As I write this, we are driving back from Florida. The journey home from somewhere always feels longer than the journey there (is it just me?). It doesn’t help that we are leaving 80 degrees to go back to the start of winter weather. I realized that I don’t always think to write about our day to day or our trips and want to do a better job of just sharing life. A lot of our trips are to visit family for things like graduations, holidays, etc…but this one was a vacation that ALSO had the benefit of seeing some family.

Some people were shocked that we were driving to Florida (over 15 hours) and I get it, but if we had flown we would have needed to rent a vehicle. Also, if you have been around our son you know that driving was a better option right now. He likes to shriek a lot and really struggles to sit still, so having him in our car where we could entertain him and not worry about him bothering others was really helpful. We also could stop when we needed to and we brought lots of fun things for the car (RoadTrip Tip list here).

On the way down we stay at a hotel with a pool in South Carolina (using our IHG points-They have an 80,000 point sign on Bonus happening now.) to break up the trip. We are a big beach family, but were staying in Celebration, Florida for this trip so Phil found a beach on the drive down that was only a few minutes out of the way. We stopped there for a visit before driving the rest of the way. The place we stayed at was a 3 bedroom and originally my dad was supposed to be coming with us. That did not work out this year, but hopefully sometime in the future we can make it happen!

We stayed at a big resort with quite a few pools, different slides, and a lazy river. It also had a few golf courses, so Phil got the opportunity to play a few times; once on the lit course at night after helping put the kids to bed, and two times at 7:30 in the morning, so I did breakfast with the kiddos and then we went on walks or played at the playground. They also had a few minigolf courses, lots of walking paths, a climbing wall, different bouncy options, hammocks, and an arcade with a bowling alley. We mostly stayed at the resort and took advantage of the swimming and waterslides.

Most days we would do something outside in the morning as a family and then when we came back to the room for Kayden to nap we would do school with Isa. After finishing she would go with Phil or I to swim or do an activity and then when Kayden woke up we would all go swimming together. We brought a big cooler and things for breakfast and lunches and ate most of our dinners out, sharing meals or appetizers. On the coldest day Isa and I went to get our nails done together.

Phil’s brother and his family live about 20 minutes from where we were staying so we had a few opportunities to hang out. We went to Disney Springs with them (the Dino dig and the giant Lego sculptures were the favorites of the evening) and they also had connections to get us tickets for Disney on Thursday. Phil’s brother had to work, but his wife and 4 kids went with us. We went to Magic Kingdom at opening; they were already decorated for Christmas and had a huge Christmas tree up.

The weather was wonderful and it also wasn’t too crowded so we got to do quite a few things (the longest line was 45 minutes; a lot of them were much shorter). We brought the double stroller, which worked well for when Isa’s legs got tired. Despite forgetting our carrier for the lines, Kayden did pretty well, but only took a 20-minute nap. Isa’s highlight was getting to see Cinderella and Aurora and I honestly loved the walk through of the Swiss family Robinson Tree House.

The park closed early for a special event that night, so we went over to Epcot for dinner and to meet Phil’s brother when he got off of work. We went on the Nemo ride, and another highlight for me (and Kayden) was the aquarium after the ride. The Food & Wine Festival was going on so stands in the “different countries” were doing tapas style plates of food. So for dinner we tried a few items for a very reasonable price. We ended the evening at the trains in Epcot. We had such a wonderful time with the cousins and enjoyed being with them so much. We left a little early to avoid the crowds, but got to see the fireworks from our car on the way out.

On Friday Phil and I were able to go on a date after putting the kids down (thanks again to his brother and sharing their sitter with us). We went minigolfing, had a late dinner, and used the hot tub. Then on Saturday we spent most of the day swimming and ended the day with Phil’s family. They work for Apartment Life and were hosting a Thanksgiving meal for their apartment complex. It was fun to spend more time with them and see one of their events in person. Some tears were had when we said our goodbyes.

None of us can believe how quickly the week went by, but we made some incredible memories. I think Isa’ favorite two things were seeing her cousins and that Dad didn’t have to work and just spent all week with us (she said multiple times “You really don’t have to work at all?”). As a mama I just cherished all the moments of laughter and joy as we played together (and yes that Phil didn’t have to work haha). Now if only we survive the rest of the drive home!