Florida

After experiencing our first Midwest winter last year we realized that the key to surviving another one would be to break up the long, bitter cold months with a fun getaway. It had been several years since we had gone on a big family vacation and with a new baby on the way we figured this would be our last chance to enjoy the ease of traveling without a baby or toddler for quite awhile and we should take advantage of it. When Scott found a great deal on airfare to Florida my mind was made up that this was the perfect opportunity for us to take Mason, who is currently obsessed with all things Harry Potter, to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and for Miles to experience Disney for the first time. After pricing everything out we realized this was going to exceed our vacation budget and decided that rather than giving our kids a bunch of needless things for Christmas we would give them a fun filled family vacation.

January finally came and it was time for our long awaited trip. Rather than giving a play by play of the entire trip I will simply record some of the highlight memories.

Sunday: Flight to Florida

• The kids might have been just as excited about flying on an airplane as they were for actually going to Florida. 
• Miles was so excited as he anticipated the plane "blasting off."
• Arriving in Florida and walking outside without being bitten by freezing cold winds was heavenly.

Monday: Wizarding World of Harry Potter

• The first ride we went on was the Transformers ride we passed on our way back to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and Miles just had to go on it. It was the best thing that had ever happened in Miles life while it played a key role in establishing Brynn's dislike of the loud and scary 3D interactive rides throughout the park.
• Entering Diagon Alley was just like walking into the Harry Potter books. Mason and I were totally geeking out together and we walked around all the shops together. 
• I immediately was kicking myself for forgetting to pack Mason's Quidditch Robes from Halloween. The majority of kids walking around were fully outfitted in their Hogwarts Robes which cost over a hundred dollars.
• Miles loved the Fire Breathing Dragon above Gringott's bank, but then the rest of the day whenever we walked on the street under it he would freak out because he was sure it was going to burn us up. 
• We went to Ollivander's wand shop where Mason carefully chose out a wand. He chose a reed wand which was the perfect fit because it represents knowledge. Miles and Brynn decided they would rather get a different souvenir.
• Following his map around, Mason learned how to cast spells with his interactive wand. He was able to turn on drinking fountains, make it rain, and many other cool things. Buying the interactive wand was totally worth it and really contributed to Mason enjoying the whole atmosphere even more.
• We overestimated how warm 50 degrees would feel and only brought jackets the first day at the park. Poor Brynn and Miles were pretty cold which made it a little less fun for them until it warmed up more.
• We weren't sure if Miles would be tall enough to ride on all the rides, but he just skimmed the height marker with the hood of his sweatshirt which luckily he kept up all the time because he was so cold.
• The Escape from Gringott's ride was awesome! Even standing in the long line wasn't bad because it wove all through Gringott's bank filled with lifelike Goblins and other scenes from the books. 
• We were able to walk through platform 9 3/4 (which had a really cool optical illusion that made it look like you were really walking through the wall) and ride on the Hogwarts Express over to Hogsmead. 
• We had lunch at the Three Broomsticks including a cup of Butterbeer for everyone. Yum!
• Brynn and Miles weren't as entertained by the little details all around since they hadn't read all the books. They were more than happy to visit Honeydukes and pick out some treats while Mason spent more time exploring all the shops in Hogsmead.
• I'm not sure what we enjoyed more - walking through Hogwarts castle, or the ride at the end. It was all pretty awesome. 
• There were a few actual roller coasters in this park that Brynn enjoyed riding much more than the 3D rides.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter did not disappoint!! I am so glad we were able to go during a less crowded season because the narrow streets and tight little shops got congested easily and I can't imagine fighting through peak season crowds and being able to enjoy it as much as we did. I am so glad Mason was able to experience this at the height of his Harry Potter passion. It was pretty magical for him. Brynn and Miles definitely didn't appreciate it as much and I would love to be able to bring them back after they have read the books.

Tuesday: Magic Kingdom

Disney World has 4 different parks, but our budget would only allow us two days at Disney so we had to choose which parks we wanted to go to most. After a lot of back and forth we decided to do Magic Kingdom thinking it would be more geared toward Miles and Brynn since Universal Studios was geared more toward Mason. As it turns out, our kids appear to have outgrown Magic Kingdom and were all a little bored by the rides. If we had to do it again we would have gone to Hollywood Studios.

• The first item of business upon entering the park was finding a light saber for Miles which he had decided back on Christmas Day was what he wanted to get instead of a wand. Once he had his light saber in hand he was a happy boy.
• Brynn and Mason loved Space Mountain. The bigger and faster the ride the better for these kids. Miles would have loved it just as much but unfortunately he wasn't quite tall enough yet. Maybe next time.
• After riding the Ariel ride which is one of the classic conveyor belt rides at Disney Miles loudly announced, "That wasn't even Awesome!" Like I said, the kids were a little disappointed by the rides at Magic Kingdom. We have some definitely thrill seekers in our family.
• Brynn chose to get a Baby Lady stuffed animal and some earrings for her souvenir.
• When we asked Brynn if she wanted to go see any of the Princesses her response was, "They are just people dressed up in costumes, right? It seems like kind of a waste to stand in line for a long time just to take a picture with them." Bless you child.
• Our other kids all felt the same about all the characters and we went an entire trip to Disney without taking a picture with a single character. I kind of regret it now that we didn't even get a picture with Mickey or anything to commemorate our trip to Disney. Oh well.

Wednesday: Animal Kingdom

• Animal Kingdom turned out to be the perfect pick for our mid-week park. It was more like a zoo than an amusement park which meant a lot more walking around seeing things and a lot less standing in lines.
• The one big rollercoaster ride, Everest Expedition, was quite possibly our favorite ride of the trip and merited several rides. 
• The Safari ride was awesome! We rode in big trucks through an African savanna and saw animals in more natural habitats. It was so cool seeing animals up close and moments like when we had to stop and wait for a group of giraffes to walk across the road so we could continue on. 
• The kids worked all day toward earning their Wilderness Explorer. They had a booklet that took them to different booths all around the park where there were different things they had to learn and do in order to get a sticker for their book. They came so close to completing them all, but we ran out of time. It was still super fun and kept them excited and involved as we traveled around the park. 
• The Lion King show they put on was very fun to watch. Their were all sorts of dancers, stunt people, and even someone who swallowed fire. The kids couldn't believe it.
• While we were in a gift shop earlier in the day Miles found a little explorer kit with binoculars, a flashlight, whistle, and a pretend knife that he really wanted to buy with his money. I thought it was ridiculously over priced at $20 and thought that if we just kept moving on he would forget about it. I told him we could get it at the end of the day if he still wanted it. Well he didn't forget and when we stopped at the big main gift shop on our way out of the park they did not have the explorer pack. It was only at the Everest gift shop which was on the other side of the park and had already closed. Miles was devastated and started bawling. I felt bad that I hadn't let him get it earlier. I really didn't think he would still want it by the end of the day, but boy was I wrong. A manager in the store we had asked about the explorer kit earlier saw how upset Miles was and came up to us and asked for us to describe the kit again. He then told us to wait there while he ran to get the kit. We told him he didn't need to do that, but he insisted. We waited for 20 minutes or so as the whole park was closing down. Then down the path we saw the manager running with a bag in his hand. He gave Miles the bag and inside was his beloved Explorer kit. He wouldn't even let us pay for it. We thanked him repeatedly and he said, "It's my job to make sure that everyone leaves Disney happy." He totally made the whole trip for Miles.

Thursday: Universal Studios

We returned to Universal Studios on Thursday, this time planning to do everything outside of Harry Potter. We had a good time riding some of the rides, but it felt like they were all just the same 3D ride with different characters. I think next time our family will have to go somewhere like six flags to get our fill of rollercoasters.

• Miles and the boys went on the Transformer ride several more times throughout the day while Brynn and I waited outside. Neither one of us was a big fan of it. It still remained Miles' favorite ride.
• We enjoyed the Jurassic Park area where there were a few fun rides and some cool dinosaur stuff. 
• All the big marvel rides were closed for renovations along with the minions ride. Bummer.
• We made our way pretty quickly through the park and eventually ended up back in the Wizarding World of Harry potter to ride the big rides again since they were our favorite. The lines were much longer than Monday. After weighting in line for over an hour we got to the front of the Hogwarts ride and the worker measured Miles and said he wasn't tall enough and wouldn't let him go. Miles was heartbroken, but I was just grateful we had gotten away with it on Monday and he'd been able to ride it then. The only good thing that came of it was that Brynn and Miles got to ride it twice in a row with the rider swap program that Universal has. Thanks for taking one for the team Miles.

Friday: Rest, Swimming, Movie

Friday morning we woke up to an overcast and scattered rain forecast and Scott running a fever. The kids were kind of over waiting in lines at the parks and really just wanted to swim and relax. So we skipped out on our last scheduled day at Universal. We went and saw a movie that morning and then the kids and I went swimming in the afternoon when it warmed up a bit. Scott really was feeling pretty miserable and slept for most of the day. It was actually kind of nice to have a day of relaxing after four days in the parks.
That night the fire alarms went off in our hotel in the middle of the night and we got to go hang out outside while the Fire Department checked the hotel. Turns out someone just decided to take a smoke in the stairwell.

Saturday: Beach

Saturday we packed up and headed out to the coast to spend the day on the beach. We always seem to have the best time playing at the beach and I find myself wondering why we don't move closer to a beach.

• The kids had a blast running around playing in the waves, searching for sea shells, and building sand castles and creations.
• After playing in the sand for a bit Miles had an absolute meltdown about the sand being everywhere and not being able to wipe off his feet. I finally got him to settle down by Scott who was still feeling under the weather and they took a nap together while the rest of us played. When Miles woke up he was running a fever as well.
• My thoughts were on Ellie as we played at the beach. The last time we went to the beach was on our trip to California before our move. Ellie had stayed home with my mom and I felt so bad we had to leave her behind. I had looked forward to the day when Ellie could go to the beach with us, but that was something she never got to experience with us.
• After a fun day in the sun we drove and found a hotel to stay for our last night in Florida. Half our crew was feeling pretty crummy by this point and we were ready to head home.

Sunday: Back to Reality
Sunday we returned home to Omaha. I wish I could say it was a completely magical trip, but the truth is that knowing this trip would never have been possible if Ellie were still here was always on the back of my mind and the feelings of guilt weighed heavy on my heart. These were the types of experiences I mourned the loss of during Ellie's life and so now to enjoy them feels like we're happy Ellie's gone. These are the constant feelings I continue to struggle with. Sometimes I wonder if these feelings will ever go away. Will I ever be able to truly enjoy the happy moments in life or will they always be tainted by the sting of loss? 

I am grateful for our chance to take our family on this vacation and make so many wonderful memories.