Disney World Fun

We're back from a great family vacation! (Although I did have to work a bit.) I've got a ton of super fun pictures to post. Quick recap:

We flew to Orlando on Sunday, August 27 after and dropping Riley off at the Barnesville Bed & Biscuit and leaving Max with Kathy and Jerry. At the airport, we simply went to the Disney welcome area and hopped on a bus to the Disney Yacht Club, leaving our luggage behind for the Disney staff to gather and deliver to our hotel room! Once in the hotel, we were amazed! It was huge and beautiful and filled with lots of staff anxious to do things for you! We registered and then went to the welcome reception put on by Microsoft. Lots of good food and drinks and conversation. Then back to the room to unpack and get to sleep for the next day!

Monday started slowly with us getting to the character breakfast around 7:45. The kids had their pictures taken with Mickey and Minney Mouse, Donald Duck, Buzz Lightyear, and Cinderella. Oh, and we ate. Then Rob took the kids off to Animal Kingdom while I worked. We had some meetings and then I got to participate in a team-building activity called geo-caching. It was an awesome experience and I learned a great deal about competition and working with other teams toward the same goal! Unfortunately, it was about 95 degrees and had to be near 100% humidity and this activity took place from 11-1 at Epcot! We were drenched with sweat when we were finished. A few more hours of meetings, and then I had dinner with the UA folks until about 9:00. I beat Rob and the kids back to the room as they were watching the fireworks at Epcot. They had a blast visiting Animal Kingdom and Epcot on Monday.

Tuesday I worked from 8-6 with 30 minutes for lunch in the same room as all of the meetings. Rob and the kids went to Magic Kingdom and we met at 6:30 to attend the Dynamics AX ship-it party! The kids went into a separate room with games, activities, computers, and TVs to have their own fun while we drank and ate and conversed with other grown ups until 10 PM. Then I took the kids (both ours and others) to our room while the rest of the adults went out to a piano bar for more fun.

Wednesday was fun for all of us as I got to go with Rob and the kids to the parks! We slept in a bit because of the rain from Tropical Storm Ernesto, but were able to be at MGM by 10 that morning. After visiting lots of fun stuff, we decided to head back to the hotel when it started to rain again. We rested, took naps, and did 2 loads of laundery. Then we ordered in a pizza and went to bed early.

Thursday we got up early and went to Magic Kingdom for a few hours and then Animal Kingdom for a few hours. I have so many pictures to post that will describe all the fun that we had! At 7:30 PM, we attended a dessert reception at Epcot. The resort we stayed at is considered an Epcot resort, meaning you can walk to the park from the hotel. Or you can take a boat, which is what we usually did just because it was more fun! We had wonderful desserts and watched the fireworks from a little island between France and the UK. Then we went back to the room and packed.

Friday we got up early to catch the bus to the airport. We were able to check in at the hotel so we didn't have to haul our luggage around anywhere. It was very slick. Next time we go to Disney World, Rob wants to stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. I think the Animal Kingdom was his favorite park! I got bumped up to 1st class on the flight home, but explained that I was sitting with my son and couldn't leave him in coach alone, so they bumped him up, too. I decided to let Emily and Rob take the first class seats. I think they really enjoyed it! We spent Friday night in Minneapolis and went to a drive-in movie with Sue, Terri, Kathy & Jerry, Karin, Kaylee, and Karissa. The kids watched Barnyard and then most of them fell asleep (including Rob) during Talladega Nights (which was probably better than watching the movie).

Saturday we made it home and started the unpacking and cleaning. We're not done yet, but we're getting there! Emily has her first swim meet tonight, so I'm very excited to watch that. I plan to take some pictures to post, too. She's nervous about the butterfly - she says she doesn't know how to do it but she's scheduled to compete tonight with it. We'll see what happens!