Fam + Florida

We spent the first week in March in sunny Orlando, Florida. If you recall, J&D won an industry award and were honored at a conference being held at the Boardwalk in Disney, so the boys, Jon and I headed to the sunshine state along with Auntie Lisa, Grandma Janet, Grandpa Tom and Auntie Beans. Tom, Janet, Jon and Lisa attended conference events Tuesday-Friday so Auntie Beans (aka Alyssa aka "nanny" beans) came along to keep me company with the boys. Dane was a smooth flyer for his first time. Cade, however, had a bit of an issue on the first flight from Green Bay to Milwaukee. He was all excited as we climbed on board but as it become time to buckle up and settle in for the ride, he started crying, "I don't want to fly. Get me off this plane. I want to get off." This carried on for less than five minutes (but felt like MUCH, MUCH longer) as daddy, who was seated next to Cade, calmed him down. Meanwhile, I nervously held baby Dane and thought of (okay, and feared) our next, much longer flight. Thankfully, Cade cheered up and, upon landing, called out, "That was fun." We did all get a chuckle when the patient souls seated around us laughed and jokingly said, "Oh, we thought he got off the plane!" Thankfully, the next three flights went smoothly and Cade become a high flying ace, even during turbulence (Oooh, that was bumpy. Keep your seatbelts on!) and landing (Oooh, that was real fun. I like flying on airplanes). We stayed at a Disney property and were fortunate to be within walking distance of Downtown Disney. We had lots of fun eating (they even had a Babycakes gluten free bakery!), playing, shopping and strolling through Downtown Disney. Cade loved the pool and playgrounds at Saratoga Springs.

On Thursday night, the conference sponsored a night at Epcot. The firework show was amazing and HGTV was hosting their Flower & Garden Show. The topiaries of Disney characters were amazing! They were especially highlighting the Lion King characters, including Timon, Rafiki and of course the little lion king himself (PS the Lion King is finally being released from the Disney vault this fall!).

On Friday, everyone sans Tom and Jon (who were golfing) headed to Hollywood Studios for a day of fun. It was ESPN the Weekend so we got to see a taping of ESPN's Mike & Mike Show where they interviewed Green Bay Packer's Jennings and Driver. Cade and Dane loved the Pixar Parade and seeing their favorite Pixar characters. They also got to meet Lightning Maqueen, Mader, Handy Manny and the Little Einsteins, as well as sit in on a show with all the Disney Junior Characters including Jake and the Neverland Pirates.

On Saturday, the whole crew headed to the Magic Kingdom. Cade was especially enamored with seeing Mickey's castle. Oh, you thought it was Cinderella's castle? Well, according to Cade, you'd be wrong.

All in all, we had an amazing trip full of family memories. I suppose that's what dreams really are made of.