Just keep swimming

In preparation for our Florida trip, I thought it would be a great idea for the girls to have swimming lessons. So four weeks out of the summer break they swam everyday, Monday to Friday. The first session, Kianna swam and passed with flying colors and went from youth 1 to youth 3. She skipped a lesson. As for Madison, she didn't pass but, don't get me wrong, you can see the determination on her face that she wanted to learn how to swim. She was just stiff as a board. After finding out she didn't pass, I decided to go to family swims with the girls and practice Madison to float. All I said to her was, "relax and pretend your sleeping in bed on a pillow" and a few seconds later she was floating. She was so proud. She couldn't wait to tell her dad. So on to the second 2 week session, of course little miss fishy, Kianna, passed again and this time so did Madi! Just look at her face!!! She was proud of her accomplishment and so were we.

Kianna's first 5K

Kianna ran her first 5k, mine and Tito's 2nd 5k, at the Seattle Torchlight Run.  It was a great experience for her.  I know she's a fast sprinter but not so sure about long distance. In any case, she finished the race and did an awesome job.  She finished in 39 min, pace: 12:47 minutes, and finished 104 our of 143 in her division age1-19. 

She did great at the first mile.  She jogged her way down the parade path but she didn't want to give "high-five's" to the kids along the parade line.  Pooper!  We ran the race with her great-aunt and great cousin.  We had loads of fun running. We finally made it to the viaduct and what a fantastic view that was.  I really wish they wouldn't tear that highway down.  It's the most beautiful drive in Seattle.  We had to stop and take a picture with the 'Great Wheel.'  By this time Kianna was asking for water and the water station was down a ways until we got off the bridge. We finally made it to the water station and boy was she excited.  I poured water over her head and she was relieved. 

The run was very entertaining.  We saw a lot of people running in costumes and people spraying water at us with water bottles.  The most memorable part was 4-5 men running with a canoe and one of the guys pointed out that they were getting paid to run with it.  Inside there was an urn.  Kinda cool and creepy at the same time. 


We finally dashed to the finish line. Kianna was so eager to get this thing over with and she was a trooper for doing it. This is a priceless shot taken by her great-aunt.  Thanks Ate' Bel for sharing this moment with us!

The countdown begins...

We decided we wanted to get out of Seattle and do another family vacation. We wanted to go visit Mickey again but this time in Orlando. It was more about Tito and me who wanting to go. The kids don't even know yet. I think we'll keep it a secret for now. Maybe surprise them like we did last year in April for their Disneyland trip. We're giving clues to Kianna: Clue #1 - We bought tickets, Clue #2 - It's very HOT, Clue #3 - It's far away. Kianna thinks it's Great Wolf Lodge.

Although it's about 3 months away, I've already came up with the itinerary for the days we are there. I'm the one getting excited about it. I've looked up the dates we'll be there and it says it's going to be HOT & HUMID but it's a vacation. We can still have fun!

Here's an itinerary of what we're doing while we stay at the Disney Resort.  Yes, I know, it's detailed and I love it! We have other things planned before we head to the Disney resort and do all the other parks and tourist sites but this is just snipit of my itinierary of the entire trip!

We are staying at the Disney Pop Century Hotel, one of the newer Value Resorts. We got a good deal on our package and it includes a free dining plan. To save money, we will eat breakfast at the hotel.  They provide a fridge so we can eat milk and cereal for breakfast.  We'll bring our own disposable spoons and bowls.

I reserved our character dining lunches and dinners at the parks so we don't have to travel so much in between the parks or outside the parks.  We'll figure out what we want to eat and snack on when we get there.  I'll also pack some other snacks to store in our mini-fridge to take along with us incase one of the girls or Tito gets hungry.

Tito left it up to me to do the planning. I decided to do one park at a time because with an 8 year old and a 4 year old it may seem a little tiring, because I know I'll be tired from a days worth of events at one park

I know some people may think this isn't a vacation but I enjoy having a schedule.  It's what keeps me sane but it will probably drive Tito the other way.  Sorry Hun! 
We can't wait to go on this vacation. More fun memories for the girls!! Let the countdown begin!