Our Exciting Adventure! - Dec. 8 - Day 2

 Yea!  Josie's 11th birthday!  I have already posted a little about this on her birthday post, it was a wonderful day - a birthday she will never forget.

So, we woke up in our swanky hotel, ready to get ready and GO!  One reason we stayed in the hotel we stayed in was because we got to get into the park an hour earlier than the general public and with Harry Potter world so busy, I decided we might need the extra time.  I don't even remember what we had for breakfast but we went on a water taxi to the park, which was great, it took us almost to the front gate, we just had to walk a little.  It was a little windy, which was chilly, so we were all bundled up, but it did warm up and some of us actually took off our jackets and enjoyed the sun on our arms for a bit in the middle of the day.  (I should warn you there are a LOT of pics).

Here we are at the entrance to HP world.  It really was pretty neat.  

This is right before we left the hotel.  The 1st Christmas tree we encountered just
inside the lobby.  Little did we know there would be huge Christmas trees pretty
much everywhere we went.  It was great!  Yes, I know Jaxon is almost as tall as
me - almost!

This is a secret drinking fountain that Grandma found - I can't remember how to turn it on but we each had to get
a drink out of it just because it was so magical.  

Grandma read the busiest place of all was Olivander's Wand Emporium so that was our first stop.  It isn't a ride,
 but more of a demonstration - in Josie's post it talks a bit more about this.  But, this pic is in the shop, there are
definitely a LOT of wands.  And, they are very dusty.  (this is looking up).

Each of the kids wanted to choose a wand, except for Jainie, who liked Suessland much better than Harry Potter. They each chose their own. Josie got the wand that matched her, Josh got Snape's wand, and Jake got Harry's wand. Jaxon wanted Lucius Malfoys', which is a cane with the wand inside - it has a metal core, so is pretty heavy. We decided we might not be able to take it home on the plane so we would just order it when we got home. That hasn't happened yet, guess I better check on that. :)

Jake was all geared up for HP.  I think initally he was most excited - even though
he has only read book 1 - Jaxon, Jared, and I have read them all, Josie is on book 5 and
Josh is on the 3rd book.  Anyway, Jake would have gone completely decked out if I would
have let him.  He really wanted to get chosen for the wand, but he was too young.  It was
great Josie got chosen on her birthday though.  Perfect touch!

Immediately after the wands, we went on the BIG ride, "The Forbidden Journey."  Luckily, Jake was just tall
enough, with a little help.  Jainie wasn't but had no interest anyway.  If you don't want to ride, you can still walk
 through the castle so Grandma and Jainie got some great pics and enjoyed the queue a lot more than the rest of
us, who ran through it.  It was really not busy, we were lucky.  This is Jainie inside.  Can you tell where?
(entrance to Dumbledore's office)

I thought these were cool too.  Remember what they are and who is winning the house cup?

There were so many great things in the castle, there were talking pictures and Harry, Ron and Hermione were in there - really something to see. Especially if you are a HP fan.  The ride was great - unfortunately it made me a tad sick - I am just not as young as I used to be.  It didn't stop me from riding it twice, but some of us rode it 3 times.  Whew!

The owlery - which we sat underneath - smart?  not sure

Some pics of HP world, the book was in a shop, pretty cool, it moved and everything.   The other thing I read about that I was worried about was that the shops are so small there is no room to enjoy the decor.  Once again, we were there at such a great time, we could enjoy everything.  I loved Honeydukes, we got a chocolate frog there which you will see a bit later in this post.  They had cauldron cakes, Bertie's Every Flavor beans, a Ton Tongue (which Ry got), oh, so much candy!

We went on the other 2 rides in HP world, "Dragon Challenge," which Jake couldn't go on - it is the former "Dueling Dragons" which Jared and I had been on before.  Super fun - one of my favorites!  And, we all got to go on "Flight of the Hippogriff,"  which is a smaller coaster.  That was one of Jake's favorites - he thought it was great and wanted to go on it again and again.  So, we went a few times.  Hunger finally won over and we decided it was definitely time to eat.  We had all heard that "The Three Broomsticks" was an excellent place to eat but usually packed.  We went a little before noon and it was perfect.  Great ambiance and pretty good food.  And, have I mentioned the Butterbeer - YUMMO!  I seriously love it.  We tried both regular and frozen - both great!

This is inside "The Three Broomsticks" (other pics under Josie's post).  This whole chimney had antlers on it - Ry thought it was funny to hold Jake up so it looks like he has

antlers - only Uncles would think of this.

We were now all full and happy to have gotten all of HP world in and decided it was time to check out the rest of the park.  This was on our way out - pretty cute snowman, I wonder if he is there year-round.  Jake and Josh sure liked him.

After exiting HP, we could see this part of the park, the big coaster is the "Incredible Hulk,"  we went on it quite
a bit later - it is totally awesome!  Although, unfortunatly for Jared and I, once we are sick, we have a hard time
getting rid of it, so we only went on each ride once and couldn't repeat too much.  Grandpa, Ry, Jaxon, Josie and
 Josh went on this a few more times though.  It is a blast!

This is the only line we waited in, it was for "Poseidon's Fury."  It was a very interesting show - scared Jainie to death, but the other kids liked it.  I think we still had jet lag.  And, the only picture of Grandpa and Grandma together taken by Josie with her new camera - good job JOS!

Can you tell which land is Jainie's favorite?  I really like it too.  It had yummy treats as well and cool "Who's" walking around and we got to watch a live show of "How the Grinch stole Christmas" then meet the Grinch and get a picture with him.  Jainie hated him, he stuck is tongue out at her and did that spitting thing - what is that called?  She was not a fan.  The other kids thought he was pretty cool.

These were pretty good pics - the kids thought it was pretty funny and did a great job!  Although, they have no idea who Marmaduke is.

These captions were pretty great.  This was taken on day 1 of vacation and

we pretty much felt like this then so you can imagine how the next few days 

went.  I wouldn't trade it though. 

Jake was Ry's little shadow, anything Ry was going to do, Jake was going

to tag along.  Maybe that is Jake's real thinking face, not sure, don't see it

enough or Ry's either for that matter. :)

The boys hanging out after "Spiderman,"  which ironically enough Grandma loved and wanted to go on twice!  I think the rest of us were ready for a bit of a ride break.   I can't remember who went back with her - maybe Jake.  I think this was actually one of MANY bathroom stops, when only one person needs to go and then 5 minutes later it is someone else's turn, it takes a big majority of the day.

Ry was honestly trying to feed Jake to the T-rex!  Can you believe that?!  Maybe after having someone riding on your shoulders all day that would happen to you too?

We were pretty delirious by this time and Jainie was asleep so Josie and I thought it would be pretty funny to pretend we would leave her there to get eaten by the T-rex - she didn't think it was nearly so funny when she saw the picture!

I love this pic.  This ride - the Pteranodon one - was the LONGEST line - like 45 minutes!

So, there is a section of the park for kids with things to play on, etc.  There is one ride, "Pteranodon Flyers," which looked pretty fun.  However, you had to be under a certain height to go on it, unless you were going with someone under the height.  Jainie was asleep or Jaxon could have gone on it - darn.  Josie was under the height limit - barely.  Josh was above.  No, Josie wasn't too happy about this.  And, Jake went with dad.  They said it was pretty fun.

This is outside "The Lost Continent."  I thought it was a cool welcome sign.

Of course, on our way out of the park, we had to go back to HP world and get another butterbeer and just enjoy the ambiance again.  We really do miss it - it was a lot of fun.  Most of the kids say this was one of their favorite things - between all of the things on vacation, even the Disney stuff, if you can imagine that!  It was worth the price of admission just for HP world, we think.

We couldn't leave without getting a picture of Hogwarts Express and the train conductor.  One of the busiest spots in the whole park!  But, doesn't he look jolly?

This is in CityWalk on the way back to the water ferry, it is my FAVORITE picture!  I made him stand there when I saw the sign, "Porch of Indecision," are you kidding me?  Could this fit anyone more?  Maybe my dad equally.  Hilarious!  I told Jared that this is where we should move to, see if they could turn it into "Home of Indecision" and they could pay him to stand there and be a role model of indecision?  Good idea, eh?

Back at our hotel, after opening our chocolate frog and enjoying our card.  It was pretty exciting!  Not the best chocolate if you ask me.  But, solid chocolate - we couldn't even finish it between the whole fam!

Thanks Universal for a wonderful day!  And, for the best birthday ever for JOSIE!  It was awesome!  We'll come again anytime.

Creation!

I have been looking for something for Sharing Time for Primary this week and found this video. It is so beautiful and totally worth your 6 minutes to watch it. It is amazing and really makes you think.

Our Exciting Adventure! - Dec. 7

 Jared and I decided for Christmas that we should go on vacation rather than spend so much money on things the kids didn't really need.  I have always thought memories were more important than having everything little thing you want and still agree with that.  And, any of you who know me at all, know that I LOVE DISNEY!!!  I love how easy it is to fit in there and no one stares at you with your 5 kids, everyone just tries to be happy and enjoy.  (Yes, I realize there can be pushing and a bit of selfishness, but for the most part, it really isn't bad).  Plus, there is something for everyone.  I am telling you, it is like the perfect spot for a family vacation.  ANYWAY,  I have been to DWorld a few times - maybe 4-5.  Jared has been a couple times and Jaxon and Josie have been once.  So, where to go?  I have wanted to go on a cruise forever, but haven't been.  But, things that make me a bit nervous I would rather experience without kids first - just to know the problems that may be encountered.  Other than that, I knew I wanted to go somewhere warm.  Then, I started seeing all these deals about Disneyworld.  And, I have watched MANY specials on DWorld and know how awesome their Christmas decorations are supposed to be.  Anyway, long story short, we decided to go to Disneyworld!  And, as a bonus, we decided to go to Harry Potter World at Universal.  (That was the highlight for some of the kids).

Anyone who wanted to come was invited, but I pretty much set the schedule.  I set it around the free meal days at DW and cheapest airline dates.  :)  Which left us going on Tuesday, December 7th and coming home on Thursday, December 16 - a full 10 days.  Which may seem like a long time but we filled every second of every day and could've stayed longer.  (I could've stayed an extra month!)

We flew out of SLC, which I prefer to Las Vegas but it is usually more expensive.  Luckily, we found the best airline tickets out of SLC - had to pay for our luggage so we checked one bag and carried the rest on.  I am sure we looked like a traveling circus.  (Wish I would've taken a picture, but I had no hands and no time to stop).  Each child had a backpack filled with things to do and a maximum size carry-on luggage that rolled so they could pull their own.  Plus, we had 2 camera bags, 2 booster seats, and 1 stroller.  Can you say chaos? My parents came with us as well as Ry - well, that is a little complicated, like single people's life's tend to be - Ry came for the first half and then had to leave.  Sara came for the last half.  Crazy.  Linds didn't come at all.  :(  We were glad to have whoever could come for whatever amount of time.  So, picture us walking through the airport - Jared and I, heavily laden with stuff - Jaxon, backpack with at least 50 lbs of homework, pulling his own carry on plus Jainie's.  Josie and Josh handling their own bags, thankfully.  Jake handling his backpack and trading off with his carry-on and Jainie barely being able to walk without being carried.  She did pull the stroller when not riding in it.  Then, Dad, Mom, and Ry bringing their stuff as well as anything else we couldn't get.  All of us in single line - following the leader, usually me.  Hopefully, no one wanted to get through our impenetrable line of defense.

We made sure to wear comfy clothes with no jewelry - trust me it took us long enough to
get through the security, I can't imagine having to empty pockets and take things off.  Shoes
were bad enough.  In Orlando, they had a special line for families, because we tend to
take so long.  :)  No one got searched ever and I think Jared is the only one who beeped.  Josh
wanted to take his little pocket knife, because Jared always takes his and was very upset when
we told him they would take it away and Jared wasn't even taking his.  I think he was really
wondering about airports and crazy people.

It was pure relief when we would get to the gate.  Just put our stuff down and sit.  Whew!  We made it.  We had a plane change both on the way there and on the way home.  We stopped at Denver on the way there and Houston on the way home.  Both times, having to change planes.  Either way, we made it.  It was definitely the part of the trip I was dreading most!  I don't like flying.  Especially with five kids.

Jaxon was ambivalent about flying again, I think he thought it was kinda cool.  He does want to be a pilot so I guess it is good he doesn't think it is a big deal.   Josie had just been to San Francisco with the girls a couple years before, so she was the calm influence over the kids.  Josh had flown on our trip to Nauvoo, but he was a baby, so he didn't remember.  He was actually the one who kept telling us that he wanted a plane flight for Christmas.  He didn't care where, he just wanted to fly.  Until, a couple days before the vacation, then he didn't want to go.  He volunteered to stay home, with anyone, go to school, the whole deal if he didn't have to go.  He gets a bit nervous.  Jake was super excited, there was a lot of hand shaking and nervous teasing.  Jainie was excited but nervous as well, having no idea what to expect.   We all made it, and the return trip was funny because you would have thought they were all seasoned fliers.  They wouldn't even look out the windows - TV and sleep were much too important.  :)

Mom and I had planned the whole seating perfectly.  However, a couple days before leaving,
we received an email telling us that our plane was switched.  It was only 4 minutes different so
neither of us thought much of it.  Until we got to the airport then we realized they had changed our
seats.  We were all in individual seats not be each other!  AAAHHH!  Luckily, a lady there got us
 seats that were a bit better so everyone but Jared and I were sitting by someone else - for the trip
to Denver.  Then, the long one, this is how we sat - these 3 together, me with the crazy ones and Jared
by himself.  Hopefully, he got some sleep.  Mom, Dad, and Ry were way up there on their own.
Not ideal, but it worked.

These 2 did great!

We got to Orlando at about 6:30 - their time.  It was just as the sun was setting - so beautiful.  Lots of water!

I love this picture - the way the sunset reflects off of the wing.  Planes really are amazing!

So, there you have it.  Our exciting adventure to our exciting adventure.  After we arrived we picked up our rental cars (this was Jared's least favorite part - he hates rental cars, it seems something always goes wrong), picked up our 1 piece of checked luggage and tried to get out of the airport.  That only took a couple wrong turns and an extra half an hour.  But, we made it to our hotel and all the kids were wound up and all the adults were exhausted.  Our first meal was pizza ordered to the hotel room and some calming ESPN.  Ahh, what a life.  :)