Vacation Update! (Finally!)

Sorry for the delayed post. Blogging isn't the only thing I get behind on when my husband if off work! I have been unpacking endless bags, working through mounds of laundry, and struggling to get everyone back into a routine. Shawn went back to work Monday after having last week off. We had so much fun as a family, but at the same time "normal" feels nice too. We spent the beginning of the week at home and took off for a little road trip towards the end. Here is the play by play of each day...

Monday:

We had planned to be in Tampa at this time, but rescheduled due to my dentist appointment. Once we knew we would be in town for the day, we planned on going to the zoo. However, a 80% chance of rain (which never happened!) changed our plans again! We instead headed to Ollie Koala's. First we stopped for an early lunch at Chick-fil-a. We were surprised to discover that it was Chick-fil-a's 40th anniversary and since we were one of the first 40 customers, both Shawn and I received FREE Chick-fil-a sandwiches! The kids all received these hats...

Here is a pic from Ollie Koala's...

Anyone who has even been with us to Chick-fil-a or Chuck E. Cheese, knows how huge this is for Connor! He has never ventured up in any nets or tunnels. But he walked right up there that day like he had done it a million times! Summer was so proud of her little brother!

Tuesday:

Shawn and I went on...(drum roll please...) A DATE!! Yay!! Grandma and Grandpa watched the kids for us and we walked around the mall and then had dinner. We enjoyed our alone time but we didn't make it out of the mall without picking up a little something for all of them. We arrived back just in time to put the kids in bed! Now THAT was vacation! :)

Wednesday: Happy 4th of July!!

We spent the majority of the day around the house getting ready to leave bright and early the next morning. We did take a break from laundry and packing to go to dinner and then take the kids to fireworks on the beach. We didn't feel like dragging three kids through the crowd and weren't sure how Chloe would react to the noise, so we decided to enjoy the show from the car. We had a great, quiet view! All of them ended up loving it!

Thursday:

Probably our biggest day! We left in the morning (but not quite as early as we planned) and headed to Orlando! We met my friend Angela and her two, sweet boys at Downtown Disney. The kids played in Lego Land, ate at the most expensive McDonald's in the world :), strolled through the never ending toy store, rode the Choo Choo train and the merry go round. This stop was definitely a highlight for them. Even Chloe was excited by it!

Connor and Angie's son Alex waiting for the train to start...

Summer in the caboose...

Connor and Buzz...

Summer, Connor, Mickey and Minnie...(the kids are scared of costumes, so this worked out well for them)We left Downtown Disney late afternoon and headed toward Tampa to visit some dear friends, Kim, Steve, Jordynn, and little Hunter (who is on the way). It was an overdue visit and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves! We spent the evening at their house catching up. Once the kids were in bed the parents broke out the games. We laughed and talked and laughed until about 2:30 am, when we finally called it a night. Oh, how we have missed them!

Kim reading a bedtime story...

Friday:

Did I mention Steve was a chef? We woke up to pancakes and bacon and later that evening went to his restaurant. Connor even tried escargot...and liked it! When they lived in Jacksonville, we were regularly invited over to their house for dinner...we miss that too! :) It was nice to eat his cooking again...truly, the best we have ever tasted!

The rest of Friday the kids worked hard on some well decorated, very yummy rice crispy treats!

Saturday:

Another early morning, we were up and headed back to Orlando. This time to see Shawn's family. Jordynn gets in a little more big sister practice before we leave...

We arrived in Orlando just in time for lunch. After lunch we headed over to Shawn's mom's house, where we spent the rest of the day hanging out. The kids played in the water (the only way to play outside this time of year!) and Shawn was able to put the brand new grill to good use. We had a huge dinner and then headed home...which despite all the fun we had, was sounding pretty good to all of us, I think.

Some final pictures of our time with Shawn's family...

I suppose I better clarify that this is Uncle Michael (not Daddy) and Chloe up there! :) Uncle Michael and Aunt Alysa are expecting our new little niece in October! We are all very excited - especially Chloe who is anxious for a playmate smaller than her! :)