Maddie is FINALLY swimming

Maddie has been our child a little less interested in learning to swim. Actually, she has been quite scared! Alex and I have both tried and tried and she even wears a puddle jumper to help her feel more comfortable/safe. It doesn't matter, she just doesn't trust it. It can some times become very frustrating for both Alex and I. This was another concern for us going in to this trip. We told her that we'd be spending some time at the pool and she needed to remember that her float would not allow her to go under, we wouldn't let anything happen to her and there is NO CRYING at the pool!

Well, guess what?!?!?! You got it! Maddie conquered ANOTHER fear on this trip! She started swimming!!!!!!! Alright, so its not FULLY swimming ( she is still wearing her float) but a HUGE hurdle for Maddie and Alex and I for that matter. LOL She loved it. She was all over the place and so proud of herself. Here is a video that Alex sent me while they were having some Daddy/kid time.

Clearwater Beach

We decided that Wednesday was going to be beach bumming day. We drove about an hour and a half to Clearwater beach. A friend of Alex's lives in Tampa and he recommended it to us! Justin definitely picked a good place. It was beautiful and the water was so nice and clear. :-) I'm not normally a big ocean fan and I even got in the water!Here is Alex and Maddie out in the water. Maddie was not the biggest fan last year on vacation and she was so brave this time! We were very proud of her. Yet another fear she conquered while we were away. GO MADDIE!!!!! Maddie and Kaleigh making a sand mess!

Alex and Erik just chilling, but Katrina and I couldn't complain because the guys took the kids to dinner and let her and I have a night of dinner and shopping all alone! Yes, we spent about five hours alone and we had tons of fun!
We took a couple of silly pictures trying on some fun glasses! I don't think either of us have laughed so much on a shopping trip in a LONG TIME! It was a nice break!

Thanks to Alex and Erik for hanging out with the kids while we got out!!!! We owe you guys!

Mahiki Luau

Tuesday night we went to the Mahiki Luau at SeaWorld. The kids were super excited about it once we explained what a luau was.

Mommy and her girl!

The group that preformed while we ate did a great job. The kids were invited up to learn the hulu dance and perform for the crowd on stage. The kids went over in the corner to practice but when it came time to go up on stage, they bailed! LOL We were NOT surprised! Our children do not enjoy the spotlight.
The group even had one of their daughters come out. She was adorable!!!

Animal Kingdom

I really wasn't sure what to expect with Animal Kingdom. The zoo isn't exactly my FAVORITE place to go, yet I take the kids because they enjoy it. I have to say, the Safari ride we took was pretty cool. I couldn't believe how close we were to the animals, especially the lions! It was crazy!!!! I got some pretty cool pictures of the animals. I love the one with the lions tongue out which I didn't realize I'd gotten until I flipped back through them later.

Of course a park wouldn't be complete without some characters. Yes, Alex and Erik had to have a picture with Pocahontas.
Here is Ashton and Maddie after a long day. There were HOT!!!!

Epcot

Epcot was our first theme park stop. Alex and I were just hoping and praying that our children didn't go totally physcho when they started seeing all the characters. Some of you may not know this, but Ashton and Maddie are TERRIFIED of dressed up people. I'm not talking about halloween costumes, I'm talking Chuckie Cheese type people. Its crazy! We talked to both them of them about how they are just dressed up and there is a real person inside a suit but we had no idea what it would actually be like once they saw them.

As you can see, it went great!!!!! Both of them conquered their fear of dressed up people! YAY!!!!!! There were just a couple of them along the way that Maddie opted out of unless Alex and I were going to go with her but that was only a couple.

Mad (as Kaleigh calls her) and Kaleigh were BIG BUDS all week.

Ashton and Kaleb are always BUDS!

Here are the kids inside of the big jaws.

In front of the Nemo ride

It was a day full of rides, fun and only a little sickness. LOL Ashton threw up once in Alex's hand (YUCK) when he got choked on his gum on a ride. However, it didn't stop him from getting right back on it for a second time! We were very proud of Ashton and Maddie for taking on the rides. They aren't always up for stuff like that. :-)

Pool time

Ashton and Maddie couldn't wait to check out the pool when we got to our resort Sunday afternoon. We decided we'd check out the Splash Lagoon area first. I had a terrible head ache, so I literally laid poolside and took pictures.

Here is some pictures of them both of them going down the slide.

Ashton was much braver than Maddie, but once she went down with Alex she really liked it as you can tell from the big grins!! Maddie came a long way over vacation and conquered several of her fears! We are very proud of her.

Vacation.... Flagler Beach

Before we had kids, Alex and I liked to just go places on the spur of a moment. Once our family began, we pretty much haulted that. Its a little harder with two extra people to pack up. Some times I miss those days, but then I'm reminded how fortune I am to have two wonderful children and how much fun we have with them.
Two weeks ago, Alex called me from work on Monday morning and said, "Hey, I was thinking we'd take the kids somewhere next week." I kind of laughed and then quickly realized as he starts naming options that he wasn't kidding. I was later on the phone with Katrina telling her about his crazy idea and she immediately said, "Come with us next week to Disney!!". I laughed AGAIN. No way were we going to Disney on a wem!! Well, guess what?!?! Off to Disney we would go!

Saturday morning, we loaded up and headed south. The kids were PERFECT on the way down!!!!!! We only got asked five times "How much longer??" and I have to say, that isn't bad at all. We stopped a few times for food and gas and made it just south of St Augistine, FL and spent the night in the Palm Coast area just ten minutes from the beach. Sunday morning, we got up and spent several hours on the beach with the kids.

I love these two cuties!!!

When we first got to the beach, Maddie noticed the orange speckles in the sand. She as seriously as can be asked, "Is this Orange Beach???", which is where we normally take them in the fall. Alex and I couldn't do anything but laugh. She had a good point and it was pretty cute!
For some reason, Ashton finds it necessary EVERY TIME we go to the beach to chase the birds. Alex and I were discussing as we watched him that we will one day put them all together year after year and show them to him. Its funny the things kids do without any prompting.

As Ashton chased the birds, Maddie sat down and made herself a big "mohawk" in the sand as she called it.

This is our surfer boy! He did a great job! I couldn't believe it. Last time we went to the beach, they weren't as comfortable with the water. This year, it was wild how different it was. It was wonderful!!!