Big Willies Do Orlando Day 2

Travel with a big family isn’t easy. This trip in particular has had a lot of great moments but definitely more difficult moments than enjoyable ones and I regret choosing Orlando over just sitting on a beach somewhere.  We really were hoping to avoid tv rot and have this magical time together, but reality is that I have a couple kids with debilitating anxiety, and a couple children that struggle with flexibility in schedule. All 6 children have intense personalities due to the combination of said anxieties, living with each other, and hormones. Just keeping it real here, it’s been kinda rough with our people this year. This trip has been full of back talk, endless arguing, complaining, sibling fighting, and so many tears. Orlando is also hotter than the surface of the sun, which is probably why flights were so affordable. I said this 3 years ago, and I’m saying it again so that I hopefully listen to myself next time. I will not do Orlando in July again. I have hope that the kids will get along better by the end of the week though! 

A few positives about this trip are the fact that no one is in a car seat or a stroller. We’ve turned a corner of independence there that has been awesome! 

Another great thing is the hotel aaron found us. It’s a villa with an incredible pool, really fun decor, space for everyone, and amazing location! Great job aaron! 

Day 2 was off because we didn’t do a great job making it feel like the sabbath. We tried though and watched metfield ward sacrament meeting on zoom. We went to the pool (which closed after an hour ish due to lightening threat) so we came back inside, showered, and taught the kids how to play phase 10. I set up a playdough and coloring table and the littles have enjoyed that as well. We went to dinner at Buca di Beppo, a kitschy family style Italian restaurant we thought the kids would love. We ended up spending a while looking for 2 kids who went for a walk to see the decor and went for a walk outdoors but didn’t take a phone. I was frustrated that our “family together time” was spoiled, but the food was really good! 

We finished the night with popcorn and a movie and we were all together and peaceful then, which was wonderful. I didn’t take any pics this day, but here are a couple!