Our Out of this Universe Vacation in Orlando

We spent three days in Orlando, FL at Universal Studios last week. R.C.'s parents, sister, brother in-law, and nephew flew down to be with us. The trip was actually our Christmas present from R.C.'s parents. It was wonderful!!!

The first picture is looking out our hotel window.

We got to meet some of our favorite Super Heroes.

And Popeye got his picture with Popeye! =)

We rode all available rides.

And snuggled when it got cold. Actually, the forecast for the week was in the upper 50s / lower 60s. However, it never got above the upper 40s / lower 50s. We weren't prepared. So Monday night R.C. and I made a run to Walgreens to pick up two dollar hats and gloves for everyone. Then on Tuesday we put on lots and lots of layers.

Jaws was very friendly. Here we are waiting in line at one of the Universal Studios attractions. Because we stayed at one of the Universal Hotels we were able to purchase the Express Pass and just have it attached to our room keys. All we had to do was let them scan our hotel room keys and we were able to get in to the express lane for most all the rides and shows. We never waited longer than 10 minutes for anything. It was wonderful!

Our precious nephew. We tried on some hats for size. And really got into character. I don't know where they get this idea that it's fun to try on hats and stuff. All bundled up and heading out on Tuesday. There was a big mirror in the elevator so I took a chance on snagging a picture of the group that I'm actually in (though I'm behind the camera). Aunt Molly. New Mommy. (She's fabulous at it) Molly and Jimmy are big Harry Potter fans. Island's of Adventure has a whole area devoted to all things Harry Potter. It was the busiest place in the park.

The obligatory picture in front of the Universal fountain. Princess was not happy about it.

Bobo took this picture of us.

And you can't have a Christmas Vacation without a picture in front of the huge Christmas Tree in the lobby of the hotel.

We had so much fun! Thank you so much, Ronny and Susan, for a great Christmas experience and the joy of getting to experience it with you!

Bridget

We had a White Christmas!

These were actually taken on Christmas Eve but thankfully the snow was still around on Christmas Day. Living in the south means that when you are actually lucky enough to get snow there is no guarantee that it will last long. However, it is four days past Christmas as I'm typing this, the snow is still around, and it is actually snowing right now!

There's really not much to narrate with these pics so I'm just gonna let them speak for themselves.

Enjoy!

Bridget

Our Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve the kids get to open one present. It is always new pjs. Then after they were all ready for bed Bear decided to read everyone a story. He chose "God Gave Us Christmas". I couldn't help but snap some pics as the kids all climbed into and around the recliner together and listened.

Thank you, God, for giving us Christmas.

Bridget

Snow Tubing

Sunday afternoon we got together with my Mom's side of the family for Christmas. We spent the afternoon snow tubing in Bricktown. Here's the gang getting our 'ticket/bacelets' on. Princess checking hers out.

This is my cousin Whit snuggling her 3 week old Maggie Beth.
Here's my cousin Bryce (Nana's only grandson) helping Bobo get his bracelet on. Bobo also rode to Bricktown with Bryce.

Dad and Kara waiting in line. I have other pics of the gang in line but I feel weird about posting pics of people I don't know when you can see their faces so I'm not posting any of those pics cause you can see the faces of people I don't know and I don't know if they want their picture posted. =)

Oh, how I love my mom. She rocks!

The three amigos. Popeye, Princess, and Brown Eyes. He belongs to Whit and is six months older than Princess. They are best friends.

Brown Eyes with his tube.

Popeye with his tube.

Princess with her tube.

Almost there!

Aunt Rita (Brown Eyes' Grandma aka YaYa, my mother's older sister) went first so she could be at the bottom when the kids slid down.

Then it was Popeye's turn.

Then Princess.

Then Brown Eyes.

Then Hubs went.

Then John, Brown Eyes' dad, went but I accidentally deleted the picture I took of him bc I had only opened my new camera that very morning and still wasn't at all sure of what I was doing. Sorry John!

Then I went but no one was left to take my pic and there was no way I was gonna hand my new camera to some stranger. No way.

After we slid down I went to the bottom of the big slide to try to get some pics of the other members of our group while everyone else got back in line.

This is Mom on the far right and Aunt Abby (mom's oldest sister) in the middle lane. The big slide line went much faster bc there were four lanes to slide down. So the taller folk got to slide many times while the little guys only got to slide twice bc that slide only goes one at a time and the tickets are only good for one hour and things moved much much much slower. But the little ones didn't seem to notice or mind. They were having a blast.

But back to Mom and Abby:

This is the best pic I have of Bear. He is celebrating bc he won the race. I forget who he was racing.Mom and Kara after their slide down the big slide. Mom is in focus and Kara isn't. I'm still learning, but Hubs said he liked it this way. I decided to camp out at the bottom of the little slide to get pics of the little ones sliding down. Hubs decided to camp out with me and then after a bit, Bear joined us. What else are they gonna do to pass the time? Here's Bryce again. Yes, girls, he's single. Popeye came down first. Then Princess. Then Brown Eyes. Then AJ. Then Bobo. Then Aunt Rita. And just a reminder: All these pics were taken with my new camera while the subjects were in motion! I love it!

And what do you do after a busy afternoon of snow tubing? Well, you eat ice cream of course... While the adults sit a spell... And the bigger kids admire fountains... And try to pose for mom's picture while poking and pushing each other. It was a wonderful afternoon!

Bridget