Disney World

We were so lucky to do our first official family vacation with just the 6 of us. We had so much fun. We spent 8 days in Florida doing 5 days at Disney. 5 days was a little much, but since 5 days costs the same as 3 days we decided to really do Disney. It was exhausting, exciting, and we enjoyed every second. We spent 2 days at Magic Kingdom, 1 day at Epcot, and 2 days at Animal Kingdom. We ate dinner with the princesses, swam in the hotel pools and hot tubs, mini-golfed, went to church, played at the park, and spent an afternoon sitting in the sun in front of the Orlando Temple. It was a great vacation. I feel like I am a pro at Disney World now. By the last day we had the whole fast pass, rider switch, waiting in line thing down to a science. Katelyn rode Everest 8 times in a row. Katelyn is the kind of person who rides in crazy roller coasters with her hands up and would go upside down if they let her. Ashley rides on them all, but more thoughtfully. Justin is 40 inches so he was able to go on all the rides, but only wanted to go once. Mia loved the carousel and the hiccups (what she called the teacups). The teacups can really ruin the day. So can Mission to Mars in Epcot. I felt awful after that thing. The girls, of course, had to do the expert one. They actually have barf bags on the ride. By the time we made it to Mars I thought I would cry if we had to go back to Earth. Luckily, we were done. When I came out for Hans to go he looked at me and then decided not to. It made Ashley decide she wants to be an astronaut. I would never make it. Other highlights were the butterfly garden, the Finding Nemo live show (just keep swimming...just keep swimming...), space mountain, buzz lightyear, thunder mountain, splash mountain, and more, I am sure. It was a great time of year to go because there was minimal waiting. We did every last ride in Magic Kingdom and a lot more then once. Animal Kingdom was fun. We loved the petting zoo, the jeep safari thing, and the walking tours of the jungle. In Epcot we loved the boat ride through all their agriculture, the ride through the gigantic ball, and the shows. Epcot made me the most sick. We stayed in a great 2 bedroom place with a full kitchen so I was able to pack in lunch and dinner everyday, which helped a lot. The kids were beyond excited about everything, accomodating of each other, and grateful. I have great kids. Mia had 1 accident on "It's a Small World." She told me she had to go potty, but we were stuck on a boat listening to It's a Small World in 40 different languages so she went all over the boat. More my fault then hers. So I think if you are 2 and have only 1 accident during 5 days at Disney you can consider yourself potty trained. Hooray for Mia! It was a totally different travelling experience for me. I didn't need porta-cribs, diapers, binkies, bottles, blankets, bibs, etc. It was very liberating. In a couple years we'll only need 1 carseat too. Pictures of Disney to follow. I have a million, so I will try and limit it to my favorites!