After our morning at MK we all got to work! Zach’s family was heading back the next day and our crew was heading back the following day. A lot of what was left were little tasks that the kids could help with and that I could be of help handling too!
Kye was AWESOME at jumping in and getting to work! He assembled all the lamps I bought at Ikea and helped me by going room to room and taking photos of the lamps that were already in each room so I could know what we were working with and decide how to change things up 🙂
He also was an awesome helper with Spear!
Monday morning I made cinnamon rolls for everyone. I used the canned type but put them all really tightly into a pan and undercooked them. OMG these were the BEST cinnamon rolls ever. I can gain 5 lbs just thinking about them!
Cutie Pie working that camera 😉
Everyone loved having break time for some Spear cuddles!
Zach’s Aunt Cheryl!
My heart!
We all were working HARD and had SUCH a busy weekend and it didn’t surprise me a bit that my almost 9 year old completely cashed at nap time!
Zach and I were SO appreciative to his mom, grandma and aunt for coming down and spending all that time putting in such hard work to get SO much done. We truly couldn’t have EVER gotten it done without them and we wanted to treat them to a fun-and yummy-lunch before they headed back.
But first…we had to get some family photos in front of our new home!
We surprised everyone (kids included) with a late lunch/early dinner at T-Rex at Disney Springs!
We haven’t visited T-Rex since 2014 which means Tess hasn’t ever been so we thought it’d be really fun. It’s a great atmosphere and has a bit of a “Disney” feel just because it’s SO well themed. Everyone was really excited!!!
My fav picture of Tess!
Even if you don’t have a reservation you’re allowed to go in and walk around and check it out! You can also book a reservation and just get a dessert or share a meal etc. We have gone before and only ordered dessert and had a great time! This time we went all out and wanted everyone to order whatever they wanted. We were just SO thankful for ALL the hard work everyone put in and wanted to celebrate and show our appreciation!
Taking it all in!
Still discussing house stuff haha!
We loved walking around. Tess was SO into it and was very brave when we saw another huge octopus! Second time seeing one on the trip and a great opportunity for her to face and conquer her fears!
My crazy dino kids!
Reading those facts 😉
Tessie is hilarious because she WANTS to be brave but is also just naturally still fearful…
Kye was SO excited to see ribs on the kids menu!!!
The BEST moment though was when we totally and completely surprised Kye! We had already decided in advance to order the HUGE speciality dessert T-Rex offers (The Chocolate Extinction) but I was like “is anyone’s birthday coming up we could tell ’em we’re celebrating?” DUH. Kye’s was only a couple weeks away! I whispered it to the waitress and the surprise was AWESOME. He was in true shock! I LOVE this video!!!
It’s not only a really awesome looking dessert…but it’s also SO YUMMY.
We just can’t say enough how much we appreciate G-Mama, Mema and Aunt Cheryl!
We enjoyed all the quality time with them and are already so thankful that our rental home purchase is giving us opportunities to make so many special memories 🙂
Last night before heading back!
I adore that the big kids all like to sleep together, even if it means having to make a bed on the floor 🙂
I was SO over all the money we were spending. While I was super thankful the house came fully furnished there are still just SO MANY costs to get things rolling. New towels, new sheets, small things that add up, it was just a LOT. I had to make yet another Target run to get baskets to hold the pool towels we are providing to guests. I was worn out and exhausted and can’t even imagine how tired Zach and his family were!!! They did the legit labor!!!
While on the trip Spear slept in the master closet and he was still waking at night (not eating, but waking). It was silly for BOTH Zach and I to have to wake up with him and since Zach is too big to fit on any other beds…he let me sleep in the empty twin bed room (since the kids all wanted to share a room).
Up until that night I had been moving Spear to a swing or something and going back to sleep. Zach decided if he was going to be taking care of night duty that he was gonna do it his way. He’d let him fuss for 5 minutes then go in and comfort him and put him back down etc until Spear stayed asleep. It worked!!! The first night Zach did it he was up a bunch…but the second night? Spear slept COMPLETELY SOLID THROUGH THE NIGHT FOR THE FIRST TIME!!!
Can we all say “AMEN!??!”
And can we also please insert a tad bit of an eye roll for the fact that it happened when Zach was on night duty. Because of COURSE it happens when Daddy is on duty so he gets the “credit” when Mama does SO MUCH stinking WORK!
I was so beyond my point of exhaustion by that stage that I didn’t even care who got credit…I was just SO HAPPY Spear was FINALLY sleeping solid all night!
(Sidenote: But I simply don’t understand how the non-Babywise mamas of the world handle YEARS of sleepless nights. I dealt with it for 3 months and was SO over it!).
We took a bunch of before and after pics before heading home!
Even though when we purchased the house it was “rental ready” I’m SO thankful we put the time, effort, money and energy into going ahead and making upgrades.
You can see ALL the before and after pics here!!!
We’ve gotten in a great grove of travel with the kids and have our spots to stop! The CFA in Ocala is a perfect place to go for a break!
Britt loved the horse!
We had SUCH a fun winter break together and it just really made us totally fall in LOVE with our Disney Vacation Home. We are SO pumped to use it and enjoy it and make TONS of great family memories there. And we’re also so excited for other families to get to enjoy it too! Be sure to visit the rental page to see the HUGE discount we offer to friends, family and blog readers 🙂
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