Celebrating our 10th in Cozumel

We had lots of fun celebrating our 10th anniversary. We had some great meals, met great people, went scuba diving for the first together, went snorkeling, and just had some R&R. We only had a day and a half of sunshine, but we still had a super time!!

The beautiful water!

Two new friends; Cara and Patti . We met some awesome people on the trip.

I hope we can all travel again together!

The welcome home sign the kids made (with the help of my sister) Thank you to Dave's parents who took care of the kids while we were gone. We SOOO appreciate it! We know they are busy :)

Nashville Trip

I've been a part of the leadership team at my local MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group for the past few years. This fall I have the opportunity to spend the weekend learning more about MOPS and experiencing their National Convention. I heard some great speakers and listened to some awesome worship music by Matt Redman, Plumb, Matthew West. It was amazing! For those of you involved in MOPS I recommend going on this weekend. It was great! More on that later....

This was a picture from inside the hotel. There were 3 areas like this. The Grand Old Ophreu Hotel...it was beautiful!

On my last morning I was lucky enough to have breakfast with my friend Brenda. Her family moved to Nashville, it was great to reconnect with her. I miss seeing her every week!! Great to see you Brenda!!

Waterpark Adventure

On Saturday we surprised the kids with a trip to stay overnight at the Waterpark of America. They were so excited. Our room was neat, it had a cubbie area with bunk beds. Jake and Sydney loved that!! All three of them slept in this cubbie area, or should I say kind of slept....I didn't sleep well, either did Regan. But the idea of having a semi-private room for kids to sleep in quite ingenious, I wish more hotels did that.

The waterpark itself is huge! The kid area is fun, with lots to do. The chlorine is REALLY strong, my eyes were stinging by the end of the day on Sunday. But it didn't seem to bother the kids. Jake loved going down all the waterslides, he even was brave enough to go down the big tube slides with Dave. Sydney did not want to go down any waterslides, even the kiddie ones. Sydney hung out with Regan and me.

We'll go back there, but probably wait a few years until the kids are bigger.

Total Exhaustion

This is how we all felt by the time we returned home from the airport :)

Our Last Day, Spent at Epcot

When we planned our trip to Orlando, we thought we'd hit Disney for one day...while, we ended up going for 3 days. We went to Epcot on our last day, mostly because Dave and I wanted to go there. We both really like that park. This was our marathon day, we got to the park at 11am, and stayed until 9pm.

The Nemo Exhibit was neat, the kids liked this one.

We had dinner at a "Character" Restaurant, with visits from 4 princesses. Sydney was pretty shy at first, but then she warmed up....

Animal Kingdom

We thought the kids would like the Animal Kingdom. (But ended up being their least favorite)We waited in line to see Refiki, but Jake and Sydney both chickened out when it was our turn.


Dave took Jake on the "really scary" Dinosaur ride. Sydney, Regan and I looked at some "real" dinosaurs in the jungle while we waited. Sydney was really brave to stand here to have her picture taken, because the really thought this was real. (I must have been somewhat successful convincing otherwise, because she is even smiling)


We went on the safari ride, so the kids we able to see lots of animals; giraffes, hippos, elephants, ostrich, zebras, etc
.

Here are those "binoculars" I've mentioned. We were watching the parade.

Quick picture on our way out. Jacob decided he wanted no part of this picture.

Time at the Pool

A few shots from the pool...

Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom

The kids were in awe. It was neat watching their expressions as they experienced Disney for the first time. The day was a lot of fun. Dave's parents were are already vacationing in Florida, and came and stayed with us for a few days. Right inside the gate, we saw Daisy (?) the duck. And Jake is sporting his "binoculars" that he pulled out many times during the trip. Even if he had on sunglasses, he insisted his binoculars helped him see better.
We went on a lot of rides. There were several rides we could all go on, and I just carried Regan along in the Ergo carrier. Peter Pan was the big hit. Space Mountain was also very cool, wow does that one go fast!! Jake even went on that, and loved it. (Dave kept a close grip on him) Here is Sydney on Cinderella's carousel.

Watched the Parade
Watched the Show at the Cinderella's CastleSydney was having a ball riding on Papa's shoulders, she was just plain silly!!We are headed out for the night!! Legs were tired. (so were the kids)

First Day at the Pool

We stayed at a great Resort. My dad let us use a week of one of his timeshares, we exchanged it. The Orange Lake Country Club Resort. I highly recommend this place for kids. The pools are amazing, water slides, sand/hammock areas, zero depth pools, etc. Very family friendly.



Regan got sick for the first time. She ran a high fever for the first day and half. Fortunately, the fever was the only symptom, and she got better quickly. Poor girl!

Watch Out for the Family of 5!!!

Well, we made it! We just got home from our first "family" trip to Orlando, Florida. I have to admit, I was a little nervous traveling with 3 little ones. We got lots of interesting looks in the airport ranging from amazement to nostalgic, lots of people commented with words of encouragement...it was sweet. All in all, the kids did really great! The weather was absolutely fabulous. (Sunny & 80 all week) We had a really fun time....we'll go back!

Double Stroller, 2 Regular carseats, 1 infant car seat, 2 large pieces of luggage, and 4 carry-ons.