2019 :: week 26

June 23

Despite getting to Melanie's very late, we were up early to make it on time to church at 9am. All three of our older kids got up with no problem, it was Anthony and me who struggled. The kids were very excited to explore the Starita's home and check out their toys. Church went well and apparently Elliott said some funny stuff that made his primary teacher laugh. He got to go to Sunbeams with Leah. After church we packed up our stuff and headed to the Solterra Resort in Davenport, FL. We got there just as everyone was finishing up lunch and the kids were able to participate in the Come Follow Me primary lesson Nana and Papa prepared for the cousins.

June 24

The first order of business Monday morning was getting some updated family pictures. Since our reunion in 2017 three babies joined the family--Felicity in October 2018, Lucas in January 2019 and Miles in March 2019. It was a lot of work getting everyone up and photo ready, but the results are worth it. We took the pictures at a park in Celebration, Florida, which is a "town of the future," a planned community developed by the Walt Disney Company. It was very picturesque and we got some good pictures. It was very hot and humid, so we stopped at 7-11 and got slurpees on the way back to our rental house. Then many of us suited up and went for a swim. The resort pool was a bit of a letdown being that the water slide was out of commission and the water was so warm. I guess it is so hot in Florida even the pool water gets hot, making it less refreshing than the ice water I'm used to at Bluejacket Pool.

June 25

Tuesday morning we got up bright and early and headed to Disney World! Nana and Papa treated us to a day at the park and we had such a great time. Nana did an amazing job of planning the day, getting us fast passes for the most desired rides. We had a loose schedule that maximized our fun and had various groups of parents and kids heading off to different rides throughout the day. I spent most of the day with Miles and Elliott in the "younger kids group," but we met up with Anthony and our older kids to go on a few rides together. Elliott was a rockstar. He had a great attitude even though he spent a lot of time waiting in line, waiting for older kids to finish their rides and waiting while I nursed Miles. I will always remember his sequel of delight while we rode the Barnstormer. Will and Lauren fell in love with roller coasters on this visit. Will told Anthony he loved roller coasters after they rode the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, and his mind was blown after riding Space Mountain. Will, Lauren, Sadie and Elise rode Space Mountain three times! We were told that it rains for a few minutes every day, and we thought we were in the clear when it still hadn't rained at 4pm, only to get absolutely drenched by a downpour that left standing water several inches deep. We waded through the water in our soaking wet shoes to board the monorail back to our car. All in all a truly wonderful, albeit exhausting day.

June 26

The next day we took things very slow. We didn't have anything on the agenda besides resting and having fun. Elise, Weston and Lauren (the 2011 babies) spent the entire day in the pool, stopping only for meals. I think Nolan was out there most of the day too. In the afternoon I made a double batch of cookies which were quickly devoured.

June 27

This was the first reunion where cousins shared room. Will and Lauren shared a bunk room with Sadie, Elise and Weston. Derek and Nolan shared a room, Camille and Adelaide shared a room and Elliott shared a room with Brigham. Felicity got her own room and all other kids--Lola Rose, Lucas and Miles shared with parents. I was a little apprehensive about this because while our kids are good sleepers, they aren't great at falling asleep. There were a few issues, but overall it went really well. Elliott and Brigham had great fun together and became little buddies. They didn't swim quite as much as some of the older kids, but they spent lots of time jumping on the couches and sectionals. We had a pretty quiet day on Thursday. We debated whether it was worth it to drive an hour each way to the beach, but ultimately decided it was going to be a lot of work and the kids would probably have just as much fun at the pool. In the afternoon most of the kids and adults went to see the movie Toy Story 4.

June 28

Friday was our last day. Will and Sadie were pretty inseparable this reunion. It was fun seeing them have so much fun together. They spent lots of time on Will's kindle, shooting hoops in the garage, playing in the arcade room and drawing. Everyone spent a lot of time playing games on this trip. On a few of the evenings the adults played Jackbox games. It eventually devolved into a bunch of inside jokes and hysterical retellings of John family memories. We left just after dinner and drove a few hours to Lake City, Florida.

June 29

Saturday was a long day of driving. Anthony and I listened to the book Evicted by Matthew Desmond. The kids watched dvds and played games on their kindles. Miles cried a lot. I'm glad we've had a lot of positive experiences on road trips, because this day really felt like a grind. We eventually made it to Paducah, Kentucky, and crashed into bed.