Trip to Florida

Last Sunday we started our trip to Florida. We left right after church. We drove to just across the North/South Carolina border and stopped at 'South of the Border' to eat our picnic dinner.
Thanks everyone for all the really good ideas for cold, non-sandwich, in the car dinner ideas.
See all the comments on my 'Help!' post for all the great ideas. We ended up eating calzones
at room temperature, the kids and Mike had pepperoni and I had spinach - they were ok - I didn't take the time to roll the dough out as thin as I should've. Anyway, 'South of the Border' was quite the experience. We saw very 'clever' billboards for it for 2 hours and Mike just had to stop and see for himself. It was awful and wonderful at the same time. It was probably one of the tackiest things I've ever seen and pretty run down - but the kids LOVED it! It was a really good rest stop for us. Apparently it was new when Mike's family lived in SC (Mike was born in Fayetteville) and pretty cool - now it's just old! We were grateful for a good place to stop and eat dinner and run around for a few minutes.


We continued on for another 1 1/2 hrs to our hotel. The kids did great. We got an early start the next day and pulled into Kissimmee at our resort around 3:00 pm. Madeline apparently doesn't take afternoon naps in the car. She didn't sleep on Sunday or on Monday and she is not fun to be around when tired, hasn't napped in two days, and wants out of the car. We were all very glad to get out and go swimming! We got a really good deal on a 2 bedroom, 2 bath condo at a resort with several pools. The kids loved the house, Mike wasn't too impressed. I was happy with the price and it was clean and well kept. While the kids swam and played I went to Walmart and got some groceries and we had dinner and went to bed. We put Madeline to bed at 6:15 to make up for no naps. That backfired when she woke up just after 6am - ready for the day an hour early...we can't win. We had a great day at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World. We came home, ate dinner, and the kids fell into bed exhausted.

The next day we took it easy. We drove north and went to the Leu Gardens in Orlando - they were beautiful and a leisurely stroll in the shade was welcomed! That afternoon the kids swam in the pool and Madeline got a much needed nap. On Thursday we hit the Magic Kingdom again.

I've included all the details of our visit with the pictures below.

We packed up and drove all the way home on Friday. Not a fun 11 hours in the car, but not so bad. The kids had a great time and we had fun watching them have fun. I am so sore from carrying Lilah around in that carrier for two days - but I wouldn't go to Disney World if I didn't have a stroller for both Madeline and Calvin so that is how it had to be. Anna Elise did a great job walking and not complaining. The kids were all so good. We brought our lunch and snacks in with us and the kids never asked for any treats or drinks or anything from the park. I thought we might have a lot of whining about it, but we didn't have any. They were really good. Anna Elise actually got a necklace from a lady that happened to observe her being good. What a nice compliment. Lilah was so good - but then I basically held her all day so why wouldn't she be? I think my neck and shoulders will eventually recover. We learned alot about what to do and what not to do and are ready for another trip in 3 or 4 years!

Here we all are on the Cinderella Carousel. We spent all morning doing the roller coasters with
Anna Elise and Calvin -so it was fun to do this ride all together. Most of the rides we were able to take both Madeline and Lilah on - it was nice to be able to do those together.



We went to story time with Belle. She did a great job telling her story and the kids loved it. Madeline kept calling her Barbie, but I don't think she noticed. Here she is with her 'Belle' smile with the girls.





Here she is with Calvin. They had quite the conversation. That is her real smile, he was just cracking her up. I think this is when he asked her if they could 'pound it' - fist to fist - like he does with the missionaries.



That afternoon Anna Elise and I watched a parade while the other kids played in a play area. She loved it. There were dancers and all the princesses were there with the exception of Jasmine. She really enjoyed waving to everyone.

Here are the kids riding the teacups with their dad on Thursday morning while I waited in line to see Tinkerbell and the other fairies.






Here are the kids with Tinkerbell.


This is Irridesa. She is Tinkerbell's friend. If you haven't seen the new Tinkerbell movie, you won't recognize her friends. It really is a cute movie and the kids love the fairies.



Here are the kids talking to Silvermist. She is Anna Elise's favorite. I was glad she was there. Rosetta and Faun were not there - but we were able to see the ones we really wanted to.


Calvin with Buzz Light year.

Calvin "pounding it" with Buzz Lightyear

Madeline at Minnie Mouses' house. This is outside in the garden area. The whole area was surrounded by these metal hoops as a sort of fence - Madeline touched every single one of them. I think it was her favorite thing!

Anna Elise and Calvin (behind the steering wheel) 'drove' the race car with their dad while I took pictures and kept Madeline out of trouble.

After they went around the corner you could see Calvin.

We finished the day off by doing more roller coasters. The kids wanted to go back and do more. They rode Thunder Mountain and then Splash Mountain again while I took Madeline and Lilah for a train ride around the whole park. They had a great time. They got soaking wet on Splash Mountain and Anna Elise was quite indignant. We went home and on the way Mike stopped and got the kids a Sundae at McD. Here we are back at the hotel - Madeline really enjoyed hers, but wasn't in the mood for picture taking.

Pictures from the Leu garden. This stuff was on several of the trees. The kids picked it up off the ground and played with it. Here they are with 'hair'

Hiding in the bamboo patch

Mike took a lot of nature pictures. He loves it. I included one of his pictures. There were so many beautfitul plants and flowers!