Family Vacation 2013!

I still can’t believe it actually all came together for us to go this time. This is the first big, week long, family vacation we have been able to take in a few years and what better place to go then DISNEY!

 Now, normally vacations for all of us are go, hurry, rush, run around from sun up to sun down. Going into this vacation though, Christopher and I knew that was not going to necessarily be the case. With a toddler in the mix and mom not even a year from major surgery and losing part of her foot, it needed to be slow paced for everyone to enjoy themselves. 

 Honestly, this was probably one of the best family vacations that I can recall. The even crazier part is that one of my favorite memories from this trip didn’t come from one of the Parks, but was one of the nights we were just chilling out with mom and dad playing euchre. It was so relaxing to just hang out and not really be obligated to do anything. Then in the mornings Libby would come hang out in our condo as we were all finishing getting ready. Clearly though, the parks with the family was amazing too! Even though we took it slow and due to weather was not able to see everything we wanted, we had a blast. So, in a recap.  Here is what I learned from this family vacation:

 1. Learn to take it slow

Sure the first day at the Magic Kingdom we missed some of our favorite attractions, but the important thing was to enjoy the ones we did get to experience. Nothing can take away the awesome memories of riding The Winnie the Pooh ride with my niece for the first time.

 2. Enjoy the time you have.

There is so much to the Magic Kingdom that it is hard to do it all and enjoy it in just one day. So plan ahead and make sure you give it atleast 2 days to see everything you want to. If you can only do one day, then just enjoy the time you have there and take it all in.

3. Be Flexible 

Traveling in a group of 8 can be difficult on a normal vacation, but add in the whole Disney factor and it can turn into an ugly situation. 8 different people who like 8 different things and would plan their day at the parks in 8 different ways. Remember this is not just your vacation but theirs too. Be flexible and just enjoy the parks and enjoy the time you have together there.

 4. It is ok to breakaway

Our family typically does everything together on vacations. Vacation was different this time because there was a few times where we broke away from the group and did our own thing. One planned, and one not so planned. Christopher, dad, and I love epcot.

Everybody else, not so much. So we decided before the trip that we were all going an extra day to the park and just the three of us went to Epcot and had an awesome time. For some reason I felt guilty that we weren’t all together, I mean this is a family vacation, not just the three of us vacation.

That’s when I learned it was ok to breakaway. The second time was unplanned. Everyone else was going to visit a friends church and things kind of fell apart with that plan to where 2 people went to church, 4 people stayed at the condo, swam and just relaxed, and Christopher and I had a date night at Downtown Disney.

It was such a fun night and then we all met back up at the condo and had more fun together. All in all, I think breaking away from the group and taking the time to do some of the things we love but maybe not everyone else loved is what kept this vacation so peaceful.

 5. Pictures

Lastly, but certainly not least. Take lots and lots and lots of pictures. I have only just begun downloading the vacation pictures to my computer and already there are so many awesome ones to share with you guys. These pictures will help us remember this awesome vacation and our time together. I am so glad we stopped everyone once in a while to take some group family photos instead of just hurrying past those opportunities like we did in the past.

 What is next for The Lemons Sisters you ask?  Planning our next Disney adventure of course!

Until next time……Have a magical weekend!