Getting Back into Life After Our Florida Vacation

All of our days in the parks were officially over, and our original plan was to start driving home on Sunday, January 16th, and finishing the drive on Monday, January 17th, so that way the kids didn't miss any school, and Ben could be back for his first day of the semester on Tuesday, January 18th. However, there was a snow and ice storm coming through on Sunday into Monday, and we did not want to be driving north through ice and snow. We didn't want our trip home to be dangerous or take extra time, so we decided to just delay going home by one day. It's not what we wanted to do, especially Ben because he would miss his first day of in person classes, but we felt it was the best decision.

We checked out of our rental house by 10:00 a.m. on Sunday morning, and it was a cloudy, rainy day. I was so glad that we had such wonderful weather the entire week we were in Florida. It only rained once for a brief period of time on the first day we were at Hollywood Studios, but every other day was warm, sunny, and beautiful. We decided to go back to Disney Springs for a little while because I was looking for a certain Loungefly backpack purse, that I was hoping I would be able to find there. Plus, we figured we could just walk around for a little while before heading out of the Orlando area. I was not able to find the backpack purse that I was looking for, but I did find a Disney sweatshirt that I purchased as a souvenir. There was a school choir performing, so we stood and watched that for a little while before saying good-bye to Disney and good-bye to Orlando.

Since we decided to stay for an extra day to wait out the snow/ice storm, we decided to spend the night at my grandpa's house, that now belongs to my dad. Luckily, I still had his house key in my purse from when my dad gave it to me back in the fall when I visited Chicago. We decided it would be good to save some money, show the kids where my grandpa lived, and even take advantage of the washer and dryer to get all of our laundry done. Samantha also had some schoolwork to do still that required internet to complete, and Aedan had some handwriting and other work to finish up as well, that was easier to do at a table, rather than in the car. We stopped at Chuy's for some delicious Mexican food for lunch, before heading up to my grandpa's house, and then we spent the afternoon in his house with Samantha and Aedan working on homework, Owen taking a nap, Ben doing work to get ready for the semester, and me helping Aedan with homework while also doing the laundry.

I took a few pictures of things around the house, like this ceramic light-up Christmas tree that I have always liked and wouldn't mind having as a decoration in my home some day, as well a this little painting of a deer in the woods, which I actually painted when I was taking painting classes as a little girl. I didn't know that I had given this to my grandpa. The kids thought my painting was really good, and they couldn't believe that I had done that myself.

Even though it was chillier than it had been any of the rest of our week in Florida, we felt the pool in the community where my grandpa's house was, and the water was heated and didn't feel too bad, so we decided to all go swimming together as our last hurrah in Florida. The kids were braver than I was swimming in the water, and I got cold a lot faster and spent more time in the hot tub, but it was still a good way to spend our evening. After swimming everyone got showered and in pajamas while I went to Perkins to pick up our carry-out order. The restaurant took forever to have our food ready, so we didn't eat until almost 7:30 that night, but luckily we were kind of used to eating at different times. We basically ate, hung out in the living room where everyone got comfy on separate couches/chairs, and then we tucked everyone into bed. We planned on driving ten hours the following day, so we knew it was going to be a long day.

Our trip home Monday and Tuesday was largely uneventful, which was good. We were glad that we waited an extra day to avoid any bad weather. The kids did well in the car, even though we were all sad to be leaving Florida, leaving vacation, and going back home to the north, to the cold, and to school/work. We wanted to be back in time to get everything situated on Tuesday night. Luckily, school was cancelled for the kids (and me) on Tuesday anyway due to the weather, so they didn't miss any extra school. We also wanted to be back to pick up Izzy from the Peiffers, and our little baby from the respite home. She did well while we were gone, although she struggled with being sick most of the time with a pretty bad cold, cough, and even a fever for a couple days. The lady taking care of her said that a couple of her kids got sick from our little baby, one of them being an older boy who worked, so he had to test himself for Covid, just to be safe, and he tested negative, so she just assumed that our little baby also did not have Covid, just a really bad cold and cough. I felt bad that she was dealing with a sick baby, but I knew she was getting lots of love and cuddles, and I was glad that she could just stay at her home and not have to go to daycare. It gave our little baby a chance to nap consistently and get as much rest as she needed. Nevertheless, we were very excited to be reunited again. Samantha had to come with me to pick up our little baby because she couldn't wait to hold her again. It was cute to see that she really did recognize and remember us, and it's amazing how much bigger she looked even from being apart from her for a week and a half.

The kids asked for some of their Harry Potter treats after dinner that night, so Aedan had some salt water taffy, and Samantha and Owen shared some of their chocolate cauldron. They were all very pleased with their choices.

Wednesday, January 19th was back to reality with Samantha and Aedan going back to school, Owen going back to Heather's house, Ben starting off his new semester where he is now teaching five classes instead of four, me going back to work, and Isabella going back to daycare. Wednesday mornings are the day when Ben leaves early for work, and I have to drop everyone off where they need to be, which usually means that the mornings are pretty crazy, but the kids actually did really well getting ready for school and out of the house that morning, which I was grateful for. When I dropped our little baby off at daycare, she cried pretty hard, which was difficult for me to see. She probably had just gotten out of the habit of going there, and didn't know what to think when I handed her over to the daycare workers. It made me feel sad to walk away from her as she cried, but they said she didn't cry for very long after I left.

Here is a picture of Samantha from school that Wednesday. She was the winner of her Social Studies Kahoot review game.

Work went fine for me that day, but I found myself daydreaming about being in Florida, and wishing I was there instead. I went grocery shopping after work, since we didn't have any food in the house after being gone in Florida, and luckily, AWANA was cancelled due to sickness, so that freed up a little more of our time that evening, which was nice. Here is a picture Ben took of me helping Samantha with her saxophone lesson book as she prepared for her upcoming lesson.

We still had all of our Christmas decorations and Christmas tree up because I didn't have time to take things down before we left. It felt a little weird still having it look like Christmas as we approached the end of January, but I figured I would take everything down once I had the chance and the time.

Here is a picture of Aedan from school on Thursday, busy at his desk, reading through his pile of books.

Samantha's 6th grade math class with Mrs. James had a special sledding day planned for Thursday, which she was looking forward to. It was meant to be something fun to allow them to enjoy the snow with their classmates, and also a math lesson where they measured the distance the sleds would travel down the hill. Here is a video Mrs. James took of the class going down the hill. I'm glad that these teachers plan such fun activities for the kids to enjoy, even while at school.

Thursday was another busy day with all of our normal stuff like work, school, and preschool. But to add to that, we also had a tour scheduled for Trucksville Early Childhood Education Center as a possible option for Owen to attend preschool next year. There are a lot of people that I know that use this preschool, and I have only heard good things about it. We are looking for something that is three days a week, but only half day. I don't think Owen needs to be going to preschool all day. He will have enough years of his life where he has to go to school all day. Samantha and Aedan only ever went half days for preschool. The only reason he is going longer to preschool on Tuesdays and Thursdays this year is because I was looking to have him in somewhere longer so I could do subbing on the days he was at preschool, and it wouldn't impact Ben's work schedule as much. We also want him to be in a more academic preschool where he will be getting prepared for kindergarten. I know he will be fine in kindergarten especially because he will turn 5 this coming September 17th, but won't be able to start kindergarten until the following year due to the birthday cut-off. I want him to be able to learn, grow, and play, but also be able to have time at home to play and spend time with me doing things in his last year "at home" before starting school. Especially since I am thinking about not working at all next year and trying to take two classes each semester to get more of my master's degree done, we don't need Owen at preschool all day, and we also don't need the extra expense of that either. Anyways, I really liked the preschool. The rooms all looked so welcoming and friendly and child-friendly. They had lots of hands-on centers set up, lots of books and toys in the classroom, as well as a large gym to play in and a playground outside. We got the paperwork to register Owen for it, and planned on filling it out and putting in our deposit the next day to hold his spot. We know it fills up fast, so we wanted to be sure that we were on top of things. Owen was really excited to see all the rooms, and there were a couple that he really liked because of the toys that were in it. I could see him thriving there, and I was glad to able to tour it and get a feel for what it's like.

Then, we had to somehow get/eat dinner and drop Samantha off at the Stanley's house so she could go to the Bookworm Club at Barnes and Noble with Cadence that night. We ended up just going through the Taco Bell drive through, so it worked out okay, but it made for a pretty crazy, busy day.

Our little baby was also very tired out from the day and just getting used to being at daycare again where she never takes a nap. Here she is cuddled up on my shoulder that evening once we got back home. She's not usually a particularly cuddly baby, so I enjoyed these sweet little snuggles from her.

After eating dinner and hanging out for a little while, it was time to get the boys and our little baby ready for bed. It was my turn with our little baby, and I got a couple of cute pictures of her smiling. Even when she's tired, she's still a pretty happy baby. She has a very nice smile.

Being gone for a week and a half on vacation, means the things you have to do just get piled up for when you get back, so that's how this week back from Florida felt. The caseworkers, Katherine and Ashley came for their monthly home visit Friday morning, so it was a bit crazy getting all of that done in one morning, but it was nice that they both came together because in the past they have come at separate times, meaning we have two home visits a month. They never stay for very long, and we don't really have any questions at this point, so we just talk for a few minutes, they see our little baby, and then they take off.

Our little baby had a visit with her mom that morning, like she usually does on Fridays. Samantha and Aedan get picked up on the van, and then I do my best to get Owen and our little baby ready and feed her a bottle. I also make lunch for Owen and I because we are in Wilkes-Barre over lunchtime while we wait for the visit to be over. When I dropped our little visitor off for her visit that morning, even though I was running ten minutes late, her mom and grandma weren't even there yet. I guess they were supposed to be on their way over on the bus, since they don't have transportation, but I was surprised that after not seeing her for a while, that they weren't there and ready for their visit. While the visit took place, Owen and I went over to Alysse's house to hang out, since no other mom was able to meet up that morning, and it was just her and me. We had a good time talking and catching up with each other, as we hadn't really talked since before Christmastime. It's nice feeling like I actually have a friend here. It's always hard moving to a new place and meeting new people, especially because Covid kind of put a hold on everything.

On Saturday, we didn't have any plans. We just needed a low-key day at home to rest, get caught up on things, and not feel like we had anywhere to go or anything to do. Aedan had been asking for a while about making a stop motion video on my phone. I didn't find a way he could just do that with my regular video function, so I downloaded this stop motion video app on my phone and let him have my phone to record videos and sound effects to go along with it. I saved the video on my phone because it was just so cute and great. Aedan spent the entire afternoon on this, and his creativity was pretty impressive. I love how much he likes Star Wars, how he keeps track of all his favorite characters, the sound effects that he adds in, the songs that he sings, and the silliness as well as seriousness with which he made this video. I just love him so much. He is so cute to me. Star Wars and Legos are definitely his two favorite things right now. Really, nothing else matters to him. I can't wait to see more videos that he makes like this!

(Blog about January 16-22, 2022)

Disney and Universal Trip 2022

Our week in Florida was a week we had all been looking forward to for so long. Ben and I made plans for this trip several months ago, but the kids didn't know until we surprised them with it on Christmas. We decided to ask family members to put the money they would have spent on Christmas presents and toys, toward paying for souvenirs or other expenses during our trip. We decided to go the week before Ben's spring semester started because it gave the kids one week back at school before heading out, which allowed us to get all the work they would be missing from their teachers so that they could work on it while we were gone and  be caught up when got back. Also, we wanted to go during a time when it would not be as crowded or as hot. I honestly could not wait. I was so excited, maybe just as excited as the kids, if not more so. I love Disney World, and I was excited to experience Universal for the first time as well. Flying was just too expensive to justify for our family of five. (Our little visitor stayed with a respite family in Pennsylvania while we went on our vacation. That was a hard decision for us to make, but we figured since the purpose of our trip was to spend all day every day at the parks, that would be too much for a little baby.) We really wanted to spend this intentional time with our kids knowing that they are at the ages to really be interested in trying bigger rides, and now that Owen is actually old enough to ride most things, to remember the trip, and be able to handle being out all day as well. We arrived in Florida on Sunday, January 9, just before noon. We left on Friday afternoon to do part of the drive, drove a good 9 hours on Saturday, so that way we would only have a few hours to do on Sunday. We wanted to have time to visit Disney Springs, go grocery shopping for the week, get checked into our rental house, and have time to swim in the pool in the back yard of our house before starting off Monday in the parks. The drive went pretty quickly that morning because the kids had a lot of school work left to do. We naively assumed that they were working on it most of the day on Saturday, but especially with Aedan, that was not the case, so we had quite a few pages of math to do, but that was okay because it helped pass the time.

We had never taken the kids to Disney Springs before, but they had gift cards and money burning a hole in their pockets, so we figured it would be a fun place to stop, and it would give them a chance to look at some of the gift shops without having to do that inside the parks. One of our first stops was the Lego store, and they had some pretty awesome Lego creation sculptures outside that we stopped to look at.

These Star Wars characters were definitely their favorite.

Aedan and Owen both got Lego sets at the Lego store that day. Samantha got a key chain, and Aedan had his eyes on a remote control BB-8, but we told him to wait until we got to the Star Wars Galaxy's Edge area at Hollywood Studios to see if there was anything else he liked better, and if not, he could always buy it there.

We learned that Ema and Papa's flight got cancelled due to bad weather in Indiana, so they decided to drive down instead. Because of that, they were unable to get there in time to go to the parks with us on Monday. So we decided to stop at a customer service area to see about getting their tickets refunded for that day. We had to wait quite a while in line, and the kids were starting to get a little bored and restless, but it was nice just being outside in the warmth of the Florida sun, anticipating the days to come. Here are the kids sitting and waiting for our turn to talk to the customer service representative. These two boys can be so cute and loving with each other. It makes me smile to see them like this, and how much they like to hug each other.

Here is Samantha posing with her battle droid keychain and sporting her unique Mickey Mouse ears that Ben's friend Tim gave to her many years ago. (I think designed by a previous girlfriend.)

Disney is always very accommodating to guests, so it was no problem at all getting the tickets for Monday refunded for Ema and Papa. So after that we headed out to stop at Walmart and get our groceries. This Orlando Walmart is always really busy because of all the rental houses in that area and people buying food for their vacations. The kids weren't thrilled about having to go shopping with us when they were all tired and anxious to get to our house, but Ben and I had a pretty good list put together, so we got our shopping done relatively quickly. We planned to eat breakfast at the house, of course, and also to bring packed lunches into the parks each day to help save money and time from buying food there. We planned to eat dinner at the parks as well as a snack or two during the day.

It took us a little bit to understand how the lock worked to get into our rental house, but the kids looked around, found their bedrooms, and thought it was very nice. The boys each had twin beds in a Mickey themed room, Samantha had a bunk bed in a Frozen themed room, there was a bathroom in between the kids' room that they could share, Ben and I had the master suite with a king size bed and attached bathroom, and Ema and Papa had a suite with an attached bathroom and a queen size bed. It was the perfect amount of space for what we needed. We moved our luggage in, unpacked the groceries, and then we let the kids go swimming in the pool in the back yard. We paid for pool heat so the kids could enjoy swimming, and the water was very nice. It even had a hot tub, which Ben and I were excited about trying out after the kids went to bed at night. It was so nice to be enjoying pool time and outdoor time in the middle of January, knowing it was snowy and cold back home.

We made ravioli, garlic bread, salad, and cut up a fruit salad for dinner. The kids gobbled it up. We figured we should take advantage of the one night we could make a home-cooked meal, even though it was hard for me knowing that Chuy's and Giordano's were both close by. We let the kids swim again after dinner, in the dark, which they thought was pretty cool, and then we gave everyone a shower, got them in pajamas, and tucked them into bed. We were getting ready to go to Hollywood Studios the next day, and it was the start of a fun and busy week, so we knew everyone needed rest. After they were in bed, Ben and I made the lunches for the next day, discussed our game plan for the new Genie+ system, sat in the hot tub, and then went to bed ourselves.

Monday was our first day at Disney, and we picked Hollywood Studios because of the new Star Wars Galaxy's Edge area. Aedan was especially excited about going to this park, and we wanted to go on a day of the week where it wouldn't be quite as busy. Since we hadn't ever used Genie+ before, we were a little nervous how that would work compared to the Fast Pass system. We were able to go on at 7:00 a.m. to choose our first Lighting Lane pass, which is what they are calling them now. Slinky Dog Dash always has a really long line, and the kids really enjoy riding that ride, so we decided that would be our first choice. We got a time for around 1:00, which we thought was pretty good. Then, we would be able to choose another Lightning Lane pass two hours after the park opened, which would be at 11:00. The other ride we really wanted to go on we Rise of the Resistance, which is a new ride in the Star Wars area, and there is a huge demand for the Individual Lightning Lane passes. People that stay at Disney resorts are able to to book Individual Lightning Lane passes at 7:00, but if you stay off-site, you have to wait until the park opens which in this case, was 9:00. We got to Hollywood Studios at 8:30, half an hour before the park opened, so we could get in line and hopefully get to another big ride right away before the lines get too long. However, it wasn't very much fun just standing in a giant mob of people for half an hour, so I don't know if we would get there that early again. As soon as it turned 9:00, we went on the Disney app to pay for the Individual Lightning Lane pass for Rise of the Resistance. We got 7:40 for our ride time, which is just crazy to me. Some people say that the Individual Lightning Lane passes for that ride can sell out in just a couple minutes, so I was glad we were able to at least get one. This was the ride Aedan was most looking forward to.

Once the mob was finally let in through the gates and into the park, we decided to head straight toward the new ride, Mickey's Runaway Railroad. This is another ride you have to pay extra to get a Lightning Lane pass for, so we figured we would try to ride it when it might not have as long of a line. We ended up having to wait for about forty-five minutes, but that wasn't bad compared to what it was the rest of the day. We had the kids bring books with them to the parks, so Samantha and Aedan both read while they waited, which helped pass the time some. I didn't know what to expect with the Mickey's Runaway Railroad ride, just that it was in place of the Great Movie Ride that was there before in the Chinese Theater. However, this ride was so cute, and definitely worth going on, so I am so glad we went straight there. I think Owen was a little surprised with this being his first ride of the trip, and not knowing what to expect. The ride started by going to a little room with a screen and you stood to watch a Mickey cartoon. At the end something exploded in the show, which also made the screen explode, and you actually walked through the hole in the screen to get to the room where you boarded the train. The train had four cars, I think, and at first it looked like they were connected, but then you lose the engine, and the cars separate and move around without a track into the various rooms as Mickey and Minnie go on their adventure. It's very interactive and kind of like a simulation at times, like when you feel like you are falling down a waterfall (which was the part that Owen didn't like very much). We had such a blast feeling like we were blown around in a tornado and dancing in a ballroom with Daisy. It was so cute, and the perfect ride to start off our Disney trip.

From there, we took a bathroom break and then headed over to Star Tours, since we knew we weren't going to be able to ride Rise of the Resistance or Smuggler's Run until later that evening, and we didn't want Aedan to be disappointed that we weren't doing any Star Wars rides yet. Star Tours had been there for awhile, so it never had a very long line. We were all able to go on this ride together, which also made it a special family experience. Even the line to get on the ride was an experience with the life size AT-AT. We all wore our special Star Wars shirts with different characters, ships, and icons depicted on the shirt in the shape of a Mickey head. Samantha even wore her hair in buns in honor of Leia. She got several compliments on them by cast members in the Star Wars area.

This is one happy boy! How do we get Aedan to give us a real smile? Take him to Star Wars land! He was on cloud nine.

They were so ready and busting at the seams with excitement!

Here is the inside of the ride line with a ship with R2-D2 on the top, and C-3PO talking as the navigator.

On this ride you board a Starspeeder and C-3PO takes the controls after some mishaps. Then, the ship is intercepted by Imperial forces searching for a Rebel spy. I forget which time this happened, because we rode this ride several times that day, but one time Owen's picture was flashed on the screen as being the Rebel spy, and the kids were so excited, and couldn't believe that their little brother was a Rebel spy and that the First Order was looking for him! Owen felt so special that he was chosen. The ride was a flight simulator with 3D, and there were different characters that would appear on the screen, from Kylo Ren, to Boba Fett, to Poe Dameron, and even Yoda. Every time you go on the ride you could see different characters and even fly to different places and experience a different ride. That made it really fun and unique! The kids loved this ride and couldn't wait to go on it again.

After the ride, we took some time to look around the gift ship. Aedan found the remote control BB-8, which he still had his heart set on, but we convinced him to wait so that we wouldn't have to carry it around all day. Owen chose a little Yoda animal that actually had a magnet in his bottom and a little holder that you could put inside your shirt so he could sit on your shoulder and take a ride as you walked around the park. Samantha chose to get another keychain, this time a light-up lightsaber. She decided she was going to start collecting keychains, and she thought she didn't need a big, expensive lightsaber. They weren't doing the make your own lightsabers because of Covid, so that was a little disappointing, or else everyone probably would have done that. They also weren't doing Jedi training, which we were really hoping the kids could do. Aedan even brought his Kylo Ren lightsaber that he built the last time we were here several years ago.

We didn't have many Lightning Lane passes until later in the afternoon or evening, so we were looking for ways to fill our afternoon with other things, as we were waiting for our Lightning Lanes, or to see if we could get a pass at a later time, rather than standing in line. Rather than have traditional parades, because of Covid, they had these pop-up character motorcades, so as we were walking around, we stumbled upon this one with Mickey Mouse riding in the back of a car. Owen didn't show much interest in wanting to see any characters, but he was excited to wave to Mickey Mouse with his Yoda in his hand.

After that we ate a little of our lunch before heading in to watch the Frozen Singalong show. We remember when this show was a huge deal to Samantha as a 3 year old. In fact, we made a special trip to the park just to see the show again on the day we left, and Samantha just sung her heart out. That was also the trip that Samantha's souvenir was the young Anna and Elsa dolls, and she just had to carry one with her on the airplane. Since then, Samantha has definitely grown out of the loving princess phase, but she also was just young Anna in Kiss Theater's production of Frozen that she performed in right before Christmas. She didn't belt out the songs as much as she would have in the past, but she still quietly sung along, especially to the parts of the song that were hers in her Frozen performance. There was even still "snow" that fell from the ceiling at the end of the show. Owen thought that was pretty cool.

After the Frozen Singalong, we went back out to the tables to finish eating our lunch. We noticed these cool Star Wars statues of R2-D2 and BB-8 in honor of the 50th anniversary celebration for Disney World, and the kids decided to pose for a picture in front of them.

We were excited to see the new Star Wars area called Galaxy's Edge, so we decided to head back there to look around next. They had so many cool life-size replicas of ships, as well as trading post shops. It really gave you a feeling like you were in the Star Wars Galaxy. Everything was planned down to the most intricate detail, and it was fun to just walk around and take it all in. Aedan loved it, and he was happy to let me take pictures of him. 

The coolest area was by the Millennium Falcon, where the entrance to Smuggler's Run was. It was awesome to see how huge it was, and they even had a couple characters out for people to talk to and interact with. We saw Rey and another character dressed in an orange jumpsuit.

The First Order ship was also pretty awesome. Aedan had to get his Kylo Ren lightsaber out to pose in front of this ship. I love how he's holding it, and the face he is making as well. He took this all very seriously, and I don't think he could believe his eyes most of the time. He was loving it.

After that, we walked to Toy Story Land to use our first Lightning Lane pass for the ride Slinky Dog Dash. Samantha and Aedan were allowed to sit together on this ride, so I sat with Owen, and Ben sat by himself. Samantha and Aedan remembered riding on it last time, and it was one of Aedan's favorite rides then. Owen was nervous about going on it, and at first he wasn't sure what he thought. Even after getting off the ride, he said he didn't really want to go on it again. I think it's a pretty fun ride with how it shoots you off and how you go up and down little hills like you are a slinky dog. The line was really long for this ride, so it was definitely worth it to get a Lightning Lane pass for it. 

During the Slinky Dog Dash, there was an announcement made about a storm coming, and that they may have to close down the ride, so we were glad that we made it on the ride without the rain coming. We decided to go on Alien's Swirling Saucers next, even though it was just under forty-five minutes to wait. It actually rained while we were waiting in line, so it worked out perfectly because we didn't get wet! Our next Lightning Lane pass was for Toy Story Mania, so we decided to just do all the Toy Story rides while we were there. I got to ride with the boys on Alien's Swirling Saucers, and we had a lot of fun. We put our hands up in the air as it whipped us around, and I think it was one of Owen's favorite rides of the day.

As we were on our way to Toy Story Mania, we passed this big ball, because they have the whole place designed to make you feel like you are the size of a toy. Owen wanted his picture taken by the ball, so I took it, and then a nice couple offered to take our picture together.

Here's a picture of what Toy Story Land looked like. I love it. It has such a fun atmosphere. I love how Disney immerses you in the different lands. They are not just rides, but a whole experience.

Our next Lightning Lane was for Toy Story Mania. Samantha and Aedan rode together, Owen rode with Daddy, and I rode by myself. It was fun to compete to see who could get the largest number of points, and I was able to to do pretty well since I didn't have a kid to help with the laser.

It was after 2:00 when we were done with that ride, so we decided it would be a good time for a snack break. Owen picked a Mickey ice cream bar, Samantha picked a frozen lemonade, and Aedan picked a root beer float. This day was going to be our warmest day at Disney, and still it wasn't too bad since it was only January. But it felt nice to get some cold ice cream, as it was feeling a little warm and sticky after the rain came through. (I didn't get a picture of Aedan for some reason.)

Aedan decided that he didn't want to go on Rock 'n Roller Coaster, and they have a single rider lane for that ride, so Samantha and I checked in to use the Rider Swap next, while Ben went in line for the ride and went on it himself. While we waited for him to be done, I took the kids to see the live Beauty and the Beast show. It was nice to sit down for a while, and even though we came in just as the show was starting, someone took us right up to the front to the handicapped section that no one was sitting in, so we sat in the second row from the stage. Beauty and the Beast has always been one of my favorite Disney movies, and this show is pretty well done. It was funny though because Owen kept asking questions about it since he had never seen it before. Here are some pictures and videos of the show.

After the show was over and Ben was done riding, we switched places. I went on Rock 'n Roller Coaster with Samantha, and she was so nervous as we waited in the little bit of a line we had. When we came three years ago, Samantha thought about riding, but we got all the way up to getting on the ride, and she just started crying and didn't want to go on it. I didn't want to make her do anything she wasn't comfortable with, so we didn't push her. This year, though, she decided and was determined to try it. The idea of being shot off quickly intimidated her, especially as you see car after car go before you. I talked to her about how many times you go upside down, and how really, it would probably feel less scary than the Candymonium ride we went on at Hershey Park in the fall. I was so proud of her for going on it and trying it, and I was so happy to ride it with her. I reached over to hold her hand while we were on the ride, and I think that helped her nerves some. She was so excited to tell everyone else all about it when she got off, and how she didn't even notice when it went upside down!

Ben took the boys to a Lightning McQueen interactive show that was right next door. We had never done that before, but Ben compared it to the Turtle Talk with Crush at Epcot, where you an talk to Lightning McQueen. Here is Owen posing with some of the Cars outside the show.

I thought it was fun that Hollywood Studios still had their Christmas decorations up, so we got a little glimpse of what Disney looks like dressed up for Christmas, like this giant Christmas tree in the middle of the lagoon. If it weren't so busy at Christmastime, I would love to go to Disney at that time of year.

At this point we were still waiting for all the Lightning Lanes we had planned for Tower of Terror, Smuggler's Run, and Rise of the Resistance, so we decided to go watch the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular show. I didn't know what the kids would think of it, and I'm pretty sure we didn't do it last time, but they enjoyed it a lot more than I expected. They thought the stunts being performed were pretty dangerous, and the show was exactly how I remembered it.

Here are some more pictures of the Christmas decorations, Main Street, and the Chinese Theater.

Our next ride we had a Lightning Lane pass for was the Tower of Terror, and everyone decided they wanted to go on it. Owen had never been on it before, since he wasn't tall enough last time we were at Disney. He was pretty nervous about it, but we were proud of him being so brave to give it a shot. Owen sat in between Ben and me, and he was gripping us with his hands and feet the whole time. He was pretty scared. He got off and said he never wanted to ride that again. Even Aedan said it was a little too scary for him because of the people that got zapped and disappeared, so he also said he wouldn't want to ride that one again. I think Aedan liked the part that dropped you and popped you back up the elevator shaft, but with Owen I was trying to put my arm around him and hold on to his leg to help make him feel more secure, even though he had a seatbelt across his lap. His face had a petrified look the entire time. Tower of Terror is one of my favorite rides, but I don't remember much about this ride because I was so concerned about Owen and helping him as he was scared. I took these first pictures and videos to show how the Hollywood Tower Hotel was lit up at night, and even how they projected on to it where it looked like people were dancing on the top floor. It was pretty cool, and I don't remember it being like that before.

After that, it was finally the time we had all been waiting anxiously all day for. It was time to use our Lightning Lane passes on Millennium Falcon: Smuggler's Run and Rise of the Resistance. Galaxy's Edge looked awesome at night as well with all the buildings and rocks lit up. We had to stop and get a picture in front of the Millennium Falcon before going on the ride.

Here we are inside the ride where they talk to you about what your mission is. This ride is very interactive, and each person on your team has a special job, from pilot, to gunner, to engineer. As the ride is going you are in charge of flying, or shooting down enemy spacecraft, or fixing any damage that is done from the battle. Daddy and Aedan were the pilots, Owen and Samantha were the gunners, and I was the engineer.

Here we are, ready to drive the Millennium Falcon. We were so excited to experience this together.

Here are some pictures and videos I took on the ride. You can see how much it looks like the inside of the Millennium Falcon, and how realistic it feels. You can see Daddy and Aedan as the pilots, Samantha and Owen in the middle as the gunners, and I am in the back as the engineer. I felt like it was hard for me to pay much attention to what was going on in the simulation because I had so many buttons to press throughout the ride, but it was super fun. We didn't rank very high in our flying skills, but it was our first time every flying a starship. Aedan was totally convinced that we were actually inside the Millennium Falcon that we saw outside and took our picture in front of.

After Smuggler's Run, we went straight over to use our lightning Lane on Rise of the Resistance. We had this pass since 9:00 when we got the pass, but couldn't use it until 7:40. This was the ride Aedan wanted to go on the most, and he was so excited. We had no idea what this ride would be like, but it was new and we heard it was an awesome experience. (Spoiler alert!) You started off by going into this room where you saw BB-8 and heard a message from Rey. The atmosphere they created was so immersive. It really felt like you were getting a secret message for the Resistance.

From that room, we actually went back outside to be loaded onto a convoy. I didn't take any pictures or videos inside, but it was another simulator where it looked like we were moving, even though we weren't. Then, the convoy ship was attacked by a squadron of TIE fighters, we were pulled aboard the Star Destroyer, and we were all taken prisoner. It all felt so real, and we did not know about this part of the ride. We are then taken through a hangar full of stormtroopers, which was an awesome sight. Aedan humored us and allowed us to take some pictures of him in front of the stormtroopers.

Then, you go through a hallway to a prison cell where we are watched by stormtroopers and interrogated by General Hux and Kylo Ren. Once they leave the interrogation room, Resistance fighters have boarded the Destroyer and cut a hole in the cell's wall, allowing us to escape and board First Order transports, and this is where the actual ride begins. Finn is in charge of the vehicles' droids that are reprogrammed to help us escape, and the rest of the ride is just a totally awesome, immersive experience, from seeing probe droids and full-sized AT-ATs, going up and down elevators, and avoiding getting shot by stormtroopers. We see Kylo Ren and General Hux talking again and he tries to capture us, cutting into the ceiling with his lightsaber as we escape to the next floor. We see cannons firing at the Resistance ships outside and eventually we enter escape pods that are launched with a drop and we fly through space. We eventually make it back and are congratulated on keeping the Resistance's base safe from the First Order. Here are some pictures and videos of us on the ride. It was so awesome, and I wish we could have gone on it again.

We still had a little more time left in our night at Hollywood Studios, and we decided not to watch the nighttime show that they project onto the Chinese Theater. Instead, all the kids voted on riding Smuggler's Run again, since the line wasn't very long. We decided this would be a great way to end our night and our first day at Disney. It was an incredible day doing so many fun rides. We got to ride on everything we wanted to ride on, and Aedan loved all the Star Wars rides.

When we got to the house on Monday night, Ema and Papa were already there, and the kids were excited to tell them all about our first day and all the fun they had. It was hard to convince them to stop and get ready for bed, as we were off to Magic Kingdom on Tuesday.

Aedan got his remote control BB-8 out to play with before we left for Magic Kingdom on Tuesday morning. It was pretty cool how it moved around, and he was having fun playing with his souvenir.

We got to the parking lot at Magic Kingdom around 8:30 so that way we would have time to ride the transportation over and get there close to when it opened at 9:00. We took a family picture in front of the flowers at the front of the park, and then we were ready to walk back to our first ride. We chose Lightning Lane passes for Peter Pan, and also paid for passes to ride Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. I enjoy just walking down Main Street and seeing the castle in the distance.

Our first ride of the day was Pirates of the Caribbean because the line wasn't too long yet, and we didn't want to start the day riding on too intense of a ride, like Space Mountain. Owen was a little afraid of this ride, simply because it was in the dark, and all these rides were new to him since he doesn't remember the last time we came when he was only 18 months old. I always enjoy this ride because it reminds me so much of my childhood and my grandpa. I love rides with animatronics, as well as the smells that they pipe into this ride of the water and the fire burning.

Next, we went on the Magic Carpets of Aladdin. We don't usually go on this ride, simply because it is very similar to Dumbo, and we would rather go on other rides, but it was a short line, and it looked like another fun ride to try out for the morning. Here are pictures of Papa and Owen riding together, and Samantha and Ema riding together on one carpet. Aedan and Ben were in the front of our carpet, and I sat in the back. We were lucky to not get sprayed by the camels as we went around.

After the carpet rides, we decided to climb in the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse, which is something that we have never done before. I thought it would be a fun way to get everyone active and moving and get a good view high up in the sky. Samantha has read about the Swiss Family Robinson, and the boys thought it was interesting to imagine living in a treehouse made out of items from a shipwreck.

We were trying to find fun rides that we could go on quickly without much of a wait, so next up was the Mad Tea Party tea cup ride. Ema sat this one out because she doesn't like to spin around in circles. Ben, Samantha, and Aedan rode together because they wanted to go super fast. Owen, Papa, and I rode in a different tea cup because we didn't want to go quite so fast. It was fun to see their excited faces and hear their squeals of delight as they spun around in circles.

Next up was the Tomorrowland Speedway, which we waited about thirty minutes for. Aedan wasn't too thrilled we were waiting and complained that he didn't want to go on the ride anyways, but I knew Owen would love it, so it was worth it to wait in line for him to be able to experience that. He was actually a really good driver, and was trying to carefully stay on the track and not swerve back and forth in a crazy fashion.

I thought it was cool that you could see the castle in the background.

Daddy and Aedan were behind us. I think he enjoyed it more than he thought he would.

After that we found a place to sit and eat our lunch, since everyone was getting a little tired and cranky. Then, we decided to do a Rider Swap for Space Mountain instead of paying extra money for the Individual Lightning Lane. They only let two people come in the second time for a rider swap, which meant Samantha had to wait in line, too. While Ben, Ema, Papa, and Samantha waited in line, I took Aedan and Owen over to ride the Barnstormer because I knew Samantha wouldn't care about missing that ride. The line was actually 40 minutes for that ride, and the boys were not the best at being patient, but it was a good way to spend the time while waiting for the others to be done on Space Mountain so that Aedan and I could ride together. Owen really enjoyed Barnstormer, but it was so short, and he asked to go on it again, which we weren't going to do with how long the line was. 

By the time we got back over to Space Mountain, they were getting close to riding, so we just stood in line for some coffee for Ben and me to help pass the rest of the time. I was so excited to go on Space Mountain with Aedan. He was nervous about it at first, because he doesn't really like rides that are in the dark, and he didn't know what to expect. But he is really brave and is usually up for trying anything once. I tried to explain it to him some, and as we got going, I could hear him shouting out excitedly. He got off the ride in a great mood, proud of himself for trying it, and sad that we couldn't go back on it again. I'm so glad he liked it, and that our kids are learning to like rides as much as I do. It's fun to experience this with them now that they are getting old enough and tall enough to ride on most things.

After Space Mountain we had a Lightning Lane for Buzz Lightyear's Ranger Spin. Toy Story Mania is more fun as far as rides where you shoot lasers for points, but it's still an interesting experience, especially since Owen likes Buzz Lightyear lately.

We then thought it would be a good idea to take a snack break, and we remembered the ice cream place with the Dole Whip, so we headed across the park to that. On our way there we stumbled across a pop-up parade with Mickey and friends, so we stopped to watch that before continuing on.

There were too many people in front of the castle earlier in the day for us to stop and take pictures, but now it was almost empty, and we thought it would be a good time. You can see the castle decorated for Disney's 50th Anniversary celebration, as well as some Christmas decorations that are still hung up. It was kind of fun to see a glimpse of what it would look like at Christmastime, without having to battle the large crowds. I left the first two pictures in because you can see how difficult it is to get just one good family pictures. Neither Aedan or Owen like to pose for pictures, but we finally got a good one of all of us together.

Our family ordered different floats and Dole Whip from the stand because they had unique flavors like coconut and raspberry. We got some for Owen, but he was so tired that he didn't even feel like eating any. Two full days at parks were already starting to catch up to him. I tried to have him lay down in the stroller, tilt the seat back, use Ema's sweatshirt for a pillow, and close his eyes to take a nap, but he wasn't much interested in that. I wondered how difficult this would be for Owen not napping all week, because he usually takes naps any day that we are at home, but he was being a trooper so far. 

As we were on our way back to Fantasyland, we came across another parade with princesses that we caught the tail end of. We stood there and waved at the princesses, but it's not anything Samantha, or anyone else, cares much about anymore.

After we finished our afternoon ice cream, we decide to head back to Fantasyland and do some rides back there. We decided to walk through the castle, and I got this good picture of it.

The wait for the Dumbo wasn't very long, so we decided to do that next. Owen rode with Papa, Aedan rode with Ema, Samantha rode with Ben, and I rode by myself. The Dumbo ride is such a simple, classic ride, but it's one that you just have to do if you go to Disney World. Everyone was all smiles.

Nearby was the Winnie the Pooh ride, and that didn't have too long of a wait either. Plus, it has the interactive line where the kids have things they can explore and play with while they wait, so that makes the time pass by more quickly. Here is Owen climbing through a tunnel in the line. The ride is cute for little kids, and Owen really liked it. We tried to make sure we didn't overlook rides that he would like, even though the rest of us probably could have skipped them.

Finally, it was time to use the Individual Lightning Lane pass that we had for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. Snow White is Ema's favorite, and Aedan really enjoyed this ride the last time we went to Magic Kingdom, so we decided it was worth it to pay to go on this one because the line is always one of the longest in the whole park. It is a really cute, fun ride, and we all had a blast.

After that, I can't remember exactly what order we rode things in, but I know we had a Lightning Lane pass for Peter Pan, which is such a great, nostalgic ride for me, and the kids love the feeling of flying over the city and all the scenes from Peter Pan. We had a Lightning Lane Pass for Jungle Cruise because people were hyping it up as being something new and different because of the movie that just came out. However, I did not find that to be true. The tour guide still told corny jokes that only the parents would understand, but it was a nice, calming boat ride. It seemed to be the same as I remember it being, but it was a fun experience nonetheless. We ordered Mexican food at a restaurant in Frontierland before rushing to Big Thunder Mountain before our window expired on our Lightning Lane pass. This would be my biggest complaint with the passes, you can get quite a few of them throughout the day, but often, they are all stacked up one after the other in the evening, because that's the earliest time available. Luckily, everything worked out for us to be able to ride it. It was really fun riding Big Thunder Mountain in the dark. Owen really enjoyed that ride as well, and it was more interesting and thrilling than I remembered it being. From there we made a quick bathroom stop before heading to It's a Small World, a ride everyone wanted to go on, and Samantha wanted to take some videos to show to Isabella when we got back home.

Once again, it was easy to forget that Owen didn't remember being on any of these rides when he was 18 months old, so it was fun to just stop and look at him noticing and observing things for the first time. It was a lot to take in, and he was loving it all.

We were cutting it close to make it to the fireworks show in time, and we just barely squeaked in to an empty spot in the crowd just before 8:00. Ben put Owen up on his shoulders to see better, and Aedan stood on the seat of the stroller so he could see above the crowd. Samantha got a good spot right behind some kids, so she was able to see okay herself, too. We just didn't have much room to move or shift all all. However, we had a great view of the castle show and fireworks; probably the best view we have ever had. I love the nighttime show at Magic Kingdom. There is just something so special and truly magical about it. You can't go to the Magic Kingdom and not stay for the fireworks. It's just my favorite part. I have a lot of pictures and videos because they were all just so pretty, that I couldn't choose.

After the fireworks, we had another Lightning Lane pass for the Haunted Mansion, which Owen did not like at all. I rode with Owen and tried to explain how none of it was real, and tried to talk it up as something silly, but he still did not like it, was hiding into me, and definitely did not like the part where it talked about a ghost following you home. Our last ride of the night was Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid, and I took this picture of the Beast's castle in the distance as we walked back to the ride. We probably should have left earlier and not stayed until the park closed again, but I didn't want the Haunted Mansion to be our last ride of the night. Plus, I really love The Little Mermaid, so it feels nostalgic to me. 

It was then time to wrap up our time at Magic Kingdom and make the long trip back on the monorail to the parking lot and drive back to our house. Getting to and leaving the Magic Kingdom always takes quite a bit of time, and it is not Ben's favorite thing when we have already had a long day walking around the park. I took a few pictures of the castle and Main Street as we walked out. We decided this was going to be our only day at Magic Kingdom so that way we could go back to Hollywood Studios again, so we crammed in as much as possible. And, we actually rode on everything we wanted to go on, so it was a very successful, full day there.

Wednesday, January 12 was the day Samantha was looking forward to the most because it was our first day at Universal Studios with the main goal of visiting the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. On our way into the park we quickly stopped at a Bumblebee ride to go on, before checking out all the Harry Potter stuff. I had read a lot about what to do there and places that are good places to stop, so we first saw this telephone booth, and there was a certain number you could dial to hear a special message from the Minister of Magic. I did have to teach Samantha how to use a rotary phone, so that was kind of funny to watch her try to figure it out.

We all wore our Harry Potter t-shirts that day with a picture of Hogwarts Castle on it. Plus, Samantha wore her Gryffindor robe and brought along her Sirius Black wand to use until she could buy a new one there.

Our next stop was to see the Knight Bus which drove wizards around the streets of London without being seen. They even have the shrunken head hanging in the front window that actually talks to the visitors, interacting with them, and cracking jokes, as it did with Samantha.

Next, we stopped at the Black residence where Kreacher the house-elf was peeking out the 2nd floor window if you went up and knocked on the door. It was so cool to see, and definitely added to the experience of being transported to Harry Potter's world.

Here we are walking past the Knight Bus and then through the brick wall into Diagon Alley. It was SO awesome!

I loved seeing the expression on Samantha's face as she took it all in! This is one happy girl!

They had all these stores just like Diagon Alley with so many interesting store fonts to look in. We saw this window with the Firebolt broomstick in it.

One of the first stores we went into was Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes which is a novelty joke shop from the book, run by Fred and George Weasley. It was fun to look around at all the tricks, toys, and candy they had available, just like in the books and movies. We bought some Bernie Botts Every Flavor Beans because that was something Samantha really wanted to try out. They had all kinds of flavors, from really yummy (cotton candy) to really gross (vomit), but you never knew which one you were going to get, unless you looked at the picture key, of course.

This window had The Book of Monsters chained up, but it would open up and move every once in a while.

As we walked down Diagon Alley, the most noticeable building was Gringotts Bank with the fire-breathing dragon on the top. The noise and heat from the fire was very surprising, and Owen was actually afraid of it. He would cower into me every time it was about to blow fire. It really was a sight to behold though.

Samantha really wanted to go to Ollivander's wand shop and experience the wand choosing ceremony where a lucky wizard gets chosen to have a wand choose them. The line to get in took about half an hour, but we had the jelly beans to eat while we were waiting, and that helped pass the time pretty well.

Here are some pictures and videos from the wand choosing ceremony. I think Samantha was a little disappointed that she wasn't chosen, but it was still a really cool experience to be a part of.

In the wand shop, there were employees who would help find a wand that fit you and your personality or interests, and Samantha decided to go that route, rather than choose a wand from a specific wizard. The man talking to Samantha was really friendly and interactive, so Samantha really enjoyed the character traits of the wand and how they fit so well with her.

We were trying to give Samantha the time she needed to do the things she wanted to do, since this day at the Wizarding World was really all about her. Since we spent most of the morning looking around and going into shops, the boys were getting a little antsy, so we decided to take a break to go on the ride Escape from Gringotts. This was a ride Owen would be able to go on, and it was a motion simulator ride, so we were excited to try it out. Even the line to get on the ride was cool, as it was just like you were walking through the bank with animatronic goblins as the bank tellers on either side of the lobby.

They even had these copies of the Daily Prophet newspapers with moving pictures, just like in the wizarding world.

This was also part of the line, and it introduced you to Bill Weasley who worked at Gringotts Bank. Then, you stepped into an elevator that made you feel like you were going down in the bank to the cart station. There was more of a line to walk through, as well as some stairs, but it definitely kept it interesting, and you didn't feel like you were just standing in line the whole time. It was a fun ride where you rode a little cart around on a track that took you from one room to another with various screens that took you through the bank as you tried to escape from Bellatrix and Voldemort. It was in 3D, so everyone had glasses on. It felt a little strange having Aedan and Owen go on this ride, simply because they have not really been exposed to Harry Potter yet, except through what they hear from Samantha. I think the ride might have been a little too intense and scary for Owen, but he met the height requirement, and he really wanted to try it out. He was so brave to try all these new rides as only a 4 year old. I don't think Samantha and Aedan would have gone on these when they were his age.

After that ride we decided it would be a good time to find a place to eat our packed lunches, and to let Samantha try out her new interactive wand. The wand came with a map of both Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade, with different places that had wand stops. At those particular places you could do a spell in front of the window and make something move inside. However, it was actually a lot harder than you would expect to do the spells. You had to point it in just the right direction and do the spell just right, or it wouldn't work. It was a little too finicky, in my opinion, because Samantha was getting a little frustrated that she couldn't' get it to work at the beginning. You can see in the first video that she wasn't pointing it at the little camera in the upper right hand corner, so once we were given that tip by another visitor, she was able to get it better after a little practice.

Here are Owen and Ema posing in Hagrid's motorbike. We sat on the steps behind it to eat our lunch so we could get away from the crowd a little bit. It was very busy at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter that day.

Here is Samantha trying another spell to make this bird stop chirping.

We were right around the fire-breathing dragon this whole time, which did not make Owen very happy at all. But do you see how pretty and blue the sky is? We had such good weather for our trip. It was in the mid-70s, with no rain. It was just perfect.

Here is Samantha trying the Wingardium Leviosa spell, and one of the park employees helped her out by showing her where to point the wand. Samantha was excited when she finally got it.

Before heading out of Diagon Alley, we had to visit Knockturn Alley, which was the place that housed Borgin and Burkes, the shop that sold things affiliated with dark magic and other unusual and ancient wizarding artifacts. The whole alley was dark and shadowy, with creepy things at every turn. There was this trunk that bounced around on the ground, as well as the Vanishing Cabinet that Samantha posed in front of.

Here are some last pictures of Diagon Alley before heading to the train.

It was about 1:00 in the afternoon at this point, so we decided we were done with Diagon Alley, and we were ready to take the Hogwarts Express train over to Hogsmeade to see that part of the Wizarding World. Luckily, when we were ready to get on the train, there wasn't a long line, because it definitely was longer at other times of the day. Another part I noticed beforehand was this see through mirror screen where it made you appear to disappear through the wall at Platform 9 3/4. It was cool to watch everyone disappearing! All these details that they included made this whole experience just so awesome.

Here we are, waiting and ready for the train to Hogsmeade! It truly felt like we were transported to another world.

They even had a luggage cart with Hedwig on it.

Inside the train we were assigned a special compartment, and then we were locked in. The window was not truly a window to the outside, but it was a screen that showed scenes like what it looked like as Harry and his friends traveled to Hogwarts. The reason they locked us in to the compartment was because they also had videos of shadows passing by the windows, like Harry, Ron, and Hermione were talking outside our door, and the dementors even boarded the train and the lights flickered to simulate that. It was a really cool train ride, and definitely a big part of the experience.

The train ride to Hogsmeade was only about ten minutes, but we still had to pose for more pictures next to the Hogwarts Express with the steam coming out. It made a cool backdrop for a picture. We even got the boys to go over and stand next to Samantha.

We were excited to get off the train and check out the town of Hogsmeade. It was cool how they made it look like winter time with snow all over the roofs of the buildings.

We stopped in a few stores in Hogsmeade, like Honeydukes candy store where Aedan ended up buying some salt water taffy, Samantha got a chocolate wand for her friend Cadence, and she also picked out a chocolate cauldron to share with Owen.

Here is the Owl Post.

Then, we walked all the way up to Hogwarts Castle. It was so cool to see, and it was such a good replica.

We decided to ride on Flight of the Hippogriff first because it was a ride for the whole family. As we waited in line, we could see Hagrid's hut on the side, as well as a hippogriff in a nest. The ride was a cute, simple roller coaster, and it was a fun one to go on since we hadn't gone on many rides that day. We were more about experiencing the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and that involved a lot of exploration.

The next ride we planned on doing was called Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. This was one that Owen couldn't ride on, and we knew it was a 3D/4D ride, but we didn't know much about it, so Ema and Papa also decided to sit out on this one, and volunteered to take Owen over to the Dr. Seuss area and go on some rides that would be more interesting to him. The line for Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure always had such a long line, so we were hoping the wait would go down before getting in line for it because that was a ride that Samantha was really looking forward to. The line for Forbidden Journey was really cool because you got to go on a tour of the castle, from walking through the greenhouse, passing through the corridors and past the classrooms, seeing the talking pictures and the heads of each house arguing within the pictures, walking through Dumbledore's office and seeing the pensieve, watching Ron, Harry, and Hermione appear from under the invisibility cloak, and even passing by the Sorting Hat on your way to get on the ride. It was a really amusing and interesting line, with lots to look at, which really made the time pass by quickly.

The Forbidden Journey ride, which we just started calling the castle ride, was so awesome. It was a 3D/4D ride where you were loaded onto "cars" four seats across, as they continued to move along a moving walkway. Once you got to the end of the moving walkway, Hermione used Floo Powder, and we begin flying around the castle using robocoaster technology, which allows the seats to pivot while being held above the track by a robotic arm. It's not a roller coaster, but a scenic dark ride where you fly around Hogwarts castle, encounter the Whomping Willow and Dementors, escape from giant spiders, fly around a Quidditch match, and much more. The ride drops you, spins you around, twists and turns you, as you move from one room to another often with wraparound screens as well as real life creatures that you come face-to-face with. You are even tilted flat on your back, if not a little further back than that, so it feels like you are almost going upside down. It was an awesome ride, and one that we went on several times that day because the line was very quick moving.

After we were done with that ride, we decided it was a perfect time for some Butterbeer. We got the frozen kind, because it was a nice warm, sunny day, and we heard that it's the best kind. We just gave Owen a little bit of everyone's because we knew he wasn't going to drink a whole one, but the rest of us thoroughly enjoyed our drinks with the creamy butterscotch foam topping.

Here is the Three Broomsticks restaurant where we had plans to eat dinner at later that evening, per Samantha's request.

And here is a Wanted ad for Sirius Black that was hanging up outside the Three Broomsticks restaurant.

We had spent the whole day so far in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, which was fine with us, but the line for Hagrid's Motorbike was still pretty long, so we decided to leave the Harry Potter area and go do some other things. We waited entirely too long for the Pteranodon Flyers ride that was just supposed to be a quick ride with the kids. I was in line with all three of them because an adult couldn't ride without a kid under a certain height, and they were not being very patient in waiting.  Then, we went to this super hero area, and Owen wanted to take his picture in front of some of them. However, instead of telling us, he just ran away from us, which  made Aedan yell at him, and then Owen got mad and started crying. It took a while for me to get him to calm down, explain to him why we can't just run away, and then go take his picture with one of his favorite characters, Doctor Octopus.

We went on the The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man ride, which the boys really likes. Then, we spent some time looking around a gift shop for Owen to spend some of his souvenir money before walking back to the Three Broomsticks for dinner. The food was pretty good, and it felt good to sit down for a while and just relax. Samantha was happy to have gotten the experience of eating there and telling us about when Harry would go there in the books.

Universal closed earlier that night, I think at 7:00, so we decided to spend a little bit more time going around and doing spells in Hogsmeade, since we didn't have much time to do that earlier, and it was less crowded than it was earlier. However, as I was walking around with Samantha, an employee walked up to us and asked if they could ask us a question, and we would have a chance to earn a prize. Samantha answered one easy trivia question, and we were handed free Express Passes for our whole party. However, it was already 6:30 p.m., and the park was closing soon. We were excited that maybe we could use the passes on Hagrid's Motorbike, since we hadn't had a chance to ride it, but of course that was one of the rides that was excluded. Owen wasn't able to ride that ride, but to do Rider Swap there, he actually had to wait in line with us, and they some of the party waits in the family waiting room while the other part of the party rides the ride, and then you switch. It was such a long line all day, that we didn't want to make everyone wait for that long, but we planned to do it first thing on Friday morning when we came back again, no matter how long the line was. We really wanted to feel like we used the Express Passes for something, so even though Ben didn't want to stay late and spend more time at the park, we decided to ride The Forbidden Journey, the castle ride, one more time before heading out for the night. I can't remember exactly, but I think just Ema stayed out with Owen, and they actually got to watch part of the show projected onto the castle. Here's what the castle looked like at night. We had a great day at Universal, and I think Samantha was pleased with what we were able to do. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter was very well done and definitely transported you into that world.

Thursday was our day for Epcot, and it didn't open until 10:00, so we had some extra time to hang out at the house that morning. We got there with plenty of time to get in, get sunscreen on, and take some pictures by the Spaceship Earth ball. Owen was not interested in getting his picture taken, which you can tell by the expression on his face. Some day he will look back on these pictures and laugh.

Frozen Ever After is still a pretty popular ride, and we didn't want to pay extra for it, so we decided to go right there as soon as they let people into the park at 10:00. We were in line about 10:10, and the line was only about half an hour. It was the first ride of the day, the big kids had books to read, and Owen was in good enough spirits that it wasn't a bad wait.

Here are some pictures and videos of the Frozen Ever After ride. It's a fun boat ride where you go down a small drop and are sent backwards as Elsa sings "Let It Go." It's not as big of a deal to Samantha anymore, but I know Owen and Aedan enjoyed it, even though Owen was holding on pretty tight during the ride because he didn't know what was coming.

The next ride that we went on, that we got our first Lightning Lane pass for, was Test Track. For some reason, we had never ridden this ride before, probably because the line was always too long, or it was closed down because it can't run in a rainstorm due to the car going on a track outside. I wish we would have gone on it sooner because it was so fun! Maybe one of the favorites at Epcot. You go into a special room to design your vehicle, which the kids, but especially Aedan, thought was really awesome. Then, you ride in a vehicle, scan your card to load your vehicle design, and then go on a test track over different terrain, practicing stopping and accelerating to 65 mph as you zoom around the track outside. Each stop of the way during the test, it shows how your vehicle measures up. It was really fun, and it was amazing how fast it felt like you were going with the wind blowing around you as you accelerated quickly to 65 mph. Here are some pictures and videos of the cars that the kids designed.

After Test Track we went next door to ride Mission: Space. We chose different teams as the Orange Team was more intense and simulated going to Mars with more g-forces and spinning; whereas, the Green Team orbited the Earth, and it was considered to be less intense. I went on the Orange Team with Samantha, Aedan, and Papa, and it was definitely more intense. The g-forces made my eyes water and made my stomach feel a little strange. After that ride, we decided to sit on some benches and eat our lunch and take a break for a while before going on any other rides. It was a beautiful day outside, and we were so thankful for such nice weather.

After our lunch we decided to go on Spaceship Earth before heading over to another section of the park. There was no line, and it's always a nice ride. I was by myself, and here are Ema and Owen in front of me.

The building it lets you out into at the end of Spaceship Earth has a lot of interactive games, so we let the kids play around for a while. Epcot was not too busy, and there aren't a ton of rides there, so we had more time to just relax and move at a slower pace, allowing the kids to enjoy what they were interested in, which was nice. Here they are playing an Energy game.

We then went over to The Land area where we had a Lightning Lane pass for Soarin'. We were all able to ride this ride, and Aedan wasn't happy that he had to use the safety strap since he was under the height requirement to go without it, but this ride is such a great ride, feeling like you are flying all around the world with your feet dangling and experiencing the sights and sounds. The expression on Owen's face was priceless as he kicked his feet around and looked up and down the row at us. We also went on the ride Living with the Land, which is just a simple boat ride. It's not very exciting, but there was no wait, and it's kind of cool to go through the greenhouse.

Then, we walked over to the Seas to ride the Finding Nemo ride, which is really cute.

Instead of walking around the aquarium right then, we decided to go back outside and find and ice cream cart to get a special afternoon snack. Samantha got a Mickey ice cream bar, Owen got a Mickey ice cream sandwich, and Aedan got a frozen lemonade. We had a good time just sitting outside, enjoying our ice cream, loving the warm sun, and Owen even sat and put some Finding Nemo stickers in his sticker book. It was nice to have more relaxing time.

After our snack, we went back into the aquarium to look at the fish. The seahorses were definitely a favorite.

We also decided to participate in Turtle Talk with Crush. Crush talked to Aedan at the beginning of the show, and the Disney Cast Member held the microphone up to him to talk. I was sure that Aedan was going to be too shy to talk, but he said, "Totally sweet" in a Crush voice, and it was so cute. I got just enough video to capture it, and it just made my heart melt. Aedan can be unbelievably shy, especially in any situation where attention is drawn to him, but I was pleased to hear him playing along.

The kids explored inside the building a little more, and we tried to get this picture of the kids inside the shark's mouth, but something happened with another boy pushing Owen out of the way, which led to a major meltdown and I had to calm him down before he was willing to even consider going back inside Bruce.

We had paid for Individual Lightning Lane Passes for the new Ratatouille ride, but they weren't until 8:00, so we were trying to find some more things to fill our time until then. We don't usually spend all day at Epcot, but that's okay. As we were on our way to watch the Disney/Pixar Short Film Festival, we walked by Winne the Pooh. The kids don't know too much about him, but this was how they were doing character meet-and-greets, just seeing them and waving to them from afar.

We also stumbled upon Mickey inside the theater. The kids went up to say hi and get their picture with him, but Owen was in a mood that afternoon, and he did not want to talk to Mickey, even though he used to be one of his favorite characters when he loved to watch Micky Mouse Clubhouse. I got this picture of Owen looking at Mickey, but he wouldn't pose with Samantha and Aedan in the following picture. Oh well, what can you do?

The short films were fun to watch and gave everyone a little bit of a break. However, as we exited the theater, we passed a place where water appeared to be jumping from one fountain to another, and Ben was playing around with it by jumping and touching the water. Aedan came up trying to be silly, too, but Aedan went up too high, ended up going in one of the water sprays, and got his shirt and shorts really wet. Aedan does not like to get wet, and it was turning into evening, and it was starting to get a little chilly, so he just started crying. I convinced him to take off his wet t-shirt and just put his dry sweatshirt on, reassuring him that things would dry, and he would be okay. Apparently the boys were tired that day, as they were overreacting to everything!

Then, we went on the Figment ride and played with the musical interactive areas after that ride before heading back to The Land to get dinner from the food court, so that everyone had more choice in what sounded good for dinner, before riding on Soarin' again. Everyone loved the ride so much the first time, we figured it would be worth it to go on it again since we had some time. We walked over to Mexico in the World Showcase area of Epcot and rode the Three Caballeros which is another simple boat ride with Donald Duck, before walking around the World to the other side of the Epcot Lake and into France to ride on the Ratatouille ride. It was another of the trackless rides in 4D, and in this one you ride inside a mouse-shaped car, so everything looks huge in comparison to you. Owen sat on my lap so we could all squeeze into one car, and it was a cute ride, but not something that was super impressive to me. I don't know if it was just because we were tired, or because we have already been on better and more exciting rides, but I was glad we were to experience it since it is the newest ride at Epcot. 

When we were done with Ratatouille it was about 8:15. The boys, Ema, and Papa were tired, and there was no way they were going to make it to the Harmonious show that started at 9:00. However, since we don't usually stay this long at Epcot, we have never stayed for the nighttime show before, and I really wanted to see it. Samantha did, too, so we decided that her and I would stay to watch the show, while Ben took everyone else back to the house and then came back to pick us up after it was over. Samantha thought it was really cool that just her and I were going to be together at Epcot, and that she was going to be without the boys for a while. We walked around the World Showcase for a while, just looking around at everything, and trying to find a good place to stop and have a snack. I asked one of the security guards where the best place to stand is to see Harmonious, so he pointed that out to us, we found a place to get a funnel cake for a snack, and then we sat down on the ground to eat and talk until the show started. It was a blast just hanging out with my little girl.

Harmonious was an excellent nighttime show, and I'm so glad we stayed for it. The show and fireworks at the castle at Magic Kingdom are pretty amazing, but this show was awesome in a different way. The music they played was popular songs from Disney movies, but often sung in different languages or in different versions. The lights and images they projected onto the screen in the middle were really nice and colorful, and there were even fireworks that shot out from the middle of the lake. I took a lot of pictures and videos so that Ben could experience it, too, but I am so glad we stayed for this.

It was definitely a memorable experience, and one that I got to share with Samantha. It is definitely something worth staying late for. We had a great time together just talking as we exited the park, and she asked me questions about how Daddy and I met and fell in love. Isn't she just beautiful and has such a happy smile? I love her so much, and I'm glad that she still wants to do things like this with me. I hope we can continue to spend time like this together and continue to grow our relationship.

Here is how beautiful the big ball was all lit up at night. It was a sight to behold, and something we have missed out on in the past when we have left the park early.

Friday, January 14 was our second day at Universal, and our first stop of the day was riding Hagrid's Motorbike, since we wanted to be sure we rode it that day. We got to the park close to 9:00 and made our way back to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The line was winding down the path, almost into the next "land," and it said it was a 90 minute wait, but it wasn't quite as long as it said it was, and we were on the ride a little after 10:30. The line had some cool views of Hogwarts Castle and Hagrid's hut. Samantha brought a book in line to pass the time, and I thought it was very fitting as she stood there wearing her Gryffindor robe and uniform, looking a lot like Hermione.

Daddy waited with Owen and Aedan in the family waiting room, since Owen was too short to go on this ride, while I went on the ride with Samantha, and Ema Papa went in the car ahead of us. Samantha chose to sit in the sidecar, while I rode on the motorcycle. We were both SO excited for this ride. We were looking forward to it for a long time, and we both had some nervous butterflies in our stomach.

The ride was awesome. It had everything you'd want in a roller coaster ride: sudden accelerations, fast speed, an unexpected drop, and even going backwards. We saw a unicorn at the end of the ride, as we pulled back into the station.

As you can tell, we were all smiles, and it quickly became our favorite ride. I loved having this experience with Samantha and seeing how much she loved it. It was a blast! Definitely worth the wait!

After stopping for a pretzel snack in the Dr. Seuss area of Universal, we decided to split up for a while. Ben stayed with Owen and took him on some rides that were more for him, while Ema, Papa, Samantha, Aedan, and I went back to Hogsmeade to practice casting more spells. Aedan decided to come with us so he could have a turn to try the spells as well. It was still pretty tricky for her to figure out, and we heard from an employee that some of the censors don't work as well, and that it also depends on if the sun is shining on it, but we gave it a shot and went to most of the stops in Hogsmeade.

Ben took Owen on The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride and One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. They had a great time together, and it was much more fun for Owen then walking around watching Samantha do spells. 

We joined back together to have lunch together, and I got these great pictures of Samantha posing in front of the Hogwarts castle from the bridge.

We weren't too keen on walking around a lot of the park, and the kids weren't showing much interest in going on other rides, especially since the lines were fairly long that day, so we decided to ride some Harry Potter rides again. We rode Flight of the Hippogriff, since that was a ride everyone could go on, and it was pretty fun, especially for Owen.

We wanted to experience taking the train back the other direction, so we went to go do that, and it was probably about a forty-five minute wait, but it really felt much longer than that because it was the afternoon, and we were all tired. You can tell in the picture of Aedan on the train, that he was just over it. It was good to do the Hogwarts Express both directions, but I think it was more fun doing the ride from King's Cross to Hogsmeade.

Samantha wanted to get ice cream from Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, so we stopped there before leaving the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Ben and I got Butterbeer ice cream, and it was really very good. We made a stop at the Knight Bus again so the kids could check out the back of the bus and stand in the entryway together for a picture.

The boys wanted to go on the Bumblebee Transformers ride again, to which I sat out just because I wanted a bit of a break from the simulation rides. We saw a Universal parade go buy with Minions, Dora, and other characters, and we even passed by a life-size Optimus Prime. The line was closing for people to get pictures taken, but I had Owen just stand near the line so I could get a picture with Optimus in the background. Owen probably wouldn't have gone to stand by him anyway, even if we had the opportunity to stand in line. He's too shy with that kind of thing.

Since we were back on the Universal side of the parks, we decided to go on the E.T. ride because it was something I remembered from my childhood, and I thought the kids would enjoy it. Plus, it didn't have a long wait. We were all getting hungry and tired, so we decided to leave the Universal side of the park, walk around the front, and reenter through the Islands of Adventure park, rather than waiting in the long line to go back on the Hogwarts Express. We ate dinner at an Italian restaurant and enjoyed sitting down for a while. Then, we made our game plan for the rest of the night. We decided Owen would stay with Ema and Papa and go on the Spider-Man ride again and then head to the Dr. Seuss area again to go on rides he would enjoy, while Ben, Samantha, Aedan, and me went back to the Harry Potter area to ride Hagrid's Motorbike and the Hogwarts Castle ride again before calling it a day. It was really fun to ride Hagrid's Motorbike in the dark, and this time I got to ride with Aedan, and Ben got to ride with Samantha. It was such a blast the second time around, too, and I'm so glad we were able to ride it again and not have to wait in too long of a line, since I knew it was Samantha's favorite ride. It was fun to make those memories with Samantha and Aedan, and I love that they are enjoying roller coasters. Ending the night with our favorite Harry Potter rides was a perfect way to end our time at Universal, so we went back to the Dr. Seuss area to meet up with Owen, Ema, and Papa, rode One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish together, and then made our way out of the park a little before 8:00 when it closed. Owen enjoyed getting a piggy back ride from Samantha. She is such a good big sister.

We had had a long week of going to the parks every day with lots of walking and lots of sun. Universal was a little farther away from our rental house than Disney was, so it didn't take very long for the boys to fall asleep in the car on the way back home. They were so tired that they had to be carried in to bed, and Owen just kept trying to crawl under the covers and go back to sleep while I was trying to change his clothes, and put a pull-up and pajamas on him. We tired these kids out, and we still had one day left at parks.

Saturday, January 15 was a sad and happy day all in one. Originally we were going to go back to Magic Kingdom, because usually we need more than one day to do everything we want to do there, but we got a lot done on Tuesday when we went there, and we decided we would have more fun if we went back to Hollywood Studios again instead. Plus, Ema and Papa didn't get to go with us on Monday when we went to Hollywood Studios, so the kids were excited to experience all the rides over again with them. We didn't get to the park as early as we did before because we didn't want to wait in line just to get in the park, but we could already tell that it was going to be much busier since it was a Saturday rather than a Monday.

Mickey's Runaway Railroad was such a fun ride, that we decided to head there first and ride it before the line got a lot longer. We thought Ema and Papa would like it, too. I got a video of the opening movie (Spoiler Alert) where the screen explodes and you walk through it to get to the train. We enjoyed going on it a second time, and we were glad we chose to wait in the line. (Little did we know that it was just the beginning of what felt like a long day of waiting in lines.)

I didn't take as many pictures on this day, so I don't remember exactly what order we did things in, but I know we went on Star Tours another couple of times, since that ride never had a long line. We had a Lightning Lane Pass for Slinky Dog Dash, rode the Alien's Swirling Saucers without Ema and Papa as they took a break on the benches, and chose to wait in line for Toy Story Mania so we could save our Lightning Lanes passes for Rock n' Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, and Millennium Falcon. The line for Toy Story Mania said it was only going to be forty-five minutes long, but something must have broken down while we were in line because the line length more than doubled. It was miserable. The line isn't very interesting and just winds back and forth inside the building. Owen was just beyond tired and couldn't even stand on his own two feet, but it was getting too hot and tiring holding his heavy body. I tried to get him to lay his head on my shoulder to take a nap, but he resisted. Even the adults' feet were hurting at this point, since this was the last day of our trip, and our sixth consecutive day walking around a park. The ride was fun, but I think the line experience kind of soured it for us. I downloaded a Disney Parks game app, and I tried to pass the time with the kids playing that, but it only held their attention for so long. Here are some of the silly pictures from that game app.

After Toy Story Mania, we found a place to get snacks and sit for a while. Some chose Mickey ice cream and some chose Mickey pretzels. We were able to see the parade that we missed the last time we were there, so we got to see Mike and Sully, the green soldiers, Woody, Jessie, and Buzz. Owen was very excited to see all those characters pass by.

All of our Lightning Lane Passes were for later that evening, so we decided to rest our legs for a while and watch the Frozen Singalong again, as well as the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular. It was funny how much the kids liked watching the Indiana Jones' stunts. Plus, this time they got to see the full show since it hadn't rained beforehand like it had the other day, so they were able to see them jump and swing from the rooftops as well.

We did an online order for dinner at the ABC Commissary, and the food was actually really good there. We had never eaten there before, and we were able to sit inside, which helped us warm up a little bit as it gets chilly on these Florida winter nights. Here is a picture of the Chinese Theater, the main focal point of Main Street at Hollywood Studios.

After dinner it was time for our line up of Lightning Lane passes, starting with Millennium Falcon: Smuggler's Run. I took some more pictures of Galaxy's Edge because it looked just as cool in the dark.

Ema decided to sit this ride out because she wasn't sure how the simulation and moving side to side would be on her stomach after just eating. Samantha and Aedan were the pilots, Ben and Owen were the gunners, and Papa and I were the engineers. It was such a fun ride, and the kids, especially Aedan, took their jobs very seriously, trying really hard to fly as well as they could and improving on their flying from last time. It was so cute to see them get in the zone in this totally immersive experience. It truly feels like you are flying the Millenium Falcon.

We stopped to take a few more pictures of Aedan in front of the Millennium Falcon with his Kylo Ren lightsaber that he brought along, as well as Kylo Ren's ship where Samantha and Owen wanted to have their picture taken. Owen is also holding the little Ewok stuffed animal that he got as souvenir in the picture. We convinced him to get that instead of a giant BB-8 balloon that would be very difficult to bring back home with us, and wouldn't last as long.

Our next ride was Rock n' Roller Coaster. Aedan decided he wanted to go on it this time, so Ben went on it with him, Ema, and Papa, while the rest of us waited to do the Rider Swap. Aedan wasn't nervous at all, and was in line near another little boy who was very scared about riding. He loved it, and totally would have gone on it again, if we had the time to do it. Once they were done, Samantha and I went back on the ride again, and she was much more confident this time, having done it once and knowing more what to expect. It was fun to hear Samantha and Aedan talk about it afterwards, mentioning how they didn't even notice when it went upside down, and how now they feel like they can go on any ride since they have gone upside down, in the dark, been shot off fast, gone backwards, and been dropped from great heights. They were both really brave in trying new rides on this trip, and it's so fun that they are tall enough and interested to go on these big roller coasters with Ben and me. Going on roller coasters was a big, favorite pastime of mine growing up, so I feel like they are sharing in something that is like me.

Doing Rider Swap, made it difficult to get to Tower of Terror, since Aedan and Owen decided they didn't want to ride it again, which was fine. We weren't going to force them to go on a ride they didn't like, since they had already given it a try. They weren't too big of fans of it the first time they rode it the other day, so I agreed to wait out with them while the rest of the family went on together using our Lightning Lanes passes. Even though I got on after 9:00, which is technically when the park closed, the cast members told me they would allow me to still get on since we were doing Rider Swap, and a cast member took me up a back elevator when it was my turn, which was kind of interesting. I rode with a very exuberant group of people that very clearly had never been on the ride before based on how they were reacting to it, and it was really fun. I love that you only have a seatbelt across your lap, so you feel a little bit of the lift out of your seat when the elevator car falls over and over again. This is one of my favorite rides as well, and it was a great way to end our day at Hollywood Studios and end our vacation at Disney and Universal.

We were unable to buy a pass for Rise of the Resistance that day, even though we were planning to do it again, since Aedan loved it so much, and it was such a cool ride. However, it was shut down for most of the morning, all the Lightning Lanes were gone even before the 9:00 time when we were allowed to purchase them, and then when it finally opened up, the wait in line for it was 3 1/2 hours long, so there was no way we were going to get on that ride that day. Aedan took it pretty well, especially because we got to go on Star Tours more, rode Smuggler's Run again, as well as go on Rock n' Roller Coaster. He handled the disappointment well, and now he has something to look forward to the next time we go to Disney, to experience Rise of the Resistance again.

To say that this trip was a blast would be a major understatement. I had so much fun, and I was seriously so sad that it was over, and we would have to go back home to life and work and reality. I love doing fun things with my family, so this was just the epitome of that. It was nice that Ben and I got to plan it ourselves and decide what we wanted to do, so we had control about what we saw, what we did, and how we spent our time. It was a lot going to the parks every single day, and basically staying from when they opened to when they closed, but the kids were such troopers. They never complained about walking, and even Owen did better than I thought he would with not napping any of the days we were there, even though he did have a few meltdowns. This trip is going to be something they and I will always remember, and it was way better than spending a lot of money at Christmas on toys they won't care about in a week. There is just something magical about Disney to me. I just love it there, and every time I go back I realize how much I still love it, or even that I love it more as an adult and watching my kids experience it, too. Experiencing Universal with the kids and seeing the Wizarding World of Harry Potter was a magical experience as well. Getting away from home and the cold and school and work and the busyness of life, to just spend time in the warm sun, going on fun rides, without a care or responsibility in the world, was just what our family needed. It was so fun, and I am so glad that Ben and I made the leap and decided to do this this year. Now, I have plans to come back...maybe in two years? We will see, but we all can't wait to come back again someday.

(Blog about January 9-15, 2022)