Florida 2015 - our last Hurrah of the Summer
After Girls' camp and "Daddy Camp", we all kicked it into preparation mode.
Get ready for the trip to Florida - Get ready for a new school year.
Dentist Appointments for all (I loved Alee's drawing she made after her turn was done)
Van oil change (and 4 tires) appointments
And pack the van!
(If only the passenger area looked this good...one day my organization in planning will survive 5 kids in the back of the van and we won't have to remove all the seats for a deep cleaning after week long trips!)
Then for the main purpose of the trip: The wedding
Rob's aunt and (new) uncle
We re-met some family (cousins and aunts and uncles)
And talked with family
And played with family
And didn't really want to say goodbye to family
Kaitlyn asked if I could arrange a playdate/sleepover with her 2nd cousin (who lives in New Hampshire!)
Carolyn asked if we could take JoJo to Disney World with us
Yes, you heard correctly! After the wedding, the KIDS' "real" purpose of going to Florida with us was Disney world.
(Rob's mom decided that since we were all going to Florida anyways that she might as well do a Disney World vacation and make some memories. Bethany did most of the planning with her.)
Stayed in Disney Resort (Art of Animation Studios)
Magic Bands made everything really easy to do - room key, pay for things, claim photos taken by Disney photographers, fast passes, etc. They were great and so worth whatever she paid for them.
Two Days of Magic Kingdom
We're finally here!
Breakfast at BE OUR GUEST
(Belle themed restaurant that served French style cuisine)
Seth imitating the gargoyles
The sword in the stone near the carousel was really fun for photos...
Natalie licked her ice cream into Mickey Mouse ears. :)
Storytime with Belle - Natalie and Kaitlyn volunteered and got chosen to participate
Everyone's head was burning, so Memere bought everyone hats - so fun
The Winnie the Pooh ride had things to play with in the waiting line area - what a great idea for the kids. I wish all the rides had stuff to do while waiting.
Memere waving at us in line. (I thought it was funny that she was right beside the sign that said "No Gophers Allowed"...so is Memere a gopher? :) Just kidding.)
We went back to the resort for a break and back again for late evening stuff....
Memere got a better scooter rental at the end of day 1 - it was awesome. If it weren't for the crowds slowing her down, some of our party might have had trouble keeping up with her. Speedy! :)
(The 2 youngest benefited from her ECV too - hitching rides constantly.)
This was Carolyn's first roller coaster.
"I AM NEVER GOING ON ANOTHER ROLLER COASTER AGAIN!" I heard from behind me as I held her hand. (I actually liked it better being in complete darkness, but I think she might have hated that part.)
Grandpa rode alone...(sort of) - looks like he had fun regardless
I missed the Electrical Parade :( while we were doing Space Mountain, but Memere managed all 4 youngest by herself (with some sugar and glow wands and toys to help). That's no small feat at 9:00 at night! We all watched fireworks together. :)
We started day 2 with more princesses
(I liked these better because they spent more time talking to the girls.)
even the shadows are magical...
And this was my favorite character of all to meet - if I hadn't been taking pictures, I might have jumped in one too! :)
We were so wiped, but we had fast passes for the parade for a prime viewing spot, so we waited...
...and then the girls decided they wanted to leave. So, Dad and Memere and Grandpa took them back to the resort for a quick rest before supper and swimming.
Seth and I stayed to try to get a fast pass for the 7 dwarfs mine train ride. (We had one for the day before, but the only spot we had for lunch was right before it and after lunch was over, there was no way any of us wanted to ride anything but a kiddie ride. August heat+ food+ride = ...nevermind!)
We couldn't get a fast pass on short notice and we didn't want to wait over an hour for the ride, so we didn't ride the mine train (maybe if we ever go again, we'll add that to the top of the list), but we did get to see most of the parade (from a distance) that the girls left before seeing. It was really cute.
Seth's favorite part of the parade was the fire-breathing dragon machine.
Oh, the bus rides to/from the park/resort were convenient.
And by the end of it, we all were worn out!
We said our final goodbyes and thank yous and headed into our separate vehicles for the drive home.
I'm pretty sure the caption is: Enough pictures! I'm tired!
The Lego Store!
Once Upon a Toy (Toy Store)
We had some glow sticks from Rob's aunt (we call her Suzie) that were left from the wedding...they were perfect for that part of the ride home near the end when it got really dark and everyone was antsy and tired of the van and each other....who'd have guessed - glowsticks?
(That is going to be added to my "traveling past bedtime in the dark" packing list for activity bags!)
Thank You Memere and Grandpa!
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