Well, I guess since it's been two weeks since we got back on our trip, it's probably about time I post some pictures

Here was our schedule:

Saturday: Drive halfway...stop in Charleston, SC to walk around, see the Angel Oak Tree and the church ruins in Beaufort, SC.

Sunday: Drive the rest of the way

Monday: Holy Land Experience

Tuesday: Sea World

Wednesday: Sea World (we loved it so much on Tuesday that we scrapped our "day off" on Wednesday and went back!)

Thursday: Disney World

Friday: Aquatica water park

Saturday: day at resort with our friends the Strunks who had moved from NC to FL last year

Sunday: Drive home...we made it in only 12-1/2 hours which is nothing short of a miracle for us!!

Monday: David took a vacation from his vacation and flew off to Costa Rica with "work" for the week .  Actually, he really didn't want to go right after getting home...but I have to pick on him anyway.

I love this scene...this was the road to the Angel Oak tree near Charleston...

We actually got to the tree about 20 minutes after the park closed...we're really good at planning these things out ...thankfully, the gate was still semi-unlocked since the person on-duty had not actually left the building, so daddy and the 4 older kids went in for a sneak peak and a picture before being asked to leave...then we had a picnic outside the gates.

This is a picture of the Sheldon Church ruins near Beaufort, SC where we stopped on Sunday for "church" before heading the rest of the way to Florida.  The church was burned down in the Revolutionary War and then rebuilt, only to be burned down again during the Civil War.  The church remains are surrounded by an old graveyard that is just gorgeous and so much fun to walk through and recreate peoples lives (maybe that's just me...but I love going to old cemetaries...anyone else???)

Monday was spent at the Holy Land Experience.  It's a place designed to take you back to Bible times...both Old Testament and New Testament times.  We enjoyed seeing a recreation of Old Testament sacrifices (sans the actual animals) and several wonderful outdoor plays about the life, death and resurrection of Christ.  The plays were incredible.  Jesus looked so much like we picture Jesus to look...not only the typical brown hair and beard, but he also had an incredible smile and loving eyes.  They really did an excellent job...the kids loved the plays!  In one of the plays "Jesus" did a good chunk of the Sermon on the Mount...our kids have been memorizing Matthew 6:19-34 which he quoted and it was so sweet to see their eyes light up when they heard it...like, "hey, he knows those verses, too!!!"

They also had a nice kids section with a rock climbing wall...There weren't alot of kids there that day, so our kids spent ALOT of time scaling the wall...David, 7, almost made it all the way up...not bad for rock climbing in flip flops.

All of the kids (and me) were wearing shirts that my Uncle Dale got for us...they were soooo neat...on the front is a picture of him making a funny face next to an ape and it says, "My Uncle Dale is the Coolest".  On the back it has each person's name...I need to get a better picture of it, but you can kind of see it in each of these pix from the Holy Land. 

While the older kids were watching one of the plays, Sammy spent a good 20 minutes playing with this sheep...I can only imagine how hot the person in the costume was. 

On to Sea World...it was wonderful having our own "tour guide".  Uncle Dale lives near all the Orlando parks and goes pretty often, so he knew just where we needed to go and when so that we could see all the best shows and do all the best activities.  Thanks, Uncle Dale!!!

I remember LOVING Sea World as a kid...those dolphins are just incredible to me...it was just as incredible this time around...this is a picture of a lady riding through the water on the dolphin's nose...

The kids' first roller coaster...the Shamu Express...We were all set to go...David (Jr) was a bit apprehensive, but we pushed him on ...I got kicked off because of my preggo belly (I'm pretty sure I'd be fine on a kiddy coaster, but whatever!!)...since Julia was then riding by herself, she turned on the tears saying she was scared and they ushered her off...so David, Daddy and Joshy enjoyed it the first time and since they survived, Julia hopped on the next time and had a great time.

Uncle Dale is Mr. Ski-Ball champion of the world and we have the stuffed animals all over our house to prove it!  This picture just has a couple of the little animals he won...when we got to FL, he gave each of the kids (that's FIVE) a gigantic stuffed dog...not to mention the giant shamu and flipper and 10 penguins, flippers, and shamus he sent to our house a few weeks before the trip to get the kids even more excited.  On this particular day, he also won a giant shark which chased Susie out of her stroller seat.  You're the best, Uncle Dale!

David actually won his own turtle (above)...he played a game where you put a little frog on a catapult and you try to catapult him onto a lilly pad...and he got it...he was on cloud 9....and, incidentally, his bed has become one big marina of stuffed animals...he loves having them under, over and around him (I guess he's kinda like me...I always slept with about 7 or 8 pillows growing up).  Some nights I have to unbury him just to make sure he can breathe!)

Joshy and Shamu

Julia and Shamu

Next stop, Disney World...somehow, I lost steam taking pictures, or maybe I was just overwhelmed by the Disney "experience"...I think I only went there one time as a kid and I was very young...I certainly didn't remember that you have to travel miles upon miles AFTER you park your car.  You park, fold up the stroller, take a tram to what "looks" like the entrance...Wrong...now you have a choice, take a BOAT or a train to the real entrance.  I'm pretty sure they're just trying to trap you in there so there's no way you'll leave the park to go back to your car for an economical lunch.  It worked on us...  My Aunt Patti and cousin Brandon who also live in Florida met us for the days at Disney and Aquatica and the kids just adored their big cousin Brandon!! 

We all (except Susanna and Samuel) got to ride Space Mountain...I was so excited...They "suggested" that I not in my "condition", but, I couldn't resist.  It was so much fun to be able to do something!  Most of the day was spent standing in line or negotiating "fast passes"  and walking from one end of the park to the other, but we had a great time anyway!  The kids left with great memories, particularly because at the end of the day the kiddy section was pretty empty and they got to ride the kiddy roller coaster about 10 times in a row...and the fireworks display was incredible...

So, here's my Disney pictures...our afternoon ice cream break...

Brandon

David

Julia

Joshua

Susie

Sammy

One thing that just cracked me up about Disney is the fact that you actually have to stand in line to see the dressed up characters (i.e. Mickey, Minnie, Pooh, etc...).  And I don't mean a short line...I'm talking a line similar to the bumper car line, or the tea cup line on a busy day...the kind of line that turns over and over and over.  I just can't begin to fathom standing and waiting in the hot Florida sun for 45 minutes to get a stuffed animal's "autograph" or to get a picture of my kid(s) screaming on his lap.  No thanks!  Thankfully for me, my oldest is quietly terrified of all dressed up characters and has convinced most of his siblings to be like-minded, so we didn't have to talk anyone out of standing in those lines.  Your mileage may vary... no offense intended .

I only got one picture at Aquatica...kinda hard taking pictures when your holding babies in pools or sitting in water...the one picture I took was of a bald eagle a man was holding...since that's not really "waterpark" related, I'll spare you.

On Saturday, we finally got some extended time to play at the resort...The Strunks came up from Okeechobee with their 5 kids, so we had 10 kids 8 and under.  The resort had a great water area for the kids...basically a big playset in the water.  We did that much of the day and then went to the actual pools where we tried and were successful in not letting any of the kids drown.  No small task when we only had 1 swimmer in 10 kids. 

Sammy tried his hardest to drown in the baby wading pool before heading to the big pool.  He LOVED the thing he's playing with in the picture below...a yellow "ball" that shot water off in two directions...but every once in a while he'd get too far bent over and end of toppling.  One time and did a somersault into the pool ending up on his back and couldn't get up...he literally would have drowned in 12 inches of water.  Despite having drunk a gallon of water, he coughed a little and went right back to his "work".  Once he discovered the big pool, our "peace" was over...the boy has NO FEAR...he just kept jumping in...YIKES...needless to say, we didn't stay at the big pool too long!

Sammy loved his Uncle Dale...and I guess we can see where his blonde hair comes from!!!

Here's the entire crew...L to R...David(7), Jack(6), Samuel Strunk (almost 2), Eve (8) holding Katelyn, (almost 2 months), Joshua (5), our Samuel (20 months), Julia (6), Abigail (3), and Susanna (2).  Thankfully, the condos near us were all empty...ours was not a quiet one for a couple of hours.

We had a great trip and are so thankful for the memories we made during the week.  We were sooo blessed that Uncle Dale could give up a whole week to stay with us.  The kids absolutely adore him and just enjoy spending time with him!