Hopes and Dreams: Home Sweet Home

We're home! We had the best time. Our first family vacation was a total success and we will definitely do it again!

Thursday: Flew from Mpls to Orlando around 3:30 in the afternoon. The flight went very well and the kids did great. Except that Lily threw up toward the end. She's had some motion sickness before. Getting our rental car was a total fiasco and took several hours! We finally got to our resort at about 10:00 pm. I threw myself across our bed and shouted with joy, "We're on vacation!"
Friday: Slept in a little and went for a walk around the resort. Andy, Taylor and I went to a place called Holy Land Experience and we highly recommend it! They do a Passion Play that is absolutely wonderful. The disciples run through the streets shouting, "He's alive!" It gave me goosebumps and I was bawling. That night after we put the kids to bed, my dad stayed with them in our room so that Andy and I could have a little dinner date and we ate at Uno Pizzeria.
Saturday: Magic Kingdom!!! We left Taylor with my parents and took Lily to the MK for the day. It was so much fun! We went on lots of rides and had breakfast with the princesses at Cinderella's Royal Table. Her favorite things that day were Mickey's Philharmagic (3D) and It's a Small World. Lily was pooped by late afternoon so we took her back to the resort so that my parents could put her to bed. And then Andy and I went back to the Magic Kingdom just the two of us which was AWESOME! We felt like kids and we had a great time.
Sunday: The six of us went to church at Celebration Community Church, had lunch and then drove to Cocoa Beach for the afternoon. It was Lily and Taylor's first trip to the ocean and it was beautiful.
Monday: The four of us did Sea World. I was most looking forward to seeing Shamu. However, Taylor (perfect baby who never melts down) had a meltdown with a capital M and I missed most of the show. I was not pleased! I caught the tail end of the show.
Tuesday: The four of us went to the Animal Kingdom. I loved it! We had breakfast at Tusker House and got to meet Donald, Daisy, Mickey and Goofey. They have a wonderful breakfast buffet and the characters come to your table to take pictures. It was very fun and was a Top 5 event for all of us! If you're gonna be at Disney you must eat at Tusker House! We went on the Kilimanjaro Safari and it was fabulous! We also saw the Lion King and Finding Nemo musicals, both of which were great. Nemo was Lily's favorite. We were done at AK by late afternoon so we took Taylor back to the resort and my parents kept him while we took Lily back to MK. She loved it even more the second time! It wasn't very busy and we went on lots of rides. She got to see Philharmagic again and ride It's a Small World. We ended the day with the fireworks extravaganza called Wishes. It was magical!
Wednesday: This was our free day and we didn't have anything specific planned. We swam in the resort pools, went down the water slide, laid in the sun, played in the sand and truly enjoyed our last day of vacation. It was fabulous. That night, again, my parents took care of our kids so that Andy and I could go on a date. We mini golfed at Pirate's Cove and it was such a blast.
Thursday: We packed up our stuff and loaded the car. We took the kids to the park at the resort and went for a walk around the lake. My parents were done with their conference around Noon so we picked them up, drove to the airport and flew home about 3:15 in the afternoon. This flight was the longest flight ever and I hope I never fly with that pilot again. (Shouldn't be a problem since I go on vacation once every six years!!!) I can't even describe how awful the descension was. And on top of that I had a migraine so I was terribly nauseous. I ended up getting sick and felt yucky the remainder of the night. Nice finish to the vacation, huh? Despite that, it was truly fabulous and we definitely hope to vacation more frequently in the future, Lord willing. =)

I just need to add that going on this trip with my parents was such a treat. They were so good to us and gave my hubby and I several opportunities to get away together. We are so thankful for them and their servant hearts. My mom and dad are such a blessing and I can't say enough about them.

So here are some photo highlights. If you're friends with me on facebook I've posted lots of pics there. Enjoy!