Christmas in Florida 2015

Mario and I knew that we wanted to spend Christmas in Florida with my family.  Nathan really wanted to go to Universal Studios to see the Harry Potter attractions.  So we pulled Nathan and Zachary out of school 4 days early and flew down to Florida in an attempt to beat the crowds at the theme park and save money on the airfare.  My brother, Billy, arranged a nice condo with a pool, slides, and a lazy river for us to stay in for a few nights while in Orlando.  Unfortunately, Eric had finals that week so he was forced to miss out on the Orlando fun.  He joined up with us on Sunday when we were staying with my family down in North Port.

Our plan worked and Universal wasn't very busy, especially first thing in the morning.  So while Zachary and Mario rode all the big rollercoasters, Nate and I enjoyed walking around, watching shows, and enjoying the milder rides.  We had a lot of fun and Nathan really enjoyed the Harry Potter stuff.  But the most fun was when we went back to the condo each day and played at the pools.  My boys like theme parks, but playing in pools and water are clearly their favorites.  We enjoyed several days, just the four of us hanging out and relaxing.  We wanted to soak up as much of that warmth as we could before heading back to Omaha.  Unfortunately, I didn't get many pictures of Zach at Universal.

Nathan used a borrowed wand in the Harry Potter land

Zach is becoming camera shy I think

The highlight of the Orlando vacation to me was taking the boys to the Orlando temple for their first temple experience.  They had just turned 12 earlier in the month and so we were so excited to take them to do baptisms. What better place than Orlando!  There was only one other girl, who had also just turned 12.  It was a beautiful experience being in the temple with my boys.  I hope they will come to appreciate the temple as much as Mario and I do.