We have four kiddos swimming!!! Reagan up and decided he could swim like a fish earlier this year, and Camden just dove in and did it at his second lesson--SERIOUSLY. I wouldn't believe it, either, but it is true. He can swim the length of the pool with no help, and he even figured out basic breathing.

WHAT A RELIEF!!! The boys are having so much fun!!!

We have discovered the secret to survival with four children: Wear them out in the pool every night until they pass out. They even eat more, so they sleep longer. On a less ascerbic note, it is wonderful family time, and they can tumble to their hearts' content.

Is it a little ghetto to have so much fun at the mall? This day was great--they looked so grown up in line for ice cream, and Reagan was SO serious about eating his.

I think we just had haircuts here, and Cam won't be needing another for two years.

So after ten years of no vacations, we are sort of getting the hang of this thing. Okay, maybe not.

I do have survival instincts, so I know to drop Tal Senior off at the movies before checking into the hotel. This helps put his brain in vacation mode. No one believes I do this, so I took a picture (with my car in the fire lane and the security guys screaming and waving, of course).

One of our favorite stops is the Lego store. The kids made little make-your-own Lego Minifigs...3/$10. I'd think it was a rip-off, except that they usually get big Lee kits and only play with the Minifigs, so maybe it was a deal.

Why is Cam playing Guitar Hero at Best Buy, you ask? Well, here is where things really fell apart. We have season passes, and I booked our dates (timed for floor installation) during an overlap of the blackout dates. Of course. So we got denied at the gate. And my family was overjoyed, because they hate the parks and really just wanted to go for the pool and hotel. Disaster! See the kids there? That wasn't a bad shot, it was THAT HUMID.

Woke up. Contractor calls to say live termites are crawling in our house (again). Went to breakfast and Camden threw up in my plate. Travis did a demo, so we were kicked out of the room with no park tickets ("Mommy, are we going to Disney World?"), so we spent the day in the pool. Then we went to Beaches & Cream for lunch. Fun! Except that Cam was asleep, so we brought the stroller in, and it got stuck when it got crowded, and he had on a swimper, which didn't work during the nap, and I had to lift a double stroller over a wall to get out (with four kids). OMG.

I dragged everyone to the Hoop Dee Doo Revue. Tal and I loved every minute of it, and everyone else pretty much hated it. We especially loved when they brought out the food in buckets and slammed the buckets on the tables really hard.

Then Travis got really sick (fever/vomit) and kept sending me out for things like thermometers and sweatshirts. Go home? No, the house was completely torn up for the floors--we weren't welcome there.

Drama was definitely down by this point, thankfully. We did some exploring and did some off-the-wall activities. What is so exciting about the picture of Tal here? He has started eating. Really eating, not just chicken nuggets and cereal. He ate rice and lobster and steak and not-breaded chicken. With no gagging. He will try almost anything now, it is so amazing. I have two GREAT eaters, Tal doing tons better, and high hopes for a Reagan turnaround. Someday. He is still the biggest volume eater, so there is hope.

Okay, a little drama. We were getting into the car to go to dinner and there was an enormous creature on Travis' back. Gigantic. Indescribable. He yelled for help, and my only reflex was to scream, "GET OUT OF THE CAR!" HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Didn't get any support points.

One of our favorite things about our hotel is the beachfront movie night. We watched Wall-E. The kids are so comfy there--Tal is chief coffee-getter (so grown up!), and with everyone swimming now, things are tons easier. Tal participated in some big-kid pool activities, and the little kids ventured out farther than ever, even rode the slides. I sometimes get antsy to go to other areas, but then I realize that my days in the "mom" pool are numbered, and I really do savor every moment. In spite of the vomit and messed-up tickets and such, this is a great time.

So we finally got into the park. And would you believe, it was so darn hot and crowded that no one wanted to be there? Everyone was miserable and begged to go back to the hotel! We couldn't even get into the Toy Story Mania ride. I couldn't believe it. Then the contractors called and said they could finish the wood if we stayed away an extra day, so we did. And we got up on Saturday, and my love offering to my dear family was to not drag them to the parks. They were so happy. Bunch of dorks! We had a big breakfast and played in the pool.

Then Travis said something like, "Who on earth would cover marble with wood?" and I went into a panic over what was happening at the house and couldn't have any more fun. We headed home, Camden threw up a river in the car (does anyone else get carsick this often?), the guys weren't ready for us and sent us out to the movies (more drama than the whole rest of the week combined), and I can tell you that I will plan the next one more carefully. But at least we were together. Ha. At least we're still together.