Florida Vacation Part II

On Sunday evening, we said goodbye to our beloved MaNew in New Smyrna Beach and headed to Clermont to get checked into our cabin on the lake.  We stayed in a cabin here at Lake Louisa 4 years ago with some friends when we were just a family of 4.  We had such a great time playing cards, swimming in the lake, and canoeing.  But this time, we were returning to the cabin as a family of 6.  It's amazing to see how God has changed us during the last 4 years.....our obedience, our faith, and our family.  All of this through HIS grace, mercy, and everlasting love. 

Anyway, we arrived very late Sunday evening and put everyone to bed.  Then Beau and I stayed up getting everything settled and ready for our big day at Sea World.  We were up early, stopped for breakfast, and got to Sea World early (well, Bennett early).  It's kind of slow getting 6 people dressed, fed, parked, and into Sea World.  But we did it.

In the beginning, our family separated for a couple of hours.  Zander and I LOVE roller coasters so he and I rode all the rides that the little boys couldn't.  Beau, for those of you who don't know this, doesn't ride because they make him ill.  When we were first married, I talked him into riding various roller coasters with me.  He was willing then because he and I were "newlyweds", however, after I saw the after effects, I don't ask anymore.  I am just glad that I finally have a riding partner in Zander.  We were so lucky because the park wasn't overly crowded and Zander and I were able to ride the coasters more than once without much wait.  We actually did all the things we wanted to (except for one certain roller coaster that I couldn't talk Zander into riding) in a 2 hour time frame.....which is unheard of in most parks. 

Beau and the boys enjoyed 2 shows while Zander and I rode our coasters.  According to Beau, the boys did great, sat still, and really enjoyed the shows.  However, this picture was taken while waiting for the first show to begin.   You can see they aren't very enthusiastic about the wait.  One of the shows they got to see was the Clyde and Seamore show (which is one of my favorites).  Sorry I missed it and I am especially sorry I didn't get to see the boys' expressions while watching it for the first time themselves.   But I am glad that they got to see it and I was thankful for the time with Zander.  

Gotta Love Sesame Street

Then we met up as a family and watched the Shamu show.  This is a phenomenal sight to watch something that large move with such grace and yet the strength of the killer Orca whale is overwhelming.  It was during this show that we sat behind 6 retired ladies who found my boys endearing.  They found out it was Will's birthday that day, so each lady gave all 3 boys a dollar.  They were so excited holding their little wad of cash.  We intentionally sat in the "soak zone" during this show so that we could cool down.  The only incident that we encountered was somehow, Shamu missed our zone and we didn't get wet.   Oliver had a little bit of a meltdown because he was excited about getting splashed. 

We then went to the kiddie area so the little ones could release some of their energy.  They had an absolute blast here.  I will admit, it was a little hard to keep up with all 3 of them because they all went in different directions.  Those little guys are fast!!!  They climbed, they played in the water, they played on the pirate ship, and played hide and seek.  But by this time of the day, the heat and grumbling tummies were too much to bear.  We finally had to leave the kids area and search for food.  The only time it rained our entire day at the park was when we were eating our late lunch.  The rest of our day was uninterrupted by inclement weather, which is unusual for Florida summers. 

After this, we spent the rest of our time in the park riding things that the kids could ride.  We were so fortunate that there was hardly any line and very short wait times to enter these rides....which is unusual.  But the boys got to ride some of their favorites rides multiple times.  We learned that they are quite the dare devils.   We closed down the park and made our way to the exit just as they were closing the gates.  We survived our first large theme park with all members of the family.  We had no injuries, no tears, and no regrets. 

We spent the next few days in our little cabin on the lake enjoying some downtime.  Unfortunately it rained most of our time there, so our canoeing didn't happen.  My parents stayed in a cabin next to us and we enjoyed spending time with them.  We celebrated William's 5th birthday, spent some time at downtown Disney, and watched the rain from our porch. 

Sadly, our 9 day family vacation came to an end and it was time to pack up and head back to New Hampshire.  Beau and I were apprehensive about taking the family on this trip with so many new adventures, but all in all, we had a great time.  But like all vacations, you have to return to reality!!