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We Brought the Boys….to Disney, NASA, and Destin

      And so our Christmas Vacation tradition began! We had planned a Disney cruise that our neighbor was able to book for us. But then, COVID. The day after we paid the trip off, we were notified that our 5 year old needed to be vaccinated and our 2 year old would not be able to get off of the ship. We were not about to spend all that money to be confined to a ship, so we altered our plans and decided to go to Disney World instead. We wrapped up a few Disney trinkets for the boys to open Christmas morning to see if they could guess where we were going. Brooks got it immediately and Baylor was just excited about his new Mickey cup! We packed up the car and headed out first thing the next morning. After about a million stops for the restroom, we stopped in Tallahassee for lunch on the patio at Table23 . The atmosphere was amazing and the food was great too! It was here that we also decided that a straight drive was too much for our boys to handle. So sitting there, we booked a condo in Destin to break up our trip home. 





      This post would get entirely too long if I listed all of the ins and outs of our days at Disney so I’m going to do the highlights.

- Character Breakfast at Tusker House in Animal Kingdom was delicious and so fun!

- We would be content going to Animal Kingdom all day every day, it’s our favorite.

- Baylor’s giggles while riding Slinky Dog are still engraved in my memory. 

- The fireworks at Magic Kingdom are worth staying up late for.

- Mickey ice cream is life!











     After all the fun of Disney we headed to NASA and I think that dad was the most excited for this adventure. While we loved it, I don’t think the kids fully understood what they were seeing. The highlight for us was seeing the Atlantis space shuttle. The highlight for them was the three story space themed play place! On the way home we visited Carib Brewery USA then got some dinner at Dirty Oar Beer Company , both really cool places to check out near Cape Canaveral. We couldn’t let the day end without dipping our toes in the Atlantic Ocean for the first time. It was a nice break from the hustle and bustle of Disney.  









     On New Years Eve we left Disney and headed to Destin, where we had planned to break up our trip home. I did a quick search for things to do on New Years Eve and came across a Pirate Cruise complete with fireworks, at 8pm. We knew the boys were not making it to midnight so this sounded perfect! We had dinner at Margaritaville then boarded the ship. It really was the cutest thing ever! The whole crew put on a show and made you feel like you were on a real pirate ship. We danced, played games, and I even won the hula hoop contest. Baylor was asleep on my lap by 7:45 and slept right through the fireworks! Brooks is still talking about how impressive my hula hoop skills were.





     New Years Day was spent on the beach. We made a trip to the local Dollar General for swimsuits, sunscreen, and sand toys, as we were not prepared to visit the beach on this trip. While the water was too cold for comfort, the boys enjoyed playing in the sand. We sat out there all day!  
It was the first time we had visited the beach in a winter month and I was pleasantly surprised at how enjoyable it was.



     The next day we continued our trip home. The boys slept (I guess they were officially worn out) and I spent majority of the ride looking for ideas for the next Christmas vacation! We made so many good memories. I hope this tradition is one that sticks! 




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