Florida Vacation - Day 10

Well, we're back home now. No beds were made for us this morning, no fresh towels were layed out for us, no one cooked our meals and no one drove us to and from our destination. I guess we're back to reality.

We had a wonderful vacation! We enjoyed our time with Aunt Karen ... I think the girls especially had fun trying on all her high heels and their visit to the beach! We had a blast going jet skiing with my Uncle Dave and the girls loved meeting their second cousins and wished thet could have stayed over longer!

Disney World was magical! Even with the heat, the countless trips to the potty, the heat, the long lines, whining about the heat, 4pm rain showers, tired and sore feet and the sweltering heat! We had such a great time with Matt and Amanda and their kids as they joined us at the Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. It was fun to see Olivia and Mackenzie get to know each other. We're looking forward to a family reunion next summer, hopefully!

Here are a few pictures from our last day in Florida ...

Julia going down the waterslide at our resort

Kelby and Olivia going down the waterslide. When they got to the bottom, they both went all they way under the water. Olivia was not happy ... she screamed! Needless to say, she didn't go down again

Abby going down the waterslide

Liv enjoying an Mickey Mouse ice cream sandwhich after a swim

Beautiful Florida Palm Trees

We had to make one last stop to Kelby and Grandpa Deese's favorite restaurant "Steak n Shake" before heading home (I also got my fill of Chic-fil-A while in Florida ... I really wish they had one here!)

Kelby driving all his girls home

Three tired girls, all zonked out, on their way home from the airport (Julia's face cracks me up!)

Florida Vacation - Day 9

Well, we were supposed to be on our way back home tonight but due to bad weather in Chicago our flight was delayed and instead of risking missing our connecting flight we opted to stay in Orlando one more night. We're praying for better weather tomorrow. Everyone is tired and ready to be back in their own beds and the girls are excited to see Mitzi (their dog) but it looks like we're going to have to wait one more day. So before we head out to find a place to eat I thought I'd add my pictures from our day in the Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom.

African Safari Cruise that took you through the jungle while wild animals roamed around



Abby enjoying a refreshing lemonade slush
We had just finished a very scary Dinosaur ride, not knowing it was going to be quite so intense. Olivia whimpered through much of it but to be honest she was more scared of the Disney characters than this ride! Me and Liv on the nice Dinosaur ride - she doesn't look too happy here but she really wanted to go on this!

Magic Kingdom Parade

Great picture Kelby took of the castle
Character Buffet Dinner with Winnie the Pooh and friends

We thought that since Liv is more familiar with the Pooh characters than Mickey Mouse she might not be as afraid this time ... no such luck. She was so petrified the whole dinner that she didn't eat one bite of food!


Liv has always loved Piglet so we though she just might warm up to him ...
Nope ... she freaked when she saw him. He was so sweet to her, blowing her kisses, but nothing worked. Our nice meal with Winnie the Pooh and friends turned out to be a traumatic experience for poor Olivia
After Liv's traumatic dinner we went on the train ride around the Magic Kingdom
This was just the cutest thing ... there was this little tree house for kids to play in and Piglet was up at the top, popping out of the tree. Livvy was so concerned for him. She talked all day, from the very first day we were at the Magic Kindom about how we were going to get Piglet out because he was stuck. She wanted her daddy to get a rope and ladder and rescue him. She's still talking about it today!
SpectraMagic Parade ... no matter how old you are it is still so magical!
Watching the parade from a front row seat
She waved at all the Disney characters, even the Big Bad Wolf. I guess if they are a safe distance from her, their not so bad!
Taking the boat back to our resort to watch the firework show

Florida Vacation - Days 7 & 8

We spent a very HOT and HUMID day yesterday at Disney's Hollywood Studios. It was our hardest day so far ... we were all wiped out by the end of the day. We slept in this morning and felt a little bit refreshed for Epcot. We have one last day at the parks tomorrow before we head back for home on Wednesday. I think we just might need a vacation from our vacation!

Family Pic at Magic Kingdom

Family pic with Goliath from Jo Jo's circus (I think!)

Kelby & Julia with the Storm Troopers (I felt so sorry for them, they must have been so hot!)
Kelby with his cousin Matt

Kelby & Abby with the Stormship Trooper
Second Cousins posing for a picture after our lunch which was a wonderful break from the heat!

Me with Abby & Julia on our way to see a dinner show called the Hoopdy Doo Review. Olivia didn't eat anything and was asleep in her stroller before the show even started. It was a really fun evening!
Sweet Julia
My grown up girl
On the Finding Nemo ride at Epcot
Kelby testing out a Segway at Epcot

Mickey Mouse with Abby and Julia, minus one little redhead. We stood in line for 45 minutes to meet some of the Disney characters and Olivia wouldn't even go 10 feet near them!
Again, no Liv
She wouldn't even go near Minnie!
Taking a break from the heat for an ice cream treat
Chocolate ice cream is the best
I missed all this because I was riding the Spaceship Earth ride alone! Olivia didn't meet the height requirement so we had to tag team it but Julia wouldn't brave the ride with me!

Epcot at night