I Spoke Too Early... (Hello Again, Ridiculously Prolonged Winter)

As I sit here sipping a cup of hot camomile tea, in my warm pants and hoodie, occasionally glancing out the window at the snow covered ground, remembering the last time the school bus was cancelled for our kids due to snow and ice - wait a second, that was this past WEDNESDAY! - I thought it would be the perfect time to share some more photos of our Florida trip.

Our favourite family activity of the week was definitely swimming.

We had a pool at the villa where we stayed, and it was heated for the week, so that we could swim outside anytime, day or night, and it felt like a warm bath.

Our kids haven't been in swimming lessons for a few years now, but it was very encouraging to see their progress in one short week.

Samantha has always loved the water is a pretty good swimmer.

Brett and JD went from slightly apprehensive to deep end divers of golf balls in a matter of days.

Nathan is the one that worried Scott and I the most because he became nearly fearless in his swimming abilities pretty early in the week. He would go under the water and try to swim across the pool to us, or from us back to the steps. By the end of the week we had to keep him in a life jacket at all times.

Clara refused to even step foot into her swim suit for the first couple of days. She would sit in her towel and watch the rest of us swim from a lounge chair.

Next she started running around the pool, throwing the golf balls in for the big kids.

Then she decided Boots needed to swim, so she threw him in too.

Finally she decided she would go in the hot tub end of the pool, where she could stand up around the edge. She called it her "bath".

Our last night in Florida we went to Heather & Pete's for a final swim and BBQ with the cousins and Kim & Patrick.

Uncle Peter had the kids jumping off his shoulders, and even Clara decided to leave her "bath" and try out the big pool.

Downtown Disney

On Thursday we went to Downtown Disney and had lunch at the Rainforest Cafe.

It was such a fun place to eat! The kids loved the moving animals and the thunderstorm that came around every 30 minutes. Dark skies, thunder, lighting, rain - so cool.

And of course, they were excited to see their cousins.

After lunch we visited the Lego Shop, which was right behind the Rainforest Cafe. The lineup to pay was literally out the door. On the way back to the van Brett said, I had no idea Lego was so popular!

Good-bye, March Break. Hello, Spring!

We arrived home about 3:00 PM today.

While I can't say we're glad to be home from vacation, I think it is safe to say we're glad to be out of the van.

Some hi-lights from the trip:

• Stocking up on Cinnamon Goldfish before leaving the US. Those things are so good! And addictive.
• Finding a great hotel to stay at (with a pool!), despite the weddings, conventions, and soccer tournaments that were going on in the entire area where we needed to stop last night. Scott gets all the credit.
• Stopping at a Game Store to buy two new DS games for the kids that bought us approximately 11 hours of peace on the drive home. Another one of Scott's good ideas.
• Listening to Clara pretend to talk to Grandma on the phone in her carseat.
• Nathan falling asleep less than 15 seconds after laying his tired head down on the pillow last night.
• Starting a new John Grisham novel which really helped the time in the car to fly by.
• Clara answering all of the border guards questions. She just can't comprehend any situation where she isn't the centre of attention.
• Coming home and seeing that the snow had melted and the kids on our street were out playing hockey in their t-shirts. I think Spring may finally be here!

Some not-so-fun parts of the trip:

• Clara throwing up in Arby's in front of a group of 6 couples enjoying a lovely weekend brunch together. They were very nice about it. Clara seemed to be feeling fine within minutes, so I'm pretty sure it was car sickness.

I also want to mention that the restaurant had carpet in the entire eating area. Seriously, I felt horrible about Clara getting sick in there, but carpet? Really??

• When a beautiful, dark grey cat jumped over the median and ran in front of our van. Scott did a good job of keeping us in the lane after the impact, considering there was a bit of traffic around us. But it was heart-breaking for everyone, especially Scott.

More Florida pictures to follow... But now I'm off to read some more Grisham before I fall asleep.

The Magical World of Disney

We took the kids to Disney World on Tuesday.

Here are my personal tips, learned from our one day at the Magic Kingdom:

{Disclaimer: I am the least experienced Disney vacationer ever. So please, if you are looking for real tips on how to experience Disney, I wouldn't make this your number one resource.}

1. Go early.

We arrived in time to see the "Opening Ceremonies" and the rope drop first thing in the morning.

I definitely recommend this, as you can do so much in those first couple of hours before the park gets busy.

2. Get a double stroller.

I thought Scott was overdoing it when he went to rent a double stroller, but it came in handy as Nathan not only didn't want to walk most of the time, but actually ended up falling asleep later in the stroller. And we used it to hold the backpack and cameras too.

Clara was also in a stroller. Unfortunately, she wasn't keen on the falling asleep part... until the drive home. Of course.

She did like this Marching Band that was entertaining us while we waited for the big kids and Scott to come out from a show.

The band was amazing! Which leads me into the next tip...

3. The bands, shows, music, and parade are awesome. The rides may appeal to many, but the shows are my favourite.

As a kid, I remember making fun of my Mom when she thought Space Mountain was scary. And she would never have gone on the ride in the first place, except she was kind of tricked into it.

So this week when I voluntarily took my kids to the same ride, and then proceeded to scream the entire time because I was scared to death, I felt a deep connection to and a new level of understanding for my Mom.

I used to love going on the craziest, highest, most upside-down roller coasters and now I get queasy when I ride on Dumbo the Elephant.

Am I turning into my mother?

Uh, let's just get back to the Disney tips...

4. If you want to be in Nathan's good books, don't spin the wheel too much on the Tea Cup ride.

For the record, I was counter-spinning JD and Samantha's crazy wheel-spinning. (See Tip #3)

5. Get a really good, front row spot to watch the parade.

You might have to save your spot super early, but getting some popsicles and a turkey leg can help to pass the time.

Scott had been waiting for 7 years to try one of these famous Disney Turkey Legs.

6. If you go to Disney during the busy season, you have to wait in long lines to see the Characters, especially the really popular characters.

The lines for rides can be discouraging too. So if you get a chance to go during low season, take it. Don't be like us and go during March Break.

7. Get a family photo.

You can never have to many of these. And your kids might smile and look at the camera better when someone else takes it.

8. Remember that you don't have to see and do everything in one day.

It's about making memories and having fun together as a family.