Professional Ice Skaters??

Ice skating in 80 degree weather?  Is it even possible?  After only being here 2 weeks, I've already discovered... anything is possible in Orlando.  Welcome to "Winter in the Park!"

One thing is for certain...my cousins are NOT professional skaters.   BUT, we did have a great afternoon, and by the end of the day, we had a little "mini-train" gliding (and falling) on the ice.  :  )   If you look closely, you can see me below...Matthew is holding me tightly!!

 


Until my next adventure...

Hugs-
Flat Rylie

Kaboooooom!

We drove over to Tampa Bay this morning (which is about an hour west of Orlando) and spent the day at the... Tampa Bay Buccaneers game.  I am a Viking fan at heart, but the Bucs are now my 2nd favorite team.  Their stadium is AMAZING!!!  There is a pirate ship inside of the stadium with working cannons!  The cannon booms 7 times for every touchdown and 3 times for every field goal.  It's loud but awesome to see and hear!

While at the game, I also had the opportunity to go down on the field and meet one of my "host family's" friends, Jerry Wunsch, a former Buccaneer player.    He is retired now, but spends a lot of time performing charity work for children with cancer and chronic blood disorders.   His personal charity is name Circle of Friends Foundation.   

 Below is a map of where I traveled today with some fun facts about Tampa.

• Spanish explorer, Ponce de Leon, first arrived in Tampa in 1513.
• Tampa has the 7th largest port in the nation.
• The waterways around Tampa are known for the large number of manatees.

Until next time.

Hugs, 

Flat Rylie

Junior Claus

I went to my first musical today at the Orlando Repertory Theater.  The "Rep"is the children's theater here in Orlando and is located right next door to the Science Center.   What  musical did we see?  "Junior Claus"!!   It was REALLY funny...my host family and I laughed a lot!!

What was it about??  After Santa falls into a deep sleep, Santa's only son, Junior, has to help save the day.   Junior has to learn quickly how to climb down chimneys, drive reindeer, read a GPS in a blizzard and deliver presents to the entire world.  Thankfully, he has the help of an elf friend, a penguin and a little one who loves the holidays.

After the musical was over, we were able to meet the performers and go down on the actual stage.  Do you recognize the "snowflakes" from the picture above.

When we were leaving, I saw the signs for the next musical coming to the Orlando Rep..."The Voyages of Doctor Doolittle."  It sounds exciting; I hope we can come back to see that one, too!!  Bye for now.

Hugs,
Flat Rylie

It's off to school I go!!

Hi ho! Hi ho! It's off to school I go!!  Yes, I went to school today...at Windermere Elementary.  It is where my "not so flat" cousins, Matthew and Nick, attend school.  I must confess, I didn't do much studying!!!

This afternoon was Matthew's class holiday party, so I thought I would join in on the fun.   He's also in 3rd grade, so it was neat to see the similarities and the differences between our classrooms.

Here are just a few fun facts about Windermere Elementary...

• The school mascot is a Mustang.
• It has over 900 students and goes from kindergarten through 5th grade.
• It is an "A" ranked school in the county and the state.
• Their school colors are blue and yellow.

Until my next adventure...

Hugs-

Flat Rylie

Jingle all the way

Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way...all 3.1 miles!!  This morning, my "not so flat" cousins and I ran in a 5k race for arthritis.  Arthritis is a medical condition that can cause pain, stiffness and swelling in your joints.  Most people think of arthritis as a medical disorder that affects primarily older people, but it can affect children, as well.  I learned  there are over 50,000 children just in the United States with a  type of arthritis called JRA - Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis.  

Knowing that - made me want to run just that much harder and faster.  We had a great time at the race and the best part???  "Our" team raised $1085 for the Arthritis Foundation!!!   

Here I am participating in the pre-race warm up with my "not so flat" cousin, Jackson!!

Afterwards, it was time to celebrate...my "not so flat" cousin's 3rd birthday!  He loved his cake (which I helped decorate.)  Can you guess how many pounds of M&M's are on top??  Happy Birthday Jackson!!

Until next time...

Hugs,
Flat Rylie

Ice, ice and more ice

Ice, ice and more ice!!!  Today, I visited the most amazing art exhibit....sculpted completely out of ice...2 million pounds of ice.  Every year, the Gaylord Palms Resort, here in Orlando is home to this gigantic ICE!  show.  The theme for this holiday season was "Merry Madagascar."    The sculptures retell the story of how Alex the Lion and his friends saved Christmas after Santa crashed on the island of Madagascar.

Brrr...I forgot my gloves back in Minnesota!!!

What was my favorite part of the exhibit?  The REAL two story ice slides!!!

Some fun facts about ICE!

• The exhibit is kept at 9 degrees Fahrenheit....cold!!!
• More than 40 artists hand carve the sculptures
• The artists are from Harbin, China.
• It takes more than a month to complete the exhibit.

Here is also a short video about this amazing exhibit...ICE!

Arrived safe and sound

Hooray!!  After traveling by mail for 6 days, I arrived safely today in Windermere, Florida.  Windermere is a small suburb on the southwest side of Orlando...just minutes away from Disney.  I'm looking forward to exploring the area, but first, I wanted to introduce you to my host family....and "not so flat" cousins.

Meet the  Bittner Family.
Robb, Jen, Matthew (8), Nicholas (6) and Jackson (2)

I have a feeling - the next couple of months are going to be fun - and a little crazy!!   As you can see,  Matthew and Nick  already taught me how to climb a palm tree.  YIKES!!

Off to put on more sunscreen.

Hugs,
Flat Rylie