Happy 6th Birthday Annika and Happy Birthday America!

Wednesday, July 4th, 2012

Happy Birthday Annika!  You are a sweet treasure to us and we are very thankful for you!  We all woke up refreshed and ready to go for another day!  We were not able to do the traditional streamers but we decorated a table with Annika's presents and had a little strobe light going off in the dark when she woke up.  We had been told that Annika would like Storybook Island so we headed off to investigate.  Wow!  It was amazing AND FREE!!!!  It was like a magical fairytale place.  They had statues and places for kids to play representing all kinds of stories:  fairy tales, nursery rhymes, Disney stories, Noah's Ark, historical figures....it was just VERY cool. 

Some of our favorites were Wizard of Oz, Snow White, Peter Pan and  Captain Hook's pirate ship, Winnie the Pooh's 10 Acre-wood, train ride and so much more.  We had lots of fun, laughing, exploring and playing.  Annika's big brothers were good sports in playing with her and enjoying all the different areas.  We could have stayed longer (that might be the theme for our summer) but we had more fun things to go see.

Our next stop was at the Reptile Gardens.  I was a bit hesitant as we do already have our own snake and dragon....but we do like reptiles.  Well, as we were looking through the gift shop, they had AMAZING gems and rocks and a whole section that was 50% off.  Jonathan's eyes about bugged out when we told him that some beautiful gems were just $3.00.  We gave him a limit and he had a blast going around carefully picking out his treasures!  They did have an amazing display of gems, fossils and rocks.  I did chuckle to myself that I don't think my family gets out enough when we are this thrilled with rocks :)  Annika found a gorgeous porcelain Native American doll.  I am hoping that it survives the trip.

Jonathan with an amazing display
of Amethyst rocks!

When we finally got out of the gift shop, we headed over to the gator show.  WOW!  That guy is either really brave or quite a bit slow.  He was in this arena with at least 20 gators.  He was riding on one with other gators coming up behind him....he did a super job but that is NOT a job I would like.  They had incredible displays of reptiles and gems...some of the best in the world.  We ended the day with a snake show.  Many different kinds but most venomous.  The trainer asked the kids in the crowd the question of how do you know if a snake is poisonous.  After getting answers from about 5 other kids, he asked Jonathan who promptly said, "Stick out your hand, let it bite you and see how you feel in about 8 min.".  Everyone laughed, the trainer said it was a correct answer BUT not recommended! 

Annika at the Gaslight
restaurant!

Now it was time to find a place to have Annika's birthday dinner.  A place called Gaslight in a ghost town of Rockerville was recommended and it was great.  There was a completely abandoned town right across the street...it was a "cowboy hangout" with many Native Americans working there.  Chris and Jon were playing some pool when one of the Native Americans came over to teach them a bank trick shot.  My Grampa would have been disappointed in me as I even did poorly in my attempts.  But it was fun trying.  Annika was confused by the long black braids and kept insisting it was a woman.  It was a very good meal and just what we needed to finish off the last part of our day....Mt. Rushmore!!!

in the ghost town....

 We headed up to Mt. Rushmore in the early evening.  We had some traffic but had been told this was the busiest day of the year.  It is amazing to see those faces as we climbed the mountain.  We were early enough to do the Presidential Trail Hike.  We also bushwhacked some and loved seeing all the glittering rocks in the hills.  It was hard for Jonathan to have to leave so  many beautiful rocks behind. :) 

As the sun was setting, we found a place back on the rocks, as the amphitheater was full but it was good as we could see and hoped to escape quicker at the end.  They had a nice program talking about the presidents and why they had been selected and then they had the illumination. They have not been doing fireworks for about 5 years due to the fire hazard...which would have been very cool but this was nice also.  They did call up all the military people to honor them and we are very thankful for them and their families for all the sacrifices that are made.

 It was another amazing day and we were very happy to jump into bed again.  Happy Birthday Annika and U.S.A.!!!!!!!!!  God Bless America!