12.13.2012

family vacay. {disney bound.}

[Totally back-tracking on here, by oh, almost two months. But it's my blog, I do what a want. Ha!]

There were quite a few months this past year that were a blur to me, one of which was October. [Which is probably why I'm craving a much slower pace now.] Because, frankly, it was filled with a lot of fun. Crazy, blessed, fun.

We were given the opportunity to stay {for free} in an absolutely beautiful resort in Orlando, Florida, which included three bedrooms, a full kitchen and living room and balcony. And two jetted tubs! When an offer like that is on the table, who can refuse?!  So, back in June we had a family vacation planned to visit Disney World at the end of October. Audrey watched Disney World YouTube videos for four months straight. Not even kidding.

Now here is where I insert the word adventure instead of vacation. You guys, going on a trip with a 4, 2, and 6 month old is so.much.work. Well worth it, but whoa. About three days before we were leaving, we got smart and recruited my younger sister to go with us for another set of helping hands. There were many times during the trip that we thought how would have we done this without bringing help?

We were that mini-van full to the brim (hello, we had to take a double stroller) AND with a car-top carrier on. Which actually came in handy, you could spot our van from a mile away in any parking lot. To get us through the 20+ hour drive (that included stops), I wrapped inexpensive gifts for the girls to open every few hours---crayons, coloring books, magnetic dolls, books, markers, etc. This way, every time they started to feel ready to explode, I could give them something new to have fun with. On the way there we decided to try driving through the night, which worked ok until about 3am when Naomi was over being in her carseat. On the way home we broke the trip in half and stayed in a hotel, which worked well until Naomi was ready to be home at 3am. Notice a trend? Yeah, Naomi was a tough traveler. She wanted the endurance of her sister, but wasn't quite there. Still needed naps and lots of sleep, but didn't get it. Lincoln, however wins the best traveler award. He practically slept in the Ergo carrier the entire time. Nursed and just hung out. It was wonderful. Audrey did pretty well too.

In the week we were there, we hit up Downtown Disney one day, Sea World one day, Disney World Magic Kingdom one day, and even drove an extra few hours to visit the ocean. We had two "down days" at the resort, enjoying the pools.

My favorite moments include watching Naomi in absolute awe of Mickey Mouse when we met him. When Audrey saw the Disney castle it was truly magical. And when Lincoln rode his first ride--a little train, sitting next to me.

Here is where i overload you with a TON of pictures. Mainly from my iPhone, because it was easy and quick access when you have a baby strapped to you.

Hanging out at the resort:



Downtown Disney:

Best part of Downtown Disney was definitely the Lego sculptures! 

Sea World:
Audrey loved getting her face painted, she picked the "mermaid" one. 
Naomi, however, enjoyed watching but didn't want the man touching her. Ha!

Train ride with my buster!

I call this one "super-dad." He took all the kids for a short nap-car ride while my sister 
and I got to ride a few roller coasters!

Disney World:

That's my sister holding Naomi, but it looks like me!

 Spinning on the tea cups!

Watching the parade!

Riding the ferry over to the Magic Kingdom


The ocean:

We definitely made some wonderful memories. I went home and made a vacation book up from my Instagram photos using Blurb. It's fun because the girls love looking through the book almost daily and no I did not get paid to share about Blurb, I just really like my book I bought. 

It truly was the perfect way to spend my last week in my 20's. 

Now we've decided the next vacation we go on will be just for the parents. Ha!


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