Trip to Florida

Last week, I attended the First Year Experience conference in Orlando, FL. Ricky and Henry decided to accompany me so we tacked on a few days to visit family and friends in Clearwater. We also thought it would be fun to take Henry to Disney World for his first haircut.

The trip got off to a bumpy start. The plane that was taking us to Orlando was struck my lightning so a new plane had to be flown in from Houston. What should have been a total travel time of 5 1/2 hours ended up taking 12 hours. We finally made it to Clearwater at 3 AM. Even though he had a few moments, Henry was a real trooper. He read lots of books, watched Yo Gabba Gabba, and flirted with the women sitting behind us on the plane. Southwest was awesome about the whole thing. They made sure everyone had water and snacks plus they gave every customer a $100 travel voucher. 

On Friday, we took Henry to the beach and then met up with our close family friends, the Heddlestons. Mrs. Heddleston once worked for my father. My parents and Mr. and Mrs. Heddleston were also on a bowling team together. Oh the 70s. Their daughter, Ashley, and I were born 2 /12 months apart from each other. Ashley and I grew up doing everything from swimming to playing Hello Kitty with each other. She has two children (Carter, almost 4, and Emily, almost 3). We took the kids to the park and then enjoyed a pizza dinner. Unfortunately, it was a little chaotic at the house (6 adults and 3 kids under 4) so Ashley and I didn't get a picture together. Next time!

On Saturday, we met up with my Mom's side of the family for breakfast at Perkins.

Henry and Uncle Tommy

Uncle Tommy, Phyllis, Henry, my cousin Dan, and Aunt Larraine

Dan and Aunt Larraine

We then visited our family friends Lora and Patti. Lora hosted my Florida baby shower so she was thrilled to finally meet Henry.

We left Clearwater around lunch, headed over to Orlando, and spent the rest of the afternoon at Downtown Disney.

I spent all day Sunday and Monday morning at my conference. It was an amazing experience AND I was able to snag some free books (including an advance copy of Jeannette Wall's new book). Major nerd excitement!

Dad arrived in Orlando Monday so we decided to take an impromptu trip to SeaWorld. Henry loved the fish and sharks! Ricky and I also rode a fun roller coaster (the Manta).

Dad watched Henry Monday night so Ricky and I could enjoy a date night. We had dinner at Narcoossee's at the Grand Floridian, watched the fireworks over the Magic Kingdom, visited the Polynesian resort, and then listened to the band at the Grand Floridian.

Our trip to the Magic Kingdom deserves a blog post of its own!

This trip/vacation has been incredible. I've loved spending time with my family and making wonderful memories!