One on One

It was so much fun to spend so much time with just Luke.  It's not often that I get to hang with just one of the kids so I really enjoy our 8 year old trip tradition.  Luke felt so special the entire time and he and I were able to just hang out and have fun.  I love this kid so much and I am so grateful to be his mom.  

A few of my favorite conversations with him.

1 - while getting off the plane "mom, I either want to be a dolphin trainer, a pilot, an inventor or a Nu Skin worker".  Ha ha!

2 - Luke: "I sure do love 8 year old trips"  Me: "yea, me too and I still get to go on 2 more"  Luke:  "but I get to go on mine and 4 more with my 4 kids!!"

3 - As we pulled into the garage he said "mom, can you get my suitcase I really want to go in and hug the girls"

Time to go home

On our last day we slept in then swam at the hotel pool.  Luke was practicing so he can be an Olympic swimmer.  He just loved the pool and I loved laying in the sun reading my book.  Thank goodness Todd came down and was willing to play in the water with him.  I only had to get in a couple of times. 

At the airport Luke and I loaded up on treats for the flight
(we got healthy food too but I didn't take a picture of it).

We were in the very last row on the plane - but Luke got a window seat and we were all alone on our row so it wasn't too bad.

Thank goodness for the iPad

Sad to be home.  We had such a great trip it was hard to see it end.

Disney's Animal Kingdom

Rather than go to Disneyworld we decided to go to the Animal Kingdom.  It was basically a mix between a zoo and an amusement park done Disney style.  We had a great day and went on one of the most fun roller coasters I've ever been on- Expedition Everest. First stop was the Dinosaur land, then over to Asia where Everest was.  Then we went to Africa and went on an awesome safari where we saw elephants, lions, giraffes, hippos, rhinos (even a 1 month old baby), gazelles and tons of other animals.  Then we went to see a 3D show on A Bug's Life before finishing off our day with funnel cake.  It was such a fun day.

Luke in Dinoland

In front of Mt Everest

Looking tough after conquering the mountain

Luke loved this tree

Hanging with a couple of giraffes

Check out those elephants

It was totally raining on us at this point

In our bug 3D glasses

Universal Studios

 Today is the day I was the most excited about.  Universal Studios - Islands of Adventure.  Or as I like to call it - Harry Potter land!!!

Another hot day. 
Thank goodness you can buy a mug and get cheap refills all day

Our first ride was a water ride and I got completely soaked.  I was so wet I bought a skirt instead of wearing my soaked jeans all day.

We figured while we were already wet we should do the log ride.  Luke wanted Todd to sit behind him so I ended up in the very front.  Not good.  I got sooooo wet.  The water hit me so hard it knocked one of my earrings off!

Rock climbing in Jurassic. 
He kicked butt and got to the top of both sides.

Lunch at the Three Broomsticks - starting off with Butterbeer.  Delicious.

Luke almost bought a Voldermort wand but at the last minute traded it for Harry's instead.  Good choice buddy.

"hey Luke come take a picture with me in front of Hogwarts" 

Obviously he wasn't happy about it.   

Seuss Land

And it's not a day at an amusement park without funnel cake.  

Luke was a great sport and even let us do child swap so Todd and I could ride the Hulk and Dragon rollercoasters.  Luke said his favorite part of the day was the Harry Potter ride.  I'd have to agree.  After we got back we ordered pizza at the hotel and watched the Olympics. 

Seaworld

Even though we got a late start we headed out to Seaworld for the day.  Today it was just Luke and I since Todd was working then flying in at night.  It was so hot so we invested in a fancy water fan.  I'm pretty sure Luke used it for about 5 minutes then never again.  Oh well it will be great for the boat and pool.

Hanging with the Stingrays

Waiting for the Dolphin show.   This was his favorite thing of the day.  He told me at least 10 times that he wanted to be a dolphin trainer when he grows up after seeing this show. 

After the show.  Holy sweaty!!  It was so crazy hot and humid.  No I was not in the splash zone.  Yes that is all sweat.  And trust me my back was way worse.

Waiting for the show with his popcorn (which he wouldn't let me have a bite of until the show started).

Loving the cotton candy

We love Shamu!

After Shamu we stopped for some ice cream. 
Doesn't he look happy?

The Sealion show.

The shark tunnel - Luke liked this so much we went through two times in a row!

Turtle Trek - Luke loved the turtles.

All in all the day was awesome.  When we finished we headed over to the airport to pick up Todd.  His flight was delayed so we ended up hanging out at the airport for a few hours.

Luke's Special Trip - Day 1

Since Luke turns 8 this year we went on a special trip - just me, Todd and him.   Luke chose Florida for his destination and after a few schedule changes it was time for his trip.  The other kids stayed with my parents and Luke and I flew out.  He even got dressed up - jean shorts and a polo - for the flight.  He brought some snacks, a book and an iPad for the flight.  The flight was about 5 hours long and he was great the entire time.

 

Todd even upgraded us to the economy plus seats so we were in the front and had lots of leg room.  Luke loved his window seat and kept showing me all the cool stuff outside.

Our flight landed at 11:45 pm so by the time we got off the plane and to pick up our rental car it was past midnight.  Luke was pretty tired so he took a quick rest while I waited in line. 

The drive from the airport to the hotel was quite an adventure.  I made Luke sit up front with me and navigate using the directions on my phone.  He was doing a good job but then one of the roads was closed and we had no idea where to go.  So we pulled over and recalculated our route then made it with no other issues.  It ended up taking us about an hour to get there and Luke was sound asleep the minute his head hit the pillow.  I couldn't bear to wake him up in the morning and he slept in until noon!!  He was very sad he completely missed breakfast.