Back from Orlando

Hey! We spent August 30- September 6 on vacation in Orlando and it was really fun! To be honest, when people ask us how is was, we usually say, "REALLY FUN and sorta hard!" It added an interesting dynamic to the trip having an 8 month old. We took Ava to Virginia beach for a long weekend when she was about the same age, and no doubt its a lot more difficult with 2, then 1. But, overall- Jesse seriously is a such a good baby, he's just really active! And Ava was such a good girl, it was so fun to watch her enjoy herself so much. And Michael and I loved getting to see my whole family for 7 full days- how cool! I had a lot of help with the little guy, too, which is always nice.
We drove through the night Friday night with my mom and dad to get there. It was a rough drive since none of us could fall asleep during our off driving duty times. And the kids woke up each time we had to refuel. (I think Ava was also up from 3-5 am for no apparent reason, too. ) I hope she isn't up during those hours every night! Long story short- We made it. We drove straight to Cocoa Beach (where Michael and I went on our honeymoon and 1 year anniversary.) Jesse immediately decided that sand was his new favorite food :)
From there we drove to the condo where all 16 of us would stay and we had plenty of room, which was nice. (Thanks Uncle Rick for letting us rent your condo!) And props to my big bro who so generously paid for the whole family to stay!! That was so sweet.
Days were spent swimming at the pool, cousins playing, adults hanging out- catching up, and going on some outings. We went to the gulf one day to St. Pete beach and had lots of fun and lots of family pictures. I will admit that trying to rinse sand out of the butt cracks of 2 kids was sorta stressful since they were both crying and I felt like crying myself for a moment. :) Thankfully Michael always helps me to calm down when I feel stressed!
Tuesday we spent the whole day at Disney World. Thanks mom and dad for buying the whole family's tickets to get in! Again, so generous! Ava LOVED it and had the time of her life. Jesse did surprisingly well even though I know he had no idea what was going on. He loved "It's a small world" and it was so sweet to see the look on his face during that ride. We rode lots of rides and we even stood in line to meet Mickey and Minnie. Ava had been looking forward to meeting them for months. I think Ava and her cousin Hannah were in shock to meet "the real Minnie Mouse" They are both big fans! Michael and I had both never been before and it was really cool- We definitely want to go back when Jesse is a little older.

This was our Christmas/ B-day presents to each other for a year. My family decided that for a full year we wouldn't buy gifts and save the money that we would've spent to be able to do this vacation- Good idea Dave!

To see lots more pictures click here
or
http://picasaweb.google.com/maryjohnson98/DisneyVacation08?authkey=HBOwnXM8ZIQ#