All along I always wanted to do a big “2nd honeymoon”  like to Hawaii, but lately I’ve been feeling differently.  Now I’m thinking something smaller and not so expensive.  (I’ll probably regret it in 5 years, but I’m thinking right now that’s what we should do)   So now I’m trying to think where should we go?  Our Anniversary is the beginning of March so it can still be cold up here in the north and since neither one of us are snow lovers I wonder if we should go south somewhere, maybe look at some Branson vacation packages since they seem reasonably priced and there is quite a few things to do down there, but then I also think we could just head north to say Traverse City, get a lake view room and just enjoy out quite time and visit all our friends up that way.  We wouldn’t have to be gone long, just even a night (or two).

If you have been married for 10 years, did you go or do anything special for your 10 year anniversary?  We never do anything so I kinda would like to do a little something.

This was taken this past January when I was visiting Vegas with a few friends.

It’s funny how before I went I thought I wasn’t going to enjoy it so much, but now I kinda wish I could go back and take Paul with me even though I don’t think he would care for it.  I just loved walking around there at night looking at all the lights.  Watching the fountain go off at The Bellagio and going up in the Eiffel tower to see all the lights from up there.

This was on our 20 hr drive to Florida…  she had FINALLY fallen asleep.

So instead of paying the big money for the security system.. we ended up making sure the neighbors on all sides of us knew we were going to be gone. Then the neighbor across the street I also gave them our cell phone number, and my parents cell phone number just in case something happened. I also let her know that only at one time while we were gone was someone going to be here (to drop our truck off) other than that if someone was here.. they shouldn’t be. So I can say I did feel quite safe this year leaving as I knew if something out of the ordinary was going on, the police would be called.

Disney was fun, but I do have to say that the magical spark was out of our kids eyes this year which was a bummer for Paul and I.  Last year when we went all the characters were real.. this year they told us it’s just a person in a costume.  Since we met most of them last year we were able to skip that part.  They still were able to meet Pooh, Eeyore, Tigger while Katie also got to meet Ariel & Cinderella’s fairy god mother!

Florida was colder than last year and last year was chilly.  The day we arrived it was in the 60′s or low 70′s and we were able to swimming in our private pool since it was heated, but from then on it was to cold to even think of going swimming, which was a major bummer as the kids LOVE to swim.

As you had read earlier we had gone to Epcot and had a good time there.  The following day we ended up going to Animal Kingdom and I would have to say out of those two parks, Animal Kingdom is our least favorite.   We always say to ourselves that since the park closes early we should be able to stay all day, but last year and this year we ended up leaving way before the parade even happens and we did everything.  What was cool (besides the weather that morning) was we got there when it opened and hurried over to Expedition Everest where there was only a “5″ minute wait.   It did seem like awhile for Katie & I, but I think that’s because we had no clue what car they would be in.  All of a sudden there they were coming down the big hill.  I asked Kevin if he wanted to go on it again as there still wasn’t a line and he said NO!    So we started walking away and we asked him again if he would want to ride with me this time and he ended up changing his mind and said he would!  So we hurried back and seriously… Kevin and I walked right on the ride!  We didn’t have to stop until the lady asked us how many.. I said 2 she said line whatever.. I’ll say 3 and all we had to do was wait till the next car showed up because there wasn’t anyone in front of us!    I’m so glad Kevin was a trooper and rode it again for me so I could experience it, but I  knew there would be no way he would want to do it again.  LOL     Since there STILL wasn’t much of a line Paul ended up riding it again.. this time by himself.   We never would of dreamed we (as a family) would of rode that ride 3 times in the first 1/2 hour of being at the park.  I still think the cold weather had something to do with it… so because of that, I would welcome the cold weather any day.

That night Grandma & Grandpa A ended up driving up and spending the night with us so they could go to Magic Kingdom with us the following day.   Once again we got there right after the rope dropped and hurried over to Buzz Lightyear since that’s Kevin’s favorite ride.  We were first in line (or so we thought.. now looking back there had to of been people inside already) and ended up waiting 20 minutes for them to open the ride.  The guy working would come out and say just one more minute then go back inside to come out and just put his finger up.. one more minute.  Then he finally came out and said the ride would be closed and to come back later.  Paul and I went to Space Mountain then while his parents took the kids on the mini race cars (putt putt type cars).   I knew they re-did space mountain so I was anxious to see what was different.  While they added things to do while you wait in line (Thankfully it was still early so we had no wait) the only thing I thought I noticed different on the ride was it was jerkier than normal and to me I was quite bored on it.  I remember last year Paul and I saying lets quick go again (great thing about getting there early morning.. you can get back on rides right away) but this year we said lets go.   By the time we left there, people were going into Buzz Lightyear so we went to the racetrack and got Paul’s parents and the kids and off to Buzz we went.

We got in line and waited to of got stopped right in front of Buzz (right before you get on the ride) because once again the ride had stopped.  This time I swear we waited at least 45 minutes for the ride to resume.   By the time we finally got on the ride and was done, the lines to all the other rides had grown in length which was a bummer.  We still had a good time though and was so glad Paul’s parents could once again enjoy it with us since that will probably be our last time down there for quite sometime.

The next day we decided to try MGM (Or now known as Hollywood Studios) and thankfully I read up on it the night before.  We once again got there at rope drop and rushed to Toy Story where we got our fast passes first and then started waiting in line, but I didn’t think we would have enough time to get over to the Jedi Training so we left to head over there.  I was hoping Kevin could participate in the training, but the line to be in it was long already so not only did we have to wait the 35 minutes for that show to start, but we also had to wait till the next one started an hour later.  I can say I’m glad we did though because Kevin had so much fun up there, let alone fighting Darth Vader and “winning”!!   Plus had we not of done it when we did, he wouldn’t of been able to as it ended up raining about 30 minutes after we got done with it.   After Kevin’s show we went back to Toy Story and that’s when it started to rain so we went and watched the Ariel show.    By the time we were out of there it was raining pretty good.  I was glad we had gotten the poncho’s out and covered our strollers with them so they were dry.  After Ariel we went and watched Indiana Jones, when on the Star Wars ride and then had lunch.  By that time we were so cold and wet we thought forget it and went home for the day.

The following 2 days we went back to Magic Kingdom as our kids just love riding the rides.   In the afternoon though we finally let the kids run around on the boat in toon town and they had such a blast.    Then they just HAD to go to the other kiddie area with the playground equipment.  Since the lines were long everywhere else (they always are in the afternoon) we just let them run and have fun.   After that we went to Tom Sawyers Island (which we had never done every year going there) and the kids just LOVED it there and was wishing their cousins (Carl, Alicia and Justin) could of been there shooting the “bad guys” with them.    We did stay all day (just after rope drop.. rope drop happened as we were waiting for the monorail) until the fireworks and let me say… it was FREEZING that night!  It was so cold during the spectro parade that afterwards we ended up going in the stores just to try and get warmed up a little.  (That’s with the kids wearing 2 sweatshirts and a coat.. we didn’t want to haul our winter coats with us all day so that’s why we wore layers instead)    We always tend to watch the fireworks outside the park by the ferries and I noticed they were starting to board once the fireworks were going off so we quick go on the ferry and what surprised me was a lot of people went to the front of the boat while we stayed in the back so we could watch the fireworks while going across the water.  The only bummer thing is we docked right before the grand finale went off so we did miss parts of that.   But at least we were already in our warm cars while everyone else was making their way our of the park!

The next day when we arrived at Magic Kingdom we ended up splitting up for the morning.  Paul and Kevin did their thing, while Katie and I did ours.  It actually worked out the best as Kevin can ride things Katie can’t.   That way she doesn’t have to wait for Kevin to get done with his things, plus we can ride the Pooh ride over and over again along with Peter Pan, It’s a small world… etc.     By the time Katie and I got off the Haunted Mansion I noticed Kevin’s stroller sitting there so we ended up waiting for them as we knew they would be coming out anytime and we were suppose to hook up in a 1/2 hour anyways.  

Another surprise ride that we enjoyed that we hadn’t rode before was Carousel of Progress.  We had rode it the day before and it broke down due to someone in another another room had tried to walk out during it.   (Paul didn’t mind as it was dark and he could rest his eyes)   So in the afternoon we rode it again kinda hoping the same thing would happen so we could rest some, but this time it didn’t.  The kids and I still had fun watching how so much had changed in the last 80 years or so.  

We still had one more day at Disney, but since the weather forecast said it was to be rainy and cold again we decided to leave a day early and head over to Orange Beach to spend a week there with them!    That will have to be another post though as I better get working on my grocery list since Paul is now up.  Before I can go grocery shopping we have to pick my car up from my parents house. (we parked it in there garage so when we didn’t have it sitting in our driveway while we were gone and we could drive right into our garage then)

Before leaving I tried to do as much research as I could so I could make the world showcase fun for the kids & Paul.   That’s when I found out they have these great places called Kidcot at each country.  The first one you go to they give the kids a mask and they can color them and decorate them with sharpie markers anyway they want.   From then on every country they go to they get a new thing to hang from it along with a stamp saying they were in whatever country it was.   Kevin had fun trying to find the kidcot at every station before me.  Then while we were in China the guy working taught the kids how to say Hello in Chinese which they thought was really cool!

Then the other thing I had found out and was so glad we did it was when we were in France we went and visited Boulangerie Paitisserie where I let Paul go in to find us a special treat with Kevin.   With they walked out I was expecting one plate since you know how prices are at Disney and Paul has a hard time separating from his money, but when they walked out they had 3 plates!  One had cheesecake, one had chocolate moose and the other had what Paul seemed to think was a Napoleon, but what ever it was called it was WONDERFUL!   Put it this way… we didn’t have the park hoppers on our tickets, but I would of been willing to take a day away from Magic Kingdom (our favorite) to go back there just for their pastries!   Paul said everything in there looked awesome and he could of dropped an easy $50 there since he wanted one of everything.   If that happened though I think he then would be on the search for some fast weight loss pills as I can’t imagine how many calories we ate as it was.

In Mexico they  have a boat ride that the kids really enjoyed too!  It kinda reminded me of It’s A Small World, but without the song going over and over again and of course without the line of people waiting to get on either.

So if you ever to go Epcot and you have in your mind you’re going to be bored in the world showcase.. wipe your mind clean and go in with an open mind.  You just might find out there are a lot of fun things to do and great food to try!

While shopping at wal-mart though it was funny to see short sleeve shirts on clearance.  Here up in Michigan the short sleeve stuff is just starting to make it’s way onto the racks.  While we do have the clearances going on, they are for the winter clothes instead.  Plus here they have aisles of swimming and summer outdoor things like pond kits. While we could think of putting a pond in right now, the only real planning we could do would be to draw it out on paper.  No digging and getting it all put together, until the snow melts and the ground thaws.

All I can say is after 1 day down here, I’m so ready for spring to arrive up north.  Why oh why did that groundhog have to see his shadow?!?

Ok.. back to my topic.  I’ve been debating on how to pack for our vacation this year.  Usually I try to pack all my clothes and the kids clothes in a big suitcase and then Paul packs all his stuff in a big duffel bag.  This year I’m thinking of trying to pack all of our clothes in a big tote.  I’m hoping it we fit everything in one tote, then it will be easier to pack everything into the back of the minivan and also easier to carry into the house by Disney and condo when we visit my parents.

I still have to figure what to put the kids books and toys in.   One year I put all the books in a big milk crate, but then realized I really didn’t need to bring a crate full of books for the kids because the more books I bring, the more that gets scattered through-out the minivan.  I’m thinking last year I packed their books, leapsters and whatever else they wanted to bring in their own back-packs.  Of course this year I have a feeling Kevin will be bringing more homework than last year so I’ll  have to figure out something else for that as I don’t want it getting mixed up or lost.   Maybe I can put that with my laptop… then I know it will arrive safely.  ~wink~

So when you go for a long trip in the car… how do you pack all your stuff?  Does each person bring their own suitcase?  Or do you try and squish everything in one thing?  Then what about the stuff for the kids?  Do they get  their own thing or do you mix everything together?

I’m just hoping to be much more organized this year and I’m not quite sure how to do that.

We got to Vegas and got ready to hit the night on the town.  After going to a couple bars we ended up going back to the hotel where my friend Tammy & I hit the slots.  (Before we went to the bar Tammy had won $200 on a slot machine)  So when we got back we went back to the same place she won and I used the machine on the other side and ended up winning $100!  That was about it for the winnings for the weekend.  Maybe had we of gone downtown we would of won more, just that we ended up running out of time.

The following day was spent walking from Planet Hollywood down to Excalibur and then from there all the way down to Treasure Island and back to Planet Hollywood.  Needless to say our feet were sore by the time we got back, but we got ready and went to the club XS at Encore.  Thankfully one of the girls we were with had connections and we were able to not only wait in the forever long lines, but we also got to get in for free!  While it looked like a fun club, we didn’t end up staying to long.  I think a lot of it had to do with not only us looking to be twice the age as some of the people there, but also our tired feet were wishing to sit down, but all the tables had the reserved signs on them.   I do have to say it was fun to say we were able to get into one of the hottest clubs in town though.   Instead we went back and a few of us hit the hay while the other two went downstairs and painted the town red.

The following day a few of us ended up taking a tour of the Hoover Dam with Grand Tours LV.  We had a fun time on the tour.  The tour guide was quite funny on the way there and told us a lot of stuff.  The only thing I wish was different was we could of spent longer at the dam.  We were suppose to be there for 90 minutes, which sounds like a lot, but by the time we hit the restrooms quick and hurried down to do the tour we only had about 15-20 minutes to be back to the bus.  While the sounds like a lot, it really wasn’t.  We were hoping to of walked across the dam, but knew we would of ran out of time.  So we snapped some pictures of the overlook area and did the gift shop and got back on the bus.  Then on the way back we stopped at a chocolate factory (I wish I remembered the name of it) but we got 2 free samples and they were to die for!  The bummer thing was we were there on a Sunday so the tour wasn’t open, but the gift shops were and what stunk was we were there for a half hour.  I wish we could of added even half of that time at the dam and had the chocolate tour shorter.  Oh well!

That night we ended  up going to the Madame Tussauds wax museum and then the Marc Savard show (where he hypnotises some of the audience and has them do things) and all I know is I’ve never laughed so hard.  My stomach actually hurt from laughing.   After the show Tammy & I ended up walking the strip some more (actually like 3 hours more) so we could see some more of the casino’s and hotels.  (There is something about seeing things a night versus during the day)  We ended up getting “home” around 3am with once again sore feet.  Then the following day we headed home.

What’s kind of funny was on the flight home a lot of the girls were thinking that they gained a few pounds and were talking about dieting and taking some weight loss pills, but for me I weighed myself this morning and instead of gaining a few pounds I actually LOST a few pounds!! All that walking paid off big time for me!! Maybe that’s my excuse of why I have to go to Vegas more often. ~wink~