Florida Family Getaway!

 I did not have a scheduled Spring Break this year, and with the crazy class I have, I decided I needed to figure out how to create my own spring break! Then, Ronnie's sister announced they were planning on getting married in Feb and we were invited. Perfect. Spring Break trip planned! Well, booked. We actually went back and forth on what we planned to do after the wedding before heading back to MN. We played around with either a beach vacation or Disney. That Disney blood my grandpa and grandma Butcher gave me prevailed! Thankfully Brad has grown to love Disney as much as I do over our trips through the years and was all about it! SO, Tampa for 3 nights then Disney for 3 days. Now we were planned! 

Airport.

Luke and Ethan literally raced through the airport. I think our gate was as far away as possible so they had LOTS of racing to do!

Resting with books before boarding. Luke has recently really been into books and copying us reading them, too.

Delta piolets grabbed my bag and Brad's backpack and said to step aside and take Ethan and Luke into the cockpit! It was the most friendly staff I have ever seen on an airplane in a LONG time!

They even shook the controls so he knew how it felt when the plane was cruising to fast or slow. Dad was liking all the facts, too!

Pretty cool memories!

We got into Tampa late and Drew was already sleeping. We told the boys this on the plane so they wouldn't wake him. While waiting to get off the plane Luke kept asking, "Drew sleeping? Katie up?" over and over and over again!!! Everyone around us definetly knew the Weber plan, Katie was picking us up and Drew was home sleeping.
They meet again at Breakfast......

"It's going to be a great weekend!" Check how Luke's bedhead!
Friday we bummed around the house until it was time for the rehearsal. Jimmie and Steph were kind enough to invite us to the rehearsal dinner! Ethan was reacquainted with the flower girl in Aunt Katie and Uncle Ronnie's wedding. So crazy how grown up they both looked!

Mr. Lady's Man

There are some handsome boys!!
Saturday was BEAUTIFUL!!!! The boys got to play at a park for the first time in MONTHS! They were pumped!

Off to downtown Tampa to the wedding!

 

Waiting while mom and dad got ready. I guess TV is overrated now?!?!  No proud of this pic, but we had to get ready quick because the ISU game took way longer than expected.

The cutie pie ring bear Drew stopped in for a snack before his big debut. 

 

The Weber family all cleaned up!

Drew and Ethan, such a great pair!! They will always be the "older brothers" in their families.

Mommy and Luke

Ethan and Aubry dancing the night away (well, chasing each other more like it).

These two goof balls thought the stairs were entertaining. Jumping off over and over and over.

 

JIIt was a beautiful wedding and we were honored to be invited!

 Ronnie, Drew, and Katie plus baby Merrill are one cute family! 

Sunday morning we were tired, but were off to DISNEY with Drew and Katie, too! 

Checked into the Butcher family favorite, PolynesianVillage, and off were went to Magic Kingdom.

Minor (okay didn't seem minor at the time) setback with the new technology of the Magic Bands, and we were ready!First stop, the race cars!

 

Ethan got to drive Dad- he thought that was fun!

Mom and Luke cruised around in their car!
Dumbo was up next. Luke playing in the playplace waiting area.

Katie and Drew before the flight.

Luke checking out the sites from up high!
Next up, BUZZ!!!

Brad loves this ride, and had no time for helping Ethan shoot the targets. He let Luke just chill out and play while he took his shooting seriously!

Ethan LOVES the Buzz ride!

See, I told you Brad had DISNEY blood in him, too!
Around 5 Luke and I went back to the room to say good-bye to Katie and Drew. I was super sad because I wouldn't see Katie until June (maybe)!! Nothing like crying at Disney!

Brad and Ethan stayed for more rides and we met back up at supper time and then enjoyed the light parade!

I LOVE the light parade!!!!

The weather was absolutely gorgeous!!! We decided to stay and good thing we did because Luke fell asleep in the stroller and Ethan rode on every 'big kid' ride about 3-4 times each! We used the rider pass tickets so he would go with Brad and then Ethan and I would get to ride it again through the fast past lane! I have NO idea how he was still awake going strong!! We left the park past 11pm!!!! Over 12 hours straight for Ethan and Brad!

Monday we treated ourselves to some Mickey waffles before heading back to Magic Kingdom.

Found the REAL Buzz!!!

Love this family shot!

Dumbo with Ethan

Brad and Ethan taking flight!

We did ALL come back for naps this day and the boys thought it was so funny the maid turned their blankets into swans. Of course it couldn't be a family nap, Luke decided his 30 min cat nap in the stroller earlier was enough for him. So he and I went to play on the beach.

First time ever in white soft sand!! Not sure what to think of it!

Luke was loving all the characters and LOVED giving them hugs!! It was enough to just melt your heart each time he went up to hug them!

Luke fell asleep at night again and we did the same routine- ride the rides until the park closes!! 

Such a blast! The new Seven Drawfs Mine Train was a great addition this year! Ethan was about 1/4 inch too small for Space Mountain. I tried a mom and Aunt Renea trick- putting Kleenex in his shoes, but Ethan refused and said it was cheating! Well, I guess we raised him to know that rules are not meant to be broke :) No Tea Cups either because those are special Aunt Rah Rah and Uncle Harry's specialty- not the same if they aren't riding. Of course we did great grandpa Butcher's favorite- Small World. I get choked up and cry everytime I ride that ride! It's pretty special to me!

Tuesday we changed up the park and went to Hollywood Studios. Very busy place and did all we had time for. Ethan did the Tower of Terror, but was scared of the dark and not wanting to go with mom. But, he felt bad I wanted to go and agreed to go if he could close his eyes! He kept those eyes closed the entire time until we got to the drop, he liked the drop, but not the scary dark stuff!

Luke got a free cookie from a coffee shop worker- he was proud of it!

We also ran into Chip and Dale....

lover!

Muppets 3D show

 We also found Mike Lebowski and Sully for a fun photo opp! Look at Luke hugging Sully! So fun!

WE were SOOO lucky and a cast member let mom in on a secret where Mickey was going to be hiding out for photos. We were one of the first in line and Ethan had perfect timing getting off his big kid ride in time for a picture with Mickey!

A perfect ending to a perfect family vacation!
Disney is so magical~ so many new memories created here!
Ronnie and Katie were great hosts and are always so welcoming- so blessed!!
A was truly a wonderful, magical getaway vacation to Florida!