Orlando-Part 1

Our family had the opportunity to take a quick, 72 hour, vacation to Orlando this last weekend and it was fantastic! Richard's parents, Bob and Becky, met us there and we definitely enjoyed our time with them as well. Richard was asked to present his research at the American Geriatric Society's National Conference in Orlando. He gave a ten minute oral presentation followed by five minutes of questions. This was a HUGE deal as he was one of the few medical students to give an oral presentation during the entire conference. Go Richard! He also presented his research poster in a different session.

Becky (Richard's mom) and I were able to sit in on his oral presentation and he did a really good job. I am pretty proud of him and grateful for all of his hard work!

Anyway, here he is in front of the hotel where the convention was held, The Swan and Dolphin Resort, right in the heart of Disney. It was a beautiful resort and Richard and I will definitely be staying there one day...when we can afford $200 a night for a hotel. :)

On Friday after Richard's presentation we went to Downtown Disney. It is full of shops and all sorts of things to do and see. Cute little Marshall and Grandpa Bob really bonded on this trip. Marshall probably spent half the weekend on Bob's shoulders; you'll be seeing a lot of pictures of this. :) Also note Marshall's monkey leash. I was very against child leashes, but it definitely came in handy this trip and Marshall sure does love his little monkey that gives him "hugs". :)

We stopped in the Harley Davidson store and Marshall got to sit on this sweet ride. Not that he will ever really be riding one of these, but it made for a cute picture. :)



Just another leash picture...

We also made a stop in the Lego store. Marshall found these Lego dogs and he instantly bonded with them.

While strolling through Downtown Disney we saw this ship, named after myself. :)

We wrapped up the very hot and humid evening with ice cream cones. They were delicious! Marshall, who has never really had much interest in ice cream, suddenly decided it was good and ended up eating a bunch of mine. Oh well, I guess I can share my ice cream cone with my one year old son. :)

I think he got a few brain freezes while eating; he made some pretty funny, but pained faces. Here's the beginning of one...






But, that sure didn't stop him from grabbing the cone and finishing it off!