Orlando - not Tony, the Destination

Ah yes, it was time for the Ault family vacation. Every other summer we try to take the family somewhere "away" from all that is familiar in our everyday lives. Sounds fun and easy and exciting, right? Well, kind of. Planning vacation time for our crew is a task that is seemingly equivalent to reforming healthcare. Having to juggle Brian's work schedule, Zach's baseball schedule, Trev's band schedule, the vacation time the boys have with their mom, and my parent's schedule is a task not for the faint of heart. Once we finally nailed down the dates, we let the boys take the reigns on deciding what to do.....


They elected to "relive the best vacation they ever had". See, when they were 6 and 7, Dad took them to Orlando. They stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel and went to Universal Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios. They still talk regularly of the fun things they encountered on that trip and were REALLY excited to do it all again. Me, with my mental telepathy, was slightly less than confident that this trip could live up to their memory. See, I've been there and I'm sure most of you have as well. Isn't it strange how our mind's eye remembers things from the early parts of our lives, then when we revisit those places later in our lives we are somewhat saddened that it's "just not like we remember". Plus, I was thinking Orlando in August........seriously........with two babies...........are you mad??!! Yes, they were. They know it now too. It's nice when the universe reveals to teenagers that their parents aren't the complete idiots they believe us to be :)

So, this year we went to Orlando, stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel, visited Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios, and squeezed a day in at Sea World. Yes, I know what you are saying.....NO DISNEY??!! And yes, I couldn't agree with you more. How you can go to Orlando and not want to do Disney is truly beyond me. It's unnatural. It's like oil and vinegar....it just doesn't work.....unless you're making salad dressing that is. But, I guess teenage boys don't think Disney is cool. Universal has Spiderman, Hulk, Superman, guy stuff, and Disney is for "little kids". Our two little ones are small enough that they will have little to no memory of this trip, so I conceded my desires for breakfast with Mickey, knowing that we can hopefully take that trip in the future. To Universal's credit, they do have a great area of the park called Seussland that caters to the little folk and they have done a lovely job. It was like walking into a Dr. Seuss book....if I only had packed my fishing pole I would have headed down to McElligot's Pool.

We have tons of pics and I haven't yet sorted through all of them, but here are some of my favorites so far.



A lesson in aerodynamics from the two-year-old prior to boarding the plane.



Our little man's first plane ride. Yes we feed him Starburst, don't all parents? Just kidding!



He got his flight wings and a tour of the cockpit.



Dinner at "The Kitchen". Home of the best Mac N' Cheese ever. I think Zach ate this pasta yumminess 4 times while we were there.



Papa and Bart. Bart scared the babies. Bart scares me.



Look, it's Brett Favre!!! Not really, it's my handsome hubby, but several people mistook him for the Wrangler wearing QB. Several people mistook me for Shamu...



Papa and Nana in front on the Hard Rock Guitar fountain.



If only they made strollers in my size I would have followed little man's lead....except I probably would suck my thumb.



The children that won't nap at home slept in the theme parks....I guess the trick is 104 degree temps with 100% humidity.



Papa in his element. He is THE Colorado Parrothead.



Trev's face says it all. He was a HAPPY boy!



Zach's "Thing" impersonation :)