We'd long been planning to visit Grandma Lynn
in Ft. Myers over Spring Break.
I had a well-researched itinerary for each day...
but life doesn't always go as planned.
Mila & Willow's beloved Great-Grandpa Don
passed away right before we were set to leave.
So, we quickly changed our plans,
and after spending some time with family
in the beginning of the week,
headed to Orlando for the rest of spring break.
I picked our hotel based on the pool
as that's where we planned
to spend most of our time.
We were very happy with our choice,
the JW Marriott.
Not only did it feature beautiful, lush grounds
and a long, winding lazy river,
and a long, winding lazy river,
but it was connected to The Ritz Carlton,
and guests are allowed to enjoy both properties.
We took full advantage of both hotels,
including many kids activities
they'd scheduled each day...
...like making tie-dye shirts,
petting the critters,
(sidenote--that rabbit is adorably named Mr. Nugget)
(sidenote--that rabbit is adorably named Mr. Nugget)
fish feeding,
and making 'smores.
We also took out a canoe...
\
...and didn't tip!
Willow's favorite--the hot tub.
This picture was taken before 8 am.
She's serious about getting in
her hot tub time.
her hot tub time.
Mila enjoyed an hour long mermaid lesson!
She even got to wear a sparkly purple tail.
She learned that being a mermaid
is harder than it looks.
We learned that goggles wear off
sunscreen pretty quickly...oops.
The hotel room was pleasant
with a very spacious bathroom and a
and a nice little balcony.
We stayed on the 18th floor and
had an awesome view.
At night we could see fireworks from Disney.
Epcot in the distance--
we could also see parts of Sea World,
Universal, Magic Kingdom and
the Orlando Eye.
The girls are still pretty young,
and having been treated to Disney World
just a few months prior,
we skipped the traditional theme parks this visit
and instead spent a day at Disney's waterparks.
Both Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon
were TONS of fun for our whole family,
definitely a highlight of our trip.
Disney allows you to enter both waterparks
with a single ticket at no extra charge,
so we started out the day at Blizzard Beach
and finished at Typhoon Lagoon.
Willow was tall enough for plenty to keep her busy.
She really loved the chairlift and
family raft ride at Blizzard Beach
and Mila had big fun in the tidal wave pool
and body slides at Typhoon Lagoon,
plus there were barely any lines at either park!
Everyone loved this ginormous pail
of ice cream!
It was chock full of all the right toppings,
and yeah, it was around $13,
but all four of us ate
but all four of us ate
until we couldn't take another bite,
plus you keep the pail & shovel!
As far as Disney goes it's a bargain.
On our last full day at the hotel,
Mila got what she'd been pleading for--
a hair wrap! She's one cool Kindergartener.
We don't have many pictures of Joel and I,
since we stayed pretty darn busy
keeping the children dressed (at least partially),
fed and alive...
plus you can see from Mila's expression here that
she doesn't take kindly to
being left out of the photo, lol.
being left out of the photo, lol.
But we did manage to snap this selfie!
The service at both hotels,
but especially The Ritz,
proved top notch.
They treated us like royalty,
and one day even set us up with a complimentary daybed/cabana!
Willow took this picture of Mommy
enjoying the good life in our cabana.
By the end of the trip Mila had learned to
go under water without holding her nose!
Relaxing...for about 17 seconds before
they wanted to head to the next adventure.
We visited an extremely busy Disney Springs
on Saturday night.
After fighting through the crowds,
we managed to get a table outside at
The Boathouse.
The food was excellent
and we all enjoyed checking out the
nifty old boats they have docked
along the restaurant...
...though this picture pretty much sums up
what it's like going out for a nice dinner
with little kids in tow.
Yeesh. I'll take another Sauv Blanc, please.
This family was looking to relax
and enjoy some fun time together
in the sunshine,
and even though our trip almost didn't happen
and certainly wasn't what we'd planned,
that is exactly what we did
during our spring break.
