It's all good...: family vacation

Let's take a trip in the Way Back Time Machine. All the way back to April 2009. That's really not that long ago, but because we're talking about vacation and sunshine and being carefree and not working, it just SEEMS like it was forever ago. I've had this post ready to go for a few months, but I wanted to edit some of the pics....and then life gets in the way and editing pictures got pushed to the back burner. You know how that goes sometime. I thought about not even blogging this vacation, since we leave for pretty much the SAME vacation NEXT WEEK! The photos are still unedited, but I really wanted to share Michael's first trip to Disney. He did amazingly well, considering all the NOISE and CROWDS.

For Michael's spring break, we went to Florida to visit with G's parents who were "wintering" in the Sunshine State. Michael and I flew (thanks Grandpa!) and Gary drove so we'd have a car available. Needless to say, G took one for the team because that's a long, long drive. I know because we all drove back together!

Anyway, I thought I'd share a few (okay, maybe a TON) of highlights from the trip. Fasten your seatbelts, cuz here we go!

Hangin' at the beach (Crooked Lake):

Not much to say to describe these pics, except that Michael would play and play and play here for hours at a time. Except for this day (it's a video, so go down to the bottom and turn the music off):

It was too cold (68F) and dangerous to play in a lake that looked like an ocean. The sand was blowing so hard that it felt like needles on your skin and at times it looked like it had snowed. Luckily, that only lasted for one day. Back to our regularly scheduled play time.

Michael's turtle tracks to the water.

Splashing and goofing off.

His usual "head dip" (he does this in the bathtub too). He also tries to drink the water, but we try to catch him before that happens (not always successful).

I watched Michael drop sand a few times and watched him get excited over it...but I was curious because he didn't seem to be watching the actual sand dropping. It took me awhile, but I realized that he was watching his SHADOW drop the sand. That was also a first.

First time he really seemed interested in sand/water toys, so that was neat to watch.

Michael was really vocal while playing this time.

Playing with the Gray's (the owner's of the place we rent) grandkids. They played well together and the girls were wonderful. :)

He even conned grandpa into taking him to the beach.

Michael's 1st visit to Walt Disney World

Disney was having a special that we couldn't resist: a free ticket ON your birthday and Michael was going to have his birthday while we were in Florida...so we thought it was as good a time as any to try it out (we bought our tickets with a military discount because of G's dad). The problem is: Disney is a crowded place, so we weren't sure how Michael would do. Spring Break and Easter weekend being at the same time makes Disney way more crowded. Strike one for Michael.

One of the first rides we took Michael on was "it's a small world"...an all around favorite for lots of people. But for Michael, he really could've cared less. Towards the end of the ride, floating around and listening to the "It's a Small World" song over and over and over, we notice that Michael is covering his ears. It's okay buddy, we think some of the adults probably want to cover their ears too.

Peter Pan's flight wasn't too bad...there was no ear covering, but no real excitement either. So we're not off to a good start. That would be strikes two and three for the boy. Oh dear, maybe bringing him to Disney wasn't such a good idea after all.

Hmmm, let's see what other rides did we try? Stitch's Great Escape...too much screaming. The carousel was just okay.

But G did get a head squeeze and a smile from him.

The Speedway was fine, but had a tremendously long wait to get OFF the ride, which was not fine. Dumbo, the Astro Orbiter and the teacups were better.

Oh, and Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin was a success, but only to see the characters...the ride itself was just okay.

Then we took him on Space Mountain.

I started to doubt our decision when I realized that we couldn't sit right next to him. Carole wouldn't even ride it - no way Jose.

Me: Gary do you think he'll know to keep holding on? Make sure they push down the seat bar tight onto his lap so he doesn't fall out. Oh dear, oh dear.

Gary: I think he'll be fine. I'm able to reach around and hold onto his shoulders if I have to. We really can't change our minds now, we're locked in. He'll be fine.

Okay, here we go (see Michael waving goodbye??). The ride starts through the dark tunnel....it's pitch black and I can't see my baby. Is he holding on?? Our spaceshuttle car is eerily quiet throughout the entire 2-3 minute ride. He didn't fall out (whew - a very, very good thing), but did he like it?? The ride comes to a stop and as the lap bars rise up, we hear clapping and a WOOOO-HOOOO, YEEAAA!!

Oh. My. God. It's Michael doing the cheering!!! Turns out he didn't care for the other rides, not because of the crowds or noise or kids, it's because they weren't FAST ENOUGH. People waiting to get on the ride were smiling and sharing in his enjoyment. He even begged us by signing "more, please; more, please" as we left Space Mountain. The boy is a speed freak!! Well doesn't that change everything?!

The next rides were Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Splash Mountain. We talked Carole into riding both of those. I thought Carole was going to pass out from screaming so much on Big Thunder Mountain....but when we got off; she said "Oh, I guess that wasn't so bad. I might even be able to ride it again...but not right now."

Splash Mountain was a fun ride too, especially for Michael, because it combined the steep downhill plunge with getting splashed with a ton of water. As your log starts to go down the drop, they take your picture which you can purchase after the ride is over (we didn't buy ours though...didn't want to pay $20 for a 4x6 picture). Our picture was H I L A R I O U S! The picture shows Gary and Michael sitting in the front seats, with Carole and I sitting directly behind them. Carole and I are holding on to the bar with the tightest of grips, arms extended, hair flying, eyes squeezed shut, our teeth clenched in terror. Gary wasn't as bad as us, but he was at least holding on with both hands. Which is more than I can say for Michael. The boy was only holding on with one hand, looking around at the view with the most serene, happy smile on his face...all while dropping - no, more like plunging - down 5 stories into a gigantic splash. Needless to say, he really liked Splash Mountain.

I'm sorry I have no pictures of the crazy rides to share with you. I was too busy holding on for dear life.

We rode every ride we thought he'd like and we stayed until the lights came on.

As we took the little train back to the park exit...8 hours after we got there, we agreed that this was a pretty successful adventure.

Yeah, I think we'll take him back. Especially after we found him asleep that night with a smile on his face.

Visiting Great Grandma

We always visit my grandma (M's great-grandma "ggma") when we are in Florida. We did our usual: out to lunch to the restaurant of her choice and then some errand-running and house cleaning for her. Little did we know that it would be the last time doing that...over the summer, my mom and uncle moved her to NC...to be closer to family. She was starting to struggle too much on her own and worried us all, so it's a relief to know she has help. It's also sad that we won't get to see her as often. We fly to FL every year (and have for almost 10-11 years straight), but hardly ever get to NC.

Michael was a hot and tired little boy, so he relaxed with ggma after lunch.

Michael signing "I love you" to great-grandma. Aawwww.

Michael's birthday party

As I said, we took Michael to Disney on his actual birthday, but we still wanted to have a tiny celebration. So, we invited all of the other "winter folks" to join us for cake and ice cream one evening. Carole ordered a Wall-E cake which was a BIG hit for Michael!