We are finally home from our big vacation from Florida and boy are we glad to be home. The entire Russell clan met up in Orlando for a few days to visit Disney World and then drove to St Pete's Beach for a wedding.
The weather was typical for Florida- hot, humid and muggy. The kids got to play with their cousin Cayd and spend time with their Grandma, Grandpa, Great Grandma Lillian, Auntie Megan and Uncle Kevin. It's always so nice to see family and it was even better going to Disney with them. We rarely get to see family, so this was really special.
The first ride we went on was (of course) Pirates of the Caribbean. Lily is usually a fan of pirates, but this ride didn't impress her as much as I thought it would. We then ventured off to an Aladdin Magic Carpet ride and I think Sophie was most impressed with this one. We took a Safari Jungle Cruise and then went to the Haunted Mansion. This by far was Lily's favorite. Who knew this kid would enjoy ghosts?
We decided that Lily was big enough to go on a real roller coaster and she had been looking forward to going on Big Thunder Mountain for a while. Her first roller coaster was at Mickey's Toontown. It was some sort of airplane roller coaster that Grandma and Grandpa took her on 2 years ago and from then on, she was a roller coaster girl. We waited in the Fast Pass line and I could tell that she was getting excited. Once we finally got on, she was a bit nervous. She realized that she was the only "small kid" on it and a lot of the bigger kids were yelling and screaming. It may have just been the adrenaline, but once we got moving she was yelling and screaming herself, putting her hands up in the air and laughing. She really enjoyed her first real roller coaster!
After that and some ice cream, we went back to the hotel room for some naps and dinner. We decided that we would go back that evening once it was cooler for round 2 of Disney and we got to ride Space Mountain with Lily. Again, she had a blast although she didn't like how the roller coaster was "always going down." Before we left, we caught the Light parade and Sophie was in such awe of the lights and seeing Mickey Mouse up close. She got her very first pair of Mickey Mouse ears and proudly wore them for 5 minutes before deciding that it was too hot for a hat. By the time we got back to the hotel, it was almost midnight.
The next day, we drove to St Pete's to attend a beautiful beach wedding. Everyone was a bit nervous since it started pouring rain a day before the wedding. Typical Florida... You never know when it's going to rain a little or a lot! We spent a lot of time on the beach and I am convinced that we have 2 beach babies on our hands. It's almost like the beach calls them. I guess that's what you get for having one kid born in San Diego and the other born in Jacksonville. We built sand castles, jumped in the waves and soaked up the sun. They didn't even give the pool a second look. They were all about the beach!
At the rehearsal dinner we met the bride to be and reconnected with more family. Lily said that she was an old pro at being a flower girl and said that she didn't need to practice. Sophie on the other hand needed the practice. Instead of scattering flower petals (that was Lily's job) Sophie and Cayd were to scatter seashells. We thought that as long as they made it down the isle together, that would be fine.
The big day had come and the weather was very cooperative. We spent the morning at the beach then took naps and got ready for the wedding. Everything looked to beautiful and there were a lot of casual beach onlookers watching the wedding. There was definitely love in the air. Lily did a great job scattering the rose petals and both Sophie and Cayd made it down the isle without scattering one seashell. It was cute enough seeing Cayd in his little tux and Sophie all dressed up.
Lily's new dance partner was also the ring bearer: 7 year old David. They had a great time running around chasing each other and then at the wedding reception they danced all night. I mean ALL NIGHT, to every song. Sophie and Cayd danced together, but mostly enjoyed chasing each other around the dinner tables.
Vacation is always a time to relax and to spend quality time with the family. We are very lucky to have been able to do all that we did in a little over a week. It's really a reminder of how quickly time passes and that we really need to make the most of spending time with our family.
While we were on vacation we did miss a couple of special events. Two of our friends were blessed with new babies: The Harpers who are now a family of 3 (humans, that is... Sorry Cooper) welcomed Graysen Elizabeth and the Piedmonts who welcomed Ellie. I'm sure in a few years they will be toting their kids around Disney doing the same things we did on our Summer vacation.
