Florida: Day 1

Our vacation started off with a bang...the red eye flight...three tired kids...two tired parents and two LONG flights. It turned out...surprisingly great! This all started about three months ago when we planned this trip. We had enough frequent flyer miles to get all of us to Florida. I was excited to get the tickets and booked them as soon as we decided when and where we were going. We really wanted to go back to Hawaii, but we didn't have enough miles. So, Florida was an easy second. I booked the flights and sent August the itinerary. About two seconds later I got a phone call. I thought he was just really excited. But this is how our conversation went:

Ring, Ring...

Me: Hello!! Are you sooo excited!!

August: Do you know what time 12:30 AM is?

Me: Tell me I didn't...

August: Yes you did.

Me: NO!

August: YES!

Me: What are we going to do with three kids on the red eye flight! Everyone is going to hate us!

August: Well...

Me: Did I really go to college? I should know AM vs. PM!

August: Maybe it will be ok (ever the optimist)

Me: We will see...

Well, it turned out to be ok. Joshua slept from the car, to the ticket counter, through security, to the gate, on the plane and woke up in Atlanta. Bella slept on the way to the airport and then was awake smiling at everyone in the airport and then promptly fell asleep at the gate. Caleb...well...he was too excited to sleep until we were in the air. August and I slept most of the way to Atlanta and then the entire way to Orlando. Not bad.

We stayed at the Marriott Harbour Lake in Orlando. We stayed their in 2007 and thought it was great. It is nice and family friendly with tons of stuff to do with the kids. It was an exchange hotel through our time share. We actually had two weeks, but August couldn't get that much time off. So, we stayed as much as we could and had an amazing time.

Florida: Day 2

We arrived in Florida at 9AM. We had such a good flight and were ready to hit the fun right away.

The boys wanted to go to the pirate ship water park at our hotel. This is the reason we came back to this hotel. They have so many things for kids without even having to go anywhere.


They played and played. Josh loved the idea of the pirate ship but was content jumping off of the side of the pool and swimming with one of us. Caleb rounded up a bunch of friends and organized a game of tag on the pirate ship.

August tried to teach them to swim. They were doing ok, but need more practice.

We had lunch at the poolside cabana. (Can't you just see Bella saying, "you put me on the table...as if!)

My Dad, Mike, joined us later that evening along with my brother, Casey, and his girlfriend Haley. We then hit Walmart and stacked up on the most essential part of a vacation...treats.

Florida: Day 3

Cocoa Beach is on the Atlantic coast about an hour from Orlando. The weather was beautiful. It was hot and humid. Just like we like it!!

We found a beautiful beach along the Space Coast. The water was bath tub warm and the beach was long and beautiful.

Haley, Casey, Gpa Mike, Joshua, August, Caleb and Danielle.

You can't go to the beach without making a sand castle.

Dad/Grandpa Mike has been on almost every vacation we have ever been on. He is always great to travel with.

Casey and Haley have been dating abou a year. They were super fun. We had a great time getting to know one another better and enjoying the fun.

Joshua was obsessed with the birds. They kept him entertained the entire day. This was good, because he was deathly afraid of the water. I think it is a combination of the waves and the noise of the ocean. Not to mention how big the waves probably look to a 2 year old.

Bella was our little beach babe. She slept most of the day and was just happy to be out and about.

I love this bow-less picture. It perfectly captures her great laugh.

We bought boogie boards and spent the afternoon either catching waves, playing in the sand or working on a tan (which we all badly needed!).

Caleb was a fish. He didn't spend more then 10 minutes out of water the entire day. He has always been an adventurer.

Josh was happy with his sand bucket and shovel.

That evening we headed to Down Town Disney for dinner at the T-Rex. The food was amazing and the atmosphere was really fun...and REALLY loud.

We had dinner in the ice cave.

Casey ate the biggest burger I have ever seen. It was appropriately called the "Gigantosaurus Burger". He polished his plate clean. We almost had to carry him to the car...seriously. He started getting dizzy and light headed.

Great end to a great day!

VIDEOS BELOW: PUSH THE PLAY BUTTON TO VIEW

Caleb boogie boarding

Josh and the birds

Florida: Day 4

When we visited in 2007 one of our favorite things we did was Kennedy Space Center (KSC). It is an amazing place. When we told the boys at the beginning of the summer that we would were going again to Florida the only thing Caleb wanted to do was visit KSC again. However, this time we can thank Congressman Jason Chaffetz for the tickets (mostly the work of Fred Ferguson!!). They were able to get us 4 free tickets. HOORAY!!!

Can you see the teenie tiny space shuttle in the background? It was on the launch pad for the November lift off.

The boys had a fantastic time. They love everything related to space and rockets. This picture was after they had played in the kids play area. They were sweaty and tired!

The weather was perfect. Warm with some humidity to remind you that you were in Florida.

Florida: Day 5

We had already spent one day ont he Atlantic coast and wanted to see the gulf coast. We headed to Sarasota. It is south of Tampa. The waters were suppose to be crystal clear with very little waves. However, a storm had been pounding the coast that week and had changed the current. We had a great time, but battled the wind in the afternoon.

We rented a Suburban so that we could fit everyone. I was "lucky" enough to ride in the back with Caleb and Josh. Sarasota was 90+ minutes away and we did everything we could to keep entertained. This included taking pictures of ourselves.

We started off at Lido Beach. It was beautiful. Silky white sand with tons of sea shells. Haley and I were the shell collectors in the group.

Caleb continued to boogie board. The current was so strong that he would jump on his board and end up 30+ feet down shore. It was rolling sideways down the coast instead of parallel to the shore like usual. It didn't stop him.

Grandpa Mike and Bella.

Mom and Bella.

Everyone had a blast. Compared to they day before these waves gave you a beating. They would have a 3-4 foot swell and then smash you into 12 inches of water. The bottom was mostly shells. Very SHARP shells.

I love this picture because it shows the fear Joshua has of the water. We really weren't very close, but he didn't dare turn his back to it. I had quite a time trying to get him to look at the camera.

This is as good as it got! Holding Jopsh tight while Bella slowly sank down!

After Lido we headed down to the keys off of Sarasota. We visited Siesta key, Casey Key, Longboat and even went as far as Venice. We attempted to board at Turtle beach but the wind hurt so bad that the sand felt like razor blades blowing around.

On the way home we went all the way back up to St. Petersburg and over the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. It is a cable-stay bridge (did I get it right dad?) that spans 5.5 miles across Florida's Tampa Bay. It was an amazing sight.

VIDEO BELOW: PUSH PLAY TO VIEW

This is the last beach we tried to board at. You can hear the wind. When I reference Josh you can't actually see him...he is under the white blanket.

Florida: Day 6

We tried to keep Sunday a low key day. We needed a break from the previous adventures and just tried enjoy one another. We slept in, relaxed and then went to church mid-morning. We went to a ward in Kissimee. It was a tiny ward with a lot of visitors.

It was a good day to relax because it was a chilly day. The high was only 60ish.

It was also a sad day. Casey and Haley had to head home. We missed them the rest of our trip!!

Florida: Day 7

Last visit we did all of the theme parks. Quite frankly, by the end of our vacation we were exausted and sick of people and lines. This time, we decided to only visit one Disney park and spend most of our time on the coasts.

We chose Animal Kingdom because it is great for all ages. It is my favorite park. Maybe because it is so different from any other disney theme park.

The park has a great safari ride. It is very realistic and the animals seem so natural. Of course, it is done disney style.

Caleb was tall enough for all of the rides...even the big roller coaster. Unfortunately, Josh has a few more years. So, while the big kids were on the rides he hung out looking at the monkeys.

We found plenty of ways to entertain ourselves while waiting. We must have come on the right day, because the lines were not long and the weather was perfect. Not hot and not much humidity.

Bella was a babe. She loved just looking at all of the people....and the people LOVED looking at her. She was her own little attraction. EVERYONE wanted to stop us and check her out. She would give each person her happy little smile and they would eat it up!

Crawl baby, crawl!

Cute Dad...Cute Baby!

Getting all three together doesn't happen very often. But, I love it.

The tree of life is at the center of the park. It is amazing. It has intricate carvings of animals. We enjoyed walking around it and checking it out.

The guys!

One of the kid's favorite things was the parade. Of course, Disney does put on a great parade. We had great seats and all of the kids got TONS of attention from the animals and dancers.

They were enthralled. My kids rarely sit still for anything. They didn't move the entire time.

VIDEO BELOW: PRESS PLAY TO VIEW