This past week we were in Florida. I bet you didn’t even know I was gone because I had scheduled all of my posts for the week before we left.
We had a wonderful time and I want to thank my parents for blessing us with such a wonderful gift. You see, for Christmas they gave our family and my brother’s family a trip to Disney World. They said they wanted to enjoy watching us spend our inheritance. 🙂
Sunday
Last Sunday night at about 7:45 p.m. we headed to my parents house so they could follow us to Florida. We had decided to drive through the night to make it easier on the kids. During the afternoon I let my husband sleep for about 5 hours while I took care of wearing out the children and getting things finalized so we could leave.
It took us longer to get there than we thought it might (18 1/2 hours) because we were caravanning, but it all worked out. We arrived in Florida a tired, but excited group.
Monday
We rented a 5 bedroom, 3 bathroom house for the 12 of us and it was so nice. It felt like being at home and we were able to save a lot of money on food. I had frozen some homemade spaghetti sauce before we left home. All we had to do was boil some noodles for supper that first night and we were set.
The kids enjoyed eating on the lanai which was right beside the pool. We thought renting the house was much nicer than a hotel.
Tuesday
On Tuesday morning we headed to the Magic Kingdom at Disney World. As you can see I dressed us all in the same color which made keeping track of 5 kids much easier. It was a pretty hot day, so we went back to the house for lunch, swimming and supper.
We headed back to Disney for the evening and were able to see the parade and fireworks. We didn’t make it back to the house until around 1:00 a.m., but we all had a great time.
Wednesday
We were originally going to go to the ocean on Wednesday, but decided to head back to the Magic Kingdom based on the weather forecast. We ended up getting rained on, but at least we weren’t hot. It turned out to be a pretty good afternoon and evening despite the rain, and we were able to ride quite a few rides. We even got to see a couple of mice. 😉
Thursday
On Thursday we headed to the Atlantic Ocean. We were going to meet up with a friend of my Dad’s who had access to a private beach at Satellite Beach. Due to my pregnant sister-in-law not feeling too well after two days of Disney, my parents and brother’s family headed back to the house. We decided to keep going because we wanted the kids to see the ocean.
The couple that my Dad knows were so nice to us and even let us change in their condo instead of having to ride 1 1/2 hours in wet, sandy suits. My kids loved the ocean and we had a great afternoon despite the seaweed and my sunburned back.
Friday
On Friday morning we headed to Downtown Disney to get some souvenirs. My boys loved the Lego store and all of the cool sculptures made of Legos. We went back to the house and ate lunch before jumping in the pool. It ended up storming and I so wish I could have brought the rain home where we are in the midst of a drought.
Saturday
On Saturday, we left the house at 8:30 a.m. and headed home. We arrived home at 1:45 a.m. this morning after 17 hours of driving. Our last stop was at 9:00 p.m. so we went 4 hours and 45 minutes the last leg of our trip. My husband did a wonderful job of driving us safely to Florida and back (2300+ miles) and for that I am so thankful.
Sunday
When we got home we unloaded the kids and luggage from the truck, I unpacked the cooler, and then we went to bed. This is the aftermath of our trip. I have been trying to do laundry, put things away, tend to our thirsty garden, and catch up on some sleep today. It is always fun to go on a vacation, but like Dorothy says, “There’s no place like home.”
Our blessings were definitely overflowing this week as we went on this special trip. Everything worked out so well and I am so thankful for the opportunities my children had this week.
I hope you enjoyed this condensed version of our vacation. How was your week?
