Disneyworld

Spencer refused to be in any character photos.  I think they creep him out.

One of our favorite rides--trying to thwart the evil Zurg on Buzz Lightyear.  The kids took this job very seriously!


Grace's Daisy Duck impression

Where Justin spent a lot of time (either on my or Darrel's back).  He was a trooper, though, and did a lot of walking, too.

Darrel and Spencer on the time machine ride in a dinosaur part of Animal Kingdom.

Animal Kingdom parade

Our beautiful flower girl

All dressed up--we'd better get a picture.

Grace and the beautiful bride, birth mom Tia.

Epcott Center (or "apricot", as Justin called it.)

The best ice cream cones!  Delicious and a steal at about 3 bucks.

Justin's firetruck at Epcott.

Near Cocoa, FL at the beach.

With the cousins: Isabel, Spencer, Justin, Grace, Vallee, Henry, (and Archie running around somewhere)

 
At the hotel

Fun at the hotel pool!

Serious study time on the plane ride home (note how Justin feels about the safety card)

It is long overdue, but considering how busy January and February have been, it's a miracle that I am posting these at all!

We had a wonderful time in Florida.  We managed to sandwich our trip right between two weeks of freezing Floridian weather, so we enjoyed the famed sunshine and very pleasant temperatures in the upper 60's.  To Utahns, in the middle of January, this feels like summer! The plane ride was about 6 hours long with a stop in Denver to change planes. The kids liked flying, and we enjoyed that they enjoyed the iPods Santa had cleverly provided at Christmas. With the iPods, a few books, snacks and a smidge of homework, they were well entertained.

We arrived it Orlando around 7 p.m., so we hurriedly fed our hungry children at the airport McDonald's (yuck!) and drove to our hotel.  I loved how excited the kids were about everything--the plane ride, the rental car, the elevator at the hotel, the hotel room, etc.  Right after we dropped our luggage in our room, we changed into swimsuits and went down to the hot tub.  The pool was heated, but still too chilly for an outdoor night swim, but the hot tub was a hit.  We went there every night after that. 

 

The first day, Wednesday, we went to the Magic Kingdom, which is basically like Disneyland. We had lots of fun on the rides. 

 

Thursday we went to Animal Kingdom, which is basically like a zoo with lots of shops and other things (Disney style) inbetween.  The kids' favorite thing about it was the safari ride where Disney has cleverly hidden enclosures so it gives the appearance of being out on the African savannah.  We enjoyed the bird show there as well...until Justin fell and cut his lip on the bench in front of us.  Luckily he healed quickly. 

 

Friday was spent at Grace's birth mother's wedding. It was a two hour drive north to St. Augustine. Grace was very excited to see her birth family and to have the honor of being Tia's flower girl. She was nervous about her flower girl duties and wanted to do everything just right and she did a great job. We went to a delicious wedding dinner back at Tia's hotel and then we headed back to Orlando.

Saturday was spent partly at Epcott Center and then Magic Kingdom. We stayed long enough that day for the fantastic evening firework show. The kids were duly impressed.

Sunday we headed east to Cocoa to attend church with my cousin, Dan and his family. The kids actually enjoyed going to a different Primary and had fun playing with the cousins. Dan and Brandi made us a delicious meal of chicken fajitas and escorted us to a nearby beach. It was a beautiful warm day and the kids managed to get soaked "wading" in the [cold!] Atlantic ocean. It was a wonderful day.

Monday was spent at the hotel pool. The kids (and adults) LOVED the water slide! When everyone had enough swimming, we split up for a little while. I took Justin to Epcott where we had discovered a fire engine that required more time in which to properly appreciate it. Darrel took Spencer and Grace to Magic Kingdom. We met there later and enjoyed one last delicious huge ice cream cone (best value of anything sold at Disneyworld, hands down) and headed back to the hotel.

Tuesday we headed back to Utah with lots of great memories.