Bryan had to go to Orlando last week for a convention & he was going to be gone all week. He flew out on Sunday & wasn't coming home until Friday, so we thought it would be a fun surprise to take the girls there while he was working. After school on Tuesday afternoon, I told them I had a surprise when they went to get in the car. I asked Sadie to open the back & immediately she saw the double stroller, their backpacks & suitcase and she quickly figured it out:
Vacation! That's why they have funny expressions on their face - they were screaming with excitement! I had left 2 little Minnie Mouses sitting out & then I played a video of Bryan. He ran into Elsa at his conference & she gave away the rest of our clue. We went straight to the airport & flew to Orlando to meet up with Bryan:
It was a long flight for Sophie. She had been at school all day with no nap so it wasn't the easiest flight for her (or for me!) but they were so excited when we got to our hotel. I don't know how we lucked out because we have traveled with Bryan several times but this was by the far our most fun trip. His conference was at a hotel on Universal Studios property & was very family oriented. It was Hawaiian themed & they gave us leis when we got there. And the whole resort was tropical with palm trees & gorgeous flowers.
We slept in the next day & took it easy. For our first official day of summer it was perfect! Bryan had to go to work so he snuck out early but the girls slept until 10:00! I brought breakfast & snacks from home so they had breakfast in bed:
and then we got ready to head to the pool. The girls were beyond excited when we got there because it had a huge beach entry which was perfect for them:
If you can see the ship in the background of the first picture, that was actually a splash pad so they had fun running around it too. The resort actually provided swim diapers, sunscreen, mid day snacks, noodles, floats, etc. It was awesome! They even had an entertainment team who had games throughout the day. This was the first time Sadie was actually old enough to participate. We joined the scavenger hunt & she loved it! I'm telling you, Bryan & I had did not do our research when we came so we were pleasantly surprised this is where he stayed for his conference! He snuck down a few times during the day just to say hi. Since the girls slept so late, I didn't even make them take naps. We finally went back up to the room around 4:30 just so we could clean up for dinner. After I gave them baths, I let them watch tv while I got ready but poor Sophie couldn't hold on:
When Bryan got home, we decided to go to dinner. Universal Studios has an area called CityWalk which is right between Universal & a few of their hotels. The whole area is full of shops & restaurants. It was only a 5 minute walk from our hotel but they offered complimentary boat rides that we knew the girls would enjoy:
We did some shopping & the girls ran around & played. I bought a sundress at a local surf shop & they had a surfboard outside that the girls thought was awesome:
Apparently they like to pose when they surf :)
We ate dinner at an Italian restaurant. Can you tell the girls were just a little bit excited to be on summer vacation with their daddy?!
After dinner we walked around some more, got ice cream & even ran into a shrimp at Bubba Gump:
And I'm not sure what this thing is but the girls loved climbing on it:
On Friday, Bryan only worked a half day & since it was a holiday weekend, he got the afternoon off so he joined us at the pool. I have to admit it was pretty relaxing since the girls are so comfortable in the water! Bryan & I were just sitting on the side enjoying our drinks until Sadie came over & took a picture of us:
They even had a kiddie pool that was closed off where the kids could play independently. It had a small, shallow pool & a beach area where the kids could play in the sand:
After another lazy day, we took the boat back to City Walk for dinner again. Bryan told me about this restaurant they ate at earlier in the week with his co-workers & it sounded kind of weird to me:
Surprisingly, it was pretty good! Especially the dessert:
The girls got a rice krispie treat in their children's meal but I ordered the candy bar ice cream cake & it was DELICIOUS! One of the best desserts I have had in a while. We couldn't keep Sadie from eating it!
Then we walked around Universal because Sadie was fascinated by the roller coasters. She didn't understand why we couldn't just go in & ride one!
And you wonder where the girls get their diva poses from! I took a picture of City Walk as we were walking around because it was a pretty neat place & I would recommend it if you are in the Orlando area, especially if you go to Universal or stay on property. It's kind of like Disney Springs or Downtown Disney, whatever it's called these days!
As we were walking back to the boat, we saw a dj on the stage with a ton of kids having a dance party so of course we had to join them:
These girls love to dance! We had another late night so we all slept in on Saturday morning & then we flew home that night. It was such a fun surprise & a great start to summer! And it ended up being pretty cheap since we mostly stayed around the pool & snacked in our room. Even the boat rides to dinner were free entertainment! Thanks Bryan for letting us tag along on your work trip. Sorry you had to work half of the trip but glad we got to spend some extra time with you.
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