Sunday, February 24, 2019

YuBaCa Friendscation 2019!

After a week of subzero temperatures and 4 school snow days in a row (from cold), we left the polar north and headed south to Orlando with our friends, the Camps and Yuans. The first week in February in 70-80 degree temperatures felt like a dream and was a much needed escape. We rented a 6 bedroom theme house and spent 3 days enjoying the parks and 3 days laying low and relaxing. The week flew by and we can't wait to do it again in 2022!

Full of excitement upon arrival at the Orlando airport. 
We were 6 adults and 9 kids...quite the circus!

L to R: Kylie, Annabelle, Blair, Halle, Brooks and Bennett

We spent the first afternoon and next full day preparing for the week and getting acquainted to our surroundings. We went grocery shopping, swam a lot, and just enjoyed the Florida weather!

The Hart family (our besties from Columbus) were on the tail end of their Disney vacation on our first full day there. We drove over to there resort to spend a quick hour with them!
Phil and Jon in front.
Brooks, Claire, Kylie and Annie in back.

Claire, Quinn and Brooks.

Reunited!

On Monday, we hit up our first park(s).
We went to both Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure.
This was so we could do ALL of Harry Potter World, and do it we did!
I think the older kids and adults loved it!

Bennett perfectly captured everyone's excitement!
L to R: Bennett, Brooks, Blair, Kylie, Annabelle, and Halle

The Night Bus!

Kylie and Brooks in Diagon Alley!

Jon, Brooks and Bennett on the Gringotts rollercoaster.

The biggest downside to Universal is that there are very few rides that toddlers can do (as opposed to Disney), but this is one she could ride! She loved it!

Brooks and Bennett

The dads took the older kids on rides, while the moms (two of whom are pregnant) hung out with the toddlers.
Here they are on a Jurassic Park ride.

After a long day on Monday, we decided to do it all again on Tuesday! :)
This time we went to Magic Kingdom.
It was another fun-filled day!

The whole group in our matching YuBaCa 2019 Friendscation t-shirts.

Our little family.

Jon as Minnie Mouse and sweet Kylie.

Quinn was able to do many more rides at Magic Kingdom and she enjoyed them all!
Here she is riding Prince Charming's Carousel.

Three sweet 8 year olds.
Annabelle, Halle and Kylie

My boy!

Quinnie Boo.

The kids loved spending all day every day together.
The girls were inseparable.

Jon and Brooks on the Dumbo ride.

Quinn on the Teacups.

Barlows and Yuans on It's a Small World.

On Wednesday, we rested.
We spent the day at the house and did a lot of swimming and snacking! :)

But Thursday, we were up for one last adventure.
We went to Animal Kingdom, which was Brooks' favorite.
We arrived an hour early, and were able to ride the Avatar ride with just a 30 minute wait.
By the time the park actually opened, there was a 3 hour wait!
So glad we got there early!

We saw the Lion King show, which was fantastic.

We also saw lots of animals, rode some more rides - Mt. Everest rollercoaster, the Safaris, and a few others. It was a really warm day, and just felt good to be outside.

Finally a picture of the moms and little ones.
L to R: Kristen with Meredith, Erica with Emme, and me with Quinn.

And the big kids in front of the Tree of Life.
L to R: Brooks, Kylie, Halle, Annabelle, Blair and Bennett

And on Friday, we rested again. We spent the day in the pool, and in the evening the 6 adults went out for dinner. Saturday morning, we headed back up to the frozen tundra. The week flew by, but the memories will last a lifetime!


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