Spring Break 2012

One of the things I love about being a teacher is that I still get a Spring Break.  That being said, it makes for a great opportunity for a family vacation.  Justin and I decided a few months ago that this year we would do a Disney vacation.  As you can imagine, the kids were thrilled by this. 

We started our Spring Break with the parade and celebration in downtown Tallhassee for St. Patricks Day on Saturday.  

 
On Sunday Seth was acting a bit sickly and we didn't want to risk a full blown illness before our trip so we laid low, gave him some extra vitamins, and put them to bed early so we could get up early and drive down to Disney. Well, it worked because this was him at 6:00 AM Monday morning...

and McKayla too.

We were hoping they would sleep on the way to Magic Kingdom but no such luck.  As Seth put it, "Going to Disney gets me fired up!".

I'll let the pictures tell the story of our day at Magic Kingdom.

 On the ferry to Magic Kingdom

 Our first ride, Aladdin's Magic Carpet Ride

 Splash Mountain

We left the park at around 5:30 and headed to our hotel to check in.  We stayed at the Wyndham Grand Orlando Resort at Bonnet Creek and it was within a mile or two of all the parks.  It had 5 pools including, 2 lazy rivers, and 5 or 6 hot tubs.  It was super nice and we got it for a great price.  I cannot recommend it enough.  After checking in we grabbed some dinner and headed back to the park.  It was dark at that point so we didn't take anymore pictures.

8:00 AM came very early the next morning but we got up, had breakfast, and headed downstairs to get on the shuttle bus to Hollywood Studios.

 Waiting on the shuttle

We got in a bit earlier that night but we were still exhausted.  After dinner and baths we were all out within a few minutes and up and ready to go again the next day.  On our third day in Orlando we headed to Animal Kingdom (the favorite for all four of us).

This is a picture of Justin and McKayla on Everest.  They are near the back.  Justin has on a yellow shirt and is holding up his hat.  They rode this ride four times throughout the day.  Seth got in line with them three of those times but chickened out every time.  Oh well, maybe next time.

On our fourth and last day in Orlando we decided to relax a bit and boy were my pregnant feet thankful.  We spent all day jumping from one pool, hot tub, or lazy river to the next.  That evening we headed to Downtown Disney to shop, look around, and eat at Rainforest Cafe.  If you haven't eaten at one, make sure you do next time you get the opportunity.  The atmosphere is fabulous and the food is great. 

Friday morning we packed up and headed even further south to Port St. Lucie to visit with my mom, step-dad, grandma, and my brother and his family.  All the kids had a great time together and Christa, my sister-in-law took maternity and family portraits for us at the beach (I'll make a seperate post about that when I get them).  We also got the chance to spend almost an entire day with my Uncle Sergio (I call him Tio) and my Aunt Nieves.  The kids and Justin had never met him and I'm so glad we got the opportunity to spend time with them.  When they left the kids kept asking about Tio and when they'd see them again.  Hopefully it won't be as long next time.

Sunday we drove back to Tallahassee and life went back to normal.  The kids and I are back at school and Justin is back at work.  Luckily, we have lots of exciting things to look forward to.  Seth starts his t-ball games in the next couple weeks, the baby shower is in two weeks, my grad school graduation is in four weeks, the kids and Justin are headed to Boston for a long weekend trip including a Red Sox game, and in about nine weeks or so we'll be meeting baby Huck.  Oh yeah, and summer break starts in nine weeks too!!!

Looks like I'll have lots to blog about in the coming weeks.  Can't wait!