orlando-day 1 and 2

We took these munchkins to Orlando!!  We were all counting down the days and were just so pumped to do all things Harry Potter, Universal, and the beach!! Oh, and they were pretty stoked about new rolling suitcases.  Traveling with these kids was a breeze now that they can hoof their own stuff around the airport.

Brooke followed Kevin over to the little shop and she looked like the cutest little traveler.  Sometimes I catch a glimpse of my kids and am shocked at how grown up they look.

Having some snacks before the flight...

Watching the planes...

And finally getting ready to board...

The kids ate their snacks, watched a few shows, and before you knew it, we had arrived in Orlando. It was sort of a fiasco getting our rental car, but we finally got it, made it to our hotel and headed over to Universal City Walk. Turns out you need a reservation to eat anywhere at City Walk, so I can't even remember what we did for dinner that night. But we took advantage of a few photo ops, grabbed dinner, and headed home to rest up for Day Two. 

Brooke and Colby were excited to share a bed, and thankfully they fell asleep quickly because they were so tired after a long day.

Sunday was Mother's Day, so we went for what we thought would be a quick brunch at Waffle House.  The wait was pretty long, but it was a good breakfast, so we'll call that a win. 

Then we headed to Universal's water park, Volcano Bay.  I really wasn't sure what to expect, but I was super impressed with the whole experience. 

The volcano was HUGE!  Several slides went down the back of the volcano, as well as a body plunge slide that dropped 125 feet down the front.  None of us were brave enough to try it, and the people we did watch came out swearing, so we quickly moved along.  

I knew I wouldn't have my phone with me all day, so we took one last picture outside the locker area and headed out to explore.  

Our favorite ride was Krakatau, an aqua coaster that goes through the volcano and is propelled by magnets.  I've never been on anything like it, and it was way faster than I anticipated.  Krakatau had the longest wait, but they had a pretty cool system with watch-like devices called TapuTapu to get in a virtual line.  The watch counted down the minutes until you should return to that ride so you were free to explore the rest of the park while you waited.  It really was a great system!  Along with the rides, they had a great lazy river, a swift river (that required life jackets and was a bit wild at some parts), and a really fun kid area with slides and water spray features.  

Kevin had gone up with the kids while I was waiting near the bottom of the slides. At one point, I was squirted in the back of the head and when I turned in the direction of the water, I was hit straight in the eye.  It hurt so badly and I couldn't see or open my eye.  It was the craziest thing because I was holding my eye and was stumbling trying to figure out where to go.  I heard Brooke's voice and she tried to help me get away from all the spraying water. After a few minutes, I was able to open my eye again.  But it was pretty crazy and not what I was expecting at the children's area, haha. 

But overall, it was a great day! 

On the way home, we picked up some fresh fruit from Whole Foods and a pizza from Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza. The kids loved eating dinner in bed while we watched Harry Potter.  Vacation life really is the best life!