Harry and the Rocket

Wednesday, Sean and I had a full day date! How often do you get that? The three kiddos enjoyed their day with Grandma and Grandpa. My mom said Grey would get sad often through the day, obviously missing his parents. Really, Grey has had very little time away from me in his life, so this was a big thing for him. My mom has a recording of the bedtime song we always sing- she said when it began playing, Grey watched intently with tears rolling out his eyes. That is the most sad and precious thing in the world.

What did we do with our day away? Well...

We went to Hogwarts! Honestly, I might have been most excited about this part of our Florida trip. Seriously, it really did feel magical. Although, the butterbeer left much to be desired. The first sip was good because all the butterscotch flavor is in the foam. But after a couple minutes, it just tastes of cream soda. But OTHERWISE, it was awesome.


It was really fun to feel like we were in the harry potter world. And the rides were fun too. Even if we felt woozy after the one inside Hogwarts castle. And we did see the rest of Universal Studios, too. There were some cool coasters. It's been a while since I've been on new rides, not knowing what to expect. I most liked the initial launch of The Hulk and the sheer drop of Rip Ride Rockit. The backwards parts of The Mummy were great. And, did you know? Going to a theme park without kids is much easier than with kids. It was nice to have a break from the kids. For my sanity, you know?

Thursday, we finally took an easy day and just played the day away at my parent's house. But we did do something special that night!

That's a rocket, you guys! We went out near Kennedy Space Center and got to see this SpaceX rocket launch. It was breathtaking.


Sean had a NASA app that showed the launch up close but with a delay- that's what he's showing on the video. You could pay for tickets and sit closer to the launch, but you know, free is nicer. Maybe Sean and I will splurge in a subsequent Florida visit. Probably, since Sean is a lover of all things space (as am I, just not to Sean's degree). The kids weren't really into it until they actually saw the rocket take off. Then they were captivated, all three of 'em. Go space!

A Disney Birthday

Tuesday was my birthday so to celebrate we went to DISNEY WORLD! What girl doesn't dream of such a celebration? It was actually pretty busy there, likely because it was the day after a holiday. Yet fun was still had!


It started off interestingly. I was letting the boys run around the Gaston fountain (admittedly not the best idea) while waiting for Sean to grab fast passes (they're trying this new system and it's terrible. We couldn't get fast passes for anything good. Couldn't work the system). Well, there was a gentleman taking a photo, not paying attention and... bumped dash right into the water.

Oy.

I hurried him to bathroom, attempting to dry off his soaked clothing in one of those fast drying hand dryers which are terrible for drying clothing, while Dash whimpers and shivers in the corner. After ten minutes of little progress, a lady comes over and offers us her spare clothing (should have thought to pack that too!). I could NOT believe that. What a generous and kind offer. I got her address so I could mail them back later on. The shorts were a bit large but with pinning and the use of my mom's purse strap, we got them to stay up.

But I tell you, I think of that generous woman all the time. What a magnificent gift to receive on my birthday- I'm touched by her kindness.


I think Grey got to ride on everything we went on. His favorite was probably the Jungle Cruise (though that was his least favorite to wait for. He was one impatient little boy in that line)- he grunted with delight at every bird and every waterfall.


I believe Dash told me his favorite ride was the Pirates of the Caribbean. Afterward, he kept saying "arr, I'm a pirate!"


Liam most enjoyed the Swiss Family Treehouse that you can walk all around. "We're really high, mommy!"


We bought one stroller, which was helpful. Though you always had to park it before getting in line, which meant we didn't get a whole lot of use out of it. All of the adults' arms were really sore by the end of the day- we all did a lot of holding of all the kids.


Here we are on lunch break, having consumed $8 hot dogs that were not worth half that. The kids are just glad not to be in a line.


A Disney employee was blowing bubbles, Dash is on the hunt.


Grey electing to watch his silly brothers instead of giving up his tasty apple to join them.


Everyone loved the Buzz Lightyear game. Dash and Liam got to "stop some aliens!" and Grey deftly steered his parents' car. It should be noted, Sean beat my score bad.


Grey got a little nap in the afternoon. How many can say "I napped at Disney World!"?


During his nap, we went on It's A Small World, which I think Grey would have really liked. We'll just have to go again someday. My parents stayed out with Grey, so they missed the ride as well, which I think my dad was happy about.


After cramming as much as we could into the day, we took our leave. We missed the parade (the one in which I marched once while on a high school trip, la tee da) but, gosh, we needed some dinner!


We had some tasty pizza with a fun balloon guy until Liam drifted off, food in hand. A couple minutes later, Dash sprawled himself over two chairs and closed his eyes. We took that as our sign to go. Now that's a good birthday, party until your kids pass out!

Orlando Science

Our first day of adventure was spent at Orlando's science museum! When we arrived, there was a line to get into the garage. I guess you can't escape the queue anywhere in orlando! But it meant I could take a photo of this tree. I love the hanging moss. Apparently it's not great for the tree but it looks so decadent. It makes me want to lean back in a long dress and sun hat while one hand wafts my face with a lace fan and the other swirls my icy lemonade.


The other car arrived first. It was MLKJr. Day so the cousins could join us!


Ah, this is why people live near family. I was hands-free!

There were lots of fun little exhibits, though this orange grove was most anticipated by the Elledges.


Everyone, adult and child alike, enjoyed playing with floam.


Grandpa's funny contribution. Liam talked about that the rest of the day.


So is this some phenomenon of which I'm not aware? Turtles and crocs just hangin' out together? No chompy chompy?


Their marble game made large!


And no pieces for Grey to choke! Huzzah!


And just so you know, it takes three to drive a train. Probably more if they're not brothers. Siblings have an edge.

Florida Beginnings

Let's talk about Florida now, okay?  Because I got a cold the instant we came back here and it's just gotten worse every day (until today!). And I thought the kids got it when I did though to a lesser degree but it looks like its only now taking it's toll on them. THOUGH I have a magificent husband who let me sleep over the weekend when I felt gross. So things aren't all bad. But they were better in Florida, so let's talk about that.


The temperatures varied from perfect mid-seventies sunshine to some chillier high forties. But we also missed some deeply frigid temps in MN, so I count that as a win.


Also, Grey apparently aged two years. Wha? He's like, long and lanky in this photo.


That's better.


We had a busy week, we had something exciting going on every day. You would have thought that meant really good sleep, but it was the opposite. Everyone woke up almost every night. We kept their bedtime according to central time zone, meaning it was an hour later in Florida. But Liam and Dash definitely woke up an hour early despite. Oy, kids.


Mom and Dad's house was lovely. It's weird to not know where the cups are at my parent's house. They've done some work on it already and have some more to do, but it was already a great house. Plus they have a pool! Which was too cold to use but the hot tub got some exercise. Sean slipped off a scooter during the week, landing on his toosh. The hot water helped his sore tailbone


My parents now live a few minutes away from my sister, so we got to have fun with the Elledges too! There's something magical to little kids when they play with bigger kids. Everything is just the best when they're playing with their cousins.


Alright, get ready for adventure after adventure because we sure packed them in!