Florida Memories Day One

It is time now to post about our vacation to Florida. I have decided that I am going to do posts on our vacation in parts. This is Part one. I have discovered that going on vacation causes me a lot of anxiety but once we are there it is so worth it. Besides, as Jon always tells me, "If we forget something, they have stores in Florida"!

We started our travel day on the kids 4th Birthday. Grandma Mary made the kids special Mickey Mouse pancakes and put candles in them. This was a hit and it ensured that the kids had a good breakfast before we headed to the Airport. Although, I think it is the getting there and back that makes me the most anxious. As I have mentioned before, I hate to fly. Here is what I have to report on the flying. The kids LOVED it. One way to get over your fear on flying is to take three 4 year olds on an airplane. Tell them that seat recliner button is the turbo button and that they have to push it so the plane will take off. All three of the kids got so into it that they were shrieking with delight. It was very funny. Everyone around us was laughing right along with us. Especially after Aimee yelled out "Mommy, it tickles my tummy" and then proceeded to belly laugh very loudly. The girls shared the window for the trip out and KJ sat next to Daddy (his best buddy) and learned all about airplanes. I do feel sorry for the man that was sitting in between Jon and I as I kept passing things past him and talking over him but he did not seem to mind. I think he got a kick out of the kids and their excitement. I am convinced that the way to get over your fear of flying is to take three very excited 4 year olds with you and to watch their innocence and delight on the airplane. I know this helped me relax.
Once we got to Florida we then proceeded to the baggage claim where Jon left me and KJ to fetch all 6 bags. He then proceeded to the rental car place to get our van. A very kind man with a cart came over and loaded all our bags up and told me he would bring us to the Car Rental and wait until we got our van and then bring all of our bags to the van. This guy was awesome as he not only waited for us, he entertained the kids, and then proceeded to follow us to the van where he unbagged all of our car seats and prepared them so Jon could install. I proceeded to keep the kids by me and load some of the bags in the back. Overall the whole process took about 15 minutes and then we were out of there and on our way.
We arrived at our friends house about an hour later. They have a little boy E who is exactly one year and one day younger than our kids. He was very excited for us to arrive. The kids were very excited to meet him and get to his house.
All of the kids had a great time getting to know each other and Jon and I were able to relax and have a cocktail. The friends we went to visit are some good friends of ours that we do not get to see very often. We always have a great time together and we wished we lived closer so we could see them more often.
After an evening of swimming in the pool and playing with all the toys it was time to go to bed. The kids were thrilled that they all got to have a sleep over together. It really worked out well. Jon and I were thrilled that we actually made it to Florida and we had three days ahead of us to make some memories with the kids.