Crazy Disney and Thunderstorms

Today was productive. The Rv is cleaned, laundry done, car washed and we even got to go fishing and spend some time at the pool. I love days like these, it feels good to get some work done.

A few days ago we went to Disney Magic Kingdom to celebrate Layne's 5th birthday. She was so excited, it was the only thing she would talk about.

Who knew that spending time at Disney World would take so much planning? Apps needed to be downloaded, restraunts reserved, and rides had to be Fast Passed. The preparation was exhausting before we even hit the park.

I am not one for crowds (who is?), since it was Spring Break for most of Florida we got to experiece the Magic Kingdom with the rest of the world!

The kids had a blast despite the hour long waits for rides.

We had a FastPass for the Cinderella meet and greet.

Disney parades are the best!

Tom Sawyer's island. The Magic Kingdom is a lot like Disneyland, it was fun exploring and seeing the differences.

We stayed till 11:30pm...it was an exhausting day, but we made it on most of the rides. The kids did great, and Layne had the most fabulous birthday.

The next day we slept in, I was lethargic all day. Totally wiped out. We spent our time hanging out at camp fishing.

Since this lake is private Justin and the kids can fish without a fishing license.

They have 4 Alligators in this lake, one swam by as we were fishing.

The kids would catch tiny Bluegill and would use them as bait for large mouth Bass. The lake is so much fun for the kids, Blake even caught a turtle.

After a day of rest we headed to Disney's Animal Kingdom. There were no crowds since rain was in the forecast that day. That didn't stop us one bit.

This picture is of our favorite ride, Expedition Everest. We went on this ride over and over again.

We saw lots of animals on the Safari tour.

The rain started to come in around 1:00...it quickly turned into a full blown thunderstorm. We made the crazy decision to leave the park during that time because it didn't look like it was going to let up. Walking to the car we got completely soaked...you could wring out all our clothes and fill a bucket. For some reason I couldn't stop laughing as we were running to our car. This was our first southern storm and it was crazy!

The wind was blowing and lighning was all around. We made it safley home and got some warmer clothes on.

We ended up going back to Animal Kingdom for about an hour that evening after the storm passed.

We had the entire park to ourselves, and of course we went on our favorite ride over and over again.

Tomorrow we head to Disney Hollywood Studio's. I am praying for no crowds, but we shall see...

Dolphin Tales and Legoland

I am currently sitting in a rec room eating ice cream at our Thousand Trails camp site using their wifi because we have way surpassed our data for the month. Watching the many serious bingo players in the other room I'm starting to realize I could really get used to this life. A life on the road or at least in an Rv park.

Everyone seems so relaxed.

Not a care in the world.

I bet Justin and I will end up staying permanently in a place like this...when we retire.

We made it to Orlando after spending the week in the Tampa area. Our initial worries about the Largo campsite ended up being nothing, we had such a relaxing time.

We visited Clearwater beach, home to the dolphin Winter!

The kids were excited because they loved the movie Dolphin Tale.

Winter.

Clearwater Marine Aquarium rehabilitates all sorts of marine life, not just dolphins.

They even had a dolphin show that my kids really enjoyed.

After the Clearwater Aquariam we headed for lunch at Frenchy's on the beach.

We spent the rest of the afternoon at the beach...

The next day we headed to LEGOLAND, FL. We used to live right down the street from LEGOLAND, CA so we were excited to see what the difference would be.

One ride that Florida has that we have never been on before was the Coastersaurus.

I will forever cherish the following picture.

Oh poor Layne...I can't help but laugh every time I look at this picture. Layne is actually our most brave child, it surprised me that she was so afraid.

LEGOLAND FL has a beautiful botanical garden.

The largest Banyan tree I have ever seen.

Justin gets photo credits for this shot.

We went to a pirate show right on the water. They had wake boarders and skiers who did the most amazing tricks on the water. Something we don't have at LEGOLAND, Ca.

I was a little homesick after seeing this sign.

We had a blast at LEGOLAND. It reminded us of home.

Today we went to Lazydays and had work done on our Rv...the kids spotted this miniature version of our Rv and laughed.

After some repair work we headed into Orlando. We are here for about 10 days...spending tomorrow at Disneyworld, celebrating Layne's 5th birthday. We are all so excited to see the Magic Kingdom, I will try to post soon! xoxo

Ft. De Soto See You Again

Remember the picture I posted about our campsite in Largo? The one in my last blog post with the beautiful tree lined street?

That same night as we were headed to bed we all commented on the fact that we smelled campfire. No big deal. A few minutes later we opened up the window in our back room to let some air in, looked out and saw that the base of a huge oak tree in the camp site behind our coach was on fire. No one was around. Justin raced to dump water on the tree and successfully put it out.

Apparently someone lit the fire and left?! Really? I could just imagine this park going up in flames and all the while we are packed in like sardines, many of us using our Rv's as full time homes, with no way to evacuate with them. That night I couldn't sleep. On top of that the next day a lady walking by told us we should keep our bikes locked up because bikes here have been known to go missing. Sad.

We are traveling with our precious kiddos and our home, we need to be cautious but at the same time I don't want to live in fear. We ended up talking to the camp manager and she took care of the matter quickly, reassured us and made us feel better. Today we met some sweet neighbors and I am starting to relax a little about staying here.

On a brighter note we went to the most amazing state park.

Ft. De Soto, FL

Most days we have a blast exploring and finding new adventures, but some days are so memorable they rank high in my book of "things to do again"...

and I would love to return to this protected island full of wild life and soft sandy beaches.

The kids loved the sand bar...it made a perfect little pool for them to play in.

Lots of wildlife.

Me in my happy place, thanking God for blessing our day.

We took a tour of the actual fort, not anything spectacular, but still fun to check out.

You can even camp with an Rv on the Island...but make your reservations in advance, there was no room by the time we wanted to check in.

We usually end every day with the pool, that's how I bathe my kids. Haha, kidding. Somewhat.

Still in Largo...praying our night is uneventful. Tomorrow Legoland?

Southwest Gulf Coast

The days are running into each other, each beach we explore has different characteristics but I'm having a hard time keeping track of them. Not a bad problem to have if you like the beach, which I do. Heading from the Florida Keys we stopped to take a peek at the alligators in the Everglades.

Massive beasts, creepy but at the same time mesmerizing.

After the Everglades we were on our way to Naples, making it just in time to catch the sunset.

Kissy kissy. My hubby, my rock. He has embraced this adventure and I'm so proud of how he get's our family from one place to another. We have had our share of frustration, but this experience has brought us closer than we have ever been before.

Sisters and best friends, they are inseparable.

We stayed at the good old Cracker Barrel that night and headed to Ft. Myers beach the next day. I'm sorry to say Ft. Myers has been my least favorite visit so far. We caught up with the spring breakers, so lots of traffic and craziness.

The only pic I took at Ft. Myers beach...a gold painted person posing as a statue.

The next day we braved the traffic again and headed to Sanibel Island just outside of Ft. Myers.

When you want to collect sea shells you go to Bowman's beach on Sanibel Island.

Not sure if the shell collecting was worth the 2 hours to get off the island, but it was still a good experience.

After a full night's rest we decided to pack up, leave Ft. Myers, and head towards Largo (near Tampa). Mid way through our drive we stopped at Walmart, left the coach and headed out in our Pathfinder to Siesta Key, an Island in Sarasota.

Parking was hard to find, but we found a spot near this beautiful American flag.

Heading to the beach.

The water was clear and beautiful.

We found a hammock and relaxed in the shade.

Siesta Key was lovely...it was crowded, but we enjoyed the day.

After checking out Siesta we got to Largo late afternoon and pulled into camp.

This picture looks serene but let me tell you this campground has given me mixed feelings...

more on that with my next blog post.