18 November

Saturday.....
We drove to Tampa to begin the first leg of our journey home.  It was our choice to add a little onto the beginning and end of our travels to save a whole bunch of money on airline tickets.  Tampa was a little bonus.  We had an amazing lunch and fruity drinks at a The Bahama Breezes restaurant, then swam in the pool, and sat on the beach on a perfect night to watch the sunset over the Gulf.  I love the type of vacation where you forget what day it is and don't even think about what you would be doing at home on this day.  We loved this vacation, but are ready to get back home, and retreat to our own spaces.  the craziness of three giggling kids in the backseat and meltdowns over where to sleep proved to be just a little to much for one day.  The next time we are back to do a big vacation like this one, Trevor will be 13 (we're on the every three year plan).  I wouldn't trade the exhauting-ness of the littleness of them for the world.   Not even at the end of a day of meltdowns so bad that all we can do is laugh and kids getting out of bed 50 times to get just that one more hug.  Nope, someday, I'll miss it so much I will ache.  It's vacations like these that make me realize how fast it all goes.   I'm going to take all these wonderful memories with me and tuck them deep into my heart. Until 2015, We'll miss you Florida!

17 November

Friday.  The BIG day.   Magic Kingdom and the very Merry Christmas Party.  Even though the lines were somewhat long in the morning , and there were tons of attractions broken down (think this park is getting a little old?) from the monorail to the haunted house, we did it all.  After going back to the hotel for a little rest time, we headed back to the Christmas party.  It was everything we thought it would be. The whole place was lit up.  WE just walked around, looking up, taking it all in.  There were no lines for the rides so we did EVERYTHING we wanted to do, the race cars, space mountain, splash mountain the Haunted House and big Thunder Mountain.  .  Lucas favorite ride the "people mover" was empty.  There was free cookies and hot chocolate.  Bre even got to boogie down in a Dance party with some characters.  The fireworks were amazing and we topped out night off with a visit to the princesses (the boys sucked it up to give Bre her "moment").   We got to bed after 11, so I don't expect the first leg of our journey home to be pretty:( , but it was so worth it.

15 November (Part 2)

Today....a really awesome Character breakfast (One of my favorite parts of the trip).  Mickey shaped waffles and Bre always having to give the characters one last hug.  Love that.   Even though it was a little cold and cloudy (and we weren't really dressed for it), it was still a GREAT day.  We hit Islands of adventure for the BIG rides.  Trevor and Josh rode everything including "the Hulk" Twice.  josh said it was the  best roller coaster ever (and he's ridden a lot of coasters).  Oh my the Suess Characters were awesome, especially the Grinch, funny guy :)  Four Parks in Four days, phew.  Tiring, but were able to do it b/c we have had a stress free attitude.  We end our day quickly when everyone gets tired (usually between 3 and 4) and we were able to do that b/c we have waited no longer than 10 minutes in line to get on any ride.

Most of the rides we have been able to walk right on.  I'm guessing it's the time of year.  Anyway,  Trevor's face when he got off that big coaster, beaming from ear to ear, so proud of himself for facing his fear (not that he showed any fear), was just priceless   I love Disney, I really do.  Even though it's commercial and a real big money pit, and I'm not sure the kids will remember these vacations as much as our time in the woods.  It's just magical.   Their Faces, their excited smiles, the way they run everywhere they go.  The way they walk and ride in the stroller sometimes, they way they hold hands and jump off the escalator  the way their eyes light up when they see the characters.  The way they fight in the elevator about who gets to push the button for the 15th floor.  I want to Remember this forever.

tomorrow...the LAST hurrah.   Magic Kingdom and staying up REAL late for Mickey's very merry Christmas party.  Party like it's 1999 people!

15 November

Universal Orlando.

Lots of 3D, movies and virtual rides.  Not the favorite of those of us who tend to get a little motion sickness (me!)  Lots of walking around (paid WAY too much for a rental stroller), cool sets to take portraits at.  NO lines at all.  A cool little kids roller coaster that we all went on a few times.  A SUPER FUN animal show that Lucas got to be a part of up on stage.  At the end, Trevor and Josh decided to forgo the big coaster to save up the fear factor for the islands of adventure tomorrow.  Instead they hit the mummy ride and Trevor and Bre hit the twister show with me (Bre was TERRIFIED!).  We were bummed that we forgot our auto books since there were so many cool characters (we had no idea).  And one of the best parts of our day, coming home, to hang at the hot tub and pool with a few little fruity drinks.  Tomorrow....Our Character Breakfast and Islands of adventure!

14 November

Tuesday.......

Animal Kingdom. The Safari, Expedition Everest (again, the girl was totally fearless...I think she even used the word awesome, she's so fun!), the totally scary Dino ride (that Lucas even went on!).   Getting lost on the way there (horrible GPS!), getting to see Mickey Mouse.  An afternoon to rest and relax back at the pool, showering and getting ready for an evening OUT (my kids are so big!).  A dinner show at Midieval times.  Super, Super fun.  Our girl got a flower and a ribbon from our "knight" and...we were in the front row.  Totally awesome day:)

13 November

Legoland 2012.
Really, the perfect park for our family.  Lucas shy ed away from the rides at first but by the end was begging to go on them all just, "one more time".  The lego real life city was amazing, I just can't describe it, and build your own lego minifigure......super cool.  And if you want to take any kid to a theme park and not have a single complaint all day about anything, except that she doesn't get to ride in the front row of every thrill ride, that would be Bre.  That girl....totally fearless.  At the end of every ride she would say, "Super fun...Oh my god, Do it again!"  Awesome day.  Tomorrow....Animal Kingdom and Medieval Times!

12 November

Sunday (i'll always be posting a day behind).......We couldn't have imagined getting up on day 1 after all that travel and doing a park.  Since I've learned to totally adjust expectations for these types of things (we hadn't even bought our park tickets yet), as in having NO expectations for how things are going to go.   Day 1 we decided to lay low, rest up and relax to get ready for a week full.  We headed up to Target to buy our weeks full of groceries and a router for the internet (believe it or not the wi-fi here really stunk!).  Bre spotted this little Minnie and well, we caved since she forgot all her "animals" at home.  The kids were totally awful in the store (really hard to contain the excitement when you are five).  After lunch we made a plan for the week, got tickets and headed down to use the pirate ship waterslide pool this place is famous for.  J and I really could sit here (in the hot tub by the bar) all week and watch the kids swim, but alas, the parks await.  Tomorrow....LEGOLAND!

11 November

Saturday was our travel day. The kids were over the top excited about riding on the airplane. Everything went really smooth, no delays. The kids carried all their own stuff through the airports, awesome! Lucas made a puppet out of the airplane barf bag ( and was very impressed with his funny-ness). Lucas' Flat Stanley got to visit tons of new places. All day I was exhausted from getting out of work super late (1am) the night before. We got straight to the hotel and went to bed. Looking forward to an awesome week in sunny and warm Orlando!

365::329

Going home.

Day 6: Magic Kingdom 365:328

All good things must come to an end :(

Today we revisited the magic Kingdom to finish our tour of the park, what was good about today? EVERYTHING!

The weather was perfect, 80 degrees and not a cloud in the sky

Bre got to meet all the princesses (you should have seen her face:)

Bre loved her little roller coaster ride and laughed the whole time

The kids got to pick out ONE souvinier, Lucas picked a little Mickey Mouse right away and has not let it go since.

Trevor riding Space Mountain and Big Thunder mountain 5 times each..

Smaller crowds today

Lucas taking a 2 hour nap

getting Ice cream

Pirates of the Carribean, just like I remember it as a kid

The sunsets out our window

finally being warm enough to swim in the pool

getting great take out after the kids are in bed.

Tonight...packing up and heading home tomorrow. This trip was a total dream that I don't want to wake up from. Next onto Christmas (I can't believe it)!

Disney tips that I want to remember for next time:

get a non-stop flight, preferably with an airline that offers TVs in each seat that can be watched for the whole flight:)

rent a condo offsite...multiple bedrooms a kitchen and a washer and dryer are a must...

We spent about $200 for the week on food making it here and bringing our own lunch (not allowed a Seaworld) vs. about $200/day buying food at the parks. Plus, who wants to spend all that time waiting in line for food, we wait in line enough for other stuff! Bring your own water too.

Buy t-shirts at Wal-mart (2 miles away) for 7 bucks each

Bring an autograph book from home-make one or buy it online

DEFINITELY book a character breakfast at Chef Mickey's.

Bring ponchos, umbrellas and warm clothes---you never know.

Buy your 5+ year old a lanyard to collect pins---all the kids do it.

When you enter each park, IMMEDIATELY head to the most popular ride and get a fast-pass, and then get more as time allows. We NEVER waited in a line once, even in MAJOR crowds.

For the under 10 year old crowd, I would reccommend getting to the parks early and then leaving before dinner. Getting our kids to bed by 7 every night led to a MUCH more enjoyable day.

Rent a stroller, we rented a double (REALLY nice stroller) from magic strollers.com for about $8 a day (and they picked up and delivered to our hotel.)

Get or Use a GPS, online directions are useless in navigating Disney because none of the streets are marked, exits are only labeled by the name of the park.

Day 5: Sea World 365:327

Sea World Favorite memories:

The dolphin show

The dog and cat show

eating lunch close up with the killer whales (complete with BEER)

winning stuffed animals at the games with our free passes

Manta: a super thriller roller coaster:

Duration, 2:35. Capacity, 1500 riders per hour. Max G force, 3.7. Height restriction, 4 ft 6 in

The little kid shamu coaster (Bre was tall enough to ride!)

the kids faces and clapping at the shows

Seeing the dolphins up close, touching the stingrays

The aquarium, penguins and shark encounter

Lucas with his dessert platter and black and white M&Ms

Lucas finally going to sleep after about a 60 minute screaming fit

Looking around and seeing so many people in the same boat as us.

The kids running down the hotel hallway to the room when we got home

getting take out after the kids went to bed early.

Day 4: Magic Kingdom 365:326

What can I say about today...it was fantastic:) We started REAL early with a 7:40 AM character breakfast at Chef Mickey's restaurant. All the classic characters were there and Breanna's face lit up when seeing them, it brought tears to my eyes seeing her so happy. Then we headed over to Magic Kingdom via monorail (and got to park FREE for the day!) There was so much for the little kids to do at Magic Kingdom, Bre and Lucas got to ride on their very first roller coaster

(and it was pretty fast!) and race cars . The only real glitch was that Space Mountain was closed for "technical difficulties" right when it was our fast pass turn to get on, we had to wait until later to ride it. Trevor rode everything and loved it all. The most amazing thing was that we never waited in one line to go on a ride. Between fast-pass and our special assistance card, we pretty much got right onto every ride (love the fast-pass). We are so happy that we get to go back on Sunday, there is just way too much to do in one day there. We hope to catch a glimpse of a few princesses our next trip back. Definitely a day to remember for life:)

Day 3: Animal Kingdom 365:325

Today we headed out to animal kingdom. The weather was great and a little on the cool side. It was a great park that the whole family could enjoy.

We got there right at opening time and Trevor was able to get his first Character autograph. Then we all headed out on an animal safari. ALL the animals were out today because of the cooler weather, we saw rhinos, giraffes, exotic birds, crocodiles, lions and cheetahs. It was the highlight of the day! Then we headed over to a wild bird show and then to Expedition Everest, a wild rollercoaster. Josh lied to me that it was a tame ride, so I tired it (Trevor didn't dare). It was fast turning, backward and forward dropping in the dark roller coaster. I think my legs are still shaking (even though it was pretty fun.).

Finally, we rode a water rapid ride, Josh and Trevor first then Trevor and I. Trevor got soaked b/c he didn't have his poncho the first time. It was really fun! Aside from a little meltdown by Lucas over an ice cream incident, it was a fantastic day. We brought our own food (which is key) and Lucas even napped in the stroller. Trevor decided he was going to collect pins with the souvenir money he saved to bring and now has a lanyard with 3 pins from places we have been.

Right down we're cooking a small Turkey dinner at the condo and we're going to celebrate Disney style. After dinner we'll head down to the hot tub and the giant pirate pool. Early to bed tonight---tommorrow our character breakfast and Magic Kingdom!

With all of my heart I am Thankful that we are here for this amazing vacation and most of all that we are just together (so many families aren't able to be). Happy Thanksgiving!

Day 2....Rain/365:324

Well, we knew the forecast today was for rain, but decided to head out for a half day anyway to Hollwood studios (a lot of the park is inside.) Even with rain coasts and ponchos however we were drenched (at least it was warm). We rode Star tours a bunch of times and the muppets 3D show. After seeing a few characters, we scored some fast-passes and headed back to the condo (2 miles away). We hair -dryered off our stroller and used our dryer (yes a washer and dryer right in the condo is the BEST thing ever!) for everything else. While the little ones are resting with me at the condo, Trevor and Josh headed back to ride some of the bigger rides and see the Christmas light display when it gets dark. All in all, not bad for a totally rainy...and the rest of the week is supposed to be perfect. Stay tuned for pictures....

We're here!

We're here in Orlando and it couldn't have gone any smoother. We had a non-stop flight from Portland on Jet blue (which left on-time to the minute), landed, got our baggage and rental car and checked into our condo. This place is fantastic, we are on the 15th floor and we can see the Disney fireworks from here. As I write this, I'm waiting for Josh to get back from a 10 mile detour on his way to the grocery store (a mile away) while I got unpacked. We've had some thunderstorms this evening, so I hope the weather holds out for Magic Kingdom tommorrow! We'll post pics tommorrow!

P.S. If you ask Lucas what he is going to do in Disney World, he'll say, "were going to get lot's of juices there!"