Florida Vacation Part 2

Wednesday was a pool day.  The neighborhood had this amazing pool… actually, 3 different pools along with a Tiki bar and restaurant.  A and I took advantage of a couple tropical fruity drinks – my favorite!  W loved the pool.  S liked it too, but wanted to walk in by himself – little daredevil that he is.  I also think it was just a tad cold for him.  The sun was bright that day and we all got a bit burned despite wearing (and reapplying) sunscreen.  We had lunch at the pool and went around the lazy river too many times to count.  W disappeared for a while with Nani and we came to find out that they were hanging out by the water slide having a blast.  All in all, a really fun day.  We noticed that S’s eyes were really bothering him that afternoon.  They were completely red and teared nonstop.  We think he may have had sunburned eyes… or it’s possible that the chlorine and/or sunscreen bothered his eyes.  Not sure.  He would not keep a hat on or wear sunglasses.  Luckily, he was much better the next day.

Thursday, we headed to the Magic Kingdom again.  I was a little nervous after our first trip.  When we arrived, I asked W if he wanted to pick out a pair of sunglasses.  He said yes and I really hoped he’d wear them – he’s not typically a sunglasses wearing kind of kid, but the Florida sun was intense.  He found a pair he liked and did not take them off the entire day.  He absolutely loved them.  We went on Pirates of the Caribbean first.  I do not remember getting wet on this ride, but we happened to be in the row that got shot by the water cannon.  S was not a fan of the water, but W loved it and said it was his favorite ride.

 We had lunch at a random Asian/African restaurant that served chicken noodle soup.  Thankfully W ate a lot (he didn’t eat much the entire trip) and S liked it too.  We also went on the Buzz Lightyear ride and flying Dumbo thanks to Fast Passes.  S cried when we got off of Dumbo – he absolutely loved all the rides.  A took W on the teacups while S napped and W had a smile plastered on his face the entire time.  We went in the Hall of Presidents where W fell asleep – haha – totally my son.  We eventually met up with the family for dinner at the Liberty Tree Tavern.  Though the service was a bit slow, the boys loved the ham and turkey and I loved the mashed potatoes.  When we came out from dinner, it was pouring rain so we decided to call it a day.  We got drenched on the way to the car, but despite the rain, it was a magical day.  A and I both had so much fun with the boys and it made me incredibly happy to see them so excited.  I was a little disappointed that we couldn’t go on more rides after dinner and A and I never got our funnel cake, but all things considered, we had a blast.  It’s a day I won’t forget. J

Friday, the boys played with their cousins while A and I packed and prepared to leave.  It was rainy once again so I suppose it was a good day to leave, though I wasn’t quite ready.  We ran a couple errands and picked up lunch for the boys.  We headed to the airport and the traffic was absolutely crazy.  It’s as if the entire state of Florida forgets how to drive in the rain.  We tried to stop twice for gas, but couldn’t figure out how to get to the gas stations – Florida also enjoys frontage roads that are impossible to get to.  I had dressed the boys in long sleeves and pants in preparation for the cold weather at home.  I think being hot and being in the car forever took its toll on S and he puked all over himself and car seat.  This has never ever happened before and it was definitely not the best timing.  I told A to pull over and started cleaning up a hysterical S.  Poor guy.  I also yelled to A, “F the gas, let’s just get to the airport!” (we were laughing about this last night… I hardly ever swear, but I think this situation provided good reason).  It was also very fortunate that W had fallen asleep, because I’m sure he would have participated in puke fest upon seeing S.  We finally got to the airport after 90+ minutes in the car.  Luckily I had packed a change of clothes and we wiped down S and the car seat.  Once in the airport, S was his usual, happy self – trekking all over the terminal and waving at passersby. You would have never guessed what just happened.  Our flight home was delayed 30 minutes.  It was uneventful, except for the last 15 minutes when the boys had had enough.  Can’t blame them.  It was past their bedtime at this point.  They both cried a bit, but it wasn’t a big deal.  One lady came over to us and told us not to worry, that it was always worse for the parents and the passengers weren’t bothered.  Such a nice thing to say when we were just ready for the day to end.

So that’s it.  I told A that I was really looking forward to more family vacations and perhaps we needed to take a spring break trip every year (or every other year) even if it was just a short road trip.  Quality time is my love language and though there were a few challenges along the way, I really enjoyed spending the week with family.