And As If Camping Weren't Enough...

After we got home from camping I had the rest of the day on Sunday to unpack, then on Monday I went on a marathon Christmas shopping spree, then Monday night and Tuesday I had to pack for DISNEY WORLD (and Universal Studios). Suffice to say we didn't leave until late Tuesday night; we got into our hotel around midnight. We were very impressed with our suite when we got to it. It was a spacious two bedroom with a full kitchen for a very reasonable off season price. Our only complaint was with the dampness, which I don't think is anything anyone could help. A/C units will pull dampness out of the air but it was COLLLLDDD the whole time we were there so we had the heat on. There was a lot of condensation on the windows; anything I left by the window in our bedroom would be wet when I picked it up. Blech.

But on to the fun stuff! We were there to meet with my aunt, uncle, cousins, cousin-in-laws, and the mini-cousins. Two of the minis are close in age to The Wild Child and Martha, Jr., and the mini-est cousin is a little guy at just the right age to.... pull the fire alarm at the restaurant we had brunch at on our last day. Oh, yes, he did! (He's two; they do stuff like that at that age.) His poor dad was mortified; the rest of us veteran parents told him not to sweat it. He'll be laughing about it in a few years! Mini-est was full of it, too. The Wild Child recognized a kindred spirit and had a lot of fun running around with him in spite of the age difference. We went to the Magic Kingdom with everyone on Friday and it was wonderful. I love connecting with my relatives and doing something fun like that together makes it even better. That's one of the advantages of living in Florida- everyone with kids eventually heads to Disney World, and when they do we can meet them there. We've had more family reunions there than you can shake a stick at, and we've loved them all.

We also took a day by ourselves on Thursday to head to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios. It was interesting but so crowded, even though it was still technically the off season. That section of the park is so new that it's still packing in the crowds, and BOY, it was crowded. The rest of the park was a lot less densely packed with people so they were all there, like us, to see that one section. I must say they've done a nice job with it. The butter beer was yummy. (I didn't drink an entire glass by myself; I shared with DH.) It was like a root beer topped with a butterscotch flavored whipped cream. There were lines to get in the shops, too, but the kids HAD to have wands so we waited to get into Olivander's. When we actually got in we realized why there was such a wait- they had a little show in the first part of the shop with a guy dressed up as Olivander. It was only a few minutes long but we all got a big kick out of it. Once the show is over they herd you into the larger section of the shop, which is also packed, so you can pick out your wand. That's even a lot of fun since they have several different ones. You can get one like the characters used (The Eldest liked Hermione's) or you can get one based on a date of your choosing. Martha, Jr. chose one based on her birthday. The Wild Child lost his already, of course.

After spending time with my uncle and his family we drove over to see my in-laws for two more days. After all the running around and packing and theme parking and fun and activity it was relaxing to be at their house. We were only going to stay one night but once I got settled in I didn't feel up to rushing again, and we were enjoying their company, so we stayed the extra day. We had to head back home late yesterday though since our kitty is boarding at the vet's and he has to be picked up by today at the latest.

So now we're back home, and I have 3 days to get ready for Christmas. Yipes!!!