First off I am a BAD mother since the kids started school in July and I have yet to post their First Day of School pictures. Next this fundraising stuff at the school got the best of me, I had no idea what I was in for when I agreed to co-chair. Everyday I would find out something new that was part of the job, like heading up the Fall Festival and all that it entailed. Luckily that all ended on Sept 25th, that was a very long day, and then we hit the road to Florida on Sept 27th. We finally returned from our trip Saturday night Oct 13th.
Our trip was a lot of fun and we got to see a lot of people in Lake Wales (my hometown) and of course 5 days consisted of the Wonderful World of Disney. The day we got to Orlando we took a trip to Gatorland, the kids really liked watching the trainer "wrestle" the alligator although neither would get their picture taken with the gator (his mouth was taped shut). Our first day of Disney was at the Animal Kingdom where the kids got their faces painted, we saw the best show "Festival of the Lion King", and we rode several rides including the Expedition Everest rollercoaster...I was fine on that until it went backwards and then I was sick for a day and half afterwards, won't be doing that again. Camden LOVED it though and would have gone again if we had let him.
Day two was Magic Kingdom, since we had a storm roll in the night before and lasted until lunch time we did not get there until 1pm or so but we stayed until the park closed so the kids could see the parade and fireworks. Grace begged to go in the Haunted Mansion with Kathrine and myself but once inside she was ready to leave. She covered her face the entire time and then burst into tears once we were outside and the ride was over. Camden rode Space Mountain twice with Chris and Jared and LOVED it just as much as the ride the day before. Although we did not have reservations we were able to get into the Crystal Palace for dinner and got to meet Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Piglet and my fave Eyeore. Camden gladly got his pic taken with all of them but Grace hid under the table anytime they came near the table. We ended with the parade and fireworks, I want to fly from the top of the Castle like Tinkerbell!
Day three was MGM where Grace saw High School Musical up close and the stage show of Beauty and the Beast. Camden and I rode Tower of Terror, that one actually got to him a litttle.
Day four was Epcot where it rained the most of the week we were there. The kids both got to talk to Crush at the Turtle Talk show and enjoyed Innovations east and west.
We took one night and went to First Baptist Mulberry where friends of ours had dinner for us. (my dad was the pastor there for 5 years) Another night we met my cousin Kelli for dinner at Margaritaville, we got to meet the boyfriend who was nice for a Florida State fan.
The rest of the trip was spent in Lake Wales out on Crooked Lake where my uncle and aunt have a weekend home, I used to live out there and enjoyed watching the kids love playing in the same lake that I grew up playing in, it brought back many memories. We had dinner with my friend Jamie and her husband , son and mother and then we took another day and took the kids to Bok Tower, it was great to see her again after so many years and her little boy is hilarious! We also drove the kids up Spook Hill, it was Grace's favorite part of the trip.
My cousin Ray and his wife Dawn and son Dalton came out and the kids loved playing in the lake together, it was a lot of fun to see them hanging out with one another. We also got to see my grandfather and his wife and spend some time with him.
Our trip ended with one last trip to Magic Kingdom so Grace could wear her new princess dress and hair extensions and have her picture taken with all the Princesses. Once we got there and got the dress on we waited 45 minutes to see Cinderella, Belle and Sleeping Beauty only to have Grace have a melt down once in the room and cry and refuse to have her picture taken. Camden did Space Moutain one more time and Splash Mtn again too and we ended the trip with a ride in the nose of the monorail where the kids got copilot cards.
On our way home we came up I-75 and detoured through Gainesville so Camden could see "The Swamp", the football stadium at the University of Florida if you did not know what I was talking about. We drove around campus and then headed for Atlanta where we spent the night and then had lunch with my college friend Jenna and her husband Brent. It was great to see Jenna again and we had a very enjoyable lunch, catching up on everything. We then headed home.
Grace has decided she wants to move to Florida and live on the lake, still trying to convince Chris. Although we did see 5 acres for sale and he said he would buy it if they gave him a red tractor to go with it, I am sure we could work something out. Who knows maybe we could start our own citrus business down there and one day you could be drinking Partin Orange Juice!
Ok I have typed enough, I will post pics of the trip later today so keep and eye out for them!
Camden at MGM
Bok Tower Gardens
Grace's fave attraction
the kids with my beloved Crooked Lake
The Swamp
Not wanting anything to do with Sleeping Beauty
Camden, Dad and Mickey
My little Parrothead!
Dinner in the Hundred Acre Wood
The one pic we did get with a Princess
face painting at Animal Kingdom
Gatorland
Gatorland
Loving life on the beach at Crooked Lake just like mommy used to.
