This is the girls' second Florida trip and they are only 3 years old! Last trip we were on the gulf, but this year we were on the Atlantic side at New Smyrna beach (about an hour from Orlando). We went with Lara and Charlie and their family, Dan's parents Mike and Deb, and Dan's brother Pete. We had absolutely gorgeous weather and we were gone the perfect week from Minnesota. It seemed like we were gone for longer than one week, but mostly because we were away during the Boston bombings, plus a couple big snowstorms. (Duluth got 2-3 feet of snow in a couple of days while the cities got less.) This Boston bombing was so sad to hear about, especially because I am a runner and I couldn't believe these guys would do that at such a positive environment. Anyways, my friends that ran it are safe so I am thankful.
When we booked the trip, Dan and I had decided that the girls were too young for Disney World and that it would be a nightmare but then we just went for it! It wasn't determined what day we were going to do it, so on Wednesday I woke up to Dan saying "We might be going to Disney- like right now". "What?! OK!!" That is just how Dan's family rolls. We only went one day- it was exhausting but fun. The girls did maybe slightly better than I expected. They were freaked out during parts of the Little Mermaid ride and the Winnie the Pooh ride (it was really gentle but some parts were too psychedelic for them I think!) They seemed to enjoy "It's a Small World", the Dumbo ride, and the Magic Carpet ride. I can't tell you how many comments we got, both at Disney and just in general on the trip. We stayed for the 9pm parade so the kids could see their favorite characters one last time. We were just too tired for the fireworks (I know I was at least!)
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| Grandma and Grandpa with their granddaughters (sweeeet shades!) |
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| Cousins at the entry to Magic Kingdom (Dane, Josie, Sofia, Madeline, and Peter) |
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| Grandpa and Madeline on the Winnie the Pooh ride (yes, she wasn't too thrilled) |
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| Waiting in line for "It's a Small World" (M, S, J) |
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| Dane and Peter meeting one of their favorite characters |
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| Peter, Buzz, and Dane |
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| While we waited for the family that rode Space Mountain, the girls played. |
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| Just a cute pic of how the girls got around when they were too tired |
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| Madeline sleeping on daddy on our way out of Disney- long day for a little body! |
All the other days were spent playing on the beach and at the pool. Our condo was RIGHT on the beach- just perfect. The beach was quiet with soft sand. The first time we went to Florida, the girls didn't handle the sand that well, but this time they had a blast. It's also nice going when they are older and don't need two naps. Will was easy on the beach too. He normally took a nice 2 hour nap in his car seat or under the shade tent we brought. I have to add that he blows out of his size 2 diapers, so I have been using them up on THE GIRLS! The diapers are small looking on Will and only a little smaller looking on the girls. It is MUCH different raising a full-term boy compared to my petite girls!
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| Waiting for the first beach outing of the trip! |
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| Yay, the beach! |
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| Peter playing with beach toys |
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| Josephine going for a casual beach stroll |
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| Being turned into mermaids (and merme!) |
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Nice, Sofia! (Kinda reminds me of Zoolander's pose)
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| Zoolander |
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| Grandma and Madeline (I had to zoom-in in iPhoto to see who that was!) |
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| Surfin' USA! |
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| Had to show the surfin' pic from 2 years ago! What a change! |
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| Sister fun! (S, J, M) |
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| I think Madeline is keeping an eye out on the fishing :) |
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| Dane shows his surfing skills too |
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| At the National Park beach (couple miles away) |
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| The girls and Peter doing some digging |
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| Dane playing |
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| Sofia! |
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| Beach scene |
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| Snack time! (Peter, Sofia, Madeline, Josie) |
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| Dan towing Josie |
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| Madeline working on my birthday cake (a little late!) |
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| Uncle Pete teasing a crab, Sofia helping with the lighting |
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| Sand crab at night! |
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| I wish I were still there! |
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| Josie and her truck! |
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| Josie in the water |
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| Run, Sofia! |
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| Lara and I tried to get a good beach shot- this is the best I got (Dane, Peter, Sofia, Josie, Madeline) |
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| More play |
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| Madeline running in the water |
We usually went to the pool after nap. Of my girls, Sofia enjoyed it the most and was learning to kick her feet and doggy paddle with her arms. They haven't had any swimming lessons- official or otherwise. Madeline liked it, but not quite as much as Sofia, and Josie was the most tentative. Overall they did much better than the last time they were in the pool. Dane is a really good swimmer and Peter doesn't have much fear either.
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| The cousins at the pool! (Dane, Madeline, Josie, Sofia, and Peter) |
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| Dane jumping in! |
Dan and the other guys did some fishing and caught one of our dinners- yummy! One night we went out to a restaurant with fresh seafood. The restaurant had a dock where manatees were known to hang around. Guess who spotted the manatee first- Dane!
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| Our family at the restaurant (S, J, M) |
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| Lara, Dane, Charlie, and Peter |
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| Father and son |
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| Madeline and Grandma |
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| Grandpa with Josie and Sofia |
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| The girls looking at their dinner |
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| Our family (appetizers on the table- clams from the restaurant's own clam farm) |
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| Sorry, no seafood for you, Will! |
We spent one night at the Waldorf on the Disney property. It was very posh and the pools were fun (including a lazy river, a gradual entry pool, and a kiddie pool that was only one foot deep). Mike and Deb are still there because Mike has a work conference. We met up with some friends- Jake and Michelle- on Saturday for dinner at Downtown Disney. Fun times!
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| Sofia, Madeline, and Josie playing in the kiddie pool (it was quiet at the pool area because it was a "cool" day at only the lower 70's- fine for us Minnesotans!) |
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| Will and I lounging at the Waldorf pool |
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| The whole crew at the Waldorf- our family left for the airport two minutes later! |
Today we finalized a baptism- this Sunday! The pastor who came to the hospital to baptize the quads when James was sick is about to retire so we had to schedule it quickly so he could do it.
I know it's redundant to talk about weather in Minnesota, but I have to add that we got a dumping of snow last night. We even lost power from 5am to 8am. This weekend we're supposed to hit upper 60's! Will spring be here to stay? Hope so! I have to go buy some mud boots because I think we're going to have a long mud season. Have a great rest of the week, everyone!
