Our vacation....day 1

We decided this year that we were going to give the boys a vacation as their Christmas gift.  We also decided to take it during Christmas break.  I know....not the best time to go, however, I didn't want to spend break at home.  I knew that this Christmas was going to be difficult and thought it would be better to get away and spend time together as a family.  Besides, when else can you take a 12 day vacation and the kids only miss 2 days of school!!  You see we were originally going to take this vacation in February 2012, but TJ got sick and the vacation was cancelled.  We chose to go with the same vacation - just change a few things.  We spent three days in Atlanta, GA and the rest of our time in Orlando, FL.  We had a great time!  I will admit there were times when I fought back the tears and TJ's presence was definately missed, but it was nice to be together without other distractions.  We had originally thought about leaving December 28, but as the time got closer we kept moving that date up.  We ended up leaving on Dec. 26 shortly after lunch. We had also decided that we were going to drive.  We didn't get much passed St. Louis the first day.  Here are a few pictures of our first day of vacation!!

 
Here is all of our luggage, goodies and stuff to keep the boys busy!  Can you believe it all fit in the car?!
 
 
The boys listening to their I Pods!
 
 
The boys enjoying some time in the pool before bed!










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