It has been absolute crazy town around here lately! I feel like its been ages since I’ve hopped on here and shared with you all. Life has been nuts with preparing for vacation and then the trip, and coming back! We start school with both of our 2 older boys in the next two weeks so I feel like things will somewhat slow down with the kids being gone.
I’ve honestly just been trying to soak up every minute especially with my older son who is off to kindergarten NEXT WEEK. AHHHHH.
I wanted to talk a little bit about our family vacation, where we stayed, what we did, and of course what I packed :)
For those of you who follow me on insta, you probably all saw that we headed down to Florida for a week. We knew it would be hot, but its a place that offers so much no matter what time of year you go. Plus, Orlando is obviously really kid friendly and having three children aged 5 & under we were all about doing what was right for the family.
Flights
90% of the time we fly southwest, and this trip was no exception. We were able to save some money though vouchers we received the last time we flew and had crazy delays. Once again this time we were delayed (ugh!). The kids were great, and to be honest, usually I let all screen time rules go out the window on travel days (especially when we have travel delays!). We have 2 separate ipads and we tried to keep them occupied with the ipads, toys they brought, walks around the airport terminal, and snacks. Our flight was delayed almost 3 hours, but the baby was an absolute champion and we ended up landing a little bit before 9 pm.
Hotel
We actually stayed at the Grove Resort in Kissimmee. We have never stayed there before and one of the main reasons we booked this hotel was because of the southwest points that we got for staying there for the week. Through booking this hotel on southwest hotels, we were able to get enough points to get the companion pass. For those who don’t know what this is, its a pass that allows me to fly, and my husband to fly for free when we fly together! YAS. I had also seen tons of ads on social media for it and it looked nice & had good reviews.
We had a 2 bedroom hotel room (they also have 3 bedroom hotel rooms) and it was very spacious which was awesome. The hotel room was clean & new (it was just built 2.5 years ago) which I really loved. It came with all the amenities: dishes, washer/dryer, stove, microwave, fridge, etc. I always find it important to have a hotel room with these amentities when you have kids. The pools were great and they had an awesome lazy river, tons of slides for the kids (some for older kids, some for younger kids like mine). The hotel gym was decent as well.
It was however VERY big and getting to the pools was a hike. There were TONS of doors you had to go through just to get to the elevators and they weren’t automatic which was super annoying as a mom of young kids (and with a baby in a stroller). They didn’t service your room everyday which is not a deal breaker for me, but also not ideal. I also had to wait over an hour for the pack and play that I had called and requested the day before we checked in. I was pretty upset about that because we got in so late and the baby was exhausted- so waiting for an hour at 10 pm when we checked in was pretty ridiculous!.
The hotel was about 15 minutes from Disney and they did have a shuttle to and from the parks (nice), but I did feel a bit isolated. We were pretty far out from malls and other things to do. I think if you have older kids this is not a big deal, but with 3 small kids (especially a baby) driving 30+ mins to get places was kind of hard. The price point was really good in my opinion. All in all, I liked it but not sure I would stay there again with 3 small kids-I think its more suited if you have kids ages 4 & up!
What we did
Honestly…a whole lot of swimming! We spent a ton of time at the pools and just spent a lot of time together as a family! We did go to Epcot for one day and it was great. I am pretty sure that I have never been so hot in my life before though LOL. We went to Disney Springs another day which was fun for the kids. There are so many eateries and shops and interactive things for the kids to do. We did end up having lunch there at the Rainforest Cafe and it was a blast to see the kids reactions to the different animals and “storms” they had in the restaurant!
A few Mom Hacks
I brought Sammy’s exersaucer in our car seat bag (car seats check for free) and it SAVED. MY. LIFE. I was able to put him in it during the day and it entertained him while I had to look after the others or make dinner/lunch. I also used it to feed him!
I did everything on the disney app! I bought tickets, reserved fast pass, and was able to access any photos disney took of us during our Meet Mickey & friends within minutes. Definitely snag that app, its worth it!
I also packed Sam’s jolly jumper and I swear that thing is amazing- another place to buy me 5 mins of time! Its easily packed away!
Rather than pack (or buy!) 2-3 sound machines for separate rooms, I simply download the “Sleep Sounds” app on our ipads and use those for sound machines when we travel.
if you have a toddler/preschooler thats just started to sleep in a bed, put chairs up (back side facing the bed) against the bed rather than renting bed guard rails! This eases any worry that they could potentially fall out!
What I packed
Now onto the fun stuff! Here’s everything I packed and linked in one spot!
The Best swimsuit (comes in black and white!!) My everyday necklace || Adorable straw beach hat || Align bike short || Lulu tank || One of my fave pair of jeans! || One of the best casual tanks || Knotted tee || Pasiley bikini top|| High waisted bikini bottom || Rainbow suit || Birks are always my go-to || Sneaks || Cute gingham set || Overalls || Tank || The best denim shorts || My all time favorite self tanner!!! & applicator to go with it || Cute graphic tee || Tory flip flops for to and from the pool || The best kimono that comes in a ton of colors/prints || snakeskin bikini || Roll Up Visor /Sun Hat || The kids loved these on the plane || This is the excersaucer that I packed for Sam! || Best sunscreen for kids & glides on || The spray version of the suncreen that we love & swear by! || The best car seat cover cases for plane rides! || I’ve gotten my self tanner on amazon as well! || THE BEST baby item of all time y’all..And its portable. This thing is a lifesaver at home and when you travel!! ||
Hope yall have a great day!
xo
Alex