United In Orange

6 Years, 30 Weeks.


This past week we attended to big events, and they were a lot of fun.

The first was our annual trip to Sea World, a leadership donor benefit courtesy of the United Way.  The kids always enjoy this as they get to see and touch some of the sea animals, and to enjoy the lights and Christmas themed decor throughout the park as well as their lavish Christmas village.  It was a beautiful day with great weather, and we put in quite the number of steps on Tangie's counter.

Token photo with the United Way sign.

Last time we'll see Shamu in action.  Alas, we missed that show!

But we got to see Pets Ahoy! and they enjoyed giving the dogs rubs afterwards.

But they weren't allowed to touch the sloth.

Maybe we're the ones in the aquarium?!

Don't get eaten!

Checking out the sharks.

She got to ride one too!
She's tall enough to ride all the coasters, so that's exactly what she and Mommy did!

Aquanauts and explorers.

Love the silhouettes against the tank.  They were mesmerized.

Kohlden finding Dory!

Taking a nice breather after a good walk.  Happy boy!

Attended a special sea lion show just for the United Way people.

Brae and Kohl loved touching the stingrays!

All of us on the carousel.

Riding the killer whales.

New touch pool, we got to pet sharks!

What a neat experience!

Polar ice shenanigans.

Walking through the Christmas village on our way out of the park.
It was a long day and everyone was exhausted.

See what I mean?

Bright and early Sunday morning Brae and I drove up to Jacksonville to see the Denver Broncos play against the Jaguars, for Braelyn's first official football game!  It was great to see her excitement to be there and see all the players she's seen on TV; she's been learning the names and the game throughout the whole season in anticipation for this big event.  We had seats up in the upper bowl, because they were more affordable, but they weren't all the way to the top so the view wasn't too bad.  When we got there we had a chance to walk around the stadium, checking out the different food venues and hooking up with the Reeves family, who were en route from Calhoun to Orlando for business meetings and timed it perfectly to swing by Jacksonville for the game, as they too are big Broncos fans.  The game was slow at first, with both defenses keeping the opposite teams from scoring.  But we won the turnover battle, which allowed us to score the points,  and our defense clamped down to seal the deal and win the game, 20-10.  I'm glad we won for Brae's first game (and my sake!), and it was great to see so many Broncos fans show up, it was like a home game.  The sea of orange was big and bright.

Up and out of the house by 7.  Eating oranges for breakfast just because we were rooting for orange!

Halfway potty break and doing some stretches.

We made it to the stadium!

We found some people in orange and walked with them.

Here we go, into the jaguar lair!

At ground level, where the Jaguars enter the field.

Our first official view of the stadium.

Watching some of the Jaguar players warm up.

Went over the Broncos side and saw our players warming up, including QB Paxton Lynch.

John Elway with his pink tie and aviators!

Enjoying her pretzel and soaking it all in.

What great seats!  Sadly, they were not ours.

Met up with the Reeves and walked around looking for food.

Got our grub and ready to head back for kickoff!

On our way up, she saw the masses trying to enter right before the game.

This was our view.  Not too terrible.

It helped to use some binoculars!

She enjoyed the snacks and concessions.

Check out all the orange shirts!  This was at the start of the 4th quarter, when all the Jag fans left.

Final score!

Happy we won!

Bumped into Rick and Sonia Mann from church on our way out of the stadium!

Here was the rest of our week:

Buddy getting his haircut Friday after school.

A quick stop to Costco meant a nice chocolate treat!

Attended Light Up Winter Garden for the Christmas tree lighting.

They enjoyed picking up the ice and "snow".

Decorating some paper ornaments.

Met up with the Skiltons.

Great shot of the tree, the moon, and Planet Jupiter all in a row.

Singing carols like the Statue of Liberty!

And the tree lights are on!

While Brae and I were at the game, Mommy took the twins to see the play "Merry Christmas,
Charlie Brown" at the Garden Theatre in Winter Garden, along with the Zbaraschuks and Cochrans.

Before we got home she went Christmas shopping for her siblings.

Reading their bedtime story.

Decorated our minivan with a wreath and working lights!
We get a lot of looks and points from kids driving around.

Joined the Reeves and Grodack families for supper Tuesday night at Caffe Positano.

The original 3 amigos catching up, much like they did when

they were just a few months old!

The dads got in on the nostalgia too.

At the Shake Shack Wednesday evening, after our holiday portrait session.

Here's a sneak peak!!

Have a great weekend!!