Monday, Monday, Monday…a new week with some new goals and some new things to conquer. Always welcome, but this weekend did seem to go by a little too fast. We had the best weekend this weekend. We woke up Friday morning at 5 am per usual, we showered, sat down with our coffee, and went about our morning as usual. I read my First 5 app, and my husband browses the news.
Except Friday morning we somehow went from sipping our coffee together while trying to wake up to deciding to book a room at one of our favorite Orlando hotels to surprise the kids with a weekend of fun. The Gaylord was booked, lists were made, secrets were kept. We didn’t want the kids to know, so I was texting our 4th grader’s teacher at 5:30 am to find out what time they were taking their Friday tests (because she’d be horrified to miss them….trust me) and getting into my office to get some work done.
I ended up checking all four kids out of school early, and we came home to finish packing so we could go when Craig was finished with work. The kids were so surprised, and they were even more excited.
We checked into the Gaylord, and the kids were super excited to find out our rooms were in the Everglades. They love being in the Everglades so we can run down and see the baby alligators and snakes and turtles anytime. It was a super simple night. Dinner. A walk around the atrium to check out the bigger gators, the baby gators, the snakes, the boat, the fort. We finished out with a trip to the ice cream shoppe for “make your own ice cream” creations. Any flavor, any topping, and as much of all of it as you want. You pay based on weight.
And no, you don’t want to know how much it costs when you have four kids heaping piles of ice cream and toppings into those giant bowls.
By 8 pm, the kids were about done after school and an exciting evening, so we retired. The kids got into their beds to watch a movie and Craig and I had a mini date-night on the balcony while we watched them watch their movie. They fell asleep fast, and we were able enjoy ourselves with a bottle of wine and some quiet time before going to bed.
As always, the Gaylord was fabulous. The staff is incredible. The kids love them because they all go out of their way to make sure they feel like royalty. They get down on the floor and play with the kids, they love Carter’s hugs (he actually hugs every single person who delivers room service to our room when we travel – like, “Hey, you bring me bacon, you get my love.”), and they always have something wonderful to say.
For example, we were once there with just the big girls and they were crushed when we arrived and the pool was closed for a few hours because of something I can’t even remember. When we walked back into our room after wandering around a bit, there were two gift bags on their bed. Both bags contained baby dolls, accessories, and cookies from the manager to make their day a little brighter. They really are amazing.
Back to my story.
Saturday looked a lot like room service in bed – an extra-large pot of coffee included. Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom, more treats than these kids know what to do with, shopping, dinner, and another movie night.
Carter’s entire life was made when we went to Hollywood Studios and he got to hug Olaf. He never disappoints. He is never unexcited. He is always so excited to see Olaf you’d think it was the first time. He gives him the biggest squeeze, tells him all his favorite secrets, and basically makes every other kid at Disney wait much longer than necessary to meet their favorite character. He’s a charmer, and all the characters want him to stick around anytime we visit. Maybe it’s the fact that he and Charlotte are twins and they’re so stinking cute, or that they are so open and loving. I don’t know – but they love those babies at Disney.
We rounded out our weekend Sunday getting back to real life before enjoying a fun afternoon celebrating our favorite 1-year-old’s birthday. The kids played in the rain, ate too many cupcakes, and only lasted a few hours before asking if we could go home and rest. They were tired. They passed out in the car, and it was a quiet ride home.
What I Learned This Weekend
I’m not usually big on spontaneity. I don’t like things not on my schedule. I prefer to pre-plan things, to have a plan going into them, and to have ample time to get my life together to make a fun weekend happen. And this weekend was not like that at all. It was so last-minute. It was so unplanned. And it was amazing.
- Our kids are awesome – I know this. We never have issues with them when we travel. But I always think it’s because they have weeks’ notice with us constantly reminding them what kind of behavior is expected on our flights, in our hotels, at restaurants, etc. Turns out, it’s not me. It’s them. They are just really well-behaved kids. Who knew?
- Going with the flow isn’t so bad – I like plans. I like reservations made in advance. I like to know what I’m going to do. I don’t like not knowing, but it was so much fun. We thought we might go to Disney on Friday night and then just Hollywood on Saturday, but we decided we didn’t feel like going back out after we checked in (you don’t even want to know how congested valet was). And we really enjoyed not having a real plan and only doing what we wanted to do when we wanted to do it.
- The babies aren’t babies anymore – I hate this. They just aren’t. They’re going to be four next month, but they are our babies. And they are growing up fast. As soon as we got to our rooms, they immediately chose their beds. Carter wanted to share a bed with Ava (I am positive he thought he might be able to steal her favorite stuffed animal from her while she slept. He’s always after that thing) and Charlotte and Addy wanted to share their bed. They played well, had their own movie night without incident, and fell asleep early. It was like having four big kids.
- Our kids only like the idea of ice cream – They didn’t eat a bite of the $2,948,487 ice cream at the Gaylord. Their pleasure came from picking stuff to go into it. They don’t eat their ice cream at Disney – ever – but they ask for it All. Day. Long.
- Family time is really good – We spend so much time getting through the day from one activity to the next with four kids, and sometimes it’s hard to focus on how enjoyable our family is. But let me just tell you how crazy it is to have a family of six is nothing compared to how much love there is with four kids. Someone is always offering a hug or a kiss. There is so much laughter – they are so funny – and there is always something sweet going on. As crazy as they might make us every day, they really are amazing.
Isn’t it funny how sometimes it’s the most random, most unexpected things that make you look at things a little differently? We have weekends away with the kids all the time, but they usually include other people, or a packed schedule, and ample notice. Just going with the flow, creating a schedule as we saw fit, and hanging out with just our little family with no distractions was really, really fun. I loved it. And I love starting my week with that feeling.
Tiffany Raiford 