Home from Florida.

Our trip was absolutely amazing -- oh, and kinda exhausting, too.  Drive like mad, then traipse around Disneyworld for 4 days, then back in the car to get back home.  My hiney and legs are a bit confused by the actions I'm requiring of them ;)

Here's one quick photo of our family (taken in Epcot - the HGTV Garden Festival is going on right now, so there were amazing topiaries and flowers everywhere).  BTW, I feel compelled to say that our daughter was trying to imitate Ferb's pose, so no, she really isn't mad at her brother... I'll upload more this week, but just wanted to share a quickie and some thoughts:

• I am absolutely baffled as to why anyone would wear flip flops to Disney.  It's not like you end up there accidentally!  It was raining one day, and due to the wet socks, our daughter ended up with a blister on her foot.  We got a band-aid from the first aid station and discovered that blisters on the feet are what brings over three quarters of their "patients" in (this was an informal opinion of the nurse on duty, not an official statement)
• Disney does an amazing job hiring their "cast members" (no, they're not employees, but part of the show!) - hubby made the comment that he was trying to find just one grumpy person, but he couldn't.  Every one was genuinely polite and helpful.
• My hubby had been to Disneyworld back in 1978, and I'd been to Disneyland in 1990, and this was the first time for our kids.  I'm really glad that we waited until they were old enough to do "big" stuff but still young enough to enjoy the character interaction as well.  We made tons of great memories together, from riding roller coasters to seeing shows to eating fancy pastries.  Lots and LOTS of laughter
• My advice to any "newbies" considering a trip there: (1) Stay at a Disney property!  It was wonderful to use their shuttle service from our hotel to the parks, and not have to worry about finding our car or fighting traffic after a long day. (2) Dining plans are totally worth it, too.  I know we could have saved money by bringing our own food (which is not frowned on in any way) but I was thankful we weren't lugging a cooler around, and the food really was top notch - everything was fresh, and not the greasy, salty stuff that I was afraid of.

Signing off for now -- must do another load of laundry, put a few more things away, and then get some SLEEP!