Orlando, The Long Version, Day Two

Day two in Orlando brought Universal Studios. The kids loved the Shrek 4-D and Jimmy Neutron Movies. It took us a little time to find to kid stuff - we hadn't grabbed a park map at the beginning. We did end up finding it. The kids had a blast at the Curious George area of the park. There is a giant room filled with foam balls and plenty of ways to deploy them. They also thought Fievel's area was neat - it was a play area that they could roam and explore.
We headed back to the hotel around 2:30. Husband had to work. The rest of us had friends to meet. K, and her family live near Daytona Beach. Got there to a wonderful meal ready to eat. Her family was so warm and welcoming. Her kids T, D, and J and mine got along beautifully. After eating, we loaded up and headed to the beach.
It was one of those moments, seeing my kids run on the sand, that I knew I was doing something right. I just can't explain it. My heart was full. Something that as a kid amazed me, something so big and constant. The water rolling in, rolling out, rolling in. The sand beneath my toes, the waves rolling over my feet. If I do nothing else for them on this trip, I've done this.

The kids played, and played, and played. When we finally dragged them out, it was dark. Headed back to K's place and had ice cream. The kids didn't want to leave, and for a brief moment, I thought I might have one more to take home. One side saying, "They've never seen the beach?" the other, "It never snows here?" was just too cute.

Loaded up and headed back to the hotel, but not before stopping at Wal-Mart and picking up a DVD for the minivan. Kids managed to stay awake, and gave them a bath before tucking them in.

I didn't wash the sand out of the tub until the next morning.