Vacation Video Recap

So my camera has a neat-o HD video camera, and while it's not my medium of choice, it's pretty cool. This year I decided to shoot some video on our trip. So without further adieu, here is my wrap up video of Vacation, 2011.

Home Again, Home Again

Home.

I would say 'Home Sweet Home', but we still live in West Virginia.

Just kidding! Our house is really, really sweet.

Vacation 2011 was almost a near perfect experience. There were only two things that kept it from being totally perfect. Number one was Sam puking in the top bunk of his bed after a coughing spell. And then puking as he climbed down the ladder. That was pretty gross. Number two was how the temperature of the pool was related directly to the temperature of the hot tub. On moday night we turned up the temp for the hot tub, and when we got home from Universal Studios on tuesday and really just wanted to jump in the pool to cool off, it was 94 degrees. No joke. It was also pretty gross.

Otherwise, everything was spectacularly awesome! The flights, while not fun, were not a disaster. My parents took on big kid and Maggie, and we had the other big kid and Fred.

Fred, by the way, was as perfect as a baby could be. He slept well, and even when we totally effed up his schedule by schlepping him through an amusement park all day or took him out to dinner past his bedtime, he was still a total peach.

Maggie was also really good. My only complaint about her was that her nose was a running river of snot from tuesday on. And that she only ever wanted her Nunni. Ever. I wasn't even coming in second. I was, like, 17th. After Nunni, in positions 1-15, and then Pap at position 16.

Lucy was a natural in the pool, and happy as a clam after she got to meet her idol on tuesday...

In all seriousness, watching her meet the Grinch was one of the highlights of my life. The whole time we waited in line, which was only about three minutes, she just gazed at him, and slowly moved towards him like she was caught in a tractor beam. I kept having to pull her back in line, and I'm sure that the back of her head made an appearance in some other person's vacation photos.

Sam was sick the day before we left, and he was sick the whole time we were there. (See above, re: puking) BUT! He was a total trooper. He was the most enthusiastic, and we rode more rides with him than anyone. And he wanted to mini-golf, and play foosball, and air hockey, and watch a Harry Potter movie a day (we only have six), and go out to dinner, and go swimming again, and and and. He had a blast. He's the only kid that I feel a smidgen guilty about not taking to Disney. Although I'm pretty sure he didn't care, because when given the choice of going to Disney or watching a movie, he chose the movie. Which did a pretty good job of alleviating my guilt.

And I haven't even mentioned my parents or the wedding, both of which were awesome!

If you had asked me two months ago how I thought this trip would go, I doubt I would have had a positive response. Travelling with small kids is such a gamble, and with four of them, I thought there was no way we would beat the odds. Luckily for us, we hit the jackpot!

Bathing Beauties, 2011

Last year, when we went to the beach, I bought Lucy and Maggie matching bathing suits. It was adorable. Here is photographic evidence of the extreme cuteness:

So this year, when I was bathing suit shopping, I decided again to go with matchy-matchy suits. And again, the cuteness was so intense it reached the upper stratosphere. See?

So from now on, Lucy and Maggie must have matching swim suits. Even when they are 15 and 17 and they both hate me, they will wear the suits for the 30 seconds or so it takes for me to snap some photos. And then their hatred for me will grow ten fold. BUT! When they are about 28 and 30, give or take, I will make little albums for them with a decade and a half of super-precious-matching-bathing-suit-sister photos, and then they will love me for it.

Mark my words.

Soul Man

On Tuesday we ventured to Universal Studios Orlando to see my brother perform. Well, we were there to ride and have fun, but seeing my brother perform was a big part of that fun! He's been performing this role for a couple of years, but I've never had the chance to see it live. It was the highlight of my trip, so far, though I think his wedding may trump it.

Just Keep Swimming!

Today is the first full day of our vacation, and my kids haven't worn anything besides pajamas and bathing suits. The plane ride was fairly uneventful, which was pretty much awesome! Fred is enjoying his baby cage, and started blowing raspberries. The weather is making Maggie's hair even more curly and irresistible. I had s'mores pop tarts for breakfast. My brother slept in the bottom bunk, and Sam slept in the top bunk. Lucy is practically swimming on her own, with only a noodle to assist her.

If today is any indication, this is going to be an awesome vacation.