Franklin 5

We all survived a much needed Florida vacation and had a wonderful time!!!

After a lot of anticipation regarding the flight down, the kids did great. The toughest part was waiting in line at the counter and getting through security. I don't think that my parents were prepared for all that we had to take...3 car seats, 2 strollers, 2 checked bags, 2 carry-ons, Megan's activity bag and a diaper bag...throw in my parents checked bag and 2 carry-ons and 3 kids under the age of 4...and as you can image we got quite the looks. After 50 nursery rhymes, a bag of licorice and fruit snacks, juice and peek-a-boo over the seats, we all survived.

We flew into the Clearwater beach area where we stayed that night. The next day we went to the Coast to let the kids see the Ocean and play in the sand. They had a WONDERUL time. Jenna and Megan loved playing in the sand and Jake chased the seagulls. It was a beautiful day and of course, nobody wanted to leave.

Later that day it was onto Grandpa'a Park in Kissimmee. Mom and Dad stayed with Grandpa and our family rented another unit in the park. The kids were so excited to just be outside and enjoy the warm air. It was hard to get them to come in at night. Visiting with Grandpa was great, and he was amazed at how the kids had grown. It was also good for us to see that he was doing so well in Florida and were comforted to see his many friends that were constantly stopping by to check in on him.

Monday was a lazy day but after naps we went to the Disney Village. Again, it was wonderful to get out of the cold weather we were having up North and enjoy the 70's in Florida. And, thank goodness we took Mom and Dad....3 kids were always running 3 different ways. There was so much to see and so much to do.

On Tuesday, Mom and Dad watched the twins while Leigh and I took Megan to Disney World. It was truly a Magical Experience. The look in Megan's eyes when she saw the Castle for the first time, met the characters and rode on the rides was priceless. Our little girl that doesn't show much emotion most of the time, was skipping and smiling and on the go from the moment we got on the Monorail until the fireworks were over. I'm not sure if Megan will be old enough to remember, but it was a trip that I will NEVER forget.

Wednesday Leigh and I just hung around with the kids at Grandpa's park. As Leigh and I sat around wondering what we were going to do, it was the day that really hit me how much I missed Grandma. She always had visitors jammed pack with "Free" activities and places to go and things to see....even if you weren't interested in riding the monorail from start to finish during your College Spring Break with your friend... She would have had us running around from sun up til sun down, and she would have been the one with energy left at the end of the day.

Thursday, the whole gang went to the Animal Kingdom. As you can tell by the pictures, it rained, but we still had a wonderful time. Everyone loved the Safari ride and Megan's favorite memory was of course the face paint which she didn't let us wash off for 3 days. The twins weren't too excited about meeting the characters at first...but, then threw fits when they had to leave.

Friday we had to pack to return back to reality. What a great trip. Although, I've realized that I am going to have to give the camera to Leigh to take pictures too...