A Week In The Sun

Fair warning...this posting is long. But after a week in Florida, seeing all the sites, what do you expect!?! What a great trip! Craig's parents gave us all a week in Florida as a Christmas gift this past year. So, last Thursday, we all boarded a plane to Orlando and our vacation began...

ANIMAL KINGDOM

We spent our first full day in FL at Disney's Animal Kingdom.

Aunt Jess & Sophia riding the tram to the park entrance
Brenna, Jacob & Andrew with a bear...not sure who he was.
A Scarlet Macaw
(is it sad that I only know that because of Go Diego Go!?!)

Sophia & me on the Safari Ride
A Rhinoceros
A Hippo
Some GatorsNot sure what this thing was...we'll call it a "deer"
Jacob with Daddy
A Giraffe
An Elephant

Taking a break from all the action

DAYTONA BEACH
The 2nd day we went to Daytona beach. What a great day for some sun & sand. The kids LOVED playing down by the water, and Sophia enjoyed playing with the shovel & pail as well as sample several handfuls of sand (she decided she didn't like it).

All the kids busy at "work"

We discovered that Sophia's hair was finally long enough to make into a mohawk. She's quite the rock star, isn't she!?!
Papa & Grandma with the grandkids

DOWNTOWN DISNEY
Sunday was a little overcast, so we spent the day at Downtown Disney.

Jacob with Buzz Lightyear
Hanging out with the Pooh gang
Even Daisy & Donald were there!

THE MAGIC KINGDOM

We reached the doors at 9am...ready for a full day of fun at the Magic Kingdom. The kids had a blast taking it all in. Even the big kids got to go on their favorite rides. And then we stayed until the light parade. It was a long day, but totally worth it! And the kids didn't even fight us when it was time to go to bed.

Cinderella's Castle
It's a Small World

Aladdin's Magic Carpet Ride

Sophia just liked exploring...

...and exploring some more

FAMILY DAY
On Tuesday, all the families split up and spent a day on their own. We opted to go back to Downtown Disney and take the kids into some more stores. Then we rented a pontoon boat and drove it around the lagoon while we ate lunch. Then back to the house for some swimming. It was good to recharge our batteries!

Riding the slide at Lego Land

A Lego dragon in the Lagoon.

Jacob thought that dragon was made out of "at least 100 legos!!"

Out for a cruise on the boat

CLEARWATER BEACH

Our last full day in Florida, we spent at Clearwater beach. We couldn't have gotten a better day. 80 degrees and sunny! It was fun to experience the Gulf side of Florida. The kids got to see jellyfish and dolphins and even made friends with some kids who had "really cool" beach toys.

A Family Shot

It was so much fun to spend the week with Craig's family. I don't think I've ever crammed in as many sites in one week as we did in Orlando. They sure know what they're doing! Thanks again, Grandma & Papa, for such a fun vacation. We'll never forget it.

...and as for Jacob...he's becoming quite the lego master!!

Check out his dump truck, bulldozer & paver!

(he did have a "little" bit of help from Mom & Dad)

...but Legos might be a good birthday gift idea for him (hint, hint)...