Florida 2013- Part 4

Friday morning we drove over to Clearwater to visit Grammy Grammy (Great Grammy Day), Grampy Grampy (Great Grampy Day), Grammy Civiello and Kara.  The kids had an absolute blast driving tractors, building their new Lego cars and playing ball with everyone.  It was really nice to be able to visit, even if it was a short time!  Friday afternoon we made it back to the resort and decided to eat out... at Sizzler... I will spare the details here, but Sizzler (at least this one in particular) was gross... as a child I LOVED getting to eat out at the Sizzler in Bangor before it closed... was it just as gross then... am I remembering wrong?  Anyhow, it was at this meal when Gabe & I realized (read: finally accepted) that, 1- All you can eat buffets, although fast, are not as efficient as we thought... by the time we sat down to eat the kids were already done & ready to leave, and 2- Ben's unpleasantness on planes extends to mealtime and he is no longer fun to take out to eat in public... maybe we will try again when he is 2:)  

We had to leave before Noah got the ice cream we had promised him if he did a great job eating supper... he didn't forget... there are a surprising lack to ice cream shops away from the beach in Florida... James only wanted cheese and Ben was still crying.  Well, we found an Edy's ice cream shop... in a strip mall... at least that is what it claimed to be.... As Noah and I walked in on the left sat a large man behind a huge desk (think security) with several computers, phones and file cabinets.  On the opposite side were 2 ice cream coolers... it looked clean, so we ordered our ice creams, served by a 20 something white boy who had clearly had a "hard life", and after scooping our ice cream called to "mamma" to come out and ring us up because he had to "go do something".... "Mamma" was equally as sketchy, but very pleasant as she took our money.... we tipped well and left quickly.... there were definitely no tables and chairs at this ice cream shop;)  AND at only 5:30 James and Ben fell asleep on the way home... maybe everyone was just tired... :)

Saturday was scheduled to be a relaxing/no riding in the car/enjoying the resort day... the weather didn't really agree.  In the morning we (finally) rented the Surry bike to take the kids for a ride.... they were so excited. Noah and James rang the bell non-stop and Ben, like a beauty queen, waved and smiled to everyone who passed. Later in the morning we finally gave in and let the kids go to the waterpark... it was cold so neither of us wanted to actually get in the water if we didn't have to.  We were very thankful that the park allowed the kids to wear their lifejackets which allowed Gabe to sit at the edge of the pool and watch.  I settled for splashing with Ben in the kiddie pool that must be kept at a balmy 90 degrees.... yes he does have his life jacket on in the 10 inches of water... yes he was the only one, but he kept falling over and no less than 10 times did he fall face first into the water... I was very thankful to only have to grab the handle on the jacket to get him to standing again.

After lunch Gabe took Noah to play mini golf and for another paddle boat ride while James and Ben napped. By the time nap was over it was way too cold to get back in the water, so we made a last minute decision to check out Downtown Disney. It was unbelievably busy, but we were very glad we went.  There is so much to see and do there.  Eating at the Rainforest Cafe kept the kids very entertained and it was so loud and chaotic in there already it made things much more tolerable with Ben... and he LOVED watching the fish and elephants.  James somehow managed to drink no less than 4 full adult sized glasses of water while we were there... I guess we weren't paying attention to the waiter who kept refilling his glass.... needless to say there was a mess to clean up at the end of the meal... pull ups can only hold so much... we are really just hoping he is potty trained before kindergarten at this point;)  The boys were able to spend the rest of their money on a few trinkets (cars) to bring back on the plane with them.  We finished the night off with cake pops from Goofy's bakery.

Sunday we flew home... things were delayed a bit... another hour wait in the plane.... No one complained to the stewardess this time.... maybe these passengers were more tolerant... miraculously Ben fell asleep for the final 15 minutes of the flight.... then woke up screaming and didn't stop until we got back to the terminal.... Gabe couldn't pretend he didn't know us this time;)  In all serious though, besides the flights we had an absolutely wonderful family vacation and were so thrilled to be able to spend a whole week together without work distractions before the next member of our family arrives in just about 6 weeks!

Florida 2013- Part 3

Wednesday we spent in recovery of our 12 + hour day at Disney. In the morning we swam in another one of the pools at the resort followed by a really fun hot dog cook out poolside.... they think of everything... gas grills next to the pool.  The kids and Gabe went "fishing" while Ben napped, we spent lots of time in the pool and playing at the playground.  In the evening we had pizza at the pool side restaurant, then Gabe took Noah and James to a Gatorland presentation in the main meeting room at the resort.  We had considered going to Gatorland for a day, but there were too many other things we wanted to do instead, so we were thrilled to be able to see some of the animals.  The zoo keepers there brought tarantulas, skinks, a boa constrictor, and a baby alligator which the kids got to hold!

Thursday (Valentine's Day/Gabe's Birthday) we spent at Legoland.  The weather was not great in the morning, but good enough to get on some rides, then it was cold and rainy all afternoon.  The kids were a great age for Legoland... it is definitely a place for younger kiddos.  One of the highlights was the driving academy.  Noah and James got to drive their own lego car around a track or simulated town complete with stop and yield signs.  Noah was an excellent driver and we were both shocked at his abilities (especially since he wasn't 'technically' old enough)... then we realized that he has had extensive training time on the golf course thanks to Daddy and Grandpa who let him drive the cart by himself.....:) James needs some practice and had a difficult time coordinating pushing the gas and steering... maybe he will get in some golf this summer?  We spent a significant amount of time checking out all of the cities and other structures replicated in Legos, especially the moving ambulance and taxi cab.  Legoland is on the site of the former Cypress Gardens, so there is still a portion of the park dedicated to that.  I think the kids (and I) would have enjoyed that more if it hadn't been pouring rain and 50 degrees.... the Banyan tree is always amazing:) For all of you Cypress Garden enthusiasts, they do still have a really cool waterskiing show, only now it is a pirate show about Captain Brickbeard... it is impressive that the performers are able to waterski in those bulky legomen costumes.

Florida 2013- Part 2

Today we took on the Magic Kingdom... luckily we had low expectations as to how it may go, so we were pleasantly surprised to have a very enjoyable day.  We only took on rides with wait times of 25 minutes or less and even then the lines had to be in continual motion.  The kids were very happy going on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, It's a Small World, and a few others mixed in with all of the parades and getting their character books signed. One unexpected highlight was the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse.  We have recently been reading the "Magic Treehouse" chapter book series (which is fantastic) and Noah and James thought it was so cool to be in a tree house just like Jack and Annie's... James was quite disappointed when we didn't actually get to see Jack and Annie.

We did find what we think to be the best deal at disney too.... waffles.... reasonably priced (about the only thing) and so good.  Mine had Nutella and lots of fresh fruit, Gabe's had spinach, chicken and cheese.... we highly recommend them:)  The kids got to meet some of their favorite characters such as Woody, Jessie and Buzz.  James's favorite thing about the day was the train ride and Noah's favorite part was driving the cars.  Overall N & J really enjoyed talking about all of the different types of transportation we took that day- a monorail on arrival, a train, a shuttle, a car, a moving sidewalk, the people mover in Tomorrowland, and then a ferry boat back to the car.

Florida 2013- Part 1

We made it out of Boston on our original flight... that was about the only upside.... we have certainly had much worse flying experiences, but flying with an active 18 month old at nap time was unpleasant to say the least (I thought he would sleep, and he may have, but being delayed for an hour on the runway without moving didn't help).  Other parents, I am sure, can appreciate that your only goal when flying with a toddler is that they aren't "that kid" who screams and is out of control the whole flight... they just have to do better in comparison to "that kid" on the flight... well Ben set the bar high enough that all of the other parents could breathe a sigh of relief that their child was doing beautifully in comparison... this mother and big brother Noah, however, were mortified.  Daddy and James were about 10 rows back on the opposite side and were able to pretend that they didn't know who that obnoxious child belonged to.   The flight attendant was indignant when I told her that no, he didn't use a pacifier or take a bottle... oh well.... we will never see those passengers again and they will have something to complain about when they get home;)  

Other than Ben's dislike for flying things have gone very smoothly and we are so happy to see the sun! Today we spent the day "recovering" and checking out all our resort has to offer.  The kids LOVE the water park (pics to follow later I hope), the playground with sand and the paddle boats... I think this is going to be a relaxing week!  The plan is to brave Disney tomorrow.....