Saturday
For Ryan’s 31st birthday this year, I bought us tickets to go to Epcot. They have a really neat aquaponics system and Ryan has wanted to go there for several years. They also offer a guided tour of the entire greenhouse (for an extra fee of course). Ryan’s mom Mary, also offered to come with us so the three of us all headed to Orlando first thing Saturday morning.
On the way there, Ryan mentioned that he would really like to stop by a boat dealer to check out a specific boat he had seen online. We decided to make a pit stop at Dealer’s Choice Marine so he could see one of the Chapparal boats. This is the boat we looked at:
For Ryan’s 31st birthday this year, I bought us tickets to go to Epcot. They have a really neat aquaponics system and Ryan has wanted to go there for several years. They also offer a guided tour of the entire greenhouse (for an extra fee of course). Ryan’s mom Mary, also offered to come with us so the three of us all headed to Orlando first thing Saturday morning.
On the way there, Ryan mentioned that he would really like to stop by a boat dealer to check out a specific boat he had seen online. We decided to make a pit stop at Dealer’s Choice Marine so he could see one of the Chapparal boats. This is the boat we looked at:
As far as I am concerned, this is a really nice boat and would be a good upgrade from our current boat. It has a nice swim platform, comfortable seating for up to 9 (right now we have a tiny swim platform and only hold 7), built in live wells and coolers, plenty of cup holders and you can get it with a tower and a custom bimini that works with the tower. This boat is supposed to be a fish and ski boat and for the “ski” part (which is what I care about) it is a really nice boat. But for the “fish” part, you still can’t take this boat offshore, it has no anchor locker, there are limited rod holders and storage, and Ryan isn’t thrilled about the idea of getting another inboard motor boat. So we’re still looking…Ryan is having a hard time finding a true “fishing” boat that I also think will be comfortable enough for wakeboarding and leisure trips. Here's the boat website too:
http://www.chaparralboats.com/2011/chaparral/Chaparral-Boat.php?boat_id=32&page=home
After the boat dealer we headed to Epcot for the day. It was pretty nice out – we only got too hot once or twice and Epcot has a lot of areas that are indoors so that really helped. Ryan’s favorite part of the day was definitely the green house tour “Behind the Seeds” and a close second was a tour through a “green” house that was supposed to be very efficient and high tech. He was really pleased to see that the “green” house had the same automated Schlage deadbolt that we use, they had the same security camera that we have pointed at our front door and there were a few other things that we are already doing that they had as well. Ryan also took some pictures of a few features we don’t have so that he can look into them later.
Here's more info about Epcot's Behind the Seeds:
http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/tours-and-experiences/behind-the-seeds/
http://www.chaparralboats.com/2011/chaparral/Chaparral-Boat.php?boat_id=32&page=home
After the boat dealer we headed to Epcot for the day. It was pretty nice out – we only got too hot once or twice and Epcot has a lot of areas that are indoors so that really helped. Ryan’s favorite part of the day was definitely the green house tour “Behind the Seeds” and a close second was a tour through a “green” house that was supposed to be very efficient and high tech. He was really pleased to see that the “green” house had the same automated Schlage deadbolt that we use, they had the same security camera that we have pointed at our front door and there were a few other things that we are already doing that they had as well. Ryan also took some pictures of a few features we don’t have so that he can look into them later.
Here's more info about Epcot's Behind the Seeds:
http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/tours-and-experiences/behind-the-seeds/
And here's the info and a picture of the "green" house at Epcot: http://visionhousegreen.com/
I think Mary’s favorite part was either the greenhouse tour or checking out all the shops and restaurants around the world.
For me, the best part was Mission Space (a ride that is a giant centrifuge that simulates take off and space flight). A close second was a ride that was funded by Raytheon which was pretty neat – you had to design your own roller coaster ride. You would pick a “trick” such as a loop or banked turn and then it would let you adjust the speed and height of the feature and show you whether you would have enough kinetic energy to complete the “trick”. Once you had a combination that worked, you moved on to the next “trick” until you had designed the entire ride. Once you were done, you got into two seats similar to roller coaster seats except they have a cover over them so that you look at a simulated screen, and the seats are attached to a giant robotic arm instead of an actual roller coaster (so it was a small indoor ride instead of a very large outdoor ride). The robotic arm then moves and shakes riders around to simulate the “tricks” they designed. It was pretty fun!
For me, the best part was Mission Space (a ride that is a giant centrifuge that simulates take off and space flight). A close second was a ride that was funded by Raytheon which was pretty neat – you had to design your own roller coaster ride. You would pick a “trick” such as a loop or banked turn and then it would let you adjust the speed and height of the feature and show you whether you would have enough kinetic energy to complete the “trick”. Once you had a combination that worked, you moved on to the next “trick” until you had designed the entire ride. Once you were done, you got into two seats similar to roller coaster seats except they have a cover over them so that you look at a simulated screen, and the seats are attached to a giant robotic arm instead of an actual roller coaster (so it was a small indoor ride instead of a very large outdoor ride). The robotic arm then moves and shakes riders around to simulate the “tricks” they designed. It was pretty fun!
Here's more information about Raytheon's roller coaster ride:http://www.raytheon.com/newsroom/feature/rtn09_soat-rc/
Sunday
Sunday was actually Ryan’s real birthday. The other part of his present was a tshirt from a company called “Icebreakers”. Ryan saw these shirts a while back on the internet and has wanted one ever since. The company makes clothing out of New Zealand Merino wool and supposedly the shirts not only keep you cool and dry – they NEVER absorb smells or body odors. So even if you get disgustingly sweaty and wear it for days or even weeks at a time, it supposedly won’t smell at all. Ryan was also really excited when I gave it to him because you can go to the Icebreakers website and type in an index number and see exactly what sheep your shirt came from. That is the crazies thing I’ve ever heard for a tshirt! Granted that’s reflected in the price of their clothing, lol…check out their website below - it's really neat!
http://us.icebreaker.com/Why-Icebreaker-Merino/why-icebreaker-landing,en,pg.html
My dad also bought Ryan some new mountain biking shorts, a water bottle and cage, and a camelback to help out while he is mountain biking with the guys. Mary bought Ryan some new polos (which he needed badly!) and his dad gave him birthday money when he was down last week. We both slept in pretty late on Sunday since we were tired from a long day at Epcot. After we got up, I did some work on Danielle’s quilt and got the top and back finally complete and onto the quilting machine, ready to quilt. Ryan did some work cleaning up his jetski and I think he might try to sell it. We ate some lunch together and then Ryan watched a movie in his theater room while I met with the other Alpha Phi advisors to get ready for the start of school. We finished off the day with some Carabba’s and getting our wedding invitations done so we can mail them. Overall, I think he had a fun day at Epcot and then a relaxing Sunday for his birthday. Happy Birthday Ryan!
Happy Birthday Mom!
Today is my mom’s 49th birthday – Happy Birthday mom! I think they may have celebrated with dinner and gifts on Saturday night but I haven’t gotten to talk to her yet to see how it was. I already sent an early morning text and facebook post but hopefully I’ll be able to get in touch with her after work today. I can’t believe next year is the big 5-0 for her – you’d never believe it if you met her, she doesn’t look fifty! Love you mom!
Sunday
Sunday was actually Ryan’s real birthday. The other part of his present was a tshirt from a company called “Icebreakers”. Ryan saw these shirts a while back on the internet and has wanted one ever since. The company makes clothing out of New Zealand Merino wool and supposedly the shirts not only keep you cool and dry – they NEVER absorb smells or body odors. So even if you get disgustingly sweaty and wear it for days or even weeks at a time, it supposedly won’t smell at all. Ryan was also really excited when I gave it to him because you can go to the Icebreakers website and type in an index number and see exactly what sheep your shirt came from. That is the crazies thing I’ve ever heard for a tshirt! Granted that’s reflected in the price of their clothing, lol…check out their website below - it's really neat!
http://us.icebreaker.com/Why-Icebreaker-Merino/why-icebreaker-landing,en,pg.html
My dad also bought Ryan some new mountain biking shorts, a water bottle and cage, and a camelback to help out while he is mountain biking with the guys. Mary bought Ryan some new polos (which he needed badly!) and his dad gave him birthday money when he was down last week. We both slept in pretty late on Sunday since we were tired from a long day at Epcot. After we got up, I did some work on Danielle’s quilt and got the top and back finally complete and onto the quilting machine, ready to quilt. Ryan did some work cleaning up his jetski and I think he might try to sell it. We ate some lunch together and then Ryan watched a movie in his theater room while I met with the other Alpha Phi advisors to get ready for the start of school. We finished off the day with some Carabba’s and getting our wedding invitations done so we can mail them. Overall, I think he had a fun day at Epcot and then a relaxing Sunday for his birthday. Happy Birthday Ryan!
Happy Birthday Mom!
Today is my mom’s 49th birthday – Happy Birthday mom! I think they may have celebrated with dinner and gifts on Saturday night but I haven’t gotten to talk to her yet to see how it was. I already sent an early morning text and facebook post but hopefully I’ll be able to get in touch with her after work today. I can’t believe next year is the big 5-0 for her – you’d never believe it if you met her, she doesn’t look fifty! Love you mom!
