May: Kissimmee

Knowing that Baby #5 was on the way...and due in October when we normally get to take our family vacation...we planned to go to Florida in May. And Tim knew if we wanted to get to Disney again, he needed to squeeze that in before the Baby arrived because Sarah has no interest in taking a baby to the "happiest place on Earth." So as soon as the kids were out of school for the summer, we loaded up the van and hit the road. We made it a two day drive so we spent some time stretching our legs, drinking OJ, and taking pictures at rest stops.

Once at our condo in Kissimmee, we unpacked and went looking for food. We ate dinner out and then to Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart in Kissimmee on a Saturday night was like the most-insane-Black-Friday-Wal-Mart back home in Indiana. People packed together, snaking through the aisles, speaking in every language; employees constantly restocking the shelves just trying to keep up; Mommy counting her children, demanding that they stay very close to the cart, buying whatever we could get our hands on to feed the family at the condo for the rest of the week. According to other shoppers, every Friday and Saturday looks like that. But when we went back later in the week to pick up a few odds and ends...it was still the "craziest place on Earth."

After the hunting and gathering was over, we soothed ourselves with ice cream.

Let's be honest, we eat ice cream any chance we get on vacation!

In one of the condo closets, the kids found four "toys". A baby swim floaty, a Mickey Mouse toddler bike, a stroller, and a ball. With these, the kids were entertained for the entire week! They made up a secret club that held meetings and had a secret name and each of them had secret code names. It was the best kind of fun and we're tempted to never pack our own toys for vacation again!

When not busy with the secret club, we swam! It was a very, very hot week. Most days we ate breakfast, went directly to the pool (early enough that we had the pool almost to ourselves for a full hour each day!), and swam until lunch when it started getting too hot to even want to be outside anyways. While Simon napped, we rested, watched TV, or played games. After supper, we went back to the pool and swam until bedtime.

We did get to swim at a beach near Tampa one day with Tim's high school friends and their families. On the drive across the bay we even saw dolphins! The WHOLE Florida experience!

Another afternoon was spent at the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe. This is a mission church that thrives solely on the generosity of visitors from around the world. We were amazed at the serenity and beauty waiting here. With all the tourists and Disney-mania and shopping that is Orlando, we loved finding rest here.

St. Michael had a big wasp nest in his armor that was a little alarming to the kids!

The beautiful artwork all around the church...so much to explore!

This description of Joshua just about had Mommy convinced to name Baby #5 Joshua if it was a boy.

We found so many of the saints and holy people from the Bible who are near and dear to us hidden in the stained glass windows...including Sarah and Miriam!

And then came Disney Day. We were up very early to make it to the park when the gates opened. 

Taking the tram from the parking lot to the monorail.

Tim was our FastPass manager for the day and he did a great job making sure we hardly ever waited in lines! It was a busy day at Disney with temps hitting 100 degrees so we tried to make sure we had some indoor/air conditioned attractions scattered throughout the day to keep us from melting entirely. And we shared smoothies and lots of Powerade to keep us going strong!

We made it! Let the fun begin!

As soon as we got inside the gates, 1,100+ miles from home, we ran into one of Sarah's second cousins! "It's a small world, after all."

Enchanted Tales with Belle is one of our repeat favorite attractions. It's a re-telling of Belle and Beast's story with lots of audience participation. Miriam was Maurice, Belle's father.

Felicity was Chip, the teacup!

And Vivian was the Beast!! Her roar was so great that even Princess Belle gave a little chuckle with the rest of the audience members.

Back into the heat. Applying sunscreen. Riding rides. Seeking out air conditioning in the form of shows and shopping. (Found a new favorite - the Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor and enjoyed an old favorite - the Hall of Presidents)

Until the day was done and it was time for fireworks and rush to squeeze in our last rides. Peter Pan's Flight had a long line and no available FastPasses all day. But we got that in before we left with no wait!

And we tried to get into one of Pooh's Hunny Pots...but there was a mechanical problem while we were waiting in line and the ride closed down for the night.

That wasn't the only mechanical problem Disney was having. The monorail was not running when we left the park. Which was good and bad news. Many, many people forced onto the ferry to get to their cars after a long, hot day was not ideal. The bright side was that we were able to take the ferry across Seven Seas Lagoon. Simon was thrilled for the boat ride.

Our long car ride home wasn't too eventful. A hotel stay with another chance to jump in a pool (indoor this time). Delicious food in cute towns along the way. Sarah never wants vacation to end and usually spends time on the trip home looking for ways to extend these hours of family time. We added a stop in Celina, OH for supper and Saturday night Mass. At Mass, Sarah was surprised to see Fr. Vince Wirtner, one of the priests at this beautiful church, who was her high school campus minister and an adult chaperones on her World Youth Day trip to Toronto in 2002! As we walked through downtown, the girls found several painted rocks to re-hide for others to find and smile over. It was such a fantastic way to wrap up our vacation! Celina had recently been hit by a category 4 tornado. Sarah has family in the town but they weren't home when we stopped by...homes along their road were ripped apart. We could see right through several. However, Sarah's great-aunt and great-uncle's home looked almost untouched! 

And that, friends, is a magical vacation.