Gaylord Palms and Legoland!

Stacy, as many know, is an extremely hard and tireless worker, especially when it comes to family. Thanks to her hard work she was rewarded by a health company that she works for called Plexus Worldwide.  Our family received a vacation with a stay at the Gaylord Palms in Florida. Now this would be a fun trip for anyone, but a little planning must take place when you are taking a 3 and 5 year old.  The biggest thing was the actual travel plans on how to get to to Florida.  This would wind up being the first time that Caelin would fly in an airplane. She and Cade were more excited about the plane ride and Town Car ride to the resort from the airport than anything before we left. Despite our worries as parents on how they would do on an airplane, they did great.  Both of the kids loved looking out the window as we took off and landed.  Once in the air it was as if they had flown a hundred times before.  They also loved riding in the Suburban that picked us up from the airport.  Several times over the first few days they would ask about our driver Mrs. Kristen as they questioned where she was, how she was doing, and was she coming back.  We just had to laugh and loved their caring spirits.

We finally arrived at The Gaylord Palms and as you can see by the pictures the place was amazing and had so much for everyone to do and stay busy. Of course most of the time was spent enjoying the large pool and taking in the Florida sun! Stacy spent most of her time doing the latter while the kids enjoyed the pool and water park features. Caelin loved the swings and wading around with all of her new "friends." Cade's favorite parts were the water slides as he went down them at least a hundred time while we were there.  They should probably name at least one of the slides after him.  I, as usual, spent most of my time trying to stay in the shade (the sun and I are not friends).

Part of the trip Stacy got to enjoy time with other Plexus Ambassadors while being praised by the company.  With her spending time at the conference for a couple of hours each day and a fun Halloween party, the kids and I got to explore the hotel and its many offerings outside of the pool.  There was so much to see and do right inside of the hotel: a boat that you could eat on, live alligators swimming in the atrium, koi fish, sting rays, snakes, and just about any Florida wildlife you can think of.  It was like we were staying in a resort built around Florida Wetlands without the mosquitoes!

As fun as the resort was we did not spend all of our time there.  One of our day trips included a visit to Legoland.  For Cade this is probably what Heaven looks like. Everything Lego was brought to life on 145 acres in fun and hands on ways for the kids to enjoy.  The family visited every square inch of the park: The Beginning, Lego Kingdoms, Duplo Village, Fun Town, Imagination Zone, Land of Adventure, Lego City, Miniland USA, The World of Chima, Pirates' Cove, Lego Technic, and Cypress Gardens. The best thing about this park from my point of view, is the fact that there was simply so much to see and do and both kids could ride all the rides.  The park was planned for kids up to the age of 12, so Cade and Caelin did it all with wide eyes, a few screams, and a tons of smiles. The only time they were upset was when it was time to leave. However, the sadness would not last long once they realized our adventures were not over as we headed to Pop Century Disney Resort for some fun filled days at Disneyland.