Florida

For Chris' bonus trip this year, we headed off to Orlando, FL. We truly had the time of our lives...and I know that sounds cliche and overstated but really truly we had the greatest time! Minus a few very cold days, everything was perfect...So here we go a little day by day action. There are a ton of pictures but they each have a special meaning to us.

SATURDAY

Honestly, I was just hoping this day would end quickly! 6 hours on planes with 1 layover and 2 kids is not fun. Fortunately, Em's excitement carried over to all of us...she was definitely on one. Her announcement that we had arrived in space or when her Lovey had to go potty, about put me over! Funny side note...our layover was in Phoenix the day before the Superbowl in Florida. You could imagine any noise our kids made paled in comparison to those Cardinal fans. Kind of fun.

And of course when we arrived at our condo, we had to run around like crazy, lay in every bed, sit in every chair and open ever drawer. It's just what we do.

SUNDAY

Our exploration day...props to Chris. He finds vacation rentals like he finds gifts...he's got a knack for it. We stayed at the Ginn Reunion Resort, a community that sits on 3 golf courses with one hotel, a billion of these condos and some single family homes. It also has a heated waterpark, a clubhouse with a game room, gym, pool etc etc..playgrounds, sand volleyball courts, daily activities for kids, and my favorite...a Spa! And it's all included! Best part, it was like a ghost town. We felt like we had it all to ourselves!

MONDAY

Breakfast with Minnie, Donald and Goofy at the Disneyland Beach Resort!!

Dreams really do come true!! And I will never forget it! I literally was so happy, I could have cried. It was by far my favorite part of the trip. We were so lucky, typically the restaurant caters one character to every 67 kids...but on this day it was so empty and there couldn't have been more than 25 people in the whole restaurant.

Donald was first...I was very surprised at how at ease they both were with him.

I love this face, I don't think she ate one thing that morning...she was always looking and waiting and anticipating.

Goofy was of course very goofy with the girls. Emma thought it was the greatest when he stole her chocolate milk for a sip. And if you ask her about him, she'll tell you all about his swimsuit and his missing hat! Which she decided he had to leave at home so it wouldn't get wet!

Minnie was the best! I was so grateful to her, she just made herself right at home at our table eventually taking a seat on the floor and cuddling Taylor for a long long time! Lets just say, we will be having a Minnie birthday party in a few weeks!

After breakfast, we took a walk around the boardwalk. I love this picture. We loved having daddy all to ourselves for a whole week!

TUESDAY

Animal Kingdom

This is a great park! Some highlights...The Lion King and Finding Nemo Shows, the Safari ride, Petting Zoo, and the Parade.

Em's reenactment of the Llama's very flexible neck! The Llama was hilarious, definitely thought she was the queen of the petting zoo.

WEDNESDAY

GATORLAND

I love just saying that word...it sounds so white trash and it was but it also was a crazy experience being surrounded by these huge, and I mean HUGE, gators! Pictures do not do these things justice. I still remember Granny and Grandpop's lake and seeing those red eyes come out of the water. Am I making this up, or was that really real?

The highlight of the day though was going into this life size birdcage, and trust me, I wouldn't have gone in if I knew what I was in for. A little nectarine juice is all it takes and you get swarmed. At one point, Chris had 5 birds on him and one almost made an escape hiding out in his backpack. Good times, glad I didn't know what to expect!

THURSDAY

One of our favorite things to do was to fix up a yummy breakfast and eat on our porch, even with freezing weather! I think it got down into the 30's this day but that didn't stop us!

After breakfast we were off to the Florida Mall for souveniers and to just be indoors...

It was the Spa for me during naps...! And it was wonderful! We couldn't leave Florida without bowling...

FRIDAY

Hollywood Studios

Emma was so excited to meet more characters and get their signatures, we are totally those people now!! Other highlights, Playhouse Live on Stage, Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid Shows and the Honey I Shrunk the Kids play area.

It was a super highlight for our little princess to see Belle in action!

Finally, Mickey Mouse!! Who was apparently in a witch costume! :)

I have to admit, I was slightly annoyed to stand in line to meet these guys who neither Emma or I were familiar with. But it turned out to be a really funny time after Emma called Bolt a bunny and then wouldn't allow the hamster to be in the picture!

SATURDAY

Waterpark Day

Thank the heavens above, Saturday was a nice sunny day so we hit up the waterpark on our very last day. We couldn't help but think of my nieces and nephews who will pretty much swim at any given moment...you guys would love this place! Ogden Florida Reunion at Reunion in 2010! I'm calling it.

Taylor is our little water baby. She couldn't get enough of the lazy river and it was pretty much the cutest thing watching her tiny little body in this tube floating down all by herself. She giggled and oohed and ahhed the whole way...I especially loved her face when we'd go under the waterfalls! Once was enough for Emma...she's always been a little more timid. But she cheered on her "little fellow"!

So this will probably be our last year receiving these bonus trips, we'll miss them, but it was awesome while it lasted!