Well, we just returned from a “much needed vacation,” as Marcus likes to put it. We spent six thrilling days at Universal Studios in Orlando; well, at least three of us. Samuel spent six shrilling days…let me explain…

Samuel is all about physical prowess. Give him a bike or a skateboard, and he is fearless and cocky. But play with his head at all and he’s a big, feathery Chicken with a capital ‘C.’

We excitedly took him on the E.T. ride, one of his all-time favorite characters. We thought he would be thrilled. To our amazement, it started with us almost having to drag him on, kicking and screaming. We kept explaining that we were there to help E.T. find his way home. Didn’t matter. Samuel’s claws clutched at anything they could reach, and I just as quickly pried them off. We got on the ride, which is really cool since it simulates riding a bicycle through the air. As we were riding, a little E.T. gently popped up in our bicycle basket (and I do mean gently). Samuel closed his eyes, clenched his body and screamed so loudly and at such a pitch that I swear I could see all the way down his throat. Being the somewhat sadistic parents that we are, Mike and I just roared. It was such an unbelievable sight. This 3 year old sometimes going on 10 was genuinely frightened. I told Mike when we got off the ride that Samuel sounded like he was auditioning for Scream III.

Samuel completed about three other rides. Notice the word “completed.” We ended up backing out of the majority of rides we worked to convince him to try. We figured at $200 for his tickets, his rides cost about $60
each!

Regardless, we all had a memorable time with tons of pictures to remind us of all the characters we met. If you were to ask him, Samuel would tell you he had a great time — thrills, shrills, and all.

As always, he was the rascal keeping up on our toes.

Until next time,
CMH