Saturday, April 30, 2016

Spring Break 2016

Based upon my very sporadic blogging, it seems all we do around here is travel to Florida. 
So much life to catch up on!

On the drive home from Texas last spring, we decided that we were once again ready to face the mouse. The little girls would be the perfect age, and the older kids would still love it.  And let's be honest...we love non-stop fun.

Join me on our 2016 spring break journey...

We hit the road Friday afternoon around 5 o'clock. The ride was smooth as butter. Tim and I reconnected after a busy week, and traded off driving every few hours all night long until we made it to our Macon, Georgia Denny's for breakfast.

We pressed on until we got to "our welcome center" aka the free orange juice and pamphlets store, took our obligatory photo, and checked to see if the alligator was still in the pond.


After circling around a bit...bc it seems that my phone gps isn't entirely foolproof, we made it to our condo. 

Westgate Lakes did not disappoint. 
Amidst the running around squealing, checking out all the rooms, claiming beds and bathrooms, the kids stumbled upon a bidet in our master bath. And before I even realized what was happening, they convinced Ellery to wash her hands in it.

Naturally, that story became the punchline to every joke that week.

After dinner, and a walk around to check it all out, we went to bed...as we were exhausted from the drive.

Sunday morning, bright and early, we were at our days destination...Hollywood Studios.



My favorite part of the day was watching the little girls laugh and squeal with delight during the Elsa and Anna sing-along. Riding Tower of Terror as a family was a close second.

Rock n Roller Coaster.



On Monday we went to Jetty Park, at Cape Canaveral. We swam in the ocean,  played on the beach, fished, and watched the boats go out.








Tuesday we were up bright and early, off to the Magic Kingdom with the rest of America. 




Dylan took the bet to wear the braid hat.


Dancing with the Incredibles.






Ellery only had eyes for Minnie Ears from the go for her souvenier, and did not waiver....or have any regret thankfully.


Stella got her wish to meet TinkerBell!


We timed Micky just right! A Disney miracle! We popped in to see him just before the parade got finished so there was no line.



It was crazy busy, so we left for a few hours in the afternoon to grab dinner.






Doing what they do. Always looking for fish and ducks, naturally.  

Tho it was busy, we still had a blast. Buzz Lightyear still a remains the family favorite. All the girls loved "Its a small World", and we rode it a few more times than the boys could handle.

Our days at the Magic Kingdom were geared more towards the little girls, enjoying it all through their eyes and chasing down autographs.....as we did with the big kids a few years back.




On Wednesday we stayed at our resort, and enjoyed sleeping in, the pool, mini golf, fishing in the lake, and a little shopping.






Thursday we visited Epcot Center. Riding test track as a family, and tracking down the princesses for autographs were definite highlights.








On Friday, we played volleyball and went to the pool in the morning. In the afternoon we went back to the Magic Kingdom, rode all of our favorites again, and stayed til close.

Saturday, we did more of the same in the morning, and then hit the road for home. 
We left in flip flops, and spent the last 2 hours of the drive white knuckling it through a snow storm. 



All in all, it was a great trip for our family. It was refreshing to be together, just us. We played, laughed, talked, joked, and forgot about our regular life for awhile. The weather was beautiful. It was good. 

And I think we have our fill of the mouse for awhile?