Craig and I were a little apprehensive to the travel day down to Florida. We knew Cam would be fine, but Darcy can be such a bear and there's no where to go once you're on that plane. We were hoping for the best and got it! We even had two flights to get down there and Darcy was a champ through check in, security, plane ride 1 and 2, and even the 30 minute drive to Clearwater. She started to have a breakdown 5 minutes before we got to the house. Who could blame her though? She had been stuck in that car seat the entire day. Needless to say, she enjoyed stretching her legs and exploring the house we would be staying at for the next week.
On the first night, we went to watch the sunset at the beach. Ahhhhhhhhhhh....so relaxing. The sound of the ocean and the feel of sand beneath your feet is good for the soul. It would definitely be a good week. Camryn couldn't get enough of the water and waves that evening. She was 2 the last time she was at a beach. So she enjoyed the experience on an entirely different level this year.
The next day we just kind of goofed off. Flea market. Hanging out. Girls went to the beach.
On Monday, Jeff joined us from his weekend trip to a spring training game with friends. I took Darcy to the beach for the first time. She didn't disappoint. Left with her little body covered in sand. Her diaper had sand in it and she even tasted it a couple of times. That's all it took and she was convinced it was gross. Didn't have to worry about that the rest of the trip. (Just rubbing her eyes when she has a fistful of sand.) Camryn looked like she belonged on the beach. She maximized every minute she had. The great thing about staying at a beach house is all of the fun beach toys that are left for the next family. They made sand castles and floated on toys in the water.
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| Jon making the girls into mermaids. |
On Tuesday we went outlet mall shopping while the boys went on their big fishing trip. There was this giant hamster ball that Camryn was interested in climbing into. Why? Not sure. Looked awkward when she was in there but she enjoyed it. :)
Wednesday was another beach day. It's so convenient to be in a house right there. You can take breaks for lunch and naps and hop on back out there when you're ready again. Mom and Dad traveled to Universal Studios that day to see the Harry Potter world. Sounds like it was hugely long lines and little time to enjoy all of the work that was put into the set.
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| Well, at least they were all looking at the camera. LOL! |
On Thursday we surprised Charlotte and Camryn with a trip to Disney World while Mom & Dad volunteered for their own adventure to watch Riley and Darcy. We woke the girls up bright and early to break the news. A bit anti-climatic, but they were half asleep and really had no idea what "going to Disney World" truly meant. Once it started to sink in, they got more excited. Jeff rode with Craig, Cam and I and we talked about what we might see on the way there. I had lots of DW memories from our trips as kids. And, I enjoyed the day tremendously, but from a much different perspective. The rides were not quite as magical to me and I cringe at the thought (after the fact at least) on how any purchase you make is an emotional one. I mean how often are you really at DW?? But to watch a 5 year old see everything for the first time was truly amazing. Craig kept saying to me "We're never going to get this back. We need to enjoy every minute of this day with Camryn." And we did.
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| First view of the castle. |
We went on the Dumbo ride first. Cam's first response..."can we go on that again?" We wanted to let her lead us through park as much as we could but we had to make sure she had a chance to experience other things to. The day, as a whole couldn't have gone more smoothly. We had enough adults that collecting fast passes to ride things later in the day while we waited at another ride certainly made things easier. I still cannot believe how much we squeezed into the day...Dumbo, Teacups, Mickey's PhilHarmagic, Peter Pan, Cinderella's Carousel, It's A Small World, Buzz Light Year, Aladdin's Magic Carpet Ride, The Jungle Ride Country Bear Jamboree and even Craig and I made it to Space Mountain.
This doesn't even include dinner with Cinderella and event of the day...meeting Rapunzel, Disney's newest princess and her beau, Flynn Rider.
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| It's amazing to me how well Disney chooses people. These two look just like the cartoon. I can tell you one thing though, I would not want that big hunk of hair on my shoulder all day. Yikes! |
| Lady Tremaine was our first table visitor. I think at first the girls couldn't believe they were coming right up to them. But they quickly settle in and got all of the character's autographs. |
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| Prince Charming...now this was not such a good look a like. He came up to the girls and said "Wow! You look just like my wife!" |
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| Jeff's date for the night. LOL! |
It was a great day! Long, but great. So glad we had the opportunity to take the girls there. Now we are all ready to go back.
And then on our final day, we just kind of soaked up as much of the sun and ocean breeze we could. Camryn jumped as many waves as we would let her. And then that night we headed out to dinner with everyone, but first had to grab some family pics on the beach.
Thank you so much, Mom and Dad, for giving us these wonderful memories. We had an amazing time.
