vacation

The weekend before Jake's birthday we headed to Orlando for a fun-filled family vacation. We found a great condo rental on VRBO in Windsor Hills Resort with 3 bedrooms that was priced the same as a hotel room. Yippee! It had a full kitchen so we were able to buy groceries for all of our meals except two dinners out. It also had its own heated pool, which allowed us to swim in the evenings after the boys went to bed. The clubhouse pool had a walk-in entry, splash fountains, a jumbo slide, and was heated, too! Although it was in the upper 80s/low 90s while we were there. There was a great playground, but we ran out of time and didn't get to try it out. It was the perfect accommodation for our trip and would recommend it.

Jake's room was Mickey Mouse themed, and, as soon as he saw the comforter with a big Mickey on it, he shouted, "Hot dog! Hot dog!" He's only seen Mickey Mouse Clubhouse a handful of times, but he sure does remember it. The owner of our condo had a bed rail and pack 'n play available for our use so we didn't have to take ours. Jake slept in a twin bed in a separate room without any problem. Both boys crashed when we got home in the evenings. They were ready for bed after our long days! Despite pushing back nap times and staying up late, they were fantastic! We couldn't have asked for a better trip.

It was great having Mark around all day, every day. The boys loved all the extra attention, and I happened to like it, too:)  It had me asking, "When do we get to go on vacation again?!" Not for a while...

Sam claimed the only rug in the place. The downstairs had tile floor... great for cleaning but not so great for a boy who still falls backwards from sitting when he gets excited!

There was this great fence with a latch that allowed Jake to go outside, but kept him from accidentally falling in the pool. He thought it was pretty cool that we had our own pool.

The clubhouse pool.

 Sam loved sitting in the water.

He liked putting his hands in the little "fountain" and chewing on cups. The walk-in entry was perfect!

Jake really liked these fountains, or "mountains" as he mistakenly called them at first! He borrowed these water shoes from Owen but sadly they hurt his feet. We'll have to find him some that fit for our pool this summer...

Sam enjoying the shade.

Jake LOVED this star float! His arms fit around it perfectly, and he felt very stable in it. He even liked floating in water where he couldn't touch the bottom. It had been left behind at the clubhouse, and Jake was able to use it every time we went to the pool. We stopped by a few shops, but didn't have any luck finding one:(

Ready to head back to our "vacation home" as Jake dubbed it.

This is the smile we get when Jake's "being crazy" as he calls it, and we ask him to smile. Pretty amusing, isn't it? He scrunches up his nose and those eyebrows go up a mile! So silly.

Eating a popsicle by the pool as a special treat. He asks for them all the time now.

Concentrating.