Kris Noorman | the journal

This is where we were a couple weeks before Christmas. FLORIDA! It was the most wonderful, relaxing vacation. Just perfect. We were there with Mom+Dad O, Heather, Jeff and Scarlett. I’ve always thought it would be so fun to go on a family vacation with everybody. And it was.

The first few days, we got settled, recuperated from the long drive (yes, we drove 20 hrs. straight through to get there. we are crazy!), swam, relaxed, went out to dinner, played games, went to Downtown Disney. It was a perfect start to the trip.

On Tuesday, we surprised the kids with a trip to Universal Studios Islands of Adventure. That was fun! Chloe LOVED all the roller coaster and water rides. Those were her favorites. That girl has no fear. She and Jake went on the Hulk roller coaster several times and she loved it more each time. Zach is the complete opposite. No roller coasters for him. We really enjoyed Harry Potter world. That was very cool to see. We went there once in the morning when we first got there and went again at the end of the day, which made for some very cool shots of Hogsmeade at night. Also liked Jurassic Park. That movie is a favorite of ours, not just because we love the movie, but because it was during that movie that Jake realized he really liked me. We were just friends going to a late night movie with my brother Tim. I tried to take a picture of us in front of one of the dinosaurs, but my self portrait aim failed and all I got was the edge of the truck in this shot. Still like it, though.

On Wednesday, we headed to Disney in the late afternoon for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas event. We arrived around 4 and the park was open until midnight for us with special fireworks, parades, hot cocoa + cookies, and even snow on Main St. It was very fun and a beautiful night to celebrate the holiday season.

The BEST thing about going to the theme parks the second week of December was short waits on just about every ride. That was awesome! The kids, especially Chloe, are huge complainers when it comes to waiting in long lines, so to walk up to a ride and practically get right on was awesome!

The last couple days, we relaxed and recuperated from two days at theme parks, swam, hung out some more, played games, went to Downtown Disney again, got souvenirs for the kids, and went to Cocoa Beach (just the 4 of us).

I felt very sad when it came time to pack. We had such a wonderful time with the family and I really didn’t want it to end. I seriously almost cried on the day we left. And not just because we had a twenty hour drive ahead of us. LOL!

While there, I took over 1,400 pictures. Obviously, I’m not going to share all of them here, but I think I will share one or two photos at a time that I really like and want to share the story behind instead of several big posts. We’ll try that and see how it goes.

Can’t wait for the next family vacation in a couple years!