Disney Adventures, Part One

So when you've planned a vacation for a good two years, there are certain things you expect to do on the day you're supposed to depart - there are last minute items to be thrown into suitcases, pesky dishes to be loaded into the dishwasher, the trash taken out, books to pick out for the road trip, excited kids to direct out of the way of the packing. But last Thursday, the day we were leaving for our trip to Florida with both sides of the family, things were...ummmm....a bit more complicated.

The morning started with Sean throwing up. Several times. When I called my parents to complain about this unfortunate happening, they answered on their way to the doctor's office - my mother had broken out in a painful rash, which they were hoping was an allergic reaction to the antibiotic she just started....fortunately, it was a reaction instead of something contagious. So armed with new medications and the rest of the kids, my parents headed towards my house. They were getting close when Neil made an observation...one of Christian's ears was completely red and swollen...it was hot to the touch and we completely panicked, as I had also noticed two weird looking bite marks on his arm that very day. Off to the doctor I went, to find out that it was a simple inflammatory reaction to those pals we all know here in the south - the mosquito. The doctor gave us several medications for him....so with the new meds packed up with the inhaler he has already been using to get through a bad cold, we finally left town....about 4 hours after our goal. An auspicious beginning, eh?

Regardless of that crazy Thursday, the rest of the trip was wonderful, even with the tropical storm that decided to show up. We didn't let the rain stop our fun....with both sides of our family there and watching the kids discover what it's like to go on a real vacation, I feel more than blessed with memories(....and my dream came true!).

Our view of the resort from our ninth floor apartment....you can't tell from this picture, but we could see the big Epcot ball and the Tower of Terror!

While waiting to check in, my sisters couldn't resist the Dance Revolution...and below is our first theme park day (my family's first trip into the Magic Kingdom)!

I know...we look stunning in our fabulous 3D glasses...I'll never forget my sister, Hannah, jumping out of her skin when the 3D mice "ran" over our feet!

What's Disney without Mickey and Minnie? The kids were a bit shy with the famous mice, but my mother-in-law got a nice big smooch from Mickey before the camera clicked! Kailey spent most of the day like this...snoozing. In this picture, though, she looks like she's conducting music...
and here's Neil spinning my siblings at warp speed on those infamous tea cups. My brother was thrilled to get behind the wheel of a car all by himself....and Christian loved watching the parade (intently!) on his Papa's shoulders.

A Small World proved to be a favorite with the kids...Sean was fascinated!
And, at the end of the day, one of the best memories of all - Kailey's first real laugh. A few tickles from her Nana and she was giggling....such a beautiful sound!

So that was our first few days...there's much more to come, including my father as a game show contestant and my father-in-law crowned king of England!