Well, we made it.  I’m sitting in our fancy schmancy room as we speak.  The drive down was wonderful! I think I told you that we were renting a minivan.  Well, that van ended up being the newest, most loaded up one they had!  It’s brand new (2011, 70 miles).  Has leather, navigation, rear view camera, two DVD players that drop down from the ceiling, captain’s chairs, built in sun screens on all the windows, and lots of room.  Well, not so much room after we filled it up with all of our goodies, but you get the point.  Actually, I’m afraid I may be liking it a little too much.  I’m one of those “I will never own a van” Moms.  But after spending time in this one, I think I could be swayed.

Ashley has been excited from the time I put her in the van at 5:30AM!  I waited until all was packed and everyone was ready to go before I woke her up to put her in the car.  I even kept on her pajamas.  It was like a secret mission – whisking her away in the middle of the night   She was tired, but so excited about what we were doing.  And she lit up even more when she saw DaDa, Grandaddy and Nana sitting in the van waiting for her.  I still cannot believe how well she did!  She lasted 4.5 hours the first leg, before we made our first stop.  And to be honest, I was ready to stop more than she was.  All in all, we made it to Orlando in 10 hours INCLUDING 2 stops that lasted 1.5 hours total. That’s right people – only 2 stops!  My child is a born-to-be road tripper!  Next up…Key West.  LOL

Ashley slept for a little bit, but was awake for most of the trip.  She slept for maybe 3 hours total, if that.  You just wouldn’t believe how well she did!  She was entertained mostly by a Laurie Berkner DVD and Vtech singing book (thanks Jan!).  All the other stuff I brought – books, toys, puzzles – she ended up just throwing on the floor.  And once we got to the resort, she was fired up, ready to go.  We had to wait for our room to be ready and she was just dancing in the lobby, running around outside with Van (at one point I saw them at the other end of the parking lot, and it’s a BIG parking lot).  She was just so excited!  She crashed around 9:00PM, which is past her bedtime.  If she was this excited just to be here, I can’t wait to see how excited she will be when we go to the parks!

Here are some pics from our ride down, and pics of our resort and room.  We’re staying at the Wyndham Bonnett Creek Resort.  It’s huge, and is on Disney’s property.  We got a very nice 2 bedroom suite with a full kitchen and washer/dryer.  Hmmm…maybe we should stay an extra week