Getting Back to Normal Life & A Weekend of Big Things

Samantha: 93 Months, Week 3
Aedan: 59 Months, Week 1
Owen: 17 Months, Week 3

Coming back from vacation is always difficult, especially when you're coming from the sunny warmth of Florida to the snowy cold of the U.P. There was a blizzard while we were gone, so we had a lot more snow on the ground when we got back home. Here are some pictures of our back and front yard. Sometimes I still am amazed at the amount of snow we get up here, and this winter has been relentless.

Since we had to drive home from Upland on Sunday, we didn't do much else that day. The kids were sad to be leaving Ema and Papa, as they always are, and they were sad that vacation was over. However, they did pretty well in the car. We stopped at Chipotle in Lansing on our way back, like we usually do, and then Samantha and Aedan watched a couple shorter Veggie Tales movies while Owen took an afternoon nap. He woke up crying a few times, but we were able to rock his car seat and get him back to sleep, which was good.

One of our jobs on Monday was to dig out our mailbox. It got buried with all the snow from the blizzard and the plow trucks coming down the street. Luckily, our neighbors were keeping our mail for us while we were gone. Ben tried to find it that morning, but his preliminary search didn't come up with anything. Isn't this just crazy!? Look how much snow is piled up! How long is this going to take to melt away?

Getting right back into work and school was definitely a change from our last week out of town, but I think Samantha was ready for school again. The one benefit was that hockey was over, so we had our Monday night open to just hang out. Samantha and Aedan decided to let Kit and Catboy have a sleepover together in Aedan's room. They got a pillow and blanket for them and even hooked a light over the bed for them. It was so cute, so I sneaked a little video of them putting their toys to bed just like we put them to bed: singing to them and praying with them.

Tuesday was going to be a busy day because I had Bible study in the morning, and then Calla planned on coming over to our house to watch Owen for us while Ben and I picked Samantha and Aedan up from school and took them over to gymnastics for their last lesson of session. The last lesson is always when parents are invited to come out onto the floor with the kids to see what they have been learning. Samantha didn't get to go to this class last session because she was sick, and the kids were excited that Ben could come so that way both of us could watch one of them at a time. We switched about halfway through so we were able to see both of them perform their skills. I took a lot of videos there, so here are the kids doing gymnastics. They still love it so much and were sad that it was ending.

After they got their stickers and certificates, the kids got changed back into their regular clothes and we went back home to relieve Calla and get Owen before heading to the Big Bear for Aedan's hockey banquet. They had pizza, salad, breadsticks, and cookies for dinner. Then, they called out each player's name to give them a certificate and a medal for their season playing hockey with the Hockey Initiation Program. Aedan was very proud to go up and get his first medal, and I was proud of him for sticking it out for the whole season, even when it was hard.

The boys and I got back to our normal routine pretty quickly and went to the library for story time on Wednesday, just like we usually do. The boys have fun, and it's good for Aedan to hear stories and do a craft. Owen usually wanders around during story time, playing with toys, but not being loud or distracting. It's one of the few things to do in town in the winter, so we try to make it a point to be there.

Owen has been having a harder time getting back into the swing of things. It's been really difficult for me to keep him awake in the car on our way home from dropping Aedan off at preschool. In fact, on Wednesday there was nothing I could do to keep him awake, so I just let him fall asleep, hoping that he would stay asleep when got home. I was able to pick him up out of his car seat and he fell right back asleep on my shoulder. He was so cute cuddled up into my shoulder that I had to stop by the bathroom and take a picture of my little baby before taking him into his room to put him down for his nap. You can tell he's my last baby because I am just cherishing these moments where he needs me and wants me to hold him because I know they won't last. I know there will be a day he won't fall asleep so easily on my shoulder, so I want to remember these times.

Wednesday night while Samantha and Aedan were at AWANA, Owen and I hung out in the basement together. He really loves going down the slide. I love his huge smile and laugh, and how he immediately gets up and goes around to climb up again. Towards the end of the video you can hear how he talks to us. He will look at you and say, "Mm, mm, mm," like he's trying to tell you something really important. I love it, and even though I can't understand him, it's evidence that he is trying to communicate with us more and more.

Since getting back from Florida, Aedan has been playing with his Toy Story toys a lot more, which is cute. Samantha and Aedan will get their toys together and have a round-up. It's fun to see him playing with those toys again.

It's amazing how quickly life got busy again in getting home. Ben really didn't work much at all while we were gone (which was lovely), which should have been okay since it was his Spring Break, but he felt behind when we got back home and was right back to working almost every single night after the kids were in bed. Then, I was struggling with how to balance all the activities that the kids want to do and still have downtime during the week to just be together as a family and not be running around every night. I was thinking about signing Samantha and Aedan up from soccer that goes from the end of May through the end of July, but they would be in two different groups, and both groups have practice two nights a week, so we would have soccer every night, Monday through Thursday, and that is just too much. Hockey was over and gymnastics ended, so things were slowing down some, which I was looking forward to. It's hard to know what activities to let your kids try so they can figure out what they like and what they are good at. It's such a balancing act, and we want to make sure we prioritize time as a family and time to eat meals together, as well as giving the kids experiences with different activities and sports.

On Thursday night Ema and Papa were going to be arriving at our house to visit for the weekend, so I spent part of Wednesday night and Thursday morning cleaning the house and doing laundry. We had been out every other morning that week, so Thursdays are usually our day to get things done around the house. Even though we were just home playing, Owen was still a pretty tired little boy. I think he was trying to catch up on all the sleep he lost while we were in Florida. He fell asleep in the car again on the way home from dropping Aedan off at preschool. I know I already included pictures of him sleeping from yesterday, but there's just something about a sleeping baby that is just to precious and sweet not to capture.

Ema and Papa got home right around after school time, and the kids were so excited to have them at our house. We had barbecue pork for sandwiches in the crock pot with baked potatoes and fruit for dinner. Then, the kids just had fun monopolizing Ema and Papa's attention. Even Owen warmed up to them quickly, and he had a great time playing this game with Papa after dinner where he would sit on the blue chair, get up and run across the room, fall into Papa's arms, and then Papa would pick him up and turn him upside down. As you can tell by Owen's laugh, he thought this was a great game. He did this over and over again for a long, long time.

That night was all just about hanging out. Even though we had just seen them the last two weekends surrounding our trip to Florida, the kids love having visitors come to our house, and they love the undivided attention they get from Ema and Papa when they come to visit. (Even though I'm sure it wears Ema and Papa out, I know they love how much the kids are excited to play with them.)

Conveniently, on Friday Samantha only had a half day and Aedan didn't have school, so the kids were able to spend even more time with Ema and Papa. In fact, Ben and I were able to go out for little while that morning for a little shopping and an early lunch. We had plans to go to a LSSU hockey game that night since we had never taken Ema and Papa to one before, and Aedan woke up earlier than he should have that day because he was excited, so we decided to have Aedan take a nap to help him get through the rest of his day and be able to stay out for the hockey game. We told him we'd wake him up after about an hour or so, but I had to take a few pictures of Aedan sleeping so peacefully in his bed. Do you see where Happy Bear is? That's Happy Bear's spot. Aedan always puts him on the top corner of his pillow like that, facing that direction, and he gets very upset with you if you touch his pillow and mess up how Happy Bear is laying. I'm so glad that Aedan will still take naps when we ask him to. He would have slept much longer that afternoon, but we didn't want him to nap too long and have it impact his sleep that night. I love that I have been home with Aedan all these years. He won't really remember them, but they have been precious to me.

While Aedan napped that afternoon, Ben and Samantha went to the eye doctor for a general check-up. Ben hadn't been to the eye doctor since Texas, when they had prescribed him glasses for his slight astigmatism. Samantha sometimes tilts her head up when she's watching something or reading, so I wanted to make sure she could see okay. They were gone for a lot longer than I expected, and Ben texted me when they were almost done saying that the doctor said he had pilot vision and maybe had a slight astigmatism, but nothing he needed to do anything about. Samantha had 20/20 vision, but he noticed that she had a raised/swollen optic disc. Since he noticed this, he was going to refer her to an ophthalmologist who could use more specialized instruments to look into her eye. The doctor told Ben not to google it because it could make us more worried than we needed to be at this point. He said in most cases this is just a physiological thing, but there was a 5% chance that it could be a sign of a brain tumor, which is why this kind of thing requires an automatic referral to get checked out further. When they got home from the eye doctor, Ben explained this all to me, and it was almost too overwhelming for me to comprehend. She displayed no signs like headaches, dizziness, unexplained nausea, or anything like that which would have meant we were taking Samantha straight to the ER for an MRI. However, anytime you heard the phrase "brain tumor" in relation to your child, your heart drops into your stomach. For the next few days, Ben's mind and my mind were sent reeling, trying not to think of the worse case scenarios, trying to think positively as we had to wait for a week and a half for Samantha to get into the ophthalmologist, and trying to not to imagine what could happen if she was part of the 5%. Samantha is so precious to us, and just like anyone with their child, we couldn't imagine not having her a part of our life, or having to watch her go through a terrible time of possible surgery or treatment or who knows what else. I tried my hardest to just stop and pray every time those thoughts would come into my mind. I know there have been people where their child was part of the 5%, so I wasn't going to be naive and pretend it couldn't happen to us, but I felt reassured by the Lord that no matter what happened and what the outcome was, that he would carry us through it and sustain us. I just continually put my trust in the Lord every time a wave of worry or fear would overcome me. That was definitely not the news we were expecting to hear from a routine eye exam, but I'm glad we took her so that we were made aware of this potential concern.

Once Owen got up from his nap, he noticed that Papa was trying to help us fix a floor board that came loose. Owen loves trying to use screwdrivers and other tools. Papa was kind enough to let him try out the pliers, and it was so cute how he was reaching under the counter just like Papa to help him out. I love this new phase he is in where he is mimicking everything around him. You can tell that he is learning and picking up on so many things.

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After eating dinner that night, we get ready to go to the Lakers hockey game. We let each kid bring a stuffed animal to play with, and that actually helped entertain them a lot more. Watching the game is not always that interesting to them. They are more about the atmosphere, eating a snack, and staying out past their bedtime. Owen did pretty well just wandering back and forth between all the people. Here we are watching the hockey game. I love how Samantha loves on her brothers and is always eager to hold Owen on her lap.

Isn't this a great picture of the two of them smiling? We think that Owen looks a lot like Samantha with his facial features and expressions. In this picture you can definitely see the similarities. Owen just has the blue eyes and dimples that Samantha doesn't have. :)

Here's the difference in reaction among the kids when the Lakers score a goal. A loud buzzer goes off, and there's lots of cheering and clapping. Aedan does not like loud noises, so he sits there and covers his ears. Samantha jumps up and dances, even picking up Owen and including him in the celebration.

Staying out late is always difficult, but the kids did a pretty good job. We walked across the street and back home and got the kids to bed as quickly as we could. Then, it was pretty much bedtime for ourselves, so we watched a little TV before all the adults went to sleep, too.

On Saturday we didn't have too many plans. There was a snowstorm coming that was not in the forecast, so Ema and Papa decided they would leave that afternoon rather than the next morning. We hung out around the house and played that morning before going out to eat at Pure Country for lunch. Then, we went back home so I could put Owen down for his nap, and the rest of them got snow clothes on so they could go tubing at Minneapolis Hill. It has become Ema and Papa's Spring Break tradition to come up here to visit over Spring Break and go tubing with us. I wasn't feeling that great and was coming down with a pretty bad head cold, so I was okay with staying back at the house while Owen napped. They had a great time tubing together. It's always a fun activity to do in the wintertime up here. You could tell the late night was catching up to the kids, as they were having a hard time making good choices and Aedan was getting too tired to walk from the bottom of the hill to the tow line that took you back up.

Once getting back home, Ema and Papa finished packing up their stuff and headed out on their way back to Upland. The kids are always really sad to see them leave, especially Aedan, who probably moped around the house for the rest of the day. We were sad they had to leave early, but we were glad that they came a day earlier than usual and that they wouldn't have to drive in any bad weather.

That afternoon, not long after they left out house, Ben got a phone call from Wilkes University offering him a job for next fall. (I didn't mention it in my previous post, but this is where Ben was when he went out of town right before our Florida trip. He was invited on a campus visit to Wilkes University, which is in Wilkes-Barre, PA.) The job offer came as kind of a shocker to us, and now we were confronted with a decision to make in the next week of whether or not we would accept this offer for a new job in a new state. After Ben and I talked that afternoon, we decided that it would be hard for me to make much of a decision without ever having been to that area of the country, so we started making plans of how we could get ourselves out to Pennsylvania, and what we would do with the kids. Our heads were now reeling with this big decision we had to make. It was a crazy weekend with all these things happening at once. (More about our decision and our trip to Pennsylvania in the next post.)

(Blog about March 3-9, 2019)

Family Disney Trip 2019

Samantha: 93 Months, Week 2
Aedan: 58 Months, Week 5
Owen: 17 Months, Week 2

After having a good night's sleep in Upland, we woke up Saturday, had some time to play with Ema and Papa, and then we headed for the airport around 10:30. Even though Owen had slept rather well that night, he seemed like he would be ready for a nap in the car, so I gave Samantha and Aedan their LeapPads so they could play quietly and allow for Owen to sleep. I rocked his car seat back and forth, and it didn't take very long at all before he was fast asleep. I was glad he got a little nap in before getting to the airport because I knew there was little chance we'd be able to get him to sleep on the plane. Here's my little guy, comfortably asleep in his car seat.

Since Papa dropped us off, we didn't have to worry about parking and dragging all our suitcases too far. We just had to take them to the check in counter and unload the suitcases and car seats. It was relatively simple, and the kids were excited to get our trip to Florida started. We decided to eat lunch before going through security because there was a Chik-fil-A and a burrito place, which sounded good to us for lunch. After eating lunch we went through security and then made our way towards our gate. We had time to let the kids play around in the kids' play area, getting some energy out before getting ourselves on the plane. We brought plenty of snacks and activities for the kids to occupy themselves with, as well as gum and suckers for the take off and landing. Ben and I took turns sitting in the seat next to the kids, and Owen enjoyed the attention of his big sister and brother. Here are some pictures of them on the plane.

Our flight went well and then it was time to get our luggage and find the bus shuttle that would take us to our car rental place. The kids were amazed at how warm and sunny it was outside, and I couldn't wait to spend the week here, far away from the cold and snowy U.P. It took a little bit of time to get our rental car and to get the car seats situated in the SUV. We planned on having Samantha and Aedan both sit in booster seats along with Owen, all in one row. However, there just wasn't enough room to reach all the buckles, so we ended up just letting Samantha sit in the middle without a booster seat. After a long day of travel, we were ready to get back to our rental house and eat some dinner. The kids did really well though, and we didn't have any complaints. They were troopers, and we were excited to see the Clemons family and get ourselves unpacked and situated in the home we would stay in for the next week.

Sunday, our first full day in Florida, we planned to go to Epcot to start our day. All the kids were up at their normal time, between 6:30 and 7:00, so there was no reason not to head out early. We made sandwiches and brought food for lunch so we could save money and time, and we arrived before the park opened so we could park and get through security. Here are some pictures in front of the big ball, while we waited for the strollers to get checked by security. Samantha had her mouse ears on, we were all wearing our Disney shirts, and we were ready for our first, fun day in Disney.

Here are all the cousins together. It was fun for them to be able to spend time together and makes these memories together.

Samantha offered to take a picture of Christy and I because it's pretty rare that we get a picture of us sisters together.

It was a little tricky getting around Epcot that morning because there was a marathon going on, which ended up blocking some of the pathways we needed to get around. Since we didn't get a Fast Pass for the Frozen ride, we decided to head back there first so we wouldn't have to wait in a super long line. The kids were excited for their first ride, and it was fun that it was a ride we could all go on together.

After the Frozen ride, we walked back across the park to use our Fast Pass for Soarin'. Aedan was excited to be able to ride on this one this time. We had to do a rider swap since the little boys couldn't ride, so Aunt Christy and Brielle came on with us, too. I wasn't sure what Aedan would think of it, as you can see his face is a little nervous in this picture, but the two of them were exclaiming out loud and pointing to things on the screen during the whole ride. After we got off, Aedan was upset that we couldn't just get right back on the ride again.

While we waited for the Matthew and Ben to ride the ride, Christy and I took the kids to the bathroom and outside for a snack break. We then had another Fast Pass for Mission Space, which is a ride we have never done before. It is a space simulation ride, and it was actually more intense than I expected it to be. The g-force that they were simulating actually made tears come out of my eyes, and it was a lot of fun. Samantha really liked that ride, especially since she is still somewhat interested in space, and the kids kept talking about how they almost crashed (which of course is part of the story line of the ride). Here is Owen playing in an interactive area at the end of the ride while waiting for everyone to ride.

After everyone had a chance to ride that ride that could (rider swap sometimes takes longer than you think it would), we stopped at a gift shop so that ears could be purchased. Samantha already had her special sparkly ones from Tim Lofton back 3 years ago when we came to Disney, and Aedan hadn't expressed any interest in Mickey ears until that day. We told him we would buy him some, and these classic Mickey Mouse ears as part of a hat is what he picked. Isn't he so adorable?! I love this little boy so much.

Here are all three of our kids that afternoon as we waited to use our Fast Pass for Spaceship Earth. (It was almost 1:00 at this point, so Owen was getting pretty tired and ready for a nap.) In fact, I rode on the ride with Samantha and had Owen on my lap. He was not a fan of when a ride would get dark, and would often turn around and bury his face in my chest. This ride is long enough that he actually stayed that way and ended up falling asleep for the rest of the ride. I hoped that maybe he would stay asleep for awhile as I walked around holding him, but once we got in a different environment with different noises and lights, he woke up. But hey, he at least got a 20 minute nap in, right?

And here is a picture Christy took of all of us in line for Spaceship Earth. We look pretty good in our blue Disney shirts, don't we?

After that, we went back over to the Seas area to do the Finding Nemo ride and Turtle Talk with Crush. Samantha and even Daddy got to talk to Crush! It was pretty amusing.

Ben decided to take Samantha back over to Spaceship Earth so she could ride the Mars side that was a little more intense, while the rest of us went on the Figment ride. Here I am with my boys. We were having such a fun day together.

After riding this ride and buying signature books, as well as getting some treats for a nice mid-afternoon snack, we decided that we had done pretty much everything we wanted to do at Epcot. We ended up having to take Samantha to the First Aid Station because she had rubbed sunscreen into her eye and it was getting pretty red and puffy. We tried to get her to stop thinking about it and leave it alone, but she has a hard time not fixating on things like that. We got eye drops to use in her eye, and Ben convinced her that after using them twice, her eye would feel better. We knew that a lot of what was going on was a mental thing, and we just needed to start telling her that she was fine to get her to believe that she was fine.

We decided to leave Epcot and head over to the Magic Kingdom for a few hours. Since we paid for park hopper tickets, we figured we might as well. Owen ended up falling asleep in the stroller on the way out of the park and even fell back asleep in the car on our way over to the Magic Kingdom parking lot. We decided to take the monorail over from the transportation center, and here is our view of the castle as we walked into the park. We had a beautiful day. In fact, it was actually kind of warm since it was a high of 86 that day. There was no way I was complaining though, after the long, cold, snowy, winter we have had.

We stopped to get a group picture in front of the iconic castle. It was difficult to get Oliver and Owen to look at the camera since it was sunny, and Aedan just had a freak out moment right before this picture because he didn't want to stop and get his picture taken, but nevertheless it's a pretty good picture of all of us together.

We decided to do any ride that evening that we could get a quick Fast Pass for, and I don't know if I even remember all that we went on. We went on It's a Small World, since you can't miss that ride, and the kids love it. I took this picture for Samantha because they were talking about the Netherlands in Girl Scouts.

Owen liked this ride because it wasn't in the dark, and he was just looking around, taking it all in. He loves music and dancing too, so I imagine if he could talk, he would have said this was his favorite ride.

My favorite part is at the end when all the countries are joined together. :)

We ate dinner at the Pinocchio restaurant, and I think we may have gone on the Mad Hatter tea cup ride as well. The kids were getting tired, and we had had a long, full day, so we decided the Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin would be our last ride of the night. Aedan was thrilled to go on this ride, as you can tell by his smile in this picture. He got to ride with Daddy, Samantha rode with Uncle Matthew and Oliver, and I rode with just Owen. It was a blast to end our night shooting lasers and racking up points. (This picture below is a real Aedan smile.:))

What a great first day at Disney World! The kids did great, we got to go on so many rides, and the kids were exhausted and ready for bed right when we got to the house. In fact, the parents weren't far behind. We had another day in the parks planned for Monday, so we took advantage of sitting in the hot tub before tucking ourselves into bed as well.

We decided to start our week off with two days in a row at Disney, rather than doing the two days in a row later in the week when everyone was more tired. Plus, since my parents were arriving that day, and only planned to go to the parks with us one day, it made sense to use our time that way. We decided on Animal Kingdom for our park of the day on Monday, and we planned to spend most of the day there, as we had one Fast Pass later in the evening.

Animal Kingdom really is a pretty park, with winding pathways, lots of trees, and plants and animals to stop and look at along the way. I think because of that, I find it the most confusing. I always get lost when I am trying to figure out how to get from one place to another.  As we walked along we noticed this lady on stilts dressed like a vine. We all stood there and watched her for awhile. It's amazing the things they come up with at Disney.

We walked into the park towards the Tree of Life, and as you can see, we were blessed with another wonderful weather day. It started off slightly cool, but it didn't take long for the sun to warm everything up.

Samantha decided we should stop and take a picture of all the kids together. Oliver and Brielle were tired and a bit cranky that morning, so it took some time for them to be okay with joining in the picture as well. (I love Aedan with his ears and sunglasses. It makes me smile.)

We decided to watch the 3D show, "It's Tough to Be a Bug" because we had never done that before. However, I guess I should have done my research a little more because the kids were not too big of fans of it, especially Aedan and Brielle. There were too many things popping out at you and making loud noises. It wasn't the best way to start out our morning, but that's okay. You never know until you try it.

Samantha found some flowers that had fallen off of a bush, and she wanted them placed in the rubber bands on her hair. She was really proud of them and thought she looked beautiful wearing them in her hair. It's been so fun having all this time with my little girl. I'm glad we busted her out of school so we could do this trip together. She was a great example to the younger kids and was kind and caring towards them. She was such a huge helper while we were there, she was a joy to be with, and she trekked all over Disney World by herself! She walked miles and miles every day and never once complained about her feet hurting. She definitely was a trooper.

From there we went back to Dinoland where Aunt Christy and I waited in line for Primeval Whirl, so that we could do Rider Swap and Samantha would have a chance to ride the ride without having to wait in line. The line didn't take as long as the sign said it would, luckily. While we waited in line, Matthew and Ben took the kids on Triceratops Spin, which is basically just like Dumbo, and you get to control how it goes up and down. The kids love that kind of a ride.

After that, they took the kids to the Boneyard area where the kids could run around, climb, and dig in the sand. They needed to have time to stretch their legs and not be be expected to wait in line, so it was the perfect time for them to that. We let the little kids play even longer so that Matthew, Ben, and Samantha could go ride Primeval Whirl. Aedan and Owen were loving the sand pit area. It was fun just sitting there and watching them all just play in their own way. It was nice and shaded, and there were plenty of buckets and shovels for all the kids to use. Owen got really upset when it was time to leave that area because he was having so much fun. I can't wait until the weather gets nice again at home and we can play outside more. The kids miss being able to spend time outside.

After that, we walked just a little bit away and got great seats for the Finding Nemo show. I took Aedan to this show last time and thought it was really well done. The costumes are amazing, the songs are catchy and sung well, and there's nothing scary about this show for the little ones.

The best part is at the end of the show when bubbles float down from the ceiling. All the kids reached up toward the ceiling to try and pop as many bubbles as they could.

By that point it was lunch time and everyone was getting hungry, so we sat and ate our packed lunches in the amphitheater area before our next Fast Pass for Expedition Everest. This was not Samantha's favorite ride last time. In fact, for awhile she said she didn't want to ride it. However, she decided she would try it again, even though she was really nervous about it. Here we are sitting on the ride, ready to take off. I love the cute faces she is making in these pictures. I loved the ride, and I was so glad to be able to ride it with my little girl, but she still did not like it. She doesn't like the part that goes backwards in the dark, which I can understand, but I was proud of her for being brave and trying it again anyways. (You can tell how she's leaning in to me on the ride photo that she was a little nervous on the ride.)

After going on Expedition Everest, we were looking for the train you take out to the petting zoo area, but apparently that is seasonal, so it wasn't open since it was technically winter. However, we were able to go on a jungle trek, a trail that led you through places to see various animals like tigers, gorillas, other large zoo type animals. Owen was getting tired at this point, and although he was very interested in seeing the animals, I ended up putting him in the Ergo in hopes that he would let himself fall asleep for awhile. It took a little bit of time, but then he took a nice good nap all cuddled up on my chest. Christy took this picture of him and me, and I love that she captured this moment between the two of us. I'm glad he is still at the age where he enjoys being held and cuddled and will sleep like this.

Samantha was really enjoying the jungle trek, and she could have stayed much longer watching the animals and talking to the workers about the animals. She is getting to a new age that is so fun. She doesn't just want to walk by the animals, she wants to learn and understand more, soaking up as much information as she can, and it's so fun to see her engaged and learning new things, even in Disney World. :)

We took a little afternoon snack break, getting some donuts and Starbucks for the parents. Here is a view across Animal Kingdom at the peak of Expedition Everest. It's amazing to see the expanse of these parks, and how much they immerse you in the theme of the park. It's like you're transported to another world, and you can't even see anything outside of the park that you are in. I love all the attention to detail.

As we were eating our snack, Owen woke up and had some donut as well. Then, we went to Kilimanjaro Safari to use our Fast Pass. The safari ride was so fun, and I feel like the kids enjoyed it even more this time than last time. Aedan kept pointing out the side of the vehicle at different animals, happily exclaiming each time he saw something. It was a nice way to see a lot of different animals, living in more natural and open habitats, all from the comfort of the vehicle that you get a personal guide narrating what you're seeing. Here are some pictures from our safari.

Owen was still pretty tired and rested his head on Daddy's shoulder for awhile.

After the safari ride, we went over to see the Lion King show. We were really lucky on this day because everything we did made sense logistically to keep walking counter clockwise around the park. We didn't have to do a lot of walking back and forth, which was nice. The Lion King show is another really good show that I personally think is a must-see. The acrobatics are my favorite part with the monkeys jumping off trampolines and twirling on the bars. Plus, the bird at the end who spins around in the air is pretty amazing to watch. The costumes are so intricate and the music is lively. It's a great show.

Our last Fast Pass of the day was back in Pandora, the land of Avatar. We had a Fast Pass for the Na'vi River Journey Ride, so we looked around the cool design of Pandora before going on our last ride of the day. We had a long day after already being at the parks the day before, too, so we didn't want to stay for too long. Plus, we really had done everything we wanted to do at Animal Kingdom. We had a good full day, and we got to experience much of what there is to offer at Animal Kingdom.

Instead of trying to find a place to eat dinner in the park, we decided to leave the park and eat dinner. We decided on Chuy's, but of course it had a wait, especially for a party of 9 people. We had to wait for quite awhile for dinner that night, but luckily they had this outdoor space for the kids to run around and play while we waited. Really, they didn't complain at all, which is pretty amazing considering we didn't start eating until it was almost the kids' bedtime. Even though it was difficult wrangling the kids and getting them to eat after a long day, our food was delicious, as is always the case when eating at Chuy's.

Tuesday was an off day from going to Disney parks, and our plan was to drive up to Leesburg to visit my grandpa in the hospital. It took about an hour to drive there, and we took it easy that morning, sleeping in a little more, and not leaving the house in quite a rush. The kids did well in the car together, even though they were a little more crunched together than normal. It was good to see my grandpa, even though it wasn't in the greatest of circumstances with him being in the hospital for over two weeks at that point. He definitely looked different sitting in that hospital bed in the hospital gown. Since we had all the kids with us, we didn't stay for too long, but I'm sure it was good for him to see all of us together, and to see all his grandkids and great-grandkids in one place. Plus, Grandpa hadn't seen Christy and Matt since Ben and I got married almost 13 years ago, and he had never met Matthew. We stayed as long as we could until the kids started getting antsy, and then we had a nurse take this picture of all of us together. It's such a great picture, and I'm so glad we were able to get a picture of all of the Kappel side of the family. It was great that we could plan this trip and made it work that all of us could be down at the same time.

Once we said good-bye to Grandpa, we decided to head to a playground right down the street to let the kids run around and play for awhile. Ben, Matthew, and my dad went to Subway to get sandwiches for everyone for lunch, and we decided we would eat in the little pavilion near the park. Owen and I found these fun swings to ride on together, and he thought it was so fun being able to sit across from me and have us both swing at the same time.

They also had this cool saucer swing that the kids decided to sit on and ride together. I love how they are both trying to help keep Owen on the swing, even if it looks like Aedan has his arm around his neck too tightly. These siblings love each other so much.

Samantha and Aedan were swinging together for awhile, and apparently she taught him how to pump his legs in just a few minutes. I walked over to stand near them and noticed that he was pumping his legs all by himself, making himself go higher and higher. I was so proud of him, and he looked like a pro at it. He will enjoy going to playgrounds a lot more, if he doesn't need me to constantly be behind him pushing him.

After eating our lunch, we decided to head back down to our rental house. We wanted Aedan and Owen to take naps, so we knew we had to get back. The kids struggled for awhile to keep Owen awake in the car, but luckily, they were able to keep him awake for me so that I could put him down for a proper nap once we got back home. Aedan didn't really want to take a nap, but we had had two long days in a row with plans to go to Magic Kingdom all day on Wednesday, so we knew he would need the energy. We told him we would wake him up after an hour. During the time when the little kids napped, Samantha worked on her homework that she had gotten from her teachers since she was missing a whole week of school (minus the snow day they had for the blizzard that Sault Ste. Marie had while we were gone).

Once the kids got up from their naps, we let them go swimming in the pool in our back yard, and the water was nice and warm. The kids had a blast swimming around, and we were in the water for a long time, all the way up until dinnertime. Owen was even able to come in the water for a little while when he woke up from his nap. It was nice having a more relaxed, low key day to just hang out and spend time together. Grandpa, Grandma, and Uncle Matt even came back to the house to hang out with us for awhile before going back up to be with Grandpa again. We had a good dinner and were able to get all the kids to bed at a decent time, giving the adults more time to hang out together once they were in bed. In fact, we even played Ticket to Ride-Europe, which was a lot of fun.

Wednesday morning we were up early with plans to leave a little after 8:00 to head to Magic Kingdom. With how long it takes to park and get over to the park, we wanted to give ourselves plenty of time to do that process without having to fight through tons of crowds. We took the boat over and were already getting off the boat when it was about 8:50, which was perfect timing.

These kids wanted to go on the upper deck for the boat ride. Aren't they all so cute and excited? I love their smiles.

Our first stop was to go back to Seven Dwarf's Mine Train ride to have some people wait while the line wasn't extremely long since it gets longer and longer as the day progresses. However, it still was like 75 minutes long, which is ridiculous for first thing in the morning. We assumed that it wouldn't take as long as it said, and Samantha took one for the team and offered to wait in the long line with Ben and Matthew. Meanwhile, Christy and I took the rest of the kids to do some other things while we waited. We went on the Winnie the Pooh ride first, and I had to take this adorable little picture of Aedan and Brielle walking hand in hand. The kids don't ever get to spend this much time together, so it was fun to have this whole week devoted to just having fun together.

The next ride we went on was the tea cup ride. As you can tell, Aedan was pretty excited, and Owen didn't really know what to think about all the spinning around.

After that we noticed that Alice in Wonderland was right around the corner, and even though Aedan didn't even know who she was, we decided to stop and have the kids meet her. She was the first signature in his book. 

Since Ben, Matthew, and Samantha were waiting a lot longer than we thought they would, and Samantha didn't really care about meeting characters or princesses, we decided that would be a good use for the rest of our time. Brielle decided she would rather meet Rapunzel and Tiana, so we waited for about 20 minutes to meet them. Aedan, just like he did back when he was 3, was very unsure about going up to the characters to meet them, especially when it came time for us to take his picture. Luckily, he placated me and was at least willing to stand and smile for a picture.

After meeting Rapunzel and Tiana, Grandpa, Grandma, and Uncle Matt had arrived, and I knew that Ben, Matthew, and Samantha were almost done on the ride. However, as we waited, my dad got a phone call from the hospital where my grandpa was saying that he almost coded and that he wasn't doing well. Since my grandpa had signed a DNR, they said if he were to code again, they would have to let him pass away. We were all shaken up by that news, especially considering how well he was doing the night before. My dad was getting very emotional, understandably so, and I encouraged him to leave and go back to be with him at the hospital because however much fun we were going to have at Magic Kingdom that day, he needed to be at the hospital with his dad, especially if things were as bad as they sounded. Christy and I debated what to do for awhile as well because we didn't know if we should leave early to go be at the hospital as well.

I felt bad that my parents had just gotten to the Magic Kingdom and then had to turn around and leave, but they decided to go over to Splash Mountain and ride that ride with us before heading out. Ben and I talked about how we would talk to Guest Relations and see what we could do about getting their money back somehow since they weren't even able to stay more than 20 minutes in the park. Disney is very accommodating, so we figured they'd be able to do something for us. Since the tickets are non-refundable, and we didn't have my dad's credit card information, they were able to give us the money back for their tickets onto a gift card that they could use for anything Disney related at a future date. I felt glad that they at least got their money back in some form, and then maybe another day down the road, they can go back to Disney again for a day.

I have to admit that it was pretty hard to focus the rest of the day at the park. My mind was definitely on my grandpa and my dad, wondering what kind of condition he was in, and how things were going. In fact, Christy and I hugged at one point and both of us started crying. Samantha saw us crying and came up to me to hold my hand and reassure me by saying, "It's okay, Mommy." She has such a sweet, empathetic spirit about her. However, we decided to stick it out for awhile longer, use up our Fast Passes, plus the extra Fast Passes that we were given by Guest Relations. We planned on staying through just before dinnertime and then heading out so that Ben and Matthew could stay with the kids at the house while Christy, Matt, and I drove back up to the hospital to be with our family.

Ben, Samantha, Aedan, and I all got to ride on Splash Mountain together, and Samantha and Aedan decided to sit together. They literally held hands the entire time, and I love how close they are sitting together in this picture. They sure do love each other, and they are there for each other so much. They really are best friends, and it's so cute to see their relationship grow.

I don't remember all the details of what rides we did when, but I know we went on Pirates of the Caribbean and Magic Carpets of Aladdin, as well as Space Mountain that we had a Fast Pass for. Our last Fast Pass of the day was at Thunder Mountain, so we rode that ride with the kids before watching the tail end of the Festival of Fantasy parade. I didn't take too many pictures that day, probably because I was mentally distracted, but we had a good day. We ate Dole Whip floats and ice cream as our afternoon snack, and we were able to use a Fast Pass for the Jungle Cruise and Haunted Mansion before heading out for the day. As we were leaving it was starting to rain, so it probably worked out for the better that we weren't going to stay there for the rest of the night.

We left the Magic Kingdom and dropped the kids and husbands off, changed our wet clothes, and then drove up to the hospital. It was hard to see Grandpa in the condition that he was in that evening compared to the day before. He had an air mask on his face and he was really pretty out of it. He would look at you and try to respond if you talked to him, but most of the time he was asleep while we sat in the room next to him. When we first arrived, Peg was there sitting with him, which made me smile to see her love for him. He has been surrounded by some wonderful friends that care about him deeply, and I'm glad that he has had that support system for himself all these years. We stayed at the hospital until close to 10:00, and my parents hadn't eaten dinner yet. They wanted to go to Denny's, so Christy and I went with them for a little while, mainly just to hang out because I don't remember when we've been together, just the five of us, since we were kids. In fact, it was even strange riding in the car with Christy and Matt on the way up to the hospital. We just don't spend time like that with each other anymore with me living farther away, and Christy and I being married with kids. We left later than what we planned on, getting back to the house around midnight. It took me awhile to turn my brain off from everything that happened that day, and I was worried about my grandpa, wondering if he would make it through the night, or if that good-bye when I left his hospital room would be my last.

Thursday was another down day and we decided to spend the morning going across the street to the playground while the sun peeked it's way out and started drying things out and warming things up. It was so fun to spend time outdoors, and Owen once again found the sand extremely interesting. He was just scooping it up in his hands, letting it run through his fingers, and dropping it through the air. There were teeter-totters, swing sets, and a fun playground to climb on, too.

After playing at the playground, we went back to the house to have a quick snack and change into our bathing suits. Our rental community had a nice, heated pool, as well as a water park area with water slides and a splash pad. It was a little cloudier and therefore chillier when we first got there, especially since the water in the splash pad and slides was a little cold, but the kids didn't care. Samantha and Aedan both went down the water slides together. The first time Aedan went down, he hit his head on the side of the water slide and came out the bottom crying. However, he was brave enough to try it again, and ended up going down the slide several times. While the big kids went on the slides, Owen played in the splash pad area, and he was having fun playing with the fountains and small pools of water. After spending some time in that area, we went to the big pool to warm up. Owen was able to float around in the baby floatie that we brought, and we brought the pool noodles and beach balls from our rental house as well. We all had a blast swimming and playing together. The sun peeked out after awhile, making it even warmer, and it was the perfect way to spend our morning away from the parks.

As it was getting closer to lunchtime, we decided to get out so we could eat some lunch and get the kids down for naps, with more plans to go swimming later in the day in our pool in the back yard of our house. Christy and I ate lunch, got the kids down for naps, and then headed back up to Leesburg to see my grandpa. Amazingly, he made it through the night. When my dad got to the hospital that morning, he was sitting up in bed eating breakfast. There was talk of putting him on hospice, but that was no longer necessary. In fact, he even got up and walked down the hallway with a walker and no real assistance from anyone. They said not only does he no longer qualify for hospice, but he also doesn't really quality for short term rehab, so now the decision had to be made about whether he would go to an assisted living facility or back home with in-home care. It was amazing to see how much of a change there was in my grandpa from how we saw him the day before. He was sitting up in bed, carrying on conversations, eating meals, and made comments about how "everyone wants to put him in a home." One of his friends stopped by to talk to him and check on him, and it was wonderful to hear how much my grandpa meant to him. My grandpa was just beaming as he sat listening to his friend talk and crack jokes. After seeing how much he enjoyed his company, it made me feel even more that I would love to see him be able to go back home with in-home care so that he can still be where he is comfortable and be surrounded by the friends that he knows and loves. It was nice to be able to spend more time with grandpa, especially because he didn't remember much about the previous days. We stayed until about dinnertime, leaving in enough time to get back to the house to help with bedtime. It was hard being away from Ben and the kids three days in a row like this, but part of the reason we planned this trip was so we could see my grandpa again, and it was great that we were able to do that. I pray that it touched his heart as much as it touched mine.

Friday, March 1st was our last day at the Disney Parks. Matt stayed overnight at our house on Thursday night so he could come with us to Hollywood Studios and then back to Magic Kingdom so we could go on a few more rides and see the fireworks show at night. Here we are going into the park. Samantha found this great spot to get her picture taken. :)

Our first stop was the new Toy Story Land. We wanted to try and get on Slinky Dog Dash, but the line was already incredibly long, so we decided we would keep our eye on the wait time and try to get on the ride later if possible. Aedan was really excited about going on that ride, so I wanted to ride it if at all possible.

We decided to go on the Alien Swirling Saucers ride first, and we only had to wait in a little bit of a line. Plus, they had these interactive areas for the kids to play with while they waited. That's the great thing about Disney, even the lines play into the story line of the ride. And in Toy Story Land you were referred to as toys the whole time. All the decorations were made larger than life to make you feel like a small toy. It was so fun and so well done.

Here is Owen trying on Aedan's Micky Mouse ears as we waited in line.

This ride was a lot more fun than I anticipated it being. It didn't just twirl you around in circles, but it switched you from one track to another and sent you flying to edge of the flying saucer. I rode with Samantha on this ride, and we decided to put our hands up and let ourselves slide across the seat every time, laughing and squealing with each jolt. It was so fun. We had a blast. :)

We then went the other side of the park to use our Fast Pass to ride on the Tower of Terror. Aedan said he wanted to go, and he was really nervous as we waited in line to get on the elevator, but I was so proud of him for how brave he was. 

Samantha was a lot more nervous about it than I thought she would be and was gripping the lap bar pretty tightly. This picture makes me laugh because both Ben and I were leaned over making sure the kids were okay as they took the picture of us dropping. We survived, and I was so proud of the kids. I'm not sure if they would go on it again at that moment, but they didn't cry or hide their faces in us at all either.

While we waited for Christy, Matthew, and Brielle to ride the ride, we hung out in the gift shop. Aedan was pretty sure he wanted a light saber as his souvenir, but Samantha was kind of unsure about what she wanted until she found this earring and necklace set. They were cute little Micky Mouse heads with shiny crystals in the middle. I took a picture of them so we would remember what they looked like for later when we did our souvenir shopping. She loves to wear necklaces, and we are planning on getting her ears pierced for her birthday, so this really is a perfect souvenir for her.

At this point the line for Slinky Dog Dash actually wasn't too bad, and the kids were really wanting to pick out their souvenirs, so Christy, Matt, and I waited in line while Matthew and Ben took the kids to pick out souvenirs. The line was about an hour, but without kids it wasn't bad at all. The ride was really fun and really gave you a feeling like you were riding on a slinky dog. I knew Aedan would like this ride. They both remarked that it was their favorite ride after riding on it with Daddy. Isn't it awesome how they decorated the inside of the ride?

Samantha ended up getting the Mickey Mouse earrings and necklace set, and Aedan was able to build his own light saber, which he thought was totally awesome. Now granted, he has never seen Star Wars, so he doesn't even really know what it is, but he loved being able to pick out his own parts and colors to make the light saber exactly how he wanted it. Here he is working on it.

After eating lunch and taking bathroom breaks, we went to use our Fast Pass for Rock n' Roller Coaster. Samantha came in line with Ben, Christy, and me, and she got all the way up to where we get on the line and just started crying. She was really nervous about going on this big of a roller coaster, especially since she has never gone upside down before. Ben and I weren't going to make her go on the ride, especially when she was clearly very scared about it. So Ben took her to an employee so she could walk through the exit, and Christy and I went on the ride together, with Ben riding once we got off. The ride was a lot of fun, and I love this picture of Christy and I as we shot off at the beginning of the ride. We are both screaming, but she looks terrified and I am smiling. This ride was a lot more intense than I remembered it, and I'm glad that Samantha didn't ride it. She definitely would not have liked it. Doing your first ride upside down in the dark where they shoot you off fast at the beginning is not a good beginner ride. Maybe another time!

We went back to Toy Story Land again to use our Fast Pass for Toy Story Mania, which is another super fun ride. I rode with Owen, and he just sat mesmerized as I tried to score as many points as I could. Aedan really liked that ride as well. All the Toy Story rides are his favorites, I think. As we were walking through Toy Story Land, we saw the green army men marching through the street with their drums. So cool!

Uncle Matt wanted to go back in the Star Wars area to look around and to ride the Star Tours ride. While Matt, Matthew, Ben, and Samantha did that, Christy, the other kids, and me decided to wait in line to meet Buzz Lightyear. Aedan still really likes Buzz, and it wasn't too long of a line. He gets really shy when talking to characters, but I know he thought it was pretty cool.

After we met Buzz, we walked over to the Star Wars area to wait for them to get off the ride (which took much longer than we expected), and Owen ended up falling asleep in the stroller. I was glad that he allowed himself to take a little nap.

Here is Aedan with his awesome light saber. We were even able to watch some Jedi training that was happening near where we were standing. We will definitely have to show Aedan Star Wars when we get back home. I could see him really liking it.

Once we met back up with everyone, we decided we were done at Hollywood Studios so we headed out to make our way to Magic Kingdom for the rest of the day. On our way out we got to see the Stormtroopers marching down the street, which was also so cool. It's fun feeling like you are on a movie set. I like Hollywood Studios. It's one of my favorite parks because of the atmosphere and the jazz/swing style music they play throughout the park.

We drove over to Magic Kingdom, loaded everyone up, and made our way into the park for some more fun.

Our first stop was a snack break, and Aedan and I decided to try a Micky Mouse pretzel with cheese. I love pretzels with nacho cheese, and you can't beat one shaped like a Mickey Mouse head!

We went on a lot of rides that afternoon like Barnstormer and the Mad Hatter Tea Cup ride.

We just kept going on the Disney app, picking Fast Passes for anything that was close by that had a decent time for getting on the ride. We were able to get on Dumbo in that way as well. Owen rode with Daddy, and he was such a trooper on this whole trip. He was dragged around a lot, and he did much better than I thought he would. He didn't balk at being held too much, he was okay with riding in the stroller, and he took naps when he needed to. He was really at a great age to take him, and I think he enjoyed some of the rides as well. :)

We decided to wait in line for the Little Mermaid ride, and even though it wasn't too long, the kids were getting hungry and it had been a long day, so it was difficult to keep them entertained while we waited. I'm glad that we didn't have to do very many long waits with the kids. We had gone on a lot of rides and used our Fast Passes and Rider Swaps well to maximize the rides we went on and minimize the wait time.

After the Little Mermaid ride, we walked to the other side of the park to get some Mexican food at a pretty popular restaurant. We were all really hungry, and even though the line was crazy and it was difficult to find somewhere to sit and a high chair for Owen, we were glad to sit and eat for awhile.

One of our main goals for the night was to see the fireworks show at 8:00. We had enough time to go on one more ride, so we decided to go on the Winnie the Pooh ride again since Samantha wasn't able to go on it before, and we knew the little kids would enjoy it again. Plus, they have these great things for the kids to play with while you wait in line.

We walked around the castle to try and find a spot to watch the fireworks, and we decided to stay a little off to the side but really close to the castle so that way we could get back to Fantasyland and go on another ride while some of the crowds thinned out after the fireworks were over. We had been going strong since 9:00 that morning, and we were all getting tired. The kids were troopers, and Samantha was doing great considering how much walking she had done that week. Here we are waiting for the fireworks.

We couldn't see the images projected near the bottom of the castle as well as looking straight on, but we could see a small glimpse of them if we looked in between one of the pillars. These shows they put on at the end of the night are phenomenal. The music that accompanies the projection on the castle, along with the fireworks in the background are just a magical way to end the night. Tinker Bell even flies down from the top of the castle! I know I've said this before, but I think I like Disney World just as much as the kids, if not more. In fact, I remarked to Ben that I would love to come back sometime just the two of us, stay in a resort, and be able to enjoy the park on our own terms without worrying about waiting in lines or dragging strollers and kids around. Maybe someday that can be a little vacation we take together. I am still a kid at heart sometimes, and I think that's okay. :)

The fireworks didn't scare Owen at all. He was just entranced. Samantha did her duty as a big sister and checked on him throughout the show, and made sure to tell us when it looked like he wanted to get out of the stroller. Daddy held him for the rest of the show, and he couldn't take his eyes of the fireworks. I'm glad we went back to Magic Kingdom on our last night. It certainly was a magical, memorable way to spend our last night of vacation.

After the fireworks were over, we contemplated jumping in the Peter Pan line because that was one ride we weren't able to get on, but it was a 40 minute wait, and the kids would not have been in the mood for that, so we decided to quickly go on It's a Small World before heading out of the park. It took a little while to get on the boat, but I offered to carry Owen so that Aedan could sit in the front of the stroller and Samantha could sit in the back. Even though she wasn't complaining, I'm sure her feet were starting to hurt from all the walking we were doing. In fact, as we pushed the stroller out to the parking lot, Aedan fell asleep in the stroller, his head bobbing up and down trying to find a place to rest. Samantha turned around and held his head so that way his head would stop bobbing up and down. She is so sweet and caring. It makes my heart so happy to see how much she cares for her little brothers.

Owen fell asleep pretty soon after getting in the car, and he even stayed asleep getting him out of his car seat and carrying him into the house. I just let him sleep on my shoulder while I helped Ben get Samantha and Aedan ready for bed. Here's my sweet, sleepy boy...

...and my beautiful, big girl.

We tucked everyone into bed before using the hot tub one last time and going to sleep ourselves. We had a long day of traveling the next day, and we knew we would have sad kids who wouldn't want to leave Florida. The Clemons family had to leave before us because they had an earlier flight, so we made sure everything was packed up and that we did the things the owner of the house wanted us to do before checking out. This was a great house to stay in and it met our needs very well.  The rest of the day went by as well as it could: taking the car back to the rental place, riding to the airport, getting checked in and going through security, eating lunch, finding our gate, and boarding the plane.

Owen was a very tired boy after a long week of vacation. Ben and I knew he wasn't going to be able to last the whole flight without taking a nap. I was sitting next to Samantha and Aedan to start off the flight, and I tried to get him to sleep, but he was too distracted by the big kids. Ben offered to take him, and after rocking back and forth in the seat for a little while, Owen finally fell asleep and slept for pretty much the whole rest of the flight. We convinced Ema and Papa to both come pick us up from the airport, and the kids were thrilled to give them hugs and tell them all about out trip. We piled into our minivan, with me sitting in the backseat, and drove back to Upland, stopping at Culver's for dinner on the way. After a long day of traveling, it felt good to be back in Upland. The kids had fun playing for awhile before it was time for bed. Samantha and Aedan chose to sleep in separate beds this time, and Owen did great sleeping through the night again. He did awesome at sleeping during our entire trip. It was something I was slightly worried about, but he did great sleeping in the pack and play with no problem. We never had to go in his room at night, which meant we were able to get good rest as well. 

We had an amazing trip, and I was so sad to see it end. I loved spending quality time with my family. I loved that Ben didn't really do work during the entire trip. I loved that I got to see my little girl every day for a whole week when she would normally be at school. I loved that we got to do so many fun things and ride some great rides. I loved that we had wonderful weather with hardly any rain as it was forecasted for much more before we arrived. I loved the sunshine and heat. I love traveling. I would definitely describe it as one of my hobbies, and traveling with my family is the best. What a great Spring Break trip!

(Blog about February 24-March 2, 2019)