Orlando Vacation!

Well we made the plane ride yesterday ALMOST without a hitch. When we got to the condo Joe realized that he didn't have his work laptop bag (which also contained the kids' birth certificates and Joe's cell phone). Luckily, the next day, we got a call from the car rental place reporting that they found the bag! Disaster averted.

Today we decided to go to Disney. We arrived at Magic Kingdom around 10:00AM but didn't quite make it into the park until past 11:00AM. We knew it would probably be a short day. We ended up taking Amelia to the Country Bear Show, It's a Small World After All, and the Carousel. She saw part of the parade as well. The highlight for Amelia was actually the box of popcorn I got her after we got done our first "diaper changing" trip. She fed the birds with her popcorn and that seemed to be her fondest memory of the day! As we were heading toward the monorail to get back to the car around 3:00 PM, Amelia fell fast asleep in her stroller. Even half a day is a LONG time for a 2 year old! Andrew pretty much stayed in the Baby Center most of the time where it was cooler. I stayed with him part of the time and then my dad took over. He was such a good boy all day though! I just worry about him getting too warm. When we got back to the Condo Amelia went swimming with her mom and Aunts. She LOVED the water and Auntie Crystal taught her how to jump into the pool. She kept saying Again! Again! We aren't sure what we are doing tomorrow so we'll have to wait and see what the day has in store. I wish I had taken pictures of Amelia in the pool, but I didn't think to bring my camera!

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Day 2 and another day at Disney. Andrew stayed with Joe and went to the convention Center while the girls spent the day at Hollywood Studios. I felt like it was too hot for Andrew to be outside and I didn't want him to get sunburned since according to his pediatrician he's not supposed to wear sunscreen for another 2 months. The first thing Crystal, Becca, and I did was try the Tower of Terror. It was fun but Becca came off with a very frightened look on her face! Amelia and I went to see "Voyage of the Little Mermaid". Amelia LOVED all the singing but was a little scared when Ursula came out. She hasn't seen the movie so the whole thing was very new to her.

Friday, June 26, 2009

Today we headed to the Orange County Convention Center to see some of the General Assembly activities. Andrew and Amelia got to meet some of our friends who hadn't seen them in a while! It was so awesome to see Megan and Sherwin as well as Andy and Angela! We really miss everyone! There were still a few people we haven't seen yet but hopefully we'll get to touch base before the week ends. Some are staying for the whole Assembly (which is actually 2 weeks long) but I think I'll be glad to head home after a week--that's just a little too much "vacation" for me! Outings like this are much more complicated with kids!

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Today was the best day so far. Joe, Crystal, Becca, Amelia and I all went to Seaworld. I had never been before and I absolutely loved it! The weather was beautiful (albeit very warm of course) and I especially loved all the shows. Crystal and Becca went on the water ride right away while Joe, Amelia and I waited to squirt them with the "geysers". Amelia got to see Shamu and even has a little Shamu toy as a souvenir. I think that's the only souvenir we got from the whole trip.



Joe boasted the highest score for a song on Guitar Hero and I think that was HIS highlight of the whole trip.

Amelia seemed to enjoy the dolphin show, but when we went to the Shamu Show and got DRENCHED when Shamu splashed us, Amelia looked at me and said "No More?". LOL. I'm surprised she still likes Shamu!

At the end of the day we all scored some ice cream -- well, almost all of us, Amelia fell asleep in the stroller as we headed out of the park.

Sunday June 28, 2009

Today we all went to church at the General Assembly. There were over 20,000 people present at the service. We go to sit with Dave and Jess and their daughter Hannah. How awesome to see many friends from college and Kansas City. I didn't spend a lot of time at GAC so I didn't see as much as I wanted to but I know that Joe had an awesome time there. I wish that I had seen Heather and baby Meg but I hope to catch up with them soon!

Monday, June 29, 2009

Today we went to Animal Kingdom. What a blast! Once again, Andrew stayed with Daddy while the girls went out. Amelia LOVED seeing all the animals. She really seemed to enjoy the safari ride. We went to see the "It's tough to be a bug" show but Amelia wasn't very interested and her 3D glasses kept falling off! She seemed a little scared when the big bug came out. Becca was also scared by the show. My mom and I loved it though!

Crystal and I rode the roller coaster twice since we had gotten four fastpasses. Becca was too scared to even try it!

Tonight Joe and I went on our special date night. We went to Texas De Brazil per recommendation of Doug Lane. It was completely amazing. I especially enjoyed the salad bar but all the meats were delicious as well. Joe and I don't go out to eat often (VERY rarely actually) so this was a really special treat. We even share a crème brûlée for dessert! Yum!



Pictures from the Safari:



Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Today was the adventure home. We had to be up at 4:30 AM to pack and be ready to head to the airport around 5:30. We were behind schedule but made it to the plane on time. Unfortunately, the flight was delayed by over an hour because of thunderstorms on the Georgia/Florida border. Luckily we were able to get a route over the ocean and made it home by 3:00PM. What a LONG day. It will definitely take a few days to catch up on sleep but what a fun vacation we had!