Florida Trip Day 1

January 20th, 2020

Since our family has very full Sundays, it works best for us to start vacations on Mondays.  Brandon and I were up and moving at 3:00am.  We showered and did last minute packing before getting the kids up at 4:00.  We were out the door around 4:30.  I noticed that M woke up with a cold.  Bummer.  He didn't have one the day before. We drove to an off site parking lot very near the airport and took the shuttle to the airport.

The kids were very excited to take their first plane ride since they were babies.  We checked our two bags but opted to gate check our booster seats.  This meant carrying them through the airport.  They are not heavy, but they are awkward to carry.

The security line was long, but it moved quite quickly.  We made it through with no problems.  We had M's growth hormone meds and injection stuff and T's skull magnet to think about.  The magnet didn't set anything off.  The med check stuff was very simple and quick.

Once through security we had about an hour before the flight.  We walked around a bit, filled water bottles and waited.

Through security and first view of all the planes. 

The kids were very anxious.  Finally it was time to board.  There were so many precious questions about things in the airport and the plane.  It was fun seeing things through their eyes.

Getting settled in. 

Once on the plane we learned that it was not very full so we were able to move around a bit. I was going to be in my own row with Brandon and kids across the aisle from me.  M and I were able to sit behind T and Brandon so that we each had one kid.  M was fine listening to Adventures in Odyssey on the phone.  T did that some, but was very busy, inquisitive and moody.  M did unbuckle, stand and pay very very close attention to the safety presentation.  I know he had some fears, but he managed things pretty well.

My new seat buddy. 

M: I had to stand to see the safety presentation.  It was very important to watch. 

Frontier flights all have animals on the wings. 

Seat buddies!

We haven't left the gate, but T has fully moved in to the plane!

T: I was having a Barbie party. 

Goodbye Snow!

Finally in the air and looking out the window!

M: It was fun to look out the window.  Me: This is how I look the entirety of every single flight I take. 

M and T:  The flight seemed to take a long time!

M:  We saw the Ocean!!!

T: There was so much water!

The plane ride was uneventful.  Both of the kids ears hurt and they needed to do lots of swallowing and gum chewing.  They were sad that there were not screens on the backs of the seats and that you had to pay for everything, even water on the plane.  Frontier is truly a pay as you go airline.

We arrived at Tampa around 11:00am (I think).  We had to take a train over to baggage.  T was moving slowly and we almost lost her at the station when she didn't get on the train.  Luckily we got back out of the train before it moved.  Morale was low. We made our way to baggage and things started to unravel rather quickly.  Thankfully I pulled out some granola bars and the kids perked up a bit.  Brandon was dealing with some church issues on the phone and I was trying to stay calm.  I took M to the bathroom, but after waiting 10+ minutes for the family bathroom the women around me all said to just bring him in the bathroom with me so he went into the women's bathroom.

Next it was time to get a rental car.  We had to take another train to this area.  We were able to choose a pretty fancy SUV which even had a third row.  I was quite impressed with the extra safety features, but I missed the head room of the van so much.

Finally, hours after landing in Tampa we were ready to make our way to Orlando to meet up with my parents, brother and niece A.  They arrived on Sunday and had us all checked in.  They even grocery shopped and stocked our fridge, counter, and cabinets!  I sent my mom lists and pictures the week before so she knew just what to buy.

Our drive to Orlando was quite interesting.  It was busy around the airport, but then a crash several miles ahead of us rerouted us off the highway and onto backroads.  I found the backroads fascinating. We saw many orange groves and undeveloped areas.  It felt good to be in the (somewhat warmth) and sunshine.  It was about 60 that day.

When we were almost at the resort we decided to stop at a Wendy's for a very late lunch so that we could be more presentable when we arrived at the condo.

The kids were quite excited to see cousin A and the family.  They loved exploring our 2 bedroom condo and couldn't wait to go to the adventure park connected to our resort.

The adventure park had a zip line, bungee jump, rock wall, paddle boats, and slide.  It was excellent OT for our deep impact craving T.  M loved the zip line.  T was too small for the zip line or the rock wall so that caused some frustration and led to me doing the bungee jump thing.

Climbing up the huge slide. 

Almost a crash? 

Cute boaters. 

Another set of boaters. 

T: This is amazing and I wish I had one at our house. 

All three kids jumping!

M: I was going so high!

M: I was a little nervous to zip line. I am glad Grandma was with me. 

Looking brave!

There goes Grandma Kathy!

M:  It was pretty fun!  I did it over and over again. 

So I did the jumping thing with T to cheer her up. 

It was a fun workout for a while... then it started to go high and fast and I got sick. 

Look at M flying in the pic!  You could get up REALLY high.  

After lots of playing the kids decided they wanted to swim.  I was the only one who didn't get wet.  Most opted for the hot tub, but the kids went back and forth from the pool to the tub.  I was still heavily under the influence of motion sickness meds so it felt good just to sit and watch.

The hot tub was the place to be... 

The kids tried the pool briefly and went right back to the hot tub!

After swimming most of the family hung out in the other condo while I prepped some food for me for that night as well as a bag of sweet potatoes for T for each night (one of the only nutrient rich foods she will eat and such a brilliant idea to do this in one shot).

M: It is fun to be with Uncle Bret!

T:  A brought Barbies too, so we had lots of fun together. 

We ate dinner in the other condo.  My mom made hotdogs etc and T had her sweet potato.  That night I stayed up to prep a huge batch of Kima for me to eat in the evenings after theme parks.  Chopping the onions and the potatoes was quite a chore because the knives were not sharp at all.  It used 7 knives to get the job done, but it was so worth it to come home to food I loved each night.  I brought little ziplock bags with seasoning and it worked perfectly.

We couldn't believe all that we packed into the first day.  I guess when you wake up at 3:00am you can do a lot of things in one day! We were all quite excited for our day at Disney the next day!