Jason and I flew across the country with Ila and Lilia. Colby and Eva flew with Grandma and Grandpa 'tello. (I hear Colby watched ESPN, keeping up on college football scores, the ENTIRE flight. Made his daddy proud.) Leslie, Alex, and Lola drove up from Fort Lauderdale. Crystal, Valerie, and Asher drove down from Virginia. Matt flew down Thanksgiving morning. It was a Croshaw explosion in Orlando.
Jason found a TV to watch the Boise State game our first night there. I didn't think it would be possible, be he found a way.
The ward we went to the day after we arrived was right by the Orlando Temple. At least the second time that has accidentally happened to me.
We started off the Disney experience at Breakfast with Disney characters. It was so much fun! Then it was off to Hollywood Studios. Colby got to do Jedi training, thanks to some persistence and patience from Jason. We didn't know you were supposed to go sign up first thing in the morning, so he didn't get a spot and had to be on the waiting list. They did the training once every hour or so (I don't remember exactly) and if you wanted a stand by spot you had to go early and wait to see if everyone who had a spot showed up. It took about three tries, but Colby finally made it. And he got to light-saber-fight Darth Mal. One of the most exciting moments of his life up to this point, I believe. Darth Mal was scary too. Scarier than Darth Vader I think. You can see in the pictures. We also watched the Indiana Jones action sequence thing. (Lilia started crying hysterically a couple minutes in and grandma took her out. It was too loud I guess.) We saw a car chase, Colby loved that one. We watched Muppets in 3D. The greatest part was watching Lilia watch it. She reached out trying to grab whatever it was that was coming toward her.
The Star Wars ride
Face paint.
Jedi Training!
I realize this video is terrible. Sorry about that.
Disney Junior!! Definitely a favorite of the day.
Toy Story ride. The wait was OUTRAGEOUS! (Thank you fast pass!)
Day 2 was Disney World...I can't even remember what that park is called. It's the one with Cinderella's castle. It was just too busy and too crazy to really enjoy. But we went on a bunch of rides and sat around a lot trying to figure out what to do next. Eva, Lilia, Asher, and Valerie got to meet the princesses, which was so awesome. We bought an autograph book just for that purpose, and then forgot to bring it in. They also met Mickey and Minnie. Colby got to go on a couple roller coasters. Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Thunder Mountain. He's a fan of fast and scary.
Winnie the Pooh ride.
Teacup ride (Barf! It made me feel sick the rest of the day, and it was only the second ride.)
Lola. Love.
One of my favorite pictures :)
Princesses! I didn't get a good picture of Belle. :(
Pretty dang Magical.
The last day was Animal Kingdom, and my favorite. We started off by seeing a play of Finding Nemo and it was INCREDIBLE!! My kids were enthralled and didn't get bored. It was pretty much the movie, just condensed down. The characters carried around these large fish on poles. Hard to explain. Hopefully the picture helps. Then there were more rides and more sitting around. We went on a safari ride in the Africa section. That was fun. We went to a Lion King production thing. That was fun. Fun, fun, fun!
I was amazed at how fast these two clicked.
On Thanksgiving day we decided to go to the Golden Corral instead of cooking. Remind me to never do that again. We tried some amazing Taco Fresh tacos. Mmmm...good work Alex and Les.
My mom and I went and saw The Muppets and I loved it!! I wish I'd done this post right after the trip, because I can't remember much else. There was swimming at the hotel. There was loving on the cousins, Lola, Asher, and Valerie. I do remember it was an incredible trip, and such an important time to grow closer to family. I love any excuse to do that.
Lilia on the flight home.
Sums it up.
2 comments:
that was a great time. thanks for refreshing my memories. mom
btw HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!
Man, that was a great trip. I can't believe how much bigger the kids seem now.
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