The Big Surprise

As I mentioned in my last post, we were surprising the kids, mostly Ellie, with a trip to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter which is located in Orlando at Universal's Islands of Adventure.   Ellie didn't even know such a place existed so my plan was to just pull up at the gates and let her figure it out.  The kids thought we were driving back to Texas, but instead, we drove 6 hours further into Florida to Orlando.  We stayed at the new Drury which is on the same exit and right next door to Universal.  Still, the kids were clueless.  In the elevator at the hotel, a man asked the kids of they were excited to go to Disney World.  I just said, "oh, we are just on our way home."  Still clueless.  When we drove into the parking garage at Universal and the kids saw the big roller coasters, I asked them if they wanted to go to an amusement park before driving back to Texas.  They were excited about it.  It wasn't until we were inside and Ellie was measuring herself on a sign that told how tall you had to be for each ride did she see the Harry Potter rides listed.  I then told here where we were and she was excited, but when we actually got to the back of the park and she saw Hogwarts and Hogsmeade Village...her jaw just dropped and she was speechless.

Honestly?  I loved it, too.  It was so awesome.  I mean, the whole park was cool, but the Harry Potter section was amazing.  We had rain off and on, but we were able to be inside at the Three Broomsticks eating when the worst of it hit. Oh my gosh, the food at the Three Broomsticks was so good.  We got the Feast for Four for $50 and couldn't even finish it.  It kept us full for the whole day.

Seriously, it was the most fun day.  Jack loved the Superhero section, specifically the Spider-Man ride.  Even Sam enjoyed riding around in the stroller and looking at all the action around him.  We were exhausted but happy at the end of the day when we got in the car to start our drive home.

Even though we had a rough start and we came home to a leaking ceiling, this vacation was still awesome.  I just wish I had been better taking pictures, but I was having too much fun to be bothered.

More vacation documentation - Destin, Florida

OK, I am finally getting around to blogging more about my vacation.  After I recovered from my violent but short-lived illness, the rest of the vacation was awesome!  The kids loved the beach and Tom and I rotated taking them out in the water to body surf while the other would stay with Sam.  After that first day, we never dragged the wading pool, beach toys, snacks, and towels to the beach.  Despite all the research I had done to the contrary on taking small children to the beach, I discovered that my kids were happiest playing in the water and didn't want all that other stuff.  It helped that our condo was right on the beach so we could run back and forth if needed.  So, yeah, more unnecessary stuff I packed.  Each evening we went into town for dinner and to explore.  We ate at some great places (Dewey Destin and AJ's) and some not so great (The Back Porch and Fuddpuckers).

 We did end up doing the dolphin cruise.  I envisioned it being one of those big, two desk ships I had seen in the water that said "dolphin cruise" on the side, but the one we booked was this small boat and no life jackets were issued, even though the driver was insane and the waves were crazy.  The driver (pilot? boat commander? I don't know my nautical terms) flew through the water, the spray soaking us and the boat at times full on air-ridden.  I thought for sure we would capsize and I was trying to strategize how to rescue all three kids.  Ellie and Jack were simultaneously terrified and thrilled.  The crazy part was the only time Sam wasn't crying.  When the boat was going slow so we could look at dolphins, he cried the whole time because he wanted to be free to crawl around the boat or climb over the side and throw himself into the ocean.  At one point, the captain (captain!), let all the kids come drive.  Ellie didn't want to, but Jack did and loved it.

I was sad when our four days were up and it was time to go, but I was so excited about the surprise we had in store for the kids...a trip to Orlando to go to Universal's Islands of Adventure, specifically, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

Our cursed vacation

We are currently in Destin, Florida.  I have been planning and obsessing for this vacation for weeks now. I have a packing list that is three pages long. And I didn't just pin road trip ideas off Pinterest, I actually did them. Now that I know better, here is my advice: all kids need are some movies and electronics to keep them happy.  All those laminated books and fun craft activities just take up space. Besides, the kid you really need to keep entertained, the 1 year old, well, nothing on Pinterest will work for him.  Just pack Benadryl.

A couple days before we left, my car broke down and had to be towed from the school parking lot.  The very car we were taking to Florida.  Then my son, who is never sick, came down with an ear infection on Friday and was running a high fever. I started to wonder if this vacation was cursed. We bumped our departure date from Saturday to early Sunday and drove straight through to Florida.

Our condo is awesome.  Even better than I imagined.   However, I didn't imagine getting so sick the first day that I started vomiting on the beach and barely made it back to the condo without passing out.  I spent the rest of the day in a feverish haze in my bed, every inch of my body hurting.  I don't ever remember feeling so awful.

I feel better today and we have a dolphin cruise planned.  I am crossing my fingers and hoping our bad luck is behind us!