Disney World Vacation - part one

We just got back a few days ago from an AMAZING vacation! My parents took us to Disney World!! Clint and I have been keeping it a secret from the kiddos since the summer. It was so hard not to spill the beans!

I took this photo the day before we left. I couldn't seem to wipe that cheesy grin from my face! I hadn't been able to sleep for the whole week before we left - I was so so excited!!! I couldn't wait to see their reactions when we told them the news on Friday morning. All of this really made me understand a little more of why sometimes God seems to keep us in suspense; why sometimes He doesn't give us all the answers and spell it all out for us ahead of time. I think it brings Him great joy to surprise and delight His children!

I secretly packed everybody and after school last Thursday, we told them to quickly pack their backpacks with a few toys. Then, we told them we were going to see Grandma and Papa (little did they know that we were going to see them in Orlando!)

Here's some of the highlights:

(sorry for the blurry-ness of some of the photos - I took some of these pictures on my phone)

on the road! the kids were so excited, and they had no idea what surprises were in store for them!

We spent the night in Savannah to make the drive a little easier. The kids were kind of confused since we don't ever do that when we ever go to see their grandparents. When we woke up the next morning, it was Joseph's 5th birthday! Clint made him a special birthday pancake breakfast and brought it to the hotel room. Joseph was so cute - he said, "This is the best birthday present ever!" (He had NO IDEA! haha :) )

After we packed up again, we sat the kiddos down on the couch in the hotel room and played a little pre-recorded video that my parents had made telling them that they were taking them to Disney World! Then, I gave them some adorable Mickey Mouse personalized shirts and hats that my friend Melissa made. The kids were in total shock I think. They kept saying over and over again for the rest of the day on the road, "I can't believe we're going to Disneyworld!!"

Leo loved his new hat! He was so excited about the big surprise! 

He had this grin on his face for the rest of the trip! 

Clint cut Robby's hair right before we left that morning for Orlando. 

Here's the "before" photo.

and after!!
What a difference! My baby boy is gone!

Joseph, wearing his new Mickey shirt.
he was the happiest birthday boy ever!!

driving through the gates!!! you should have heard the squeals of excitement in the car!

that night at the Disney hotel, we put on party hats and had a little impromptu party for Joseph. :) 

 here we are waiting to board the disney bus for the first time the next morning, all wearing our "Papa John's Disney Vacation 2013" t-shirts!

Papa and Robby :)

me and my dad about to get on the disney bus the first morning to go check out our first park!

(like the shirts I had made for all of us to wear?!)

entering the Animal Kingdom!

the first thing we did here was ride the big roller coaster called Expedition Everest. There were no lines and we got to ride it two times in a row! (Benjamin and Leo LOVED it! It was their first big roller coaster experience!)

 a beautiful giraffe on our safari ride!

flamingos!

my favorite shot! isn't the lion just breathtaking?!
(this is my new screensaver)

dad enjoying the safari

benjamin loved it too!

our waiter at The Rainforest Cafe (an incredible restaurant, by the way) brought out this incredible brownie ice cream "volcano" dessert for Joseph for his birthday. The staff sang Happy Birthday to him as well. So fun!

this moment was so sweet. Ruth gave Joseph a big hug and wished him a happy birthday.

we got rained on there at the Animal Kingdom, but that didn't stop us from having fun! We had our ponchos!! :) 

After the Animal Kingdom, we took the disney bus over to Epcot for the afternoon and evening!

 Grandma with Ruth and Joseph in their giant clamshell on the Finding Nemo ride!

Ruth, Joseph, and Robby with Nemo!

meeting Mickey Mouse!

Ruth and Minnie Mouse!

Clint and I in front of the beautiful fountains at Epcot

my sweet and oh so generous parents!
thank you so much, mom and dad, for this amazing gift! what an extreme blessing!

the beautiful sunset at Epcot, overlooking all of the different countries - what a fantastic view! 

Ruth and Grandma at our delicious French dinner in the fancy Chef de France restaurant in Epcot

Joseph and Papa

the beautiful fountains at night, right before we left

 Robby, totally passed out in the elevator on the way to our hotel room! 

Disneyworld can be exhausting! haha. :)

This was only a few highlights from our first day! Wow!

I will do another post to cover the other two days...

Hope you enjoyed the photos!

Lora