Florida Trip
February 26th-March 4th
Leading up to the trip we hadn't told the kids until like two weeks before we would actually be leaving! When we finally told them we surprised them with a mouse pizza to try and see if they could pick up on it! They did and were so excited!!
Day 1: Chris and I were feeling pretty stressed and anxious about the whole trip! I think it was a huge blessing that Emily Evershed came to give us a ride to the airport! The minute she came to our house she was full of energy and excitement that was so contagious! She definitely calmed our nerves and made us more excited about it all. Our flight left SLC at 2pm and arrived at 6pm in Orlando! The kids were all SO excited to go on a plane! Thank goodness for the tvs on the plane plus I packed them each their individual snack bags! Jackson did awesome on the flight there! Once we got their we went straight to the house that we were staying at with Heath/Anika's family, Tat's family, and Anika's parents! The house was awesome! Our family got 3 bedrooms to ourselves...it was perfect! The house also had its own pool! That night we just stayed up late talking and catching up with each other!
Day 2: Gaterland! After having a yummy breakfast by Anika we all went to Gaterland for the day! The kids all had fun seeing all the different Alligators! When we first got there the kids were able to feed the little alligators with fishing rods that detached the food! Definitely a favorite for the kids...Preston was so nice in allowing all the kids to have turns! After walking a round seeing all the different alligators we were then able to watch a redneck alligator show! The kids thought that it was funny! Several times while we were there we went to see the birds...that was another favorite for the kids! They were so excited when the birds would eat from their seed stick! Towards the end Chris took the older kids to ride on the train...we didn't know that it was going to be a forever long line. Luckily they had free icecream tasters there in line but the kids were so nervous to go ask for some by themselves! While we were waiting for them to be done Jackson fell asleep along with Luke. Anika and I were able to relax and catch up on life! So fun to have the Whittingtons back together again!
Day 3: Disney World: Magic Kingdom!! Anika and I stayed up a little bit later the night before packing lunches and snacks so that we could get up early this morning and leave to try and get there as soon as the park opens! On the way there Catherine got carsick and threw up into a big ziplock bag. I just put it outside by our tire so it wouldn't be sitting in the hot car all day....I totally forgot about it when we left, oops! Once we got there we waited for the ferry to come. They kids loved riding on the ferry! Once we got there we went straight to Jungle Cruise to wait in line. While we were in line Chris took the kids to Swiss Family Robison Tree house to play for a few minutes. They then had to rush to catch up in line with us. The Jungle Cruise ride was pretty cool, and the guide was really funny doing a lot of dad jokes just like the movie. Once we finished with that Chris and Heath took the kids to Big Thunder Mountain. Anika and I took the babies to go get a Dole Whip. We were planning on doing the family swap but after them waiting an hour and about to be their turn the ride got shut down! That was so sad and very frustrating. We had heard that Pirates of the Carribean was shut down too so we went to find a place to have lunch feeling defeated. Luckily we were right by Pirates and it opened up while we were there and we were one of the first to run and get in line! Caden thought it was really really fun! After we finished with that ride we finished with lunch and then split up...All the boys went to Slash Mountain and all the girls went to see the castle that had a cool show, we rode the Ferris Wheel, and saw the parade. After the parade we went to Little Mermaid. They guys all got done while we were still in line and they just waited for us. Once we were all reunited again I took Caden, Eli, and Catherine to Space Mountain. We were in line for about an hour for that ride but it was so cool...The whole ride was in the dark with starts, way trippy and fun! While we were on that ride Chris took McKay on a race car ride and then they all went to go in line for It's a Small World. That one was super old and kind of weird but Anika's mom said it is a must haha. Luckily while I was inside with the boys on Space mountain we didn't get rained on like the rest of them...but my poor baby and and kids were soaked! We were also able to sneak in line with them once they were only like 15 minutes away from getting on! Perfect Timing! The last ride of the day that we did was Thunder Mountain...Just had to get that one in and make up from missing this morning! Luckily the line was hardly long while I waited with the baby! The only ride that we missed out on that I really wanted to go on was te 7 Dwarfs...Next time! We then went and found a spot for watching fireworks! The kids really loved the fireworks! Those were pretty awesome! Fun long day for the kids...they were soo tired!
Day 4: Recovery Day! We started off the day by sleeping in and then Preston had made us some yummy french toast! Most of the day we just hung out at the house and swam in the pool. In the afternoon we went to the club house pool/ Splash pad which looked soo awesome but unfortunately was freezing! We didn't last long before going back to the house! Anika made us really yummy burrito bar...Man that really hit the spot! Kids watched a show and overall just the perfect relaxing day....exactly what we needed!
Day 5: Universal Studios/ Harry Potter World!! We didn't capture as many pictures, but I think we all agreed that we like Universal Studios a Lot more!! Every detail was just so well done! I loved Harry Potter World, by far our favorite ride was Hagrid's Motorcycle! We went strait to that ride first and had to wait about 45 min but me and the kids were able to go on the ride twice with the family swap which makes it so worth it! Such a thrill ride, I love it! The castle was awesome and so much detail! Wow I just wish they would do that for the princess castle! The ride in the castle was really cool the first time, kind of made me feel a little nauseous...but the kids wanted to go again really bad so I volunteered to go again and man that second time I had to keep my eyes shut and just take deep breaths, I was so nauseous afterwards! Still overall I loved Harry Potter World, loved the Butter Beer, and getting the Chocolate From...I would go back again! Jurassic World was a lot of fun too! McKay loved seeing all of the Dinosaurs! We waited in line for the water one for like two hours because they had to shut it down part way, but we had already been waiting for so long that we decided to wait it out! Kids watched shows on my phone and Jackson took a nap. But once we finally got to go on it we were able to do the family swap again so I could go on it afterwards with the kids. It was a pretty cool ride! We then went and waited in another long line for a pterodactyl ride for the little ones...By this point kids were starting to get tired. We made our way to the comic side for a spider-man ride...it was pretty cool but I was still feeling gross from the castle ride. After that we decided to split up. Anika and I took the littles to a ride in Dr. Suess. Afterwards I took the girls and McKay to ride a fish ride in Dr. Suess while everyone else went to the wand store! In the wand store Caden got chosen!!! Made his wildest dreams come true!!! Before going on this trip we had warned Caden that we wouldn't be buying any wands because they are so expensive but when he got chosen of course we had to buy it! haha What a great way to end the day!
Day 6: Beach Day! This was our last full day together before it was time for us to go back to snowy Utah! This was our kids first time being at a real beach and it was perfect! The kids had so much fun playing and being free while not standing in any lines! It was especially perfect for McKay...He was able to just be in his own little world playing in the sand! We all had fun hunting for shells, which we did find a few conch shells! The kids also enjoyed all the seagulls chasing them around trying to get their food! I quite enjoyed seeing Heath and Chris be able to play some volleyball peppering together! After a full day at the beach we went out to eat at a BBQ restaurant where I definitely ate way too much meat! haha What a great long week we had. The next morning it was sad to say goodbye but it was also exciting to be back home! The flight home was not as good for Jackson! He did amazing all week so I think he was just over it all by that point! Regardless it was sooo good to have the Whittington Crew back together again!
