Pre-Conference

We headed out on Sunday, July 3rd, and the kids travelled really well.  We warned Ben that we drive from before the sun came up until after the sun went down.  That worked out pretty well.  He has driven me crazy asking about how much longer to get to the ball field before, but he didn't ask on the way to Florida.  We occasionally commented about the sun still being up.  We stopped for lunch, gas, dinner, and gas.  We left around 6:30 a.m. Central time & arrived at my aunt's home in Vero Beach at 9:30 p.m. Eastern time.  It was a long day, but well worth it!

July 4th, we headed to the beach, and all got horribly burnt.  Yes, I put sunscreen on the kids.  No, it wasn't enough.  Ben didn't care much for the beach.  He was quickly afraid of the waves & begged me to take him out.  On the way, a wave surprised me and toppled me over.  I knew I couldn't let him go under without him being traumatized, so I landed full-force on my knees to steady myself and hold his head above the water.  I managed to scrape my knee enough for it to bleed pretty freely, so he was still traumatized.  Aunt Estelle has convinced him that they "fixed the hole at the beach" and it is safe now. 

Tuesday, our family, my aunt, and her granddaughter (I'll call her K) drove two hours up to Orlando for a day at Animal Kingdom.  I had never been.  We had such a great time!!!  K led us straight to the back of the park and we went on the Kilimanjaro Safari first.  The animals were all out & the sight was spectacular!  Then we headed over to Expedition Everest, which had only a 15 minute wait!  Gene had taken the tickets to get fastpasses, so Andrew didn't disconnect his pump until we were ready to ride the roller coaster.  Pumps aren't supposed to go on roller coasters because of magnetic forces.  I had heard/read that Andrew could give the $7000 pump to one of the cast members & pick it up after the ride.  They said NO!  I was so upset!  I could have just held the pump & missed the ride, but it was the first real roller coaster for my kids & I hated to miss it.  Finally, another cast member agreed to leave it at the exit, even though "they couldn't be responsible for it."  That was good enough for me, and we were off!  We grabbed the pump at the end, gave it to Gene & rode it again with still very little wait.  We never asked anyone to hold the pump again.  Gene isn't fond of roller coasters & someone had to stay with Ben anyway.  Usually, Andrew gave the pump to Gene before getting in line.  I'll explain the GAC later, but for those who already know about it, we did not have one this day.  We enjoyed our day at Animal Kingdom.  I think because it was first, and because we were all relatively rested, it was one of the most magical days for me!  It was also the day that Ben met Mickey Mouse for the very first time!