Disney - Day 7

Thursday, Day 7, it was time to check out of Disney.  We were allowed to use the parks all day and had a hard time deciding what to do.  It was really hot, so did we go to the second water park we didn't get to see, did we go back to Epcot because we had only spent a 1/2 day there, do we go to Downtown Disney to get the rest of our souvenirs??  Such tough decisions.  Both families actually decided on the same park..The Magic Kingdom.  It had the shops we needed to finish our shopping and the favorite rides that all ages could go on.

The kids on the final morning.  They all wanted Mickey hats.  Will's goofy hat just cracks me up.

One last ride on "Its a small world"

Fischer family in Cinderella's castle..good to see you are from Wisconsin today Josh. :)

Radies family at Cinderella's Castle...

While everyone else was on Space Mountain, we came across Tigger and Pooh!

Loving the tea cups..

Miss Abbie getting tired...

This is generally what we looked like at the end of a day..lol.  The kids always fell asleep on the bus. 

From here the Fischer family went to SeaWorld and the Radies family rented a car and drove to see family in Sarasota.  After going nonstop for seven days, we were ready for a few relaxing days.

Disney - Day 8 & 9

A beautiful day at the beach.  When we visited Sarasota 10 years ago for the first time we went to Siesta Beach to find that the Red Tide had infected the ocean.  When we visited 4 years ago there was a tropical storm coming in and there was so much seaweed on the shore you couldn't even get to the water.  This trip was perfect..beautiful sunshine, white sand (which Siesta is known for) and clear water.  Lexi's favorite part of the ocean was finding shells.  She and cousin Riley had some great finds, even finding some that still had owners in them.

Will was a bit hesitant about stepping in the ocean for the first time because he just wasn't sure about the shark situation, but after about 10 minutes he finally made his way in a bit further and had a great time swimming.

Will's first steps in the ocean!

Little deeper..O.K., I guess it isn't so bad..but I will still be on the lookout for sharks.

Before you knew it he was fighting the waves..

Cousin Nikki, her daughter Charlotte and Lexi
Shortly after this was taken, Lexi complained that she thought something had bit her and I couldn't see anything on her, but later figured out she had been bit by a jellyfish.  We found one on shore.  The lifeguards treated her with a spray, but it was almost an hour before the stinging stopped on her chest. (she refused to let anyone you know what on her..)

We stayed two nights with Rick's uncle Ken and aunt Dianne.  (thank you!) They are in the process of putting in a pool to enjoy with their grandchildren when they visit.  Here are the kids checking out the form that was recently poured.

Sitting in the hot tub...

I had to take a picture of Ken and Dianne's porch because it is definitely something I would like when we build a home (a covered porch)

Our second day in Sarasota we went to Nokomis beach.  Again, beautiful day, clear water.  Here Lexi and Will are playing with cousins Riley, Brody and Charlotte.

My handsome little boy...

Rick playing with Charlotte..

Ahhh.paradise!

After playing at the beach we went back to Nikki and Sean's house for a late lunch.  In their back yard they have a cool fort and a zip line, that Lexi could not wait to try out.  It is every kids dream to zip line out of a fort..so neat.  Here is Lexi taking her first try at it with Sean in the background.

Will taking his turn..

What a fun day!  Thank you everyone for your hospitality!  It was time to drive back to Orlando and check into a hotel for our next adventure, Sea World.

Disney - Day 10

Our last full day in Orlando was spent at Sea World.  It was again very hot, but we had a great time getting to see the animals.  Below the kids are feeding the stingrays.  They were so funny..they would actually climb the wall to try and get the food. Their mouths are on the bottom, so you were supposed to hold the food in the water so they could grab it out of your hand.  The kids didn't do such a great job at that because the stingrays weren't shy about trying to get the food before they got their hands in the water.

Second on the schedule was feeding the dolphins, which is my favorite.  The dolphins also knew it was feeding time and weren't shy about talking to you in dolphin and you were warned to keep your tray of food below the wall because they would come out of the water and grab it. lol

Aww..aren't they cute!

Guess they were right..those dolphins would push themselves up as high as they could to get the food if you weren't fast enough.

You could see them from below also..

We got to see a dolphin show..

We also got to see a small animal show that had cats, dog, mice and even a pig.

Loved this show..these animals are so smart..

Carousal ride..

The Shamu show..also very smart animals.  The show has changed considerably since we saw it last and now the trainers do not actually go in the water with the whales.

Kids on one of the rides..not quite the Tower of Terror, but they tried it anyway.

One of the roller coasters that Rick and Lexi went on. Can't believe Lexi liked it considering you are upside down most of the time.

Rick and Will are in the back row and Lexi is in front of them. 

Another fun day.  I think we are now "parked out" and ready to come home after 10 days.

Disney - Day 11 - Time to come home..

The last morning started out fairly normal.  Our flight wasn't until 2:30, but we left our hotel for the airport at 10:00 to have enough time to get some lunch and look through some of the shops.  Around 1:00 - 1:30, I took this picture of the kids before we boarded the plane for Chicago.  Will had started with a belly ache and had a hard time smiling for this photo.

One last pic of the kids on the airplane.  Lexi to my left reading her book..

and my poor Will to my right not feeling well at all.  He had gotten the chills once we got on the plane and was freezing.  He fell asleep before the plane made it in the air.

Things went from bad to worse from there.  By the time we arrived in Chicago, Will had a pretty high fever and was like a limp little noodle, still complaining about a belly ache.  Once we get off the plane, we realized our connecting flight has been moved from 5:30 (only a 1/2 hr away) to 8:07.  Rick took Will to the bathroom and he had a bad upset stomach.  Not knowing he had it, he got some on his pants.  Of course we don't have any access to our luggage or have any extra clothes along.  I walk the airport from one end to the other looking to purchase a pair of pants and some children's Tylenol without luck.  I did not have any because you can't carry liquids on the plane and that is generally what we always use. I will from now on never travel w/out chewables. 

I could not find anyone to help me and was at a loss.  In the meantime, I check the board again and our flight has been put out until after 10 p.m.  I am ready to cry..my poor little boy is a limp noodle, sicker than sick in an airport and there is nothing I can do.  I realized that I had a pair of jogging pants I had bought for someone else and had in my carry on, so I took Lexi in the bathroom to try them on.  Luckily they had a draw string and we made them work.  I then took Will into the bathroom and changed him into Lexi's capris..which just looked like regular jeans on him, just a little big.  He wasn't happy about wearing girls clothes, but at least he had clean clothes on. 

After being at the airport for 1 1/2 hours and thinking we would be there for four more hours, a dream come true happened and they scheduled a 7:00 flight.  We were ecstatic.  I gave the kudos to mom, hoping she was our guardian angel. I can see her up there saying..oh heck no..my baby boy is sick and he needs to get home..and sent us that plane.  Will made it home just in time, as he got worse as the night went on.  I took him in on Tuesday to have him tested for strep throat and sure enough it came back positive.  He still had the stomach issues and had to miss 2 extra days of school.  What an end to our vacation.  I was so thankful though it happened at the end and not the beginning.  As I type this, I have been in bed for 30 hours with the worst flu I have ever experienced.  Guess we picked up a lot of things from traveling. Praying Lexi and Rick stay healthy!