Moments To Cherish: The Kids' First Time at the Ocean

We checked into our resort on Sunday evening (the 15th). When we got there, we were very surprised to see that we had 2 suites that shared an adjoining door (like 2 hotel rooms). One suite had a master bedroom with an open ensuite and the other suite had a bedroom with 2 double beds plus a bathroom and a living room/kitchenette. The shared door was one of those kinds that automatically close, so I had to keep it propped open all week with my heavy suitcase so that we could keep an eye on the kids. This was the kids' living room/kitchenette. We couldn't hear them at all when they were in this room, so we let them watch cartoons in their living room in the mornings while Jared and I slept in. One morning, I slept until 8:30 and one morning I slept in until 9 a.m.! I can't remember the last time I was able to sleep that late, so that was an extra treat on our vacation! This was the main area in our suite Our kitchen The master bedroom I loved our big ensuites at both resorts we were at! The view from our balcony. The pond was in the shape of a star and the resort we were at was Star Island. We had no plans on Monday, the 16th, so we decided to drive over an hour to the east coast and go to the ocean at Cocoa Beach! Unfortunately, an accident on the freeway slowed us down by at least half an hour and then later on in the afternoon it got cloudy and windy, so we only ended up staying for a couple of hours. We enjoyed every minute of it! We got to see a HUGE Disney Cruise ship which I thought was incredible! I don't think I've seen a ship that big since I went to visit my uncle on a YWAM Mercy ship in North Carolina when I was 10 years old! I told Jared he should transfer to this Century 21 in Cocoa Beach, ha ha! First time in the ocean!! I was SO excited for them and they were pretty pumped as well! There were at least 3 jellyfish that washed up on shore and the kids covered the first one with sand. I told them not to because then someone could step on it, so they carefully took most of the sand off and then wrote a sign in the sand, ha ha! I LOVED watching them jump in the waves! It seemed they never got tired of it! A clearer picture of one of the jellyfish. I had never seen an actual jellyfish by the ocean before! I wanted to document that we had been there. :) I also LOVED watching Haley chase seagulls by the ocean! That girl makes me laugh! This is pretty much sums up how I felt about our afternoon at the ocean, except when Haley stepped on a jellyfish. Thankfully she didn't puncture it and it was all ok! This is where I would choose to have my family gathering, too. These birds have the right idea! I REALLY liked the colors of these buildings in Cocoa Beach! One last look at the Disney Cruise liner as we were leaving. The sunset back in Orlando was incredible! Jared suggested we go to the Cheesecake Factory for supper! I was SOOOO PUMPED!! I think it is my absolute favorite restaurant in the whole world and I've only been to it 3 times, so it is DEFINITELY a treat!! The restaurant was at the Mall at Millenia and there was a huge Christmas tree in the mall entrance. I ordered a lemon herb 1/2 rotisserie chicken dinner. It was excellent! Jared got 1/2 of 2 different meals. He ordered the Chicken Madeira and steak medallions (I think). I have to get cheesecake every time I go there and I wanted to try something different, so I ordered Chris' Outrageous Cheesecake. It was layers of chocolate cake, brownie, toasted coconut-pecan frosting and chocolate chip coconut cheesecake. I managed to finish about half of it and then got the rest boxed up. The next day, I had part of it for dessert at lunch but couldn't even finish it because it was SO rich, so Jared ended up finishing it! The other 2 kids didn't behave well that meal, so Haley is the only one who got to have dessert. Of course, she didn't finish her ice cream, so I had to help her out.