No baseball :(

There's been too much rain for practice so it keeps getting canceled. I didn't have it again tonight and I really wanted to go!!! Coach called and said we are going to the batting cages on Saturday. One problem there. My sister has a stupid dance competition in Yakima so I can't go because I have to go there :( Although I love watching my sister dance it gets old after a while and it's really old this weekend cause I have to miss out on MY baseball!!! I'm really mad about it. But its her last one and its state so its so far away from Vancouver. I don't want to go. My mom felt sorry and called coach Drew and asked if there was any other times we would be going and he said yes definitly. Probably next weekend or at least once before the season starts cause lots of us need to work on our batting :) He told my mom that he garanteed that I'd be hitting the ball at least once every inning by the end of the season. He said I have to work on my hand and eyes cordination and it will all come together. I can't wait!!! He said my stance is good so I just have to work hard on watching where the ball is. I really don't want to go tomorow. I wish I could go to the cages. So thats my update and I'm still working on my life list. I hope to put it up here by next week. A lot has changed on it and I've done a lot on it already :)

My face hurts!

Okay, so yesterday at practice after I was done warming up and running the outfield we came in and took our positions. I got stuck at left field. I hate the out field. The coach said we all have to learn every position. So when I was in out field the coach said "ground ball 2nd base left field catch" which means I have to get it and return it to 2nd base. So he hit the ball right to me in left field and the ball hit the ground once and then popped up into my face. It hurt SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO bad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Everybody came running to me and coach John came too but I called off the infield and the coach told me a story about when he broke his nose with a ball. If your quesy don't read this part. He said the doctor told him to stick a iron rod up his nose and start hammering on it until it breaks again and then it would be straight. I wonder if that's true? I'm NOT going to try it. So after it wasn't bleeding I stayed out there and took a couple of fly balls. Then I had to go back and sit down because it just hurt too much. I finished out the practice and actually hit a few balls. It really really really really hurts today. But I feel like a REAL baseball player cause they take balls to the face and they keep playing and thats what I did. Even though it hit my face I didn't lose any of my teeth. My nose is really big now but it won't be that way in a week or more. On the bright side my coach said if it rains on Thursday he'll take us to the batting cages instead of outside practice so then I can work on my hitting!!! I'm excited about that cause Ive never been to one before and I can't wait to hit there!!!!!

First practice

My first practice was Monday night! When I first got to the field I was SO nervous!!! I had no clue what I was supposed to do. Then Coach Drew came up to me and introduced himself and told me to go warm up and I did. My mom and coach Drew talked then he had us run as a team. When we were done running he had us tell everyone our name and position. I said shortstop and (I only said this so I could play more) pitcher. He had me and three other kids take ground balls at shortstop position. I caught five out of five. We had to throw them to first base from there. Then I went to outfield. I only caught two out of nine balls there so I'll work on that. After that we did around the horn. I was at first. I did really good at first but then I got tired and I could barely even get the ball to second anymore!

After that he had us run the bases THREE times!! All the way around! That's a LONG stretch! Then we did sprinting from home to first three times too. Later he had us go into a huddle and put our hands out and say Mariners on three and so we did. And we were loud!! It was an hour and a half and I was so tired at the end but I felt SOOOOOOOO good!!! I felt like I was only there for five minutes. I cannot WAIT until tomorrow night!!

Tomorrow at practice we do position battle. That's where we try out for the position we want and battle whoever else wants it to try and make starter. I'm trying for shortstop and pitcher. Maybe even second. Definitely not outfield haha.

I am on a TEAM!!

I finally got a call from my coach and I found out what team I'm on. I made the majors!!!! And I'm playing for the MARINERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm super excited and my first practice is tomorrow!!!! I can't believe I finally get to play baseball again!!!!!

I had to work at my sisters meet ALL DAY yesterday and so I'm really tired but I'm going to rest up today so I can be ready for tomorrow. I will write again tomorow night with lots of baseball details!!!

Your welcome Shala! I hope my tips helped your Jacob in baseball!

I finally did my tryouts and they went great! I thought so anyway. We got there early so I could get some practice in. I warmed up with my dad. Then a coach came over and asked if I needed a kid to warm up with and I said sure, so he sent his son Jonny over and we warmed up then. When they called everyone together in the dugout the main coach had us split up into groups. I luckily got to be in the batting group. I was excited about that. They had a pitching machine and man I was not used to that! So they gave us each five tries at hitting the ball and on the fifth try you had to run the bases even if you didn't hit the ball. So I hit 4 out of the 5 balls from the machine!!! I forgot we weren't playing a real game and when the first base person got the ball, I went to the dugout thinking I was out LOLOLOL I did go back out and run the bases after that haha.

Then they sent me to outfield to shag balls with a kid I knew a long time ago but didn't see him for a lot of years. It was cool seeing him again. So we did that for the next group who was batting. Then they pulled us all in to third base and had us catch the ball at third base as the main coach hit them to us. Then I tried for shortstop and I DID GOOD I ROCKED THAT PRACTICE!!! They gave us 5 tries to field the ball from all different positions and if we got all five we got to go to a group and try again. And guess what? I GOT ALL FIVE BALLS ON THE FIRST TRY!!!! So I got to go to the group for shortstops and try again. And again I GOT ALL FIVE BALLS!!!! I hope they liked me at short. I really really really hope. And I really really really love that position!!! Thanks Tom for teaching me how to play that position!!

Next we went to outfield and I didn't do as good as I hoped. I only caught 2 out of the 5 balls. And I don't want that rubbed in. haha. Then we went back to third base and the main coach came over and told some of us that already did all our stuff that we could go. He went over and talked to my mom and dad and asked if I played before and if I wear my oxygen all the time and my mom said yes to both. But he said okay no problem! Then I left and my mom and dad took my out for lunch for doing such an awesome job!! Marissa was there and she said I did really good and she really helped me calm down right before try outs. It was a great great day!! Oh yeah.

I really don't want to talk about my trip to Seattle. But I did get to go to Pacific Science center and that place is sooooooooooooo cooooooooool!!! I faced my biggest fear and looked right in the eye of a boa constrictor! Oh my gosh I am never EVER doing that again!!! I got to see what I would look like in 50 years hahaha!! I was OLD!!! And I wasn't pretty!! I tested my strength and I got to touch spike magnets. I saw a naked mole rat community and got to get in a tidepool and touch all the undersea animals. There was one that sticks to you and it made my mom jump lol!! They have a giant magnifier video camera with a light and you can put it on anything and it magnifies it on a big screen. So after we did all the stuff on the table I stuck it in my ear!! We were laughing so hard and it was soooooo wrong!! We looked at our eyeballs up close and our hair. It was kind of disturbing. We did this thing where you stand in any position you can, and a flash takes your shadow picture and puts it on the wall. It stays there for like 30 seconds and you get to see what you did. It was awesome. Mom and me did lots of different weird positions to see what it would look like. We got to sit in the rocket ship space capsule that really went to the moon!! It was cool cause I got to turn on all the switches and when you hit go it blasts off!! Too bad we didn't know that and it scared us!! haha. Then we got to see giant dinosars!! The raptors weren't too pretty looking and they were eating other dinosars and it was bloody. Nasty!! We went into the butterfly garden and that was so cool! They just fly up and land on you but then the people were really mean cause they told me you know it's not a good idea to hold the butterflys!! They landed on ME!! One landed on my finger right after they said that and I held it up to fly away and it just stayed on me!!! I even held it upside down and it stayed. They just walked away hahaha.

We also went to the pike place market. It was COLD down there cause its on the water but we walked the whole thing!! I got this wish paper. A man recycles lots of stuff into paper and when it's still wet he puts seeds of wildflowers in it. I get to write a wish on every piece of paper and then plant the paper. In the summer the flowers will come up and when they bloom my wish is released into the air and I get my wish!! We got Marissa a wish journal. Same idea just a journal. It was her favorite gift I ever gave her :) She was so happy she almost cried. We drove by Qwest field and my most favorite Safeco field. I got pictures and I need to put them on here. I want so bad to go to a game to be INSIDE Safeco field and see what it looks like. I want my picture taken in there!! It's on my life list and I NEED to get that done!! I'm going to put my life list on here and it's cool because I will check off everything I have done on it so far. Oh yeah and I got my first coffee ever in Seattle!! Mom said I'm never getting another one again HAHA!! Let's just say I was a little hyper that day.

OH!!! And Eric and Sandi came up and had dinner with us in our apartment and me and Eric had so much fun. He brought his wii and we played guitar hero all night. Then when they had to leave me and Eric kept saying things to them that made them keep talking and man can they talk!!! We would ask them questions and when they started talking about the answer me and Eric would ditch and go play more and be laughing. Haha Sandi I TOLD you I would write this on my blog!!! I'm doing my evil laugh now!! lololol

Thanks for reading my blog and I find out next weekend if I made a team and if I do what team I'm going to be on. If it all works out I might start practice next week. OH yeah and one of the teams I might be on is the Reds!! How cool will that be if I play the same as Jeremy!!!

Jeremy I hope your having fun at spring training and I hope we get to wear the same hat this season!!

Look for my life list and my baseball news next!!

No tryouts today

I didn't get to do tryouts today because it was poring down rain! I'm really mad at that. I don't care if it floods I'm doing it next Saturday!! I have been practicing alot crazy hard I was all freaked out last night because I was having to tryout and now I feel really stupid. I freaked out over nothing. So now I'm really ready for next time. Except I'm still a little nervous.

My mom is making me go to seattle so I can't put anything in my blog now until I get back. I dont want to go and I hate the hospital and I want to be here to practice so this week needs to go fast fast fast!!!!!!!

Superbowl is tomorow and I really hope the Patriots will win even though my mom thinks and wishes the Giants will win it all. Yea right. Whatever mom. Here's my prediction: the patriots will win by 20 points because they are a 20 point favorite. They're going to win. I know it. My dad is with me and he thinks the Pats will win by 3. I have more faith in them than that. I don't really know who Marissa wants to win. She just watches for the comershials. And the food. haha. But its going to be ugly in our house tomorow when the Patriots win. hahahaha!!!!!

Secret Baseball Tips

Thank you Shala for giving me the idea for this post! I hope Jacob can use some of these tips in coach pitch this year. He's going to have a blast. It's very fun.

1) If you get a new mit make sure you use condition oil on it and break it in before you use it. You can still use it but your fingers will be really stiff and your hand will cramp. That's painful.

2) ALWAYS WEAR A CUP. Trust me.

3) Be nice to the umpires. Trust me.

4) Make sure your bats are league approved. Some leagues let you use the big barrell bats and some don't. The big barrells make it easier to hit the ball but you can't use them in Little League.

5) In your first game, when you go up to the plate try not to be nervous. I know its easier said than done but it helps if your bat is not shaking.

6) Practice as much as you can at home with your dad or mom or friends. Or if you have a back stop you can practice by yourself.

7) Be friendly with all of your team mates. This is important because your on a team and you all have to cheer each other on. And hey you might even meet your next best friend!

8) If you don't get on the team you want, like the Mariners or Reds it's okay because at the end of the season you'll know your on the best team ever.

9) If your going to steal ALWAYS watch the Base your running to and not the pitcer.

10) Always keep your head down when you run. It gets you there faster.

11) Never watch the ball when your running to base.

12) If you have two strikes and three balls and it looks like you have a chance - SWING THE BAT!! You won't know if your going to get a base run if you don't try.

13) HAVE FUN!! If you really love baseball your really going to love playing!

14) The most important rule in baseball: SPORTSMANSHIP

Baseball News

I had to go to the hospital in portland for a test this week. It wasn't fun and some other stuff happened that wasn't fun, but I have really good news! The night before I went in I SIGNED UP FOR BASEBALL!!! I'm so excited but I'm kind of nervus because of try outs. I have try outs on Febuary 2nd. I have all my stuff ready to go and I got a fred myer gift card at Christmas so I took it and bought a new bat and glove because my old glove was really bad and I never really had a bat. I always had to use someone elses bat. So now I have my own and I'm READY to use it!! I hope I get on a good team. I want to start practicing outside but its suposed to be really really cold this week and mom says I'm not going outside. That makes me mad cause I need to practice!!

Anyway I can't wait til baseball season starts!!

OH!! And don't forget to vote in my new poll. It's going to be updated again tonight after we know whose going to the super bowl.

Tornado!!

Auntie Em it's a twister!

I woke up really late and I don't feel good so I got in the shower and then went right back to bed. I woke up when my mom yelled at one of the dogs to stop following her everywhere. The other dog was hiding under the bed and wouldn't come out. So she let the one who was following her outside. She jumped up on our picnic table and laid down. We went into the living room. After a couple minutes we heard a bunch of banging around and we thought there was a train wreck cause it was so loud. Mom said what's all the banging around out there? I said oh no it's thunder!! We went to the front door and when Mom opened it we almost got sucked out the wind was SOOOOOOO strong! And it was blowing things sideways! The trees were bent way over and the branches that got loose looked like they were floating. She slammed the door. On our way to the back to get Kia inside we heard my oxygen machine start beeping really loud which meant our power was out. Outside Kia was still on the table just staring at the sky. It was really black and green and the thunder was going the whole time, not just sometimes. And there was lightning coming out of the clouds everywhere! Like bolts going sideways and up and down all the time. And the wind was blowing a different way in the backyard than it was in the front yard!! It was so weird it was like the end of the world it was scary!! My mom said oh no we're in a tornado! So we got the dog in and I said we have to go into the bathroom and get in the tub and hide!! So we did. It was so noisy and the noise got louder and louder and then it quit. Then it started hailing and raining.

We got out when the noise stopped and we looked around. Our house is okay but theres lots of stuff everywhere and power outs and branches and roofing and stuff all around.

Then she was trying to text Marissa at school and when she FINALLY answered she said everybody was panicking and they were on lockdown and everyone was scared. The noise was really bad there too and there was lots of stuff in the school.

It was a crazy day but now our powers on and I still don't feel good and now I'm going to watch TV and relax. They said it was very rare for us to get a tornado especially in the winter. But now I can say I lived through a tornado!! I guess it was kind of awesome now that it's over and I'm not scared to death!!

Day Twelve

Last day in Florida today. It was a beautiful day with some big puffy clouds. After breakfast dad and mom said everyone in the car it's time to go! After a few stops we got on the freeway and headed east. I think. After a while on the freeway, my mom said do you know where you're going Jacob? I said nope! She pointed to a giant billboard that said World Famous Ron Jon's surf shop in Cocoa Beach and said that's where you're going! I was soooooo excited! I saw on a buster tv show a long time ago a special about this store. It's the biggest surf store in the world and they have famous surfers there and sell all kinds of stuff about surfing. So all these years I wanted to go to Cocoa Beach and now I get to go!

We saw some alligators on the side of the freeway. There's these fences by swampy stuff and right along there is where they were laying. Dad was driving and was hoping he wouldn't run any over. Yuck!! Then when it's the middle of nowhere all these bugs started hitting the windshield and front of the car like little asteroids. It was sooooo gross!! They call them love bugs because they always stick together and they look like a two headed bug. And they really do stick! It's nasty because they stick like glue to the car and everybody kept pulling over and putting water on their cars. When we got back to Washington we STILL had bug leftovers on our car!

When there were more people and houses, there was this BIG bridge and then a sign that said "Welcome to Cocoa Beach". I was so excited and I couldn't wait to get there!! We crossed over an inlet, it was HUGE it was like the Columbia River only three times bigger! We couldn't see the ocean yet but I could tell we were really close. You could smell the salt from the road. We found Ron Jon's and then parked in a lot about 3 blocks away, right by the ocean. There was a big dune blocking my view so I STILL did not see the ocean yet! We walked up to Ron Jon's and went inside. It was like surfig heaven man! There were surfboards everywhere! So we walked around for a little bit and then me and Marissa each got to choose a board. Mine has a parrot hugging a tiki man in the sunset so it's red and orange and it's awesome!

So I couldn't wait any longer. We walked back to the car and got our towels and then it was time. The next thing on my life list...to see the Atlantic Ocean!!! When we were walking up the dune the sand felt different than our sand out here. It was a lot softer like it was untouched. When we finally got to the top of the dune, I just stood there and stared. It took my breath away. I was standing at the Atlantic Ocean. I came all the way across the country from the Pacific Ocean and now I was standing on the other side of our country. It was such a cool cool feeling. When we finally got to the water, I didn't really want to go in. But Marissa made me. She kept saying it was sooooo warm but our ocean is NOT warm and I knew she was just saying that to get me to go in. So then a wave came up and wiped me out and guess what? It IS warm! It feels like taking a bath it's so warm. I wonder if it's like that in California by Disneyland? I want to go and find out.

We didn't have to get used to it at all so we took our boards and headed in. We tried to keep our heads up but it was hard getting over the waves to get to the other side where we had to start. When we got on top of a big huge wave it would pull us back to the shore and we'd have to start all over again. But it was so fun!! We finally made it all the way out and starting surfing and it was the coolest thing ever!!!
There was a hurricane in the ocean off the Florida shore and a tropical something in the gulf so the waves were incredibly huge and gigantic. It was great for surfing but then these little fast storms kept coming in and when the rain came down it HURT! But there is nowhere to go because by the time you get to your car it's done and you have to walk all the way back down so we just kept trying to stay underwater haha. I used my board to put over my head but I don't like that sound so I stopped. We spent about 6 hours in the water. When we finally got out I was so tired. I didn't feel good but I didn't want to leave because I knew I was never coming back and it was really hard.

We had dinner in Cocoa Beach and I got a sweatshirt and then we headed back to our hotel. But on our way we were at Cape Canavral. We saw a rocket hooked up to the arm thing like it was going to space but nobody said anything about it. So we thought it was just a test thing maybe. But then the next day on the radio we heard that they did a sucessful launch of a rocket from there. The rocket will be up in space for 24 years trying to research an asteroid that they think will become a planet. So we really did see a real rocket getting ready to launch! It was awesome! Then it got really dark and I fell asleep on the way back.

So that's all for my time in Florida. I'm done telling all about my Disney trip. It was so much fun and still can't believe I got to do that. There was so much to do and I learned so much and I met so many people. I saw so much of the United States and found out that it's not all like Washington. I hope I can travel some more because I found out I really really like to do that. I like seeing all the history places and I really liked meeting people and talking to them from all over. I liked their accents and finding out about how they live different than me. It was very hard for me to leave and make my way back home. I was really sad at the hotel and didn't want to talk too much because I didn't want it to end. But I have my pictures and my memories and it's fun talking about it now.

I got sick the day we left to come home and it wasn't a good trip back so I'm not going to talk about that. I want to remember the fun and good stuff, not the bad.

Now I'm back to my regular life. I hope it gets more exciting now that I'm feeling better. I'm going to keep writing in my blog because it's fun sharing my life with everybody else. Even people all across the country! Thank you for all of your prayers and thoughts while we were on our trip and if you want to keep reading my blog now that my trip is done I would like that a lot.

Back to Disney - Day Eleven

Today we were very tired. We have had a lot of long long days all pushed together and now we're ready to sleep for a LONG time but we can't! We decided to start off small. We went to downtown Disney!! It's a cool place. First we went to Legoland and bought me a lego star wars set. I also got a year of a million wishes wish. The lego lady asked me what my favorite color was and I told her. Then she pulled out some lego stuff and gave it to me and said because it's Disneys year of a million wishes she was giving me this stuff. It's so cool! There's this really cool family walking their dogs outside and it's ALL made of legos!! There's a dragon in the water and his tail goes up and down in and out of the water and it's all made of legos too. There's so much lego stuff there and it's so neat finding it all.

Then we went to Mickey's sports store. There's so much baseball stuff there and most every team in the MLB. They had the old time Yankees jersey and I wanted it SOOOOOO bad but it was too much money. There was even a guy showing us how they make baseball bats. He was carving it while he was talking into a microphone and saying the history of bat making. We went in a bunch of other stores too but then I really wanted to go back to Magic Kingdom so we left.

When we got there we went up the monorail ramp. At the top, the driver said I could get in and DRIVE the monorail!!! Wow! It was so fun and the window goes all the way around the front so we could see everything up and down and all around everywhere. It was a really cool view from in there. And he was training a new driver and saying what all the controls were. When we got to the park they let us out and he gave us monorail drivers lisenses and a pin.

We decided to take the train to the back of the park where toontown is. We passed Big Thunder mountain railroad the best roller coaster ever. Except I didn't know that yet. It looked so fast and scary and I didn't really want to go on it. When we got to toontown, we went on a barnstorm ride. It didn't last long and it wasn't worth the wait in line but it was a FAST ride with lots of quick turns.

Then we went on the indy 400 again only this time Marissa went with dad and I went with mom and we all raced. WE WON!!! Marissa kept trying to catch up and bump us but we were always just too fast for her haha!! After that we went on Buzz Lightyear again only this time I WON!!! Finally! I was spinning mom around really fast and she got mad and didn't like it but I was laughing so hard! Then I took my picture with Buzz Lightyear. I used to LOVE that movie and I would watch it all the time. I still remember all the big lines to the movie.

Next was the Winnie the Pooh ride. It was fun, I got to go on it 3 times in a row. It felt good cause it was air conditoned. Yeah yeah yeah laugh all you want but I thought it was fun and you would go that many times to if you were sweating all the time haha! I wanted to go on the Dumbo Ride but no one else did so mom volunteered. Dad went over and got a pirates of the caribean coffee mug and then Marissa and him waited for us forever! They forgot we were waiting in line and then they finally saw us and put us on. We got a blue Dumbo car and I got to control the stick to make it go up and down. I only pushed it down once or twice but mostly I kept it up all the time! It was like flying for real!! And I made my mom actualy admit that she liked it after all.

We went over to another world then and once again Marissa and mom and dad talked me into going on a ride I didn't want to do!!! Big thunder Mountain railroad. There were people screaming and yelling on it and since we always got to go to the front of the line right away, there was no time to panic about that! The disney guy said oh it's much worse in the back of the train so we all climbed in the FRONT!! I was so scared when it started, but then when it started going faster I started having more fun. I was screaming from fun by the time we were finished and I begged the disney guy to please let me go again. And he did! It's one of my favorite rides there now!!

We started to head back so we could have dinner and watch the fireworks since we didn't get to see them the night of the parade. On our way there one of the people who helped with my Mickey wish saw us and pulled us into this little hut thing where it was dark and it smelled bad. It was so hot in there! She kept saying "this is Jacob a friend of ours and he'd LOVE to meet you!"..and she pushed me right into Captain Jack Sparrow. That dude is creepy! I didn't like him at all. He acts weird and he kind of scared me. Then mom went over and she didn't like him either. She barely smiled for her picture haha. When Marissa went to him for her picture he was REALLY creepy and kept putting his arms around her. Mom did NOT like that!! Then dad's turn. He went over to him and started talking to him and they were saying stuff like yeah all the guys have to stick together and they did a pound it with there knuckles and they were laughing a lot. Mom didn't like that either hahaha!!!

We found the perfect spot for the fireworks in a little carved out eating place. We had our dinner and then when we were done and the fireworks started, Tinkerbell flew RIGHT OVER US!!! And I mean she's a REAL person who does that, all the way from the top of Cinderella's castle to where we were! One of the people who helped with my Mickey wish, Rudy called my mom a few days later and he was saying that one day a few years ago that Tinkerbell flew down the wire and the person who was supposed to be there and catch her FORGOT about her!! So she landed hard and boy was Tinkerbell mad! hahaha!!

After the fireworks, we watched the "a Kiss Goodnight" over the castle. It was so beautiful. The moon and stars show up on the side of it and then they go down and the anouncer says how special it was for us to be there and to remember the dreams and wishes we make and they can come true. Then they say thank you and goodnight and the castle goes dark. It's so incredible! We walked down Main Street after that. We went to Casey's Corner and I got my picture with the mighty Casey! It was fun pretending like I was pitching like him.

When we got to the front there was these disney people standing at the fountain and they were holding up signs. Everybody's sign had one word but all together it said See Ya Real Soon! So they were all singing and dancing and waving goodbye and they saw me and said "do you want to hold up one of the signs for a while?" and I said "are you talking to me?" and they all laughed. So I went and held up the Real sign! I got to wave to a lot of people leaving. It was my last night at Disney World and I wanted it to last and last and last. I wish it was longer because it was so fun there and you get to forget about everything while you're there.

I was sad when I got back to the hotel. Me and Marissa rode up on the luggage carrier in the elevator because we were sooooooo tired! We still had one more day left in Florida and I wasn't sure what we were going to do but mom and dad said we had to get into bed quickly because it was going to be another long day tomorrow!

Sneak peek: I'm at a world famous store, where am I??!!

A new update from me

I had to take a little break from my blog because I was in the stupid hospital!! I realy don't like that place at all!!!! Okay so there were some okay parts to it like when i felt better and was riding my iv pole. It was fun til I got busted, but that's okay because I'm a adventure seeker haha!!

Its boring there when I start feeling better so I have to find fun stuff to do. Thank you Mrs. Parker for all the cool stuff you sent me and for the paper to make my christmas decorations for my room. And thanks Mr. Parker and Cassie for bringing all of it! Sorry you could only wave from the doorway.

Before I got sick we went and got our Christmas tree. It was a great day and no rain at all! We walked for HOURS.well it felt like that anyway, before we found the perfect tree. It was the best one there. I got to help my dad cut it down but for the second year in a row I cut my hand on the saw lol But this year I was ready and had lots of banddaids. Then when we got the tree on top of the car we had hot coco cookies that my dad and Marissa made the night before. I got to ride on the outside of the van with my dad to help hold the tree down. It was only when we were still at the farm going up to pay the guy for the tree. Marissa got her driving permit when I was in the hospital but I got to ride with her since then and it was FUN! Shes going to take me to the movies just me and her someday. I can't wait!!

Christmas was cool. It SNOWED!!! I wanted it to snow so bad but I knew it wouldn't and then my mom looked up and yelled it's snowing!! We couldn't believe it because it never snows here and it did on Christmas. That was on my life list too so it was like a miracle for me!!

So thats a realy quick update for now and I still have to finish my trip stuff so I'll do that I hope starting on tomorrow. Then hopefully I can keep up with everything else for awhile.

Oh yeah and I think I get to play baseball...more on that later hahaha!!! :0)

Day Ten

So today we decided to give disney world a rest. Well kind of. We went to Typhoon Lagoon! They have the biggest wave pool EVER! As we walked in my mom went to get us a locker with my dad. We kept hearing thunder but never saw lightning. And we heard people screaming. So me and Marissa decided to ditch mom and dad and go to the wave pool. That thing is AWESOME!!! Turns out the crack of thunder and people screaming were the sound of the wave starting at the beginning of the pool and everybody would scream when it came. My feet weren't even touching and the wave would suck me out under and then I would come to the top and body surf it all the way in. It was cool!!

After that we got out of the wave pool and went to the lazy river. That was fun and LONG! We kept having raft fights trying to tip mom and dad over. It only worked once at the end and my mom ended up under her raft hahaha!!! We went on Mayday falls where you're on a raft and go down the waterslide around turns and stuff. It was okay but wasnt really scary at all. And right before we got to the front of the line someone threw up and it was everywhere and so they made us walk right around it and hold the raft up high. It was gross. But that person still went on the ride!

Next we decided to try the crush n gusher. I was really scared to try this!! It's a waterslide but it's a roller coaster too. You go down FAST at first, then a gush of water comes up and shoots you back up the slide on the other side and its like that all the way down!!! When we went up for the fourth time we got all the way to the top and the guy said "sorry you have to go back down as quickly as you can and find shelter immediately" because a thunder storm was coming. And they said that Florida was the number one state for lightning strikes that kill people so we found shelter quick!! We found a picnic table that was convenently located right next to a outdoor cafe. FOOD time!! So we ate lunch. Mine came in a beach bucket with a shovel so I got to use that to play in the sand later. Too bad I lost it somewhere on the trip.

Then me and Marissa went back to the wave pool and mom and dad went back to the lazy river. That was our day at Typhoon Lagoon!

When we were going back to the hotel I was STARVING!!! I kept asking to stop and eat but dad and mom kept saying no it's not time to eat yet. So when we got there, they said hurry up and change into some nice clothes. Then we went to the car and started driving. AGAIN!! We went on the highway for a few minutes and saw a bunch of accidents. They were everywhere. We got lost and then had to ask a security cop how to get where we were going. My mom and dad said we were going to Universal Studios City Walk. I said okay as long as there's food!! We finally got there and it was amazing!! There's a people mover and we didn't even have to walk a lot until we got in. I saw a Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., REAL Nascars, the Universal turning ball, NBA City and the Blue Man Group. And then, right in front of me was the greatest place I've ever seen!! The Hard Rock Cafe!!!!!!!! Dude, the door handles are guitars! When you go inside a dude pulls you off to the side and takes your picture right away. Then they take you to your seat. We sat right next to this big pink convertible cadillac that spins around all the time. There's guitars all over the walls. We saw VanHalen's guitar and Bon Jovi's and a whole bunch of others. And we saw Prince's purple shirt!!! There was music videos playing on all the tv's but my mom wasnt so happy about that. When we left we went into the gift shop and Marissa got a shirt and I got a hat and drum sticks that say Hard Rock on them.

I wasn't feeling so good anymore so then we left and went back to the hotel to sleep. It was a long long long long long day but it was fun fun fun fun fun!!!!!

Day Nine

So this morning we started out at Animal Kingdom. When we first got in there my mom wanted to take our pictures so right after I stood there, I found a giGANTIC spider in the plant behind me. Right when Marissa was posing for her picture I pointed it out to her. Oh yeah did I mention that she has a huge spider fobia?? She screams if she sees one in a book so I knew I had her! It was so funny watching her face and seeing her run around slapping herself even though there was nothing on her. hahahaha!!!!

After we got my wheelchair we started up the trail and right away saw two huge blue macaws. They were eating bugs off each other it was disgusting. We also saw a kimono dragon and two massive turtles. There were birds everywhere in the trees and we kept ducking because they pooped everywhere. Gross! The first ride we went on was Expedition Everest. Dude. Don't ever do it. The yeti that they want to scare you with is NOTHING compared to the ride. Don't ever do it. I got so scared I dropped my oxygen tank on Marissa's foot and broke her toe and gave her a big blood blister. I felt really bad cause then she had to wear slippers the rest of the day and sometimes she rode with me in my chair :) Then we went on a river raft rapid ride. Wow! Say that five times really fast!! My poor mom got so soaked! Everytime we got off, I gave my sad puppy eyes and asked if I could get right back on. Every disney person always said yes :) And every time we did the ride, my poor mom got stuck going backwards down the roller coaster part where you get drenched. hahaha! I liked the ride except for the burned rain forest part because its really really really hot and the fire is right there by you! And it smells bad!

Oh yeah! And we did a real safari truck ride!!! It was so cool! Our driver was funny and nice and they pretend like your going out for two weeks and you'll see all these animals and poachers and stuff. So we saw elephants and giraffes and crocodiles and cheetahs and lions and tigers and bears oh my! no, just kidding.hahaha. We did see lions and tigers too though. We also saw a billion other animals that I don't know what they were because they're all in Africa. And our truck almost tipped off a bridge but it's planned like that it was just scary. Marissa liked the ride because our safari driver was cute hahaha!!

There was this creepy tree lady. She just came right out of the bushes and started walking toward us. You can't tell shes human til she gets right up close to you and she's close to 8 feet tall. She made babies scream!

I met Baloo and he talked to me, and I met Jiminy Cricket and Rafiki all at Animal Kingdom too. I found out later that it's really rare to see Jiminy Cricket and I even got my picture with him! We went on a train ride, but it wasn't too fun. We also did a petting zoo. I was really excited cause I thought I could pet some african baby animals but after you get all the way over there, it's just GOATS! Boring!! I can pet goats at home! I was a little disappointed.

The bathroom doors are funny because when you close the door and sit you can read about animals and their poop. It was kinda weird to laugh in the bathroom and other people can hear you!

So that was it for Animal Kingdom. We only spent half a day there, next it was out to lunch at a restaraunt in Orlando, then back to Magic Kingdom!! It's my favorite park of all of them!!

We went into Adventureland because we didn't get there the day before. We climbed in Mark Twains treehouse. Its really high and really boring. There was nothing exciting about it. And it was too hot to be climbing it and I kept getting out of breath.

Then we went on Pirates of the Caribean!!!! It was awesome!! It's a boat ride, and it's kinda bad in some parts with the pirates and stuff. My mom covered my eyes at one part and I still don't know what was there. There's a dark part so dark you can't see anything including people next to you. Right then you go flying down a big drop slide and it's so scary because you didn't know it was coming!! And it all ends with them all singing yo ho a pirates life for me.

After that we walked around a little bit more and got some food. Man there's food everywhere in Magic Kingdom!! It was like my dream!! My mom and Marissa talked me into going on Splash Mountain. I didn't want to at first because it's a huge drop to the bottom (the largest water ride drop in America!!) but they finally convinced me. Dad said he didnt want to go because he was already soaked and he did it in California with mom on their honeymoon. So we went in and immediately got into the log boat. They took us through this storybook about brear rabbit and his buddies. It was okay but I couldn't really focus on the animations and cool stuff because I was scared about that drop! There's a little teeny drop which you think is it because its dark coming up to it and so you scream and then it's over and you feel like a fool. You keep going in circles with music playing and all these storybook pages. Then all of a sudden BAM!!! There it is!!! You see the sky and you know its coming. Marissa kept screaming at me to smile because they take your picture at the top. I don't CARE!! I just wanted to shut my eyes and pray and be done quick!!! But after it was all over I wanted to go back on it again because it was the coolest ride EVER!!! I loved it so much! Our picture came out looking all goofy but we were all laughing so it was good.

And now for my SURPRISE!!!!!........

Then we went back toward Main St. We were going to watch the night parade! But my mom and dad had other plans. Rewind to when we first got here today. When we first came in, my mom met a lady named Kathy and a guy named Rudy. She was talking with them for a long time and being all chatty so I thought she was old friends with them. So me and dad kept on walking down to Casey's Corner to look at the baseball stuff. She never said anything about it again so I forgot.

Back to Main St. at night. Well, afternoon really. My mom was obsesed about sitting in this ONE SPOT. It HAD to be right in front of the castle, right where the road turns. I guess it was a good view so we all sat there. Then Kathy and Rudy came up and said hey we meet again!! So they were talking but I couldn't hear them so I was watching all the people around me.

Finally the parade starts!! It was awesome! There were some freaky ball things that came right up to me and were moving around really fast saying weird words and stuff. I saw Mickey on the lead float! He was all dressed in white and there were lights on him that blinked. And the music they played with it was really nice. Most of the disney characters were there and we clapped for all of the going by. The lights from everything were really neat and they were even on the moving people! Most of them took up the whole road! Near the end Snow White came over to me and took my hand. Then she said It's so nice you could come and see me tonight! I'm so glad you're here!" I was sooooooo embarased!!! Oh my gosh! My mom and dad were laughing because my face got red. And then the worst thing happened. She KISSED me!! On my cheek! Okay so it wasn't really that bad, but it was kinda awkward.

As soon as the parade was over, Kathy and Rudy were there again. They told my mom come on, follow us, and so they were moving people out of the way to get me and my chair and my whole family through the crowds. Finally we were past most of the crowd and I looked around and we were in Mickeys Toontown Adventure. We walked down the street a long ways and then we turned into the building. Mom and dad told me they were taking us to the best place to see the fireworks. It didn't look like we could see them from where we were going but I didn't know anything else. We stopped when Kathy said hang on here a minute. We were looking around and it was like being in a county fair with prizes and stuff. Then she came back out and said okay come right in here with me now. My mom ran in front with her camera so I thought the fireworks were going to start. But then when we went in the door....WOW!!! Guess who was standing RIGHT THERE??!!!!!

It was the one, the only................MICKEY MOUSE!!!!!!! Oh man! The one person I wanted to meet the most of all and he was standing right there in front of me!!!! I was so shocked and my mom and this other guy were standing there taking bunches of pictures. I couldn't talk for a few minutes I was so excited and nervous and shocked. His translator was telling me what he was saying in sign language. He said it was nice to meet me and that he loved me. We took a bunch of pictures and stayed with him about 10 minutes, then left that room. Kathy said hang on, we're not done yet. We walked through a bunch of long halls and waited outside another door with Rudy. When she came back out she took us in that room. There were princesses everywhere!! Wo. Everyone kept laughing at me cause they were talking to me and kissing me and hugging me. Marissa had a great time because she wanted more than anything else to meet Cinderella. But after that her favorite princess was Sleeping Beauty. She was really funny. She kept saying she didn't understand how the little man inside the camera could paint the pictures as fast as they were. And Belle from beauty and the beast told my dad she really liked his face fur (my mom doesn't!) haha. Cinderella was really nice.

Then we left that room and went into another one! This time it was Goofy, Donald, Minnie and Pluto. They all acted exactly like I thought they would. After we met each one of them individually, they started playing around with me and Marissa. Goofy went over and hugged Marissa and then Donald went and grabbed Marissa's hand and took her to the corner and blocked her off from Goofy. They were fighting over her! She was laughing so hard and we all were too! Goofy finally won and grabbed her and ran with her to the door to take her out to the wedding chapel to marry her!!!!! The trainers kept saying NO GOOFY!! You can't take her out to get married and you have to share her with Donald. Then Minnie kept hugging me and started kissing me! She wouldn't let go of me and then she turned around and Goofy was running to her and their heads banged together. She fell to the floor and Goofy was being really dramatic and rolling around holding his head. When they found out Minnie was okay they sent Goofy to the corner. He went over and he was pouting and pretending to cry it was SO FUNNY!!! I laughed harder than I have ever laughed in my whole life!!!! There was so much more that we did but I can't write it all it would take forever.

My mom did tell me that I had to tell everybody the story though so that the right people get the right credit. So she doesnt know Kathy and Rudy. She only just met them at disney world that day!! They asked her about my wish and she said to come to Disney world and meet Mickey Mouse. They asked if I did yet and she said no. They said are we going to the parade and mom said yes. They told her where we need to sit and they traded cell phone numbers. As soon as we left they went to their boss and then he called the disney people and asked if they could arrange something special. They said 100% yes they would love to do it. Then they asked the person who is Mickey if he could stay late that night and explained to him what was going on and he said yes really quick. When they went to help him get changed in the locker room the other characters who were leaving to go home heard what was happening and said We want to do this too!!! So they all got back in their makeup and costumes and went over to that building. It was a private meeting with us and they gave us all as much time as we wanted. It wasn't hurried and it wasn't a line to wait with other people. The disney people were great and made my whole night more special than anything I'll ever remember!!!!!!! There was a disney photo guy who followed us everywhere after that and when we were all done they gave us our photopass card and the disney people gave us the cd with the pictures on it!!!! And a free 8 by 10 too!! There's so many pictures but I'm not putting them in my photo album online until everybody reads the story first so it doesnt rune it for them. They let us stay in the park really late that night and it was like it was all to ourselves there was nobody there. It was so empty and it was really cool that way. I love disney world.

*******THANK YOU KATHY NAMATH AND RUDY AND ALL OF THE DISNEY PEOPLE WHO MADE MY NIGHT AS SPECIAL AS IT WAS AND I'LL NEVER EVER EVER FORGET IT OR ANY OF YOU!!!!!*******

Day Eight

EPCOT!!!


Compared to the Magic Kingdom the parking lot was GREAT! We didn't have to walk far at all to get in. We saw the big ball from far away and when we finally got in and under it, it was HUGE!! It's cool it's like a bunch of 3d corners but they make a round ball.




It was so hot it wasn't even funny! We sweated all day long and SOME of us weren't very happy. We started out in the front of the park where the ball is. We went inside of the ball (Spaceship Earth). We played some awesome 3d games where I could put together a virtual human with all its organs and stuff with a huge tv screen. Then I got to drive a virtual spy car of the future. It goes through all kinds of stuff like ice and bridges and fog and wind and everything. You can feel the wind and stuff it's so cool!


Then we went to my FAVORITE RIDE OF ALL TIME!!!! It's called Soarin and it's like you're flying. It's like a hanglider. My mom and dad said I would love the ride and I wanted to go on it ever since I saw it on disney channel but they forgot to tell me everything that happens!! We went in and sat down on our glider seats and strapped in with seatbelts and that thing that comes over your head. They make it like you're going on an airplane flight with stewardeses and pilots. Then they turn off all the lights and lift you up 40 feet in your glider. They also drop the floor out from under you so I guess we really were kind of flying. All around you is a huge imax screen. When you start, the movie screen goes on and you take off from orlando into the clouds. There's air blowing on you and when you go near the ocean or water, they spray you with a mist. It's so much like flying and it really felt like I was!!! We went over a golf course where a guy was golfing and he sent a ball right to us and we had to duck. Then we went up a mountain and we got so close to the treetops that we all lifted our feet. We couldn't see anyone else around us so it was like it was just us. They turn you and lift and dip you all the time so it feels like you're flying too. It was the best thing and even though I cant fly in a airplane I think I really did get to fly this time!!


Next we went into a robotic center. Everything there was robots. My dad and me played a cool video game tournament with other people. I came in THIRD!! My mom and sister kept walking through because my mom said we didn't come all the way to Florida just to play video games. I don't care my dad and me had tons of fun doing it!! Ha! We liked going inside all the buildings cause it was nice and cold from the air conditoner.



The finding nemo ride was really cool and there were REAL sharks in the tank and somehow they showed the Nemo cartoon animals inside the tank with them! It was awesome! I liked the Living with the Land ride too. It shows how things are grown and how disney is working on different ways to grow things and make them good for our envirment. There was a cool mouse ears shaped pumpkin for halloween. That was my mom's favorite. My favorite was the gators! They have creepy eyes and on our picture they came out GLOWING!! CREEPY!! Marissa's favorite was everything cause its all good for the envirment and helps get rid of global warming. It was a boat ride too but sometimes we were outside and it was still HOT!!


Then we were done and went into the world showcase. There's 11 different countries and I think they are at least a mile apart because we walked forever! Well I rode. everybody wanted to eat in Mexico but Mexico was next to the last country so we all got cranky and we were really hot. So we passed through most of the countries pretty fast and didn't get to go into a lot of them. America was cool and so was China. We finally found Mexico and ate at a outdoor caffe. We saw two Hanna Montana stars outside there signing autographs but we were too hot and tired to go over there. Then we went into Mexico and it was beautiful!! They had lots of suvernirs and they had really sweet sombreros!








We also went on the Three Caballeros ride in Mexico. It was so neat and it was nice because it was cold and a water ride too!

And then it came!! This crazy trained squirrel. I think it was trained anyway because it did the craziest stuff!! Like if you held food for him it flipped up in the air, and then it flattened itself against the concrete and begged!! It would run right up to you and then go down on its front legs with its butt in the air still. It was so funny!



We did lots more walking but not a whole bunch of rides. We went back through and saw all the countries closer up. And mom and Marissa shopped more. We got these really good iced drinks. They were some weird caffe mix with flavors but it was so good and so COLD!!! And my dad spilled his coffe everywhere and there were two guys who were speaking Spanish and talking about him and laughing and my sister talked back to them in spanish. They were embarased and walked away. Ha ha!!

The best part of the day was the last. There was an incredible fireworks show at Epcot called IllumiNations. Its the best fireworks of all of the parks!!! It goes to music and has lots of explosions and there's this giant globe that starts on one end of the lake and moves out to the middle. When it opens up, they show movies of all over the world on the inside. They blew up a boat too!! We got front lake seats and they were so close we could feel the heat from the explosions out there!! It was hot but it was really worth it!!!

So that was our day at Epcot. We were so tired when we got done but it was so worth it. We went right back to the hotel and ate and then fell asleep really quick. That's all for that day, tomorrow is Animal Kingdom and a REALLY BIG SURPRISE FOR ME!!! So you have to come back and read again to find out what happened!!