disney vacation - day 1: roadtrip

May 12

When Mitch was accepted to medical school in Louisville, KY we decided that we would go to Disney World in Florida when he graduated. It is only a days drive. For the four years we saved our money and I read every blog about planning a Disney vacation. We also talked to Mitch's family about joining us in Florida and everyone decided they would come along. It turned into sort of a family reunion :)

We decided that we would head to Florida the day after graduation. That way his parents could come to graduation and then head straight to Florida. Then we would still have time to make our move when we got back. Preparing for our trip right around graduation and as we were packing to move just added to the craziness, but we were so excited!

Nikki, Matt, Lynlee, Elyse, Tara and Bryan (Mitch's siblings, brother-in-law and niece) all flew to Orlando on Saturday, May 11. Bret, Carolyn, Denise and Lee (Mitch's parents and grandparents) flew from Louisville to Orlando on the 12th. Nate and Melis (and Madyson and Ryker - Mitch's brother's family) decided to drive from Utah and met us in Louisville on the 11th. And then we drove down together on the 12th.

We left fairly early to start our drive. I wanted to get to Orlando as early as possible so the girls could get a good night's sleep.

Our first stop was in Nashville.

We stopped to see the Grand Ole Opry for Melis.

She's a huge country music fan.

Had to get a picture of a happy Alex with Uncle Nate!

The last time she saw him, she would cry every time he came close.

Before heading out of Nashville, we stopped at Panera for bagels. It was Mother's day and Panera's bagels are one of my favorite. After the bagel stop, we were on the road again.

Our next stop was in Atlanta.

We stopped to see the Falcons stadium.

Mitch's favorite NFL team.

It was around lunch time, so we let the kids out to run around for a bit and we pulled stuff out to eat.

Alex and Ryker

Madyson and Makenzie

The rest of the way to Florida we tried to make as few as stops as possible. Mostly just bathroom and gas breaks. We arrived to the vacation home a little later than I had wanted, but it was ok. It was good to be there, and since we were the last ones to arrive, we were all there. 

Instead of staying on Disney property, we rented a 7 bedroom, 4 1/2 bathroom vacation home. It had a private pool and hot tub in the back and a game room in the garage. It was awesome! 

Our home for the week.

That night we unpacked our van (we brought a lot of the food), got settled into our room, and made our plans for the next morning. Bret also surprised all of the mom's with a little Mother's day gift. Then we all headed off to bed. We were all excited for our week at Disney!