Ahhhhh....

That is the sound of a perfectly easy vacation.  Last night as we rolled on home from Florida, I was in a state of perfectly blissful relaxation.  Crazy, right?  After sharing hotel room (and sometimes bed) with a 2 year old for 4 nights, spending my days at the Magic Kingdom, Monkey Joe's, arcades, Bass Pro and the beach, and suffering through a Time Share sale?  Yes!  I'm not sure I've ever had a more relaxing vacation.

We met Matt, Erin, Tyler and Elizabeth at Disney to share some of their summer vacation, and it was fabulous.  By the time we arrived they had the whole "Disney Experience" figured out, so we just packed our lunch, slathered on the sunscreen and followed along.  We spent a little over 4 hours at the Magic Kindgom on Friday morning and rode 9 rides (10 if you count the fact that Jason and Charlie did the Teacups twice.  In a row!  Blech!), waiting in no line longer than 10 minutes per ride...and we did the cool/fun rides (well, except Small World, which as Tyler said was "kind of dumb"!)

The rest of the time the boys swam in the pool at Matt & Erin's hotel and went down the awesome water slide approximately 615 times.  We threw in a couple of fabulous dinners, and it was the perfect vacation.

Jason and I struggled a bit on our own once Matt & Erin left Saturday.  We took Charlie to a petting zoo, arriving at 3:50, only to find out the last tour had already left, even though the zoo was open until 5:30!  Then we drove all the way across town to Dave & Busters only to find out that they don't open until Monday, even though the website shows them open.

Nevertheless, we finally landed at Monkey Joe's (which just happened to be in the same mall as Bass Pro, from which we'd started our journey about 3 hours before...) for hours of bouncing and jumping and flirting and laughing, topped off with some pretty good pizza and a lego party in bed.

We headed North around 9:00 Sunday Morning, meandering through the Ponce de Leon park where we made pancakes at our very own table (oh yeah, Charlie heaven!), and took a somewhat sprinkly paddleboat ride, then we drove on up to Daytona where we cruised down the beach before enjoying a meal at the one and only "Boondocks"!  Finally, the clouds parted and the sun came out just in time for the three of us to frolic on the beach a bit before loading our sandy selves up and leaving the Sunshine State.  A Dairy Queen stop in Georgia helped us survive the long drive back to Summerville and was the "icecream" on the cake. 

Relaxing spa vacation it was not, but you really can't beat  four days straight with my two favorite boys!

On the Road!

"Just one moe time, Unc Matt!"

And the Battle Begins!

The Pink Princess!

"Have a Magical Day!"

Brothers and Cousins

Captured!

Ugghhhh...

With the Beast

Dumbo Ride

All suited up...

...for the monsoon!

Tuckered Out

First Fishing Pole Shopping!

Making Friends at Monkey Joe's

Pancakes!

Braving the Falls on the Paddle Boat

Flipping Pancakes en route to Daytona

On the Beach

Teaching Daddy the Boondocks Dance

The Beach!