Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's Off to FL We Go (Part 3)

AKA...

This trip we decided to forgo Disney and we went to Legoland instead.  Legoland is an amusement park that has lots of rides and tons of Lego creations.  

Caden was pretty psyched to go!

We took Papa with us too, but left Gaga and Asher at home.

See this?  This picture was taken just before Caden's first roller coaster ride.  It was also taken just before he started crying.  I guess this is also a picture of Caden's last roller coaster ride.  

Our next ride was a bouncy one that bumped us up and down, up and down.  Caden was still reeling from the roller coaster, so he wasn't too sure.

It got a thumbs up at the end, though

The "shoot-'em" game was his favorite.  He told Gaga that he shot "a lot of 'em," but his score was zero.  Shh, don't tell him!

He also got to drive a boat, a car, and a helicopter

He and I also got to go on a safari together 

Without a doubt, Caden's favorite part was going inside to an area where you build Lego cars and towers and then try to wreck them.  He was really good at both of those!

The adults' favorite part was seeing all of the creations made entirely out of Legos - amazing!

Legoland was pretty empty the day we were there, so in the 5 hours that we were exploring, we got to ride everything.  The lines weren't too long, but we loved that they had Lego building stations set up so kids could play while their parents waited in line.  So smart Legoland!

So, after 5 hours of fun and one ginormous icee...

we packed it up and headed home - well, to Uncle Doug and Aunt Mia's house for a nap.  As we were leaving, I say, "Caden, did you have fun at Legoland?"

Caden responded with, "What's a Lego?"

I guess I forgot to explain that!  

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's Off to FL We Go (Part 2)

AKA Hanging with the Family!

One of the main reasons that we go to FL is to visit with our extended family.  Since we were able to  stay in Orlando for a whole week, we got to see them a lot.  It was Asher's first time to meet Mimi and they were pretty excited to see one another.

Well, maybe not right away

They warmed up to one another pretty quickly, though

We decided to take one boy at a time so they could each spend quality time with Mimi. They day after Asher went to Mimi's, it was Caden's turn

Caden and Mimi each thought the other was FUNNY and spent the whole time laughing at each other.  Who knew that the sense of humor of a three-year-old and a 92-year-old were so similar?

Each of our visits was awesome.  Mimi got to see the best parts of both of them, and they got to appreciate how special she is too.

I told you, FUNNY!

Mimi didn't get all the love though.  There was plenty to go around!

Uncle Kerry and Auntie Beth got some giggles and snuggles too

So did Papa and Gaga 

And they even left some love for me!

And, just because I can't figure out a better place to post these pics, here's is what Caden did while we were visiting with Mimi - made himself an obstacle course!

Watching the boys with my grandma and getting such wonderful pictures of them together made my heart so happy!  As much as I loved swimming and playing in FL, this was my FAVORITE part of the trip!  We love you, FL family!

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's Off to FL We Go (Part 1)

Earlier this week, we got home from a two-week vacation in FL.  It was bliss.  This trip to FL was much like our previous four, except this time we brought along another little friend with us.  The boys and I were able to fly with Papa and Gaga.  There is no WAY I could have done it alone.  Seriously, who would have helped me schlep all of our stuff?!?

The boys were great on the plane.  Caden watched movies,

and Asher did his thing too

I won't lie, it wasn't all roses.  We didn't leave CO until 4:30pm (6:30pm FL time), so we didn't arrive in FL until 10:30pm.  Asher slept on the plane, but CP did not.  By the time we arrived he was DONE (as were the rest of us!).  Another two hours to get our car, get to the house, etc.  I hate to admit that it was 1:00am FL time before I got those babies in bed.  

Once we recovered from our trip, we did some serious swimming,

playing,

hanging out,

jumping,

Yep, I know Asher's jumper is pink.  His jumper was too big to take and Target only had pink ones in stock.  I decided it wasn't worth a trip to another, way far away Target to get the blue one.  He obviously doesn't care!

and just being cute.

For the first time, Caden slept in a big boy bed at Papa and Gaga's house.  We used a pool noodle under the fitted sheet so he wouldn't roll out (and put pillows on the floor, just in case) and he slept in his own "cool room" all by himself!

We also got a chance to see our newly-transplanted-to-the-sunshine-state-friends, the Jessens.  They live in Jacksonville, but were in Orlando one of the days we were.  Chick-Fil-A wasn't an ideal place to hang out for two hours, but we all had a great time - especially these cuties!

After being in Weeki Wachee for a few days, we drove over to Orlando for a week.  We were able to trade our time share for one near Mimi and the rest of our family.  JZ flew into Orlando a few days after we arrived and was able to spend the rest of the trip with us!  

Our resort wasn't especially nice, but it did have an awesome pool!  Caden practiced his swimming and jumping...

And JZ practiced his water sliding

Asher enjoyed the water too!

It was such a great place that Auntie Beth came to visit us

Stay tuned for the next installments of our trip - visiting the family and Legoland!