Florida in February!

Florida was awesome. Like, I'm getting excited just thinking about it all as I get ready to document it! We had this trip on our calendar even before we moved to CT so it was great to finally go back and escape the cold! Tyler's industry has a big conference in Orlando every February so we scheduled the trip around that. I got a little nervous when I realized I'd be 12 weeks pregnant during this week. But luckily I felt fine most of the time!

When we left our house, it looked something like this. It was just crazy even packing swimsuits, shorts and sandals when I had been wearing nothing but boots, long pants and sweaters for months.

Our flight left Friday night and while we already knew it'd be a late night, it got even later with it being delayed over an hour. The good news was we were flying jet blue on a direct flight, the bad news was that Abbie never fell asleep! Even though we didn't land until after 11 pm. I was so frustrated with that, it didn't make the arrival as sentimental or emotional as I thought it would be. And honestly that was probably a good thing :) She finally fell asleep after screaming for about 15 minutes in the car. Luckily Jackson can sleep through anything and fell asleep on the plane and the back in the car the second we started driving.

For the first two nights we stayed at the Munns house which was so much fun! It was so great to see them again and be back in our old stomping grounds. We got to their house around midnight and cute Jacque had stayed up for us. We got the kids to bed quickly and then hit the sack ourselves minutes later.


DAY ONE (Saturday: Morning @ Epcot, Afternoon Naps & Night @ Magic Kingdom)

Thank you to the Heningers for getting us tickets for our first day! We knew the weather wouldn't be great this day and honestly it was a pretty cold day for Florida but upper 50s still felt glorious to us! It was drizzling a little bit when we got there but it really wasn't anything too bad.

First stop was the Nemo Aquarium and the kids loved it! It was so much fun seeing what Jackson remembered 10 months later. He really remembered so many more little details than I would have thought. He remembered about the interactive games at the exit of the exhibit in there and surprised me often by pointing me in the direction of a ride or exhibit he remembered.

Next we went to the Land where we found out that Jackson was tall enough to ride Soarin! He probably was just barely too short when we moved. This was the one "thrill" ride I could do as a pregnant lady so I was already excited to ride it, then being able to ride it with Jackson made it so much better. It was honestly one of the highlights of the trip for me. I was a little nervous that HE would get a little nervous about the ride lifting him up in the air. We talked a lot about it while we were waiting in the fast pass line and we were both so excited when we got in there to take our seats. He did get a nervous look when the ride started, but as soon as the first image appeared on the screen of the golden gate bridge, he got the biggest grin on his face and was LOVING it for the rest of the ride. One of his favorite parts was when the golf ball almost hit us :) I probably was looking at him just as much as I was looking at the screen but I loved every second of it!

My buddy and me!

Very serious business...

Next, the little rider man was able to go on Test Track with Tyler! They had so much fun together but Jackson got a little nervous when it went outside so fast. But he has talked about this ride quite a bit since being home so I think he liked it just fine :)

Getting ready to take off for test track!

Eating cookies while we waited for the boys!

 One of the things Jackson was most excited about was meeting Anna & Elsa! I had looked up that they were at the Norway pavilion at Epcot. So I thought I'd be smart and head over there early while the boys were riding test track. Little did I know there was going to be a 3 1/2 hour line with no fast pass. Wow, I guess I should have expected that but I was willing to wait an hour or so while Tyler got lunch with the kids but 3 1/2 hours -- no way! We weren't even planning to be there that long! Jennings normally don't wait for anything at Disney more than 20 minutes, so obviously Tyler wasn't even going to think about it. So instead we walked into the Norway gift shop and watched the other kids meet them. Honestly Jackson & Abbie would have been very timid in talking to them anyways so this was actually perfect. And then, when it was time for the princesses to take a break, they literally walked right past us and waved at our kids and Elsa even gave Abbie's arm a little squeeze. We literally ate lunch in this gift shop just so our kids could see them longer.

Anna waving hi to Abbie!

We had a couple more stops we wanted to do in Epcot before we left, but as we walked out of Norway it was starting to rain... hard! So we decided to call it a day and headed back to the car. That was actually one of the low-moments of the trip as I remember it. Abbie literally screamed the whole walk to the car until I got her out of the stroller to hold her.

Luckily we got back to Jacque's house and she took a three hour nap! Tyler and I napped too, I think I slept for 2 hours which felt amazing!

Tyler picked up some Four Rivers BBQ for an early dinner with Jacque & Rulon before we headed back out to Magic Kingdom for the night. When we were getting there around 6 there were tons of people leaving the park which is always nice to see for ride wait time purposes :) We didn't have a ton of time obviously but since Abbie took such a great nap we were hoping to last as long as possible.

We just hung out in Tomorrow-land & Fantasyland. We rode Buzz, Met Buzz, rode the Speedway, Carousal, Mermaid, Dumbo, Barnstormer and Small World. We got drinks in Belle's village, saw some of the electrical parade, but the thing our kids have talked about the most since being home was meeting four princesses! We met Rapunzel, Snow White, Cinderella & Aurora. Jackson was super shy the whole time and Abbie obviously wouldn't let us put her down ever but wow that made an impact. Snow White was by far the cutest with Abbie and now because of that, Snow White is her favorite princess. They bonded over having matching bows and Abbie blew her a kiss and played peek a boo with her. Now whenever Abbie puts on a Red Bow, she gets excited to look like Snow White (purple for Rapunzel, blue for Cinderella and Pink for Aurora of course)

Happy family on the carousal

We left right as the fireworks were starting and saw them from the monorail ride back to our car. Jackson fell asleep in the stroller about 3 minutes after leaving but you know Abbie was as awake as ever. We stopped to get some Dole Whip from the Polynesian and even though we only saw about 40% of the park, we called it a great night!

Highlights of our first day!

DAY TWO (Sunday: Morning @ the Lake Reams Ward, Afternoon Meal/Naps & Night with Friends)



Sunday was so great. In true Florida fashion the rain storms were gone and it was a perfect, warm blue skied day. We took our time remembering how much I love 11 am church, and then headed to our old ward. It was great to see everyone and dang I had forgotten how big that ward is, especially compared to Avon. We saw so many familiar faces but so many people had moved in too! Tyler was even able to help in the baby blessing of Wes White! Jackson went to sunbeams with his good friend Taylor Beck from Joy School and her mom, Ashley was the teacher! Abbie was nervous about nursery so I just kept her in the hall with me during sunday school and Tyler took her during priesthood. It was great to see Semra again and get caught up with her. I got to visit with my old young women and went to Relief Society which was weird since I'd never gone while in that ward - I was either in Nursery or Young Women.

But we came home and put Abbie down for an over-due nap and Jackson had quiet time while we enjoyed an amazing meal with the Griffitts. During our first few months in FL we had Sunday dinner with this crew every week and it just felt so good to be back! This was a week before the boys got their mission calls (Japan & Argentina) but we were going around guessing and discussing where they'd go!

The crew at dinner and the view from the table

That night we went over to the Whites & Eichelbergers who know live in our old house, and next door to our old house. The only time I teared up about being in FL was when we turned on our old street. I was so nervous how Jackson would do but I think it helped that it was dark outside and we went to the Whites house first. He knew it was familiar but luckily didn't react. After hanging out far too late, we drove to our hotel for the rest of the time - an Embassy Suites off Palm Parkway. I had driven past it so many times as a local without noticing it and it was kind of weird to be the tourist now.

DAY THREE (Monday: Morning @ Sea World, Afternoon @ DTD & Night @ Universal)

Monday was one of the best days and one of the warmest days at 80 degrees! We were so excited to be able to spend the day at Sea World with the Coles! Tyler actually had to work that day but his friend Morgan from UCF had gotten the kids and me tickets. Katty kept David home from preschool so he could come with us and their sweet little baby Ethan.  When we moved, David was Jackson's closest boy friend and who he talked about the most. It was so fun to see them play together again and pick right up where they left off.

We only went to Sea World maybe 10 times while living in FL but Jackson still remembered this place too, even though it had been almost 2 years. While checking out the map he was first excited to see the alligators. Seriously one of the lamest attractions at the whole park but we made sure to see them haha.

Abbie's "baby doggie" got to come with us this day...

They loved checking out the turtles!

There's your alligators buddy

We got to see lots of active dolphins swim by!

Walking into the shark encounter

Katty put together this cute collage of the day

Some other highlights were the boys riding the train again and again, playing on the pirate ship and park area, the seals, sting rays & manatees! It was such a fun morning but by 2 pm we were ready to head out. Abbie needed a nap and Ethan had only slept about 15 minutes.

 We were planning on going back to the hotel but we realized Abbie's 5 minute nap in the car before we picked up Tyler was probably all she was going to get that day. So we headed to Downtown Disney as a a family instead! We ate Earl of Sandwich, washed our hands at Basin (of course), checked out the toy store, played with the legos and checked out the Dinos at T-Rex Cafe. That was also when I was on the phone trying to get our babysitter arranged for the night. Tyler's company had a work event that shut down Universal Studios for the night!

We had a Laurel from our old ward come to the hotel and sit with the kids while we went to Universal. A busy day outside also meant we could put our kids to bed early with no problem so they were asleep by 7 when she got there. The funny thing about our night was that we actually didn't have tickets to get in. Tyler's company hadn't requested tickets for this event and he was hoping to ask around and get some that day, but it didn't happen. But we decided anyways to just show up and try our luck. After 20 minutes of waiting around hoping to get lucky, we were still standing outside. Tyler was ready to leave and I had honestly never seen him like this. Normally he can always work the system in this way so this was so out of character for him. I suggested he just talk to a Universal Employee and show his credentials for the show but that we didn't get our wristbands. They didn't know any better so sent us right in! It was such an awesome night and we're so glad we didn't give up!

We really weren't able to do many rides since I was pregnant and the really cool ones had a long line anyways. So we just did the Twister & Despicable Me rides. The main event was all the free food. It was honestly ridiculous and amazing! Last year this show had rented out the other side of Universal with Harry Potter, but this year was just the other side. But I feel like we got better food this year. Churros, Donuts, Ice Cream, Lemonades, Apple Pie, Cheeseburgers, Fries - this is all after our sit down catered Italian dinner. We had been eating healthy the whole month leading up to this trip and both went a little crazy haha. We were actually the weird ones not taking advantage of the open bars everywhere!

Snapped a quick pic before leaving

DAY FOUR (Morning @ Keene's Park, Afternoon @ our old house, Night @ our Jennings party)

Tuesday was just a chill day in Windermere!

One of the things I was looking forward to the most was taking my kids to the park! We hadn't been to a park in months in CT and so many of our memories of Florida were at the many parks around our neighborhoods. So it was fitting that I was able to join the ward play group again on Tuesday morning. There were quite a few old friends who came so it was fun to chat while our kids played. I am so mad I didn't take any pictures! It was another warm day and Abbie honestly got a little too much sun and had a red face when we left. 

Afterwards I drove through downtown Windermere feeling nostalgic looking around at all the old sights before stopping in the ChickFilA drive-thru for lunch! We went back to the Eichelbergers (aka our old house) to eat lunch and put Abbie down for a nap and Jackson had some quiet time. It was a little weird being back in our house but she has changed so much it really feels like a different house. Then we had to go pick up Tyler from work so we headed back over to tourist land. We spent a little time at the hotel and even did some swimming before heading back to Windermere for a little party Semra was hosting.

All the other boys kept asking "Jackson's Dad" to play with them too

We seriously had to limit the amount of friends to invite to this party and limited it to about 10 families. Well I guess we picked a really popular night because only 3 others came, 2 really late, so it was mostly just us with the Coles & Eichelbergers which was totally fine. I just feel bad Semra made a lot of food but we did a good job eating a lot of it.

Another collage I stole from Katty :)

DAY FIVE (Morning in Windermere, Afternoon @ our hotel & Night @ Epcot)

This was the day I'd been planning on going to Downtown Disney, but since we did it on Monday, I was kind of playing it by ear. Low and behold this was actually the one morning I got sick on the trip so I took my time getting the kids out the door. We headed over to Windermere again and wanted to hit up another park but turns out it was closed for a week randomly. Jackson kept asking to go back to the same one we'd gone to yesterday so I just decided to do it. Then we stopped at my favorite little deli Perottis and got one of my favorite lunches of all time, the Mt. Olympus Wrap with chips and a Snapple :) The kids shared a turkey sub kids meal and we sat outside. Between the food, the weather, and the kids were really well behaved and in silly moods so it was another highlight of the trip.

Big Bite Abbie!

Afterwards we stopped at the Ocasios apartment. I'm so glad we were able to make the time to see Aixa. She was one of our good friends from the ward who grew so attached to our kids, especially Jackson. She was the one who watched him when Abbie was born, before my mom came to town. She babysat our kids quite often and it was great to visit with her. The kids loved playing with her toys and did not want to leave which made her pretty happy i think ;)

This was the other event night for Tyler's work, this time they rented out Epcot and we had the Coles watch our kids. We brought pizza over and had dinner with them and put Abbie to bed and got Jackson ready for bed before leaving at 6. Jackson loved being with David again and they even got to sleep in the same bed.

Yep, another Katty collage!

Tyler and I were a little worried about this night because it started raining really hard around 6 pm. But luckily it was just about done by the time we got there and ended up being a great night! (Oh and we actually had tickets to this one!) We rode Soarin 2 times in a row, then got dinner and rode it again it was crazy with no lines! Disney didn't have quite the selection of food that Univeral had but it did have unlimited Ice Cream treats! I was a big fan of that one :)

Tyler with his Mickey bar, and my Ice Cream Sandwich

DAY SIX (Day @ Hollywood Studios & Night @ New Hotel)

Our final day, Tyler didn't have to work and Chris Deaver got us tickets to Hollywood Studios! We were supposed to fly home that night but since CT had yet another huge snow storm, our flight was cancelled. So we ended up getting one that left the next morning at 8 am and had to book an extra hotel night right near the airport. After that rainstorm rolled through the night before, it left colder temps in FL and it was probably in the 60s that day. So cold for Florida, but seriously we didn't mind at all.

Of course we ran right to Toy Story but fast passes had all been gone before we got in (30 minutes after park opened) so we actually had to wait in a line. But the kids did great in the interactive queue especially since Jackson was now familiar with Candy Land, Lincoln Logs and a lot of the other toys they have on display.

Tyler really wanted me to try out for American Idol so I did it, knowing it could be a huge time commitment if I made it to a show. Well turns out it was a slow day so I did make it to a show at 12:30 so I had to be in rehearsals all morning while Tyler took the kids around. I sang "stuck like glue" which is country so I didn't even know it at all but its what the coaches picked for my voice. I went against two serious singers, one lady who had even been on the show the day before and wanted to try again! I didn't win but had a lot of fun and got my makeup and hair done!

Me during rehearsal, notice a small baby bump? haha

Jackson and Tyler rode Star Tours! I was a little nervous for him riding that intense of a ride but I guess he was just fine! We saw the Lights Motor Action Show, Disney Jr. Show, Ty did RockN Roller Coater, Little Mermaid show and called it a day! Abbie was not about to take a nap in the stroller and both kids needed a break so we left around 4. We headed to the World of Disney Store at DTD for each kid to pick their souvenir. After much deliberation, Abbie chose Flounder & Jackson chose a planes set from the movie Planes.

We headed to the hotel, Tyler picked up some dinner to eat in the room and finally got the kids to bed around 8.

A great last day!!

DAY SEVEN (AKA The day that wasn't supposed to happen & flight home)

We woke up super early and had to wake the kids up to get to the airport. We ate a lovely breakfast from Burger King (seriously I loved the oatmeal and kids loved the french toast sticks and hash-browns) and boarded our on-time flight around 8 am. The kids were angels on the flight home. And why shouldn't they have been, Jackson just watched tv the whole time which meant Abbie had free reign with the iPad. Tyler took a nap and I just chilled. Such a more calm experience than the flight down. Remind me to always fly in the morning with kids.

Say Cheese!

It was such a great trip and made me miss but be so grateful for our time we had to live in Florida. We have such amazing friends there that I'm excited to see every year when we go back :)

What we came home to...