The Very Loooonnnnng Florida post...

It has definately taken me awhile to do this post. We have been super busy planning our wedding, and planning to move soon.

We went to Disney for a week, and I must say that we all had an excellent time. Februaury is the perfect time to go to Orlando. It wasn't too hot, and the lines weren't that long. I never did take Brendon to Disney when he was younger b/c I didn't think he would be old enough. I think 9 was the perfect age. He was tall enough to ride every single roller coaster.

We left for Disney on February 9th, and Eric drove. The drive was about 8 hours. We decided to leave a 5am, so that we could get there before the traffic got bad for the Daytona 500. Our car was packed to the ceiling.



Brendon really enjoyed all of the snacks that I let him eat on the way. He was just so excited to be going to Disney. He had his portable DVD player, his Nintendo DS, and a bunch of snacks, pillows, and blankets in the back seat with him. It was definately snug for him back there.

We decided to rent a house in Kissimmee b/c it turned out to be cheaper than the Disney hotels, and we got an enclosed swimming pool that was heated. Brendon and Eric spent the afternoons in the pool.

On Sunday, we decided that our first park would be the Magic Kingdom. We got there early in the morning and were finished with that park around 1. I think that Magic Kingdom is fun, but Brendon thought the rides were for little kids. We did get some neat pictures though.

We all wanted to take pictures with the characters, so we stood in line and got lots of pictures.

At the end of our day at Magic Kingdom, we went to this really neat candy store. It smelled soooo good in there. There was a barber shop quartet singing, and Brendon wanted to have his picture taken with them.

When we left Magic Kingdom, we went on the ferry to get back to our car. It was a nice relaxing ride, after walking around all day

Monday, we went to Animal Kingdom. I had never been there before, and so I was very excited. We all couldn't wait to ride Everest. It was a roller coaster that had been featured on the travel channel as one of the best in the world. The ride actually switches tracks while you are on it. It was really fun.

Animal Kingdom turned out to be one of my favorite Disney parks. We had a really good day, and got to see alot of different types of animals. We all took a safari ride, and we stood in line for an hour, but it was well worth the wait.

This is a picture of Brendon standing in front of Everest.

Bats!

Hippo

Flamingos

On Tuesday, we went to Hollywood Studios (formerly known as MGM). This has always been the best Disney Park for me. Of course, I still loved it, and they had the best roller coaster that we rode on. It was called "The Mummy". Brendon, Eric, and I all agreed it was our favorite ride the whole trip.

They had the coolest Star Wars ride. Even standing in line was entertaining.

While at Hollywood Studios, we found this really cool resteraunt. It was a 50's cafe, and every table was designed like a kitchen from the 50's, and we had a black and white TV that played classic TV shows.

Our waitress kept telling Brendon and Eric that if they didn't eat their veggies, they will have them for dessert. Brendon ate all of his, but Eric didn't really want to eat his green beans. She actually brought them out with whip cream and sprinkles on them, and had him take a bite. Here he is taking a bite of his "dessert" green beans.

On Wednesday it was supposed to rain all day, so we took a break from theme parks, and that night we went to Medievil Times for dinner. Brendon really enjoyed it. We had a good time and a really good dinner.

On Thursday we went to Epcot, but all of the pics from Epcot I had to buy from Disney, and haven't received them yet. We went to Epcot later in the day, and stayed to watch the fireworks show at night. That night we ate at a Morroccan resteraunt, and spent way too much money. I told Brendon he could order whatever he wanted. He wanted lamb. He ordered lamb with couscous and veggies, and at most of it. It costs $27 for his plate of food!

On Friday we went to Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios. They are both owned by Universal. I had never been to Islands of Adventure, and they had alot of great roller coasters. Brendon was really excited to ride hulk, and I was worried he wouldn't be tall enough to ride, but he just made the height requirement.

In Islands of Adventure, they have a Dr. Suess land, and everything looks just like it came out of a Dr. Seuss book.

After we left Islands of Adventure, we went and ate at a resteraunt called the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. The whole resteraunt was themed around Forrest Gump. The food there was excellent.

Of course we had to take pics of The Simpsons in Universal.

All in all we had a great trip. We were really fortunate to be able to take our first real family vacation together. I am glad everyone had a good time b/c I won't be able to afford another vacation for a very long time. I am now officially broke, but it was worth it.

In other news, Brendon had to go for a checkup at the Dr's office the other day. He has not had to go to the doctor in 4 years! They had to go search for his chart. Alas, I had to take him in for a chicken pox booster, but the doctor was impressed at how well he has been doing over the past few years. He now weighs 69 lbs, and is 4 feet 7 inches. The doctor said he is in the 50th percentile for weight, and the 75th percentile for height. He is in great health.

Brendon will be having a very exciting summer. He will be going to day camp for alot of the summer. This summer he is going away to two different camps for one week each. First, he will be going to church camp for one week. My parents have also enrolled him to go to another camp for a week. He will also be going to the beach for a week with my parents. I know that I am really going to miss him. He will be gone for 3 weeks this summer! My baby is going away to camp, and I will probably have a harder time with it than he will.

Wedding plans are well under way, and our wedding is about 2 months away. We are getting down to crunch time, and I have had to spend all of my Mondays doing something for our reception. Everyone should be getting their invites in the mail in the next week.