T is for Travel

Even with all that is going on this week, I still want to document our Disney vacation before all the cute kiddo memories have left my weary head. It truly was a wonderful vacation. So beware....these next several posts are going to be picture heavy!!!

Is it just me or are travel days just total busts?!?!  Delays, waiting, etc….somehow all that inactivity makes one very tired and cranky!  I have been saying all along that I was so glad that we were not trying to rush out the door for an early morning flight. Now 90% of me is still saying that. Don’t get me wrong; it was really nice to have a non-rushed, soccer Saturday morning.  Gave me plenty of time to get the gang packed and ready to go. And then on the way to the airport, I got a text saying our flight had been delayed. FOR THREE HOURS.  Since we were already on the way to the airport with 2 extremely excited kids, we decided to just go ahead.  Man, that was a long wait. Thankfully, the delay only ended up being about 2 hours and 10 mins or so but it was still long enough to throw a kink in the best laid plans. But we made the best of the airport wait I guess!

All smiles early on

  Starting to fade a little

At least I'm still smiling, sort of

Super Dad is always having fun

Poor Sunshine had enough by this point

So the flight itself….a first for both kiddos.  The flight wasn’t full, which helped it be a slightly less stressful situation I guess. The children did great! Avery was a little apprehensive and clung to Matt. It is funny, she is a complete Mommy’s girl and wants me 99% of the time but when she is scared, she wants her big, strong Daddy.  The seat configuration in the plane was 3 and 3. Will, ever the adventurer, took the window, Matt took the middle and Avery was quite content with the aisle and even refused to move to the window! I sat across the aisle with empty seats next to me.  I had a good long cry for about half of the flight, thinking about empty seats and cancer and tumors and Parkinson's and how all that just stunk.   

Avery went into boating mode…..the whir of the engines put her right to sleep.  That and the fact it was 5:30PM and she hadn’t had a nap yet.

Thankfully the flight was completely uneventful and short. And then the travel troubles started again. We ended up on the wrong side of the terminal for our bus and it took us a while to get that sorted out. And then there was the wait for the bus. And then there was the almost hour wait on the bus before it left. All that waiting is very hard to explain to 2 tired and hungry small kids.  

We actually had the front seats in the bus (“We are the front of the bus, the front of the bus, the front of the bus. We are the front of the bus; the back of the bus…..”) so we had a great time chatting with the driver. He was originally from Haiti, then Chicago, to Orlando and he and Will talked a lot about soccer.  He announced the order of the drop-offs…..the bus was going to 4 hotels and guess which one was last. Ours. This is about where I lost it. Here it is close to 9PM, pretty much everything on this trip so far had gone sour and I was tired. And hungry. I was just like my 5 and 2 year olds come to think of it!!!  

Finally, the infamous sign!

 

But we made it to the hotel at last and got checked-in.  Will and Avery have also never stayed in a hotel before so they were bouncing off the walls by this point. Will walked in the room first and just squealed with the delight!!!  They thought everything was just awesome and cool. The towels on the bed were shaped like Mickey (of course that was torn apart before I got a pic) and they thought the big TV right in front of the beds was their own little slice of heaven!!!!  

Quick baths it was and then off to bed! They have never shared a bed before plus they were completely wired and over-tired from the long day but they eventually fell asleep. Avery woke up a few times that night completely disoriented but went right back down after a big hug and a few pats from her big, strong Daddy.

I was so wired and over-tired and nervous that I don’t think I slept more than an hour total that night.