, those hideous birds! We ate our lunch out front and there were no benches and it was right in the sun. It was not the most pleasant meal I've ever  had.

I love this picture so much. I almost posted several of them because Edison's expressions are ridiculous. I would have a bite of some Nugget. He looks delicious!

We stayed at Gatorland for five hours and walked around the entire place. It was pretty amazing. We saw giant gators and crocodiles from all over the world. We were there for long enough to hear the second cycle of shows. It is unfortunate when that happens because we heard their already cheesy jokes a second time, which shows how scripted the shows really are. "Man-aze (mayonnaise). Man-aze some big gators." Or "Dimsum. Dimsum big gators." 

Once back to our hotel, Alex and I took naps while Sam and Edison went to the hotel's fitness center. Then we all went swimming.

Medieval Times was not originally a planned stop on this trip. As we were driving into town, Sam saw multiple billboards for it and told me he had always wanted to go but had never had the chance. I went once on an orchestra trip in high school. We discovered that the castle was five minutes away from our hotel and Alex loves horses so there was a good chance he would like it.

I am so glad Alex is still under three years old. Both boys got in free. Regular tickets for adults were $50 but I found a 50% off coupon so we all got in for $50 and dinner is included with the two-hour show. So it was definitely worth it.

The boys were so tired though. Luckily food placated them.

The waiter was really nice and gave Alex his own plate of food. It also helped that the arena wasn't very full so we had room to let the boys wiggle.

The knights were throwing carnations to their adoring fans and I caught one. That entertained Alex for the rest of the night.

Alex liked watching the horses and I thought it was fun, too! The boys went to bed right when we got back to the hotel. It had been another long day.

We woke up the next day and headed straight to the Orlando Temple. Sam went in and did a session first.

Multiple security guards were patrolling the temple grounds. I talked to one of them who said they have had people trying to spray paint the walls of the temple. So sad. They now surveil 24 hours a day.

It was blazing hot that day. By the time Sam came out (after nearly three hours), I was so wiped out from chasing the boys and frustrated so we headed back to the hotel for naps. I think I was dehydrated and I had completely lost my appetite. The boys and I took naps while Sam worked out. Then we went to the pool again then went shopping.

Due to Sam's extreme weight loss, his clothes don't fit him anymore. Although I am not a big shopper, weight loss is a great reason to shop. As usual, Sam found a ton of things he liked.

 

Shopping ended abruptly when our exhausted boys started their evening meltdown. It may have had something to do with us not having dinner yet. Whoops. We fed them super fast then put them right to bed!