Day Five!

I'm going to blog Epcot using bullets.  Why?  Because I can, I guess!  I'm just trying to switch things up a bit!

• It was approximately 9 billion degrees when we were there.  I'm pretty sure that's what it felt like anyway.  It made it very hard to enjoy ourselves but we sure gave it our all!
• We ate lunch in "Italy."  The food was delicious and I was glad I gave myself a day off the old diet!
• Lola loved the Nemo ride!  And so did the rest of us!  We love Nemo!
• I liked the Test Track ride!  I actually got to go on something because I made Blake go with me FIRST!  WOO HOO!  It was fun!
• We left kinda early and checked into our hotel by Universal.  It was much nicer than the hotel at Disney!  Also....I'm pretty sure we were the only Americans there.  But it's cool.  I enjoy accents!
• Bad news....the kids wanted a big Mickey Mouse balloon when we were at the other two parks.  I kept telling them to wait so we could get it the last day.  Don't do that, folks.  Epcot does NOT have the balloons.  I repeat.  Epcot does NOT have the balloons.  That made for some pretty sad kids but I guess they survived!
• Billy lost his cell phone charger.  He was sure he left it at the Disney resort.  We spent a long time waiting for them to check.  As it turns out, it was in the glove compartment in the car all along.  Yeah.
• We were able to spend some time with Billy's Uncle Casey!  He's amazing and we were lucky to be able to see him!

*PICTURE OVERLOAD*

Disney Vacation Day 4!

6 AM wake up call again?  You know that's right!  It worked out so well for us on Magic Kingdom day.  We decided it would have to work for Hollywood Studios.  As it turns out, we probably could've slept in because we finished the park early!  We rode everything we wanted without having to wait for very long!  But for those of you planning on going to the parks, we definitely thought Hollywood Studios was a 1/2 day park!

We LOVED The Muppets in 3D!  The boys were on the Star Wars ride so Lola and I did The Muppets by ourselves!  We also did The Little Mermaid!  Lola was really well behaved in the shows!  YAY!  She loved them and I have to say I loved them, too!  I loved them much more than I loved almost vomiting on the Star Wars ride.  Yeah, I'm pretty sure Billy doesn't know me that well because it was him who convinced me to go on it.  He thought I would love it.  As I sat there, sweating profusely, trying not to vomit, and hunting for a mint (to help with the nausea), all I could think about is how Billy could think I would enjoy that!  I totally didn't.  I kept asking Blake when the ride ended.  I was pretty happy to have my feet on the ground and the ride over.  It wasn't scary or anything.  It was just one of those virtual rides that was way too much for my tummy to handle!

Billy rode the Tower of Terror by himself.  Then Blake and Billy rode the Aerosmith ride.  I wanted to go on it, too.  But Blake wouldn't ride it again and I was too scared to go alone.  Since I wasn't feeling all that great (ahem....Star Wars), I didn't put up too much of a fight!

In the middle of the day, we took another break for swimming and relaxation!  Our hotel had GIANT basketball hoops.  Blake purchased a Mickey Mouse basketball and made over seven shots on the crazy tall hoop!  People who walked by were amazed that he could  even make the baskets!  I've included a few photos of Blake on the court just so you can see how tall the hoops were! :)

We LOVED, LOVED, LOVED the Toy Story Mania ride!  Mainly because I was really good at shooting my targets.  I won't lie.  Billy beat my score.  But I was a close second!  I was able to get a Fast Pass so Billy and Lola got to ride it again.  Guess what?  They got stuck.  Yes, indeed.  It was only for about five minutes but still.....

We also got to go to the American Idol taping!  Blake loved it because we got to vote and everything!  He also told me that I should have auditioned because I would've won.  Then I could have tried out for the REAL American Idol show!  He's so cute! :)

Helpful hint of the day:  wear matching colors in the park.  We all wore hot pink.  Well, everyone except Blake (who doesn't own anything pink)!  It made it easy to find my little family!

*Picture time*

Day 3 and, oh, Billy's BIRTHDAY! :)

Rise and shine!  Up and at 'em!  Wakey, wakey!  These are just some of the phrases rolling around in my noggin when the alarm when off at SIX AM.  Day 3 of vacation started day ONE of Disney World.  We felt that we had to get there right when the park opened (at 7 for people staying on property).  I was pretty tired but it was worth it.

Disney World day one consisted of the Magic Kingdom.  Like I said, we were up super early and pretty  much had our pick of rides (with little to no waiting involved)!  We did It's a Small World, Peter Pan, Pirates of the Caribbean, the Haunted Mansion, Jungle Cruise, and Splash Mountain all before 9:00.  Granted, it was a little chilly when Blake and I rode Splash Mountain.  But it was worth it to not have to wait!

I should also point out that Fast Passes are pretty much amazing!  We picked up a couple for Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin ride.  I'm glad we did because the line was crazy long.  It was a fun ride.  But when we stood in line for 82 billion years (approximately) to ride it again later that night, I was not a huge fan.  Nothing is worth that.  Nothing, people.  I blame Lola.  She's the one who had to ride it again.  Can you tell I'm still slightly bitter??  ;)

Anyway, we did everything we wanted to by 2 PM so we took a break and went back to the hotel.  I thought it would be a nice time to swim since it was super hot.  Apparently every person staying at the resort also had my idea.  Since I don't like donning a bathing suit in front of that many people (or anyone), I opted to sit and sweat while the rest of my family swam.  Yeah.  I'm stubborn like that.  I eventually got up and put my feet in the water....

Then we went back to the park.  We shouldn't have.  We didn't have the luck we did in the morning.  Our return to the park came with a torrential downpour that lasted about 30 minutes.  Our Fast Passes for Space Mountain weren't until 11:00 at night (thankfully Billy and Blake rode it earlier).  Ugh.  And Billy and Blake getting stuck on Splash Mountain  for about 40 minutes at 10:00 PM.  That was cool.  They were eventually escorted off the ride and we were able to take sleeping Lola back to the awesome (SARCASM) resort.  We were all pretty darn exhausted.

Helpful hint of day 3:  bring lots of food and water into the park.  Unless you want to spend 5 million dollars on food per day!  ;)

Favorites at Magic Kingdom?  Blake:  Splash Mountain (the time that it worked), Lola:  Tomorrowland Speedway (and yes she drove....), Sarah:  honestly....I loved the train and the people mover because it meant I got to sit down for an extended period of time.  But I also loved Splash Mountain.  Billy's favorite ride?  Hmmm.....Space Mountain?  I can't ask him because our time together has come to an end.....Which brings me to wishing my beloved spouse a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!  I wish we were all there with you!  Hope your day has been super fabulous! :)  Here are many, many pictures for you to peruse! :)

Day 2 of Florida 2012 Vacation!

And we're on to day TWO, folks.  I know you're probably biting your nails in anticipation.  I also forgot to tell you that Blake thinks the state of Tennessee is and I quote, "The most beautiful state I've ever been in."  I also think it's beautiful but after all the dang traffic, it's not high on my list of places to be! :)

Helpful hint for day 2:  INVEST IN A CAR DVD PLAYER!!!  Notice how I wrote that in ALL caps?  There's a reason.  It's very important!  By the middle (beginning....who am I kidding?) of the day, I was about to thumb it the rest of the way.  I kept seeing all the fancy RVs going by and I secretly (or not so secretly) wanted to ask if they could drop me off at Disney World.  For reals.  It was pretty much that crazy in the car.  Of course the traffic was equally (or worse) as bad as day 1.  So the kids (and the parents) were pretty much done!

I didn't drive at all the second day.  Mainly because I wanted to sound really cool.  Oh wait.  That's what I was thinking when I DID drive the whole way.  Well.  It was kinda nice to ride instead of drive.  Of course the snack stash was awfully tempting.  I managed to (mostly) stay out of it.

It rained.  Again.  But we made it!  We arrived on Disney property in PLENTY of time to watch the UL/UK Final Four game.  That being said, the Queen (our GPS) totally led us astray.  We drove around aimlessly for a good twenty minutes.  I watched the game on my phone until we eventually made it!  It wasn't ideal but U of L losing was also not ideal.  Yes, I'm still deeply depressed over the loss.  Though I, of course, have to give major props to my Cards for even making it that far!  They had a heck of a year!

Okay, back to the vacation.  We stayed at Disney All-Star Sports Resort.  I wouldn't recommend it.  Like at all.  Unless you have a desire to stay in an old, run-down, Motel 6 type of place.  Yeah, I kinda think it was that bad.  But we figured we wouldn't be spending that much time in the actual room....so we just dealt with it.  *Shudder*

The kids immediately wanted to get in the pool.  I was still nursing my wounds (from the aforementioned basketball game) so I just sat and watched.  I was just glad to be out of the car....even if it did mean I was residing in Nastyville for the next 3 nights and 4 days.  *Shudder*

And that was it for day 2!  I know you're anxiously awaiting tomorrow's post.  RIGHT?  Okay welp, I'll have another blog up in about 12 hours!  You're welcome! :)

Leaving the hotel on day 2!

This is the first time she slept on the trip and it didn't last too long!

Yup....pretty much sums up our sentiments!

The TWELVE Days of BLOGGING!!!

Yes, you read that right!  We are just back from vacation and instead of bombarding my readers with WAY TOO MUCH information and WAY TOO MANY PICTURES all at once, I'm going to break it up!  YAY!  (I can hear you all cheering)!

As most of you know, we went to the magical world of DISNEY!  This post will be focused mainly on the "getting to" part of the journey.  Oh my stars, was it a journey.  I've never seen traffic like I saw traffic on the way to Florida.  For reals.

To start, I wanted to quote a Blakeism.  When we first got in the car, he told me, "I have butterflies in my stomach because I'm so excited."  That made me happy because I actually planned a fun vacation.  Like I've mentioned before, we've had little weekend getaways but never a proper family vacation.  Until now.....

So we started out with cute little Blake.  Things kinda went downhill when we stopped at Subway for our lunch and they didn't have the fat free chips I like.  Oh and they put about 80 gallons of mustard on my veggie delight.  I was still thinking about that when I decided to test out the sunroof.  I should also mention that we borrowed the Lexus from my mom and dad.  It offered a lot more room than the HHR.  So that's why I felt I needed to check out the sunroof.  *Insert near heart attack*  A spider fell out when I opened the sunroof.  I thought it was a dead fly but no, it was a jumping (hairy) black and white spider.  I'd like to say the kids were screaming but it was really me.  Yeah, I screamed.  Lots of times.  I pulled the car over and searched high and low for that pesky creature.  I couldn't find it.  I pulled over again when I did find it crawling next to my seat.  He jumped when I tried to smash him.  This went on until I finally got to Billy's office.  I waited for the sucker to come out and then I finally killed it.  Geez.  It was not ideal for someone who has arachnophobia like I do!

I already mentioned traffic was horrendous.  We were in that pretty much the ENTIRE first day.  I drove the whole way because I thought it would be cool to say I drove the entire first day.  It turns out telling people that isn't really that cool.  The traffic added an extra 3 hours to our journey.  I will say that by driving, I was able to stay out of the snack stash.  So that's one positive.....

Then it started raining.  Like super hard.  I had to revert to my "granny style" driving so I could see out the windshield.  Then we got lost in Atlanta.  I wasn't super happy about that.  I'm pretty sure at that point, I wouldn't have been happy about much of anything.  So by adding so much time to our trip, we got to the hotel AFTER the pool had closed.  That wasn't cool.  Well, I didn't care but the kids were pretty bummed.

We finally got into bed and fell asleep pretty quickly.  Unfortunately for me, I had to sleep by Blake.  He still grinds his teeth like no other.  So I really didn't get much sleep at all.  But ya know, when you're on your way to Disney World, you can't really complain about much (like I just did....)!  :)

*Helpful hint from day 1:  Don't travel in jeans with buttons on the back pocket.  When you're going to be stuck in a car for ten hours, it tends to be a little uncomfortable! ;)

I have included a picture of the rain and gobs of traffic!