In May, we took an amazing trip to Florida. All 4 of us, accompanied by my parents. We spent 3 days in Orlando, 1 day in Cocoa Beach, and 2 days in West Palm, staying with my Aunt and Uncle. On our first full day there, we went to Downtown Disney and had some fantastic company. Anita (Bucklew) Komma met us there and we roamed around and had lunch with her. It was SO great to see her and her baby belly! Cheryl and her husband John, their son Carter, and John's mom also met us there! We had a great time.
We went to the beach twice, hung out with my family members who still live in West Palm (above: cousin Greg and his little family....I miss them!)
We had tons of fun at the beach. Alayna has always loved playing in the water and in the sand, collecting shells, and chasing the birds. We called Becca the baby sea turtle because whenever we set her down she started crawling full speed toward the water. Yeah, had to keep a close eye on that one! She was the typical 7 month old...attempting to eat sand, seashells, and seaweed.
We happened to choose to go to Magic Kingdom on Jeff's birthday! Boy, was it magical! We had such a great time, and a lot of it was because we got to hang out with these guys. My BFF since 7th grade, who now lives in Atlanta with her husband and cute little boy (who is asleep in the stroller and sadly, got cut out of this picture)
We had SO.MUCH.FUN...it was a great day. Alayna loved seeing the characters and liked the rides (for the most part). Becca was a great sport and took naps in the stroller when needed. I definitely will be itching to go back soon, and I hope it was a great birthday for my wonderful husband!
Of course we had to take this picture...Jeff and I have this same pose and photo taken 5 years ago, when we took a trip to Disney pre-kiddos.
Mommy and Alayna wanted to ride Aladdin's Magic Carpet Ride!
Buzz Lightyear ride/Game.....I loved how we could even bring Becca on most of the rides
Monsters, Inc. Comedy Club. I just love this picture of Jeff with the girls
We ate lunch in the (airconditioned) Crystal Palace. Alayna liked seeing all of the Winnie the Pooh characters (except Tigger...she never warmed up to him).
We also took a day to spend with my grandma (Alayna refers to her as Granny). She is getting closer to 90 and has dementia pretty badly, but she is always a riot to be around.
We also roamed Downtown Disney. Here we are in the World of Disney Store, Alayna decided to take a break from walking by riding in her BABY sisters carseat. Yep, she is tiny enough to do that.
My mom and I LOVED watching Alayna and Granny interact. Alayna "read" her stories and Granny just ate her up. They had some of the sweetest conversations. I'm so glad they made some good memories that trip.
We took some time to walk the grounds of the gorgeous Orlando temple. Notice Alayna and Moroni.
**Stay tuned for more pictures from our trip!
Also in May:
-I completed another online course through the Utah Education System to earn license points. Yes, it is worth mentioning because I feel accomplished when I finish them because they are a pain.
-I continued my half marathon training
-Jeff and I took our annual birthday trip to Tucanos...yum! (when you sign up for their birthday club, you get a free meal, and since it costs about $25 per person to eat there, we only go for our birthdays!)
On our last day in Florida, we went to Universal Studios. The main attractions for us were Harry Potter Land and Seuss Landing. We all had a great time! Above: note Alayna is holding a mug of Butterbeer slushie....that hit the spot on a hot day!
Giving Becca a bath at our 2nd hotel, just across the street from Universal
All of us with Thing 1 and Thing 2...note that Becca is just about to pull several strands of Thing 2's hair out...she's very good at that. We also saw The Grinch, The Cat in the Hat, The Lorax, and Sam-I-Am.
This is probably the coolest carousel I've ever seen!
One fish two fish ride...complete with spraying water and bubbles!
Our hotel across from Universal...settling down from a big day and getting ready to go home the next day
We dragged out kids around everywhere that trip, and they were really good about sleeping whenever the opportunity came up: in the car, in a stroller, etc. We wore them out!
One more picture of Dr. Seuss land. What a great trip.....hope its not too long before we visit again, Florida. Although circumstances continue to make visiting more difficult, I will always find a way back.
