Back from Orlando

We're back from our family reunion to Orlando, after another 14-hour drive, which we did over two days (I'll post a separate entry about our visit to SeaWorld).  The girls did really great in the car - of course, having the DVD players helps a ton. Anna loved the Angelina Ballerina mouse video that Titi Toni gave her - if it was up to her, she would have watched it over and over the entire trip, but we had to interject and give Cara a turn to watch Bob & Larry (Veggie Tales) or Curious George. Beth would probably have liked the trip better if Cara hadn't repeatedly thrown her blanket or manatee on the floor where no one could reach, then cry for it until someone (i.e., the non-driving adult) bent all over the place trying to get to it.

Neither girl slept in the car on the way down, even when we kept the DVD players off to try to lull them to sleep (which only resulted in an hour of Anna whining about wanting to watch Curious George in space and Cara yelling).  On the way back, though, each one fell asleep, right after being really cranky. They were tired.

It was really hard to leave - that's the worst part about vacation in general, but I think it's even harder when you're spending time with loved ones that you don't get to see often. It had been about three years, I think, since my side of the family got together in Orlando. Just like that time, I really didn't want to leave and was pretty sad for the first part of our trip. I hope we'll be able to get together again before another three years pass by.

For the record, Titi Edna's blitz wins (including her alleged, unbelievably high score of 36) were disqualified when Christopher discovered she had been playing with a non-standard deck of cards. This left me, again, as the blitz champion for the week. Winning the lowest score was Nicky, playing under the influence of NyQuil, with a final score of 1, with Abuela close behind wielding a score of either 4 or 5.  I hope we find that score sheet at our next reunion.

Thank you, Titi Toni, Uncle Curt, and family, for opening up your home to let us all eat and play together. What a fantastic location and beautiful backyard on the lake!  Thank you, Abuela, Titi Edna, and dad for making the trip out there to spend time with us. We love you and hope to see you all again soon!

Love,
Dave, Beth, Anna (the big one), and Cara (the little one/the other one)