Last day!

Our last day of our Florida trip was a packed one.

We started out at Disney Wild Kingdom and Hunter's favorite character.

We manage to book a character lunch as well.

Storm did the conga with Daisy.

And managed to track down her favorite, Mickey.

Hunter, Storm and I went on my favorite roller coaster.

We checked out the bug show.

And stayed at Wild Kingdom long enough to catch the parade.

Then we took the bus over to Disney Hollywood.

We got there just in time to catch the Indiana Jones show, which was awesome.

We wandered around, took in Star Wars, and a bunch of other attractions, and completely forgot to take pictures besides this one as we shut down the park..

The next morning saw us off home again. Completely tired and full of memories.

Fabulous vacation!

Who is that kid....

Hunter has joined lacrosse and decided the hair has to go...

I'm quite sad about it.

I can understand why he wants to though. That's a whole mess full of thick hair to cram in a helmet and keep under control.

That's a pile of hair!!

Gone. All gone!

Good Saturday morning

Poor Blade

Have you seen a sadder sight?!

Poor Blade was home sick. His front tooth was super loose and I finally pulled it out. He was so distraught! The other one is loose too.

"I don't want it to come out! How will I eat?!?"

Sadder face was never seen...

Universal Studios

The third day's plan was to hit up Universal Studios, and most importantly, Harry Potter and Hogwarts!

First though, Dr. Seuss and a few rides.

The Three Broomsticks!

We tried butter beer, bought ourselves a chocolate frog, some every flavor beans, and some pumpkin juice. Strolled through the shops, especially Ollivander's, and bought a couple of wands.

Hunter, Storm and I rode the Hogwarts ride. What a good time. Unfortunately it was extremely busy that day and we didn't ride Harry's roller coaster. Next time!

Storm in front of Gilderoy Lockhart's display.

Quidditch anyone?

So fun.

We also checked out Jurassic Park.

Blade looked a little terrified...

Hunter, Storm and I did Rip Saw Falls as well. So glad it was a warm day, because did we ever get wet!!!

We even found a Sweet store.

Everyone enjoyed Universal. We saw a few characters, rode some rides, and enjoyed a cool night time show.

Only one day left though! Gonna be a long one....

My super star

My girl loves her sports.

So proud of her. She gets in there and really participates in everything.

Basketball. Volleyball. Rock climbing. Swimming. Art club. Badminton.

The list goes on. Such a good sport too.

Love it.

And so it begins...

Cornered in the deep end by a girl...

For like five minutes!

I'm not ready.

Sea World

Wednesday was our trip to Sea World. It was a nice relaxing day. It's such a different vibe than Disney.

We took in the wildlife sights. Toured through the aquariums. Stuck our heads inside a shark...

We fed the sharks, the seals, the manta rays and a few wild birds who attempt to get all your bait! I must say, not too many of us were thrilled about the container full of fish pieces! Like I told Storm, you just grab it without looking and don't think about it! Thankfully they have sinks and soap to wash afterwards!!

There isn't as many rides to go on, but I did manage to convince Hunter to go on the Manta with me. Storm was grateful she was too short! One of the scariest roller coasters I've been on, but I would have liked to do it again so that I could keep my eyes open through more of it!

We commemorated Hunter's survival with a dog tag.

We also managed to watch a few shows. The pirate seal show was entertaining. However of course, Shamu was the highlight!

Waiting in the splash zone seats for the show to start. Hey, if you're there, ya gotta sit in the splash zone! Although mom wasn't so sure and ended up buying a rain poncho!

They are huge! And we didn't end up getting very wet. Whew.

Storm had to stop everything to find herself.

After our adventures at Sea World, we were so lucky to be invited out for supper at Doug and Elna's Florida home.

The kids were so enamoured with the heated pool that they barely left it to eat supper!

It was a fabulous day. Perfect weather. Perfect company.

We took some reluctant children out of the pool and back to the resort.

Up next was Universal Studios and my personal favorite, Harry Potter!

Disney - Day One

January 7th, Mom, the kids and I set off onto our vacation. Disney World!

The kids took a week off of school so that we could go during low season in the hopes that it wouldn't be so busy. It was nice to leave cold Canada during the winter too! We swapped our -25 weather for +28 in Florida!

Yup, we were about that excited!!

Here we are on the Magical Express heading to our Disney resort. We manage to navigate our way out of the Orlando airport, eventually(!) and everyone was happy to soon be done traveling for a few days!

After some brainstorming between Grandma and me about which parks we should go to and when, the kids took in some swimming and then crashed for the night.

They loved that big pool right outside our rooms. It was a perfect way for them to wind down and relax after long days at the park.

After a quick breakfast, we were ready to go to Magic Kingdom for the day. We had SO much fun. We took in Pirates of the Caribbean nearly first thing.

Storm and Blade liked some of the smaller rides, like Aladdin. Blade is not too sure about roller coasters but we did get him on quite a few rides. Grandma too!

Whew. Time for an ice cream break! We had beautiful weather.

One thing I love about Disney is all the little shows. Whether it's Mickey and his friends dancing at the castle, the parades, or the random music shows you can stop and dance at, there is always something to see and do.

The kids loved seeing the fireworks. I took Storm and Blade on Space Mountain. It was worth the line up. Storm wasn't too sure she wanted to go on it, but I forced her anyways. Hilarious. Storm screamed her head off. Seriously the highlight of the day for me! And for the record, she wanted to go again! I'm so lucky Hunter loves the roller coasters and will go with me. We went on quite a few that day. We are slowly converting Storm too!!

After an extremely long jam packed day, we headed back to the hotel to swim and sleep. After all, Sea World was up next and we needed at least a little sleep!