We headed south to Florida for the first part of February and had a great visit. We started off visiting Grandma and Grandpa Reder in The Villages, FL (near Orlando), their new permanent home now that they've retired. We had a great time! Nearly every day was sunny and comfortable, so we spent plenty of time outside. We went swimming at their neighborhood pool, took fun golf cart rides, played at the park, and went for strolls through the square. We had some nice meals out and even did some dancing on the square in the evening. Here's some video footage that I'm sure the kids will love for us to pull out for their friends when they're older:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DEOdABh4GMWe were so glad to spend this great time with Grandma and Grandpa Reder and will miss them dearly until we get together again this summer!
Our next stop was Disney World's Magic Kingdom. What fun! We made it to all the kids' favorite rides and attractions - the spinning teacups, the magic carpet ride, the peter pan ride, it's a small world, the buzz lightyear adventure, etc. We also stopped for lunch at Cinderella's Castle and chatted with Cassidy's favorite princesses. Cassidy even wore her Cinderella costume so she could fit right in. She still talks about how Ariel called her a "cute little guppy." Later in the day, we stumbled upon a Tinkerbell meet-n-greet, which was also a big hit. We kept the fun going all the way to the 8pm fireworks show, which I have to say was really impressive. Many fun memories wee made throughout our day, for sure.
And it was all going so well, until...
We got in the car around 9pm to start our drive down to Pompano Beach, our final stop on this trip. About an hour into the 3-hour drive, with both kids fast asleep in the back seat, poor Gavin got sick. Vomiting, crying hysterically...so we frantically found the nearest truck stop and cleaned him up and grabbed the essentials in the convenience store to get us through the remainder of the drive. Thankfully, he fell back asleep and we made it the rest of the way to the beach, pulling in about 1:30am. We spent the next 3 days doing our best to enjoy the beach, despite Gavin's flu and the unfortunate rainy weather we encountered. Some of our favorite activities were getting into the ocean (we had 1 sunny afternoon!) and the pool, going to Butterfly World and Gumbo Limbo Nature Center, and enjoying a nice dinner out where the kids behaved so nicely with their coloring books on the inner side of our booth that it almost felt like Erik and I were on a date!
We returned home with Gavin feeling much better and with lots of really great memories to look back on!
Our next stop was Disney World's Magic Kingdom. What fun! We made it to all the kids' favorite rides and attractions - the spinning teacups, the magic carpet ride, the peter pan ride, it's a small world, the buzz lightyear adventure, etc. We also stopped for lunch at Cinderella's Castle and chatted with Cassidy's favorite princesses. Cassidy even wore her Cinderella costume so she could fit right in. She still talks about how Ariel called her a "cute little guppy." Later in the day, we stumbled upon a Tinkerbell meet-n-greet, which was also a big hit. We kept the fun going all the way to the 8pm fireworks show, which I have to say was really impressive. Many fun memories wee made throughout our day, for sure.
And it was all going so well, until...
We returned home with Gavin feeling much better and with lots of really great memories to look back on!
Super Gavin!!!
Cassidy and her new pal, Squirt
Santa's best delivery, according to the kids? Action Canyon Thomas - it was the only item on Gavin's list this year! Extra points to Daddy for assembling!
The ice skating crew
"Look Mom - I'm skating!"
Gavin and Grandpa Reder watch the skaters
Exchanging gifts!
It was great to spend time with Grandma and Grandpa Reder, who drove all the way from their new home in Florida!
Erik took the kids to see the annual model train exhibit at the Botanic Garden
Christmas is only days away...
Christmas Eve baking - these are cream cheese mints in wreaths shapes, yum!
Christmas Eve was wonderful - we got to spend the day with the Hardings! The kids went to bed very excited for the magic of Christmas morning!