Our Florida Vacation

Our view from the airplane!

**We all had a great time in Florida this year. Of course, we can't ever go without someone in the family getting sick. This time it wasn't me. The morning of our flight Kaitie was at my bedside screaming and crying hysterically because she had a bad earache...four hours before our flight. I called the doctor's answering service and luckily was able to get her some medicine, although she cried during most of the flight. Poor thing. Good thing kids bounce back pretty easily.

**There are geckos in Florida....everywhere. Of course, the kids loved catching them, but Daniel was a little afraid of them. The video Daniel took of him being attacked by the gecko was submitted to America’s Funniest Home Videos…..I couldn’t resist. **Ok, so anyone heard of a Flowbee? Well, sure enough, Tim's mom bought one just so Tim could cut her hair. I didn't think people used those anymore! You should have seen the look on her face when she thought Tim have shaved her bald. **Tim's mom had reward credit to use at any Disney Theme Park. I planned the trip and had printed the address out to put into the GPS. Well, no one told me that Universal Studios and Hollywood Studios were NOT THE SAME THING. We paid to park two vehicles, walked who know how long to the entrance gate just to find out we were not at a Disney Park. Ooops, talk about feeling stupid. We did make it to DISNEY'S Hollywood Studios just in time for lunch. =) It was a good day though. The park is very interesting! It is a kind of "behind the scenes" movie making adventure park! We saw a lot of movie props and a stunt show!

**It was weird having Christmas in Florida....it was 82 degrees that day. We went to Daytona Beach and spent two nights there. The beach was wonderful and the weather was a little cloudy and rainy the first day, but it cleared up. We stayed in a very nice condo on the 14th floor. It was roomy and perfect for our large family. One bathroom was rough, but we made it! Corey started to get a sore throat and I could tell he was going to need antibiotics...luckily there was a Wal-greens right across the street, so we "nipped it in the butt" as he says.

**We shopped at some neat “beach” stores and took some fun pictures. We spent $52 for breakfast at Denny’s across the street. Ouch! That is what we get for taking seven people to breakfast! **We rented golf carts and rode all the way down the beach and back. It is amazing what you see.......side note: I do not know the unsuspecting man in the green "buns o steel" shorts. (see pic!)

**The security at the Orlando Airport is a little stressful. Especially when a 15 year old doesn’t listen. Daniel tried to walk through the metal detector with an ipod and cell phone in his pocket….ummm….that is scary. So, he took the cell phone out and walked through again, leaving the ipod in his pocket. I thought the security guy was going to give Daniel some flashlight therapy!

**Overall, this was a nice family vacation and I will be ready to do it again in say like five years?!