Hey Hey, what do ya say?! Let’s take a vacay!

Ooooooohhhh, vacation.  As a child it was a fun family obligation.  Now vacation entails months of planning, saving and in my case dreading.  Considering our past experiences of packing up the Mad Mini-Van with all six of us and driving for hours to go work 10 times harder than I do on a typical day, I was very apprehensive of what was to come. 

First Trip to Florida- New born and 1 yr old with a stomach virus the entire way there.  I don’t believe I need to go any farther in this explanation.

Second Trip to Florida- 1 year old and 2 year old contained in their car seats with restlessness no amount of Dora the Explorer could quell.

The worst part was always the drive home.  Cranky kids with their cranky parents confined in a small silver casing for a millennium (or so it felt).

Brace yourself! I have a confession……

I WAS WRONG! WE CAN HAVE FUN ON VACATION!!!!!!

Through our latest vacation I have confirmed a long standing theory-

“If momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy”

(not my grammar, that really is how the saying goes).

 I was determined to be happy, live in the moment and have fun.  And if I couldn’t?  Fake it!  Some moments my faking was deserving of an Emmy, but we had fun darn-it!

Perhaps it was the ambiance of this-

Yes, I took that picture! We went to the happiest place on earth!  Here is a break down from each member of the Mad Mini-Van’s perspective:

Teenrager (15 yr old male often found with wildly unkempt hair ): 

  Not one for rainbows and butterflies but is quick to smart-a**’d comments at unappreciated times (typical teen eh?)  Not one for wake up calls before noon.  Not one to leave his bat cave of technology (aka- his room). He. Had. FUN!

My favorite comment from him?  After leaving Universal Studios late at night on a Monday he proclaims:

“This is the first Monday I have ever actually enjoyed!”

Yes, my husband and I gave ourselves a mental high-five

Tweenrager (11 yr old female that is convinced she is far older than 11):

Here lately she is adopting similar behavior as that of her brother, Teenrager.  The minute I walk through the door she makes a hastey retreat to her bedroom to work on being the next Taylor Swift. (I will admit, she is getting very good with her guitar!)
My favorite moment with her?

Her tears of anticipation while waiting to get on to her first roller coaster!  Tweenrager is typically very quiet and doesn't get worked up over anything.  

This moment was golden, and yes I plan to tell it to all of the boys she brings home for the rest of her life 

Diva Darling (5 year old female often found making even the calmest of moments as dramatic as she possibly can):

I would almost say she had the most fun out of all four of the mad-children.  Albeit her drama fueled meltdowns, demands of being carted around in a stroller and constantly reminding us all- "I'm hot. I'm tired. I'm hungry. I'm thirsty"  Other than that she embraced the entire trip with the same enthusiasm of those children you see on the Disney World commercials.  Her unusual height for a 5 year old was an added bonus, from which my favorite comment came during the middle of Space Mountain (roller coaster):

"I WANT THIS TO BE OVER!!!!!!"

followed by:

"NOOOOOOOOO, I DON'T WANT IT TO BE OVER!! LET'S DO IT AGAIN!"

Baby Boy (4 yr old male often found getting into mischief and then easily charming his way out of it):

Poor poor poor sweet baby boy.  He celebrated his birthday while we were on vacation, but unfortunately his height hasn't caught up to the amount of years he has been alive.  Just as we taught him to get on his "tippy toes" to meet height requirements (checked by Disney and Universal staff) it was time to come home.

My favorite comment from him:

"We are coming back when I get bigger... So those meanies will let me ride the rides!"

Don't have to ask me twice baby boy, I can't wait to go back!

Other highlights in pictures:

Baby boy turned 4!

 I got to meet the Gremlins! (well kinda...)

We took lots of self portraits while waiting

Jaws ate my kids.... At my request

We saw many live shows

Road Rides

We danced

And Finally the Light Parade!