Orlando Vacation

Select pictures from our trip can be viewed at my myspace profile.
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=53568628


Wow! Last week was so much fun. This was much better than the usual work trips the kids and I accompany Matt on. This time we had company to accompany us...get my drift? My brother Kevin and his wife Milagros (Mili) came with us. They flew into Atlanta on Monday. We picked them up at the airport Monday afternoon, came to our house for about 30 min. (long enough to load up our rented Dodge Caravan) and then hit the long long long road down I-75 to Orlando. We got to our hotel, the Rosen Shingle Creek resort at 12:30 in the morning. It was a long drive but we actually made pretty good time. Matt had to be there for a 10am meeting Tuesday morning.

Tuesday morning the kids woke up early (much earlier than Kevin and Mili) so we went to one of the hotels numerous restaurants for breakfast. I got a breakfast quesadilla and the kids shared an order of pancakes...plus some coffee and orange juice...grand total...over 50 bucks. But hey...it's a resort and we're on vacation. The bulk of the day was spent at the swimming pools. There are 4 total. We spent most of our time in the 2 ft. kiddie pool and the zero entry pool. Mili joined us at the pool while Kevin finished up some home stuff. (They recently sold their house and just bought a new house the day before the trip so some signatures still needed to be exchanged.)

That night Kevin and Mili offered to stay with the kids and let Matt and I go out to dinner together. We checked out the CallaBella restaurant at the resort and feasted on appetizers. We were so stuffed and it was a lot of fun to have some couple time.

Wednesday was our first trip to DISNEY WORLD!! It was super cool. It was super hot and humid but the frequent summer downpours cooled things off and brought a little of a refreshing feeling throughout the day...(as long as we were under cover during the massive downpour.) Lauren and Tyler both had a blast. Lauren measured just over the 40 inch mark so was able to go on almost all the rides...and go she did. Despite my initial hesitations she even went on Splash Mountain. (you know the boat ride with the free fall plunge at the end?!) Matt got mad at me for suggesting to her that it might be scary....the only one who was scared apparently was me. She loved it and wanted to go again. She also went on the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and even Tyler got to go on a fast roller coaster. The Barnstormer at Goofy's Wiseacre Farm was his favorite. It went fast, side-ways and apparently we have a couple of dare-devils because both kids loved it and Tyler threw a tummy-on-the-ground tantrum when we had to get off the ride and did not go again. We pretty much went on all the rides geared toward pre-schoolers. It was a very very fun and quite tiring day.

The next morning (Thursday) all of us (save for Matt who had to be at his conference at 8am) slept in until 9:30. We would have slept longer but I decided to throw open the window shades at that time. After we were up and about we went shopping. Mili needed to find a swim-suit bottom. I gave her a swimsuit that no longer fits me. The top fit but her petite little tush was way too small to fill my briefs. j/k =) I'm not one to let a shopping trip pass me by so I got Lauren a cute little Roxy outfit and Tyler got a pair of "race car" crocs . After our shopping trip we decided to save some money and NOT eat at the hotel. We, by complete accident, came across a Peruvian restaurant we had wanted to check out but didn't have the address. We just pulled into a strip mall and lo and behold there it was. So we lunched at Pio Pio. It was delicious and came close but not too close to being as good as the Peruvian meals Mili has made me.

Back at the hotel we waited for the afternoon thunderstorm to clear up and then went out to the pool. Matt joined us after he was done with his conference for the day. Kevin and Mili swam in the "no children allowed pool" and Matt, the kids and I stayed mainly in the zero entry pool.

For dinner Matt ate with some co-workers/co-conferencers, Kevin and Mili went to find a pool/billiard hall and enjoy an evening just the two of them and the kids and I had room service and rented "Horton Hears a Who" in the hotel room. Tyler was asleep within the first 15 min. but Lauren stayed awake and watched the whole movie with me. It was cute even though it cost $14.99. We did have access to it for 24 hours so we watched it again Friday morning.

**Cute Story Alert**
[While explaining to Lauren that Kevin and Mili were going to play pool]
Lauren: What's pool?
Me: Well it's the game we played at Uncle Richie's house with lots of balls and you shoot them in the pockets with cue sticks.
Lauren: It's like Tic-Tac-Toe....where someone wins and someone doesn't win.
Me: [wrinkling my forehead] you're right
Lauren: Daddy was mad that he didn't win. Miss Betsie [Aunt Betsie] beat him but then he won again.

I thought this was pretty cool that she had this memory. I don't think I've mentioned Aunt Betsie's name since our summer family get together in Oregon but she definitely remembered. I love my little sponges.

Now to finish up our vacation summary. On Friday we had intentions of getting out of the hotel early to hit up the outlet mall but for some reason...probably the fact that Kevin and I got stuck on watching Horton again...we just didn't get things going. Matt called when we were about out the door saying he would be done with the conference in an hour so to wait for him. So we waited.... By the time we all got in the car and headed to the outlet mall we were under seige by the afternoon thunder storm. Not wanting to walk the outdoor outlet mall we opted to hit up Old Navy to get Tyler a new outfit. He needed this extra outfit due to a poor pack job by me plus a poor diaper changing schedule by, yet again, me. Anway...he got his new outfit.

That night we went to a "family friendly dinner theater" Medieval Times. We were all sceptical of it's "coolness" but we were pleasantly surprised and entertained...plus they had a full bar. For dinner they served soup and bread, chicken, ribs, and an apple turnover...free natty light and soda too. All the while medieval knights were fighting to the death. Lauren loved it so much that she did her "tee tee" dance the entire time until the final fight scene. Oh well....maybe I'll see it next time.

Saturday we decided to pack up and leave this humid paradise that is Orlando and head first East to the coast. We got on A1A (beachfront avenue) and drove to St. Augustine. I'm in love with this city but unfortunately we were amidst yet another of those damn Florida afternoon thunderstorms so we just drove right through without admiring it's history, significance and beauty. We made our way North to the beautiful and historic city of Savannah, GA for the last night of our vacation. We checked into the Homewood Suites and then headed back out to explore the vast downtown historic district. We ate dinner at the "Six Pence Pub" which had a part in the Julia Roberts/Dennis Quaid movie "Something to Talk About." We actually ate outside and battled gnats and flies but it was still enjoyable. Later we made our way down to the Riverfront and walked along the old cobblestone street. It was a fun night.

The next morning we woke up bright and early and headed out to Tybee Island to spend an hour or so at the beach. It was sunny, slightly breezy and warm. The kids had fun splashing in the water. Soon it was time to pack up and make the 3 1/2 hour drive home. ...so Kevin and Mili could catch their evening flight home out of Atlanta. Which they did.

We were so sad to see them go. This morning (Monday morning) I asked Lauren if she had fun with Aunt Mili and Uncle Kevin (who they insist on calling Uncle Monkey.) Lauren said, "yes, but Mommy why do you keep saying that? I don't want them to be gone." So there you have it. Tia Mili y Tio Kevin need to come back as soon as possible...Christmas will probably have to do.

This past week was a blast. Sorry for the long post but it was a very eventful week and I wanted to get it all down.