Finally, Our Florida Trip

Here is our trip:

Friday morning, we left the COLD 11 degree weather, and went to Florida. To try to warm up! HA!!!! We drove down to my moms, which is where we stayed a few days. Jeff and I thought it was crazy that it didn’t get out of freezing until AFTER we past Gainesville! Normally on road trips we stop at Rest Areas, and let the kids run around in the grass, but since it was so cold outside we stopped at McDonald's in Lake City, Florida, and let them play. That was the nicest/cleanest McDonald's I have ever been too. It had a basketball area, flat screen TVs (showing cartoons and news), three level play structure (with slide), video game skateboard, and a decent amount of seating in the play area!!! I am hoping the new one they are building close by will be very similar. We arrived at my moms and really just rested and let the kids play outside.

Saturday we went and spent the day with my Granny. We had a blast! We went to McDonald's for lunch. The kids were begging to eat inside so they could play on the playground, so we did, but there was no playground (which most we saw didn’t have one). We then went to Clearwater Aquarium it is really a Rescue, Rehabilitation, and Release center, but they do have a few animals that can not be released back into the wild, so they stay there. They had Fish, Sharks, Turtles, Dolphins, River otters and Sting Rays. One of the animals you might have heard of is Winter. She is a dolphin that lost her tail, and they have made a prosthetic one, and are re-teaching him how swim with it on. The kids favorite part was the Sharks, and kept wanting to go back and see them. Kaylie did enjoy petting the Sting Rays, but Chase was scared and wanted to just play in the water. After that we went to the Clearwater Beach to walk and put our feet in the water. Well, we FROZE!! The wind coming off the ocean was VERY cold!! Jeff and the kids stayed down towards the beach collecting shells, while Granny and I mainly hid under the umbrellas, to block the wind, until the hotel crew came to pick them up. After that we went back to Granny’s house and cleaned up and then went to Dinner. We really didn’t do much, but it was a wonderful being able to spend the time with her.

Sunday we spent the day with my Mom and John around the house and also went to a Children’s Interactive Museum-Great Explorations. If you have never gone to one, I HIGHLY recommend them, especially if you have kids. They have different areas where the kids can learn thru play, mainly science. Jeff and I had just as much fun as the kids!! They did a program to show the kids about static electricity, where you touch a static ball, and your hair goes out. They let everyone who wanted come up and try it out. Chase was actually the first one up, Jeff and I eventually followed, and Kaylie, who is not a fan of getting up in front of people, did not go up. While we were there Jeff and I got to try out “Dance Dance Revolution”, and let me tell you that is HARD and wore me OUT!! I think Jeff chose a hard one, even though it was our first time doing it. The kids had a blast, but really I could not tell you what their favorite area was.

Monday we decided to go to the beach before we went up to Disney. It was much WARMER and more enjoyable for all! We went to Honeymoon Island:

The pioneers called it Hog Island, but it became Honeymoon Isle in 1939 when a New York developer built 50 palm - thatched bungalows for honeymooners. Today, visitors can drive across Dunedin Causeway to enjoy the sun - drenched Gulf beaches, mangrove swamps, and tidal flats. Nature lovers will find osprey nests, a wide variety of shorebirds, and one of the few remaining virgin slash pine forests in South Florida. The park boasts several nature trails and bird observation areas. Visitors can swim, fish, and snorkel in the warm waters of the Gulf or picnic while they enjoy the beautiful scenery. Shelling is particularly good here, as the Gulf currents deposit an incredible variety of seashells on the shore.

It reminded me of Jekyll Island. It was really neat and not the “typical” man made beach, with the Restaurants and hotels lining it! Again we just put our feet in the water, and walked the beach looking for shells, which we did find some REALLY cool and big ones! The kids had a blast putting their feet in the water, and both got really wet!

We arrived at our Hotel Disney’s “Pop Century Resort” Monday night. After we got settled into our hotel room we met up with our friends, and went to dinner at a Japanese Steakhouse. After dinner Jeff and the kids went swimming in about 50 degree weather. The pool was heated! I did get ready to go in, but Chase had fell asleep on the way to the hotel from dinner, and didn’t wake up until it was about time to get out of the pool, so he didn’t swim long.

Tuesday we woke up EARLY and went and had the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique done with Kaylie! It is where they go get treated like a princess and get their hair, nails, and make-up done. It was a total surprise and she had no clue! She looked scared the entire time she was having it done, mainly because the girls kept pulling her hair, but kept saying she was having fun! If you ever have this done with your child I highly recommend brushing their hair AGAIN right before she has a seat! We also let Kaylie pick out whatever princess she wanted to be, and of course she picked Belle, and that is how she went around Disney. We could not let Chase go around like a normal boy if all the girls were being dolled up like a princess, so he picked out a Costume, and the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique gave Chase “Cool Dude hair” complete with Mickey on the back of his head. I think the worst part of that was the “paint” they put in their hair has to dry for 30-45 min, so making him be calm and not touch it was AWFUL!! I think everything got paint on it during that time, including the Store Floor and Me! But still to this day, after I can’t count how many washes, the red paint from Mickey is still there. After everyone was done we got on the Monorail (train as we told the kids it was) and went to Disney. Just to warn everyone that goes, be careful in Fantasy Land with the birds. I had a bird fly down and take a granola bar out of my hand and my friend had a bird fly right into the side of her head (we are both ok)! We had a blast and got to ride Lots of rides, but it sure did wear us ALL out!!!

Wednesday we packed up and headed back home, and were back to reality/real world on Thursday, and have all missed Florida since we left!