Surprise Christmas Break trip to Legoland in Florida
Christmas Morning is always a fun exciting morning. We had a little surprise up our sleeves. The boys eagerly opened their presents from Santa and us. The last gift to the boys was a poster puzzle that they had to put together to reveal a message. It said, "Pack your bags, we are headed to LegoLand!" Carter and Landon were speechless and in shock.
We quickly ate breakfast and jumped in the car and headed to the airport for our 10:30am flight. Maw Maw went with us on our trip. This was Nolan's first time to fly in an airplane and he was so pumped.
He took the window seat and watched out the window as we took off and into the clouds.
Carter and Landon are happy to share their row with their new stuffed animals, pokemon characters, and Bob. Luckily we were all able to sit by each other on the plane but we were in the last row.
Nolan fell asleep during the 2 hour flight and I was loving the cuddles and I even read a book!!!
When we arrived in Florida the pilot told us it was 80 degrees outside. In Ohio it was 34 degrees when we left so we were happy to see and feel the warmth of the sun. We got lucky and had a chance to ride the train from the terminal to baggage claim. Nolan rode up front so that he could see it all!
While waiting for our luggage to come out the boys were entertained by dropping their stuffed animals on the turns tile and catching it before it went behind the rubber strips. Whatever keeps them busy and happy right?
Our resort (Holiday Inn Port Canaveral Resort) was beautiful. There were four connected pools, an indoor play place, three connected hot tubs, a water slide, a splash pad, and a lazy river. We spent almost everyday by the pool in the morning and jumped on the shuttle to the beach in the afternoon. The temperatures were in the low 80's all but one day while we were there.
Carter spent most of his time floating around on his own in the lazy river. It was so cute to see him just relaxing away.
Landon went down that water slide more than I can count on my hands and toes...he was so happy to be tall enough to ride.
The resort was close by to Coco Beach so we took a little drive down to check it out. It is where the official Ron Jon Surf Shop is located. Bob got a t-shirt!
Carter was so happy to find a mug with his name on it. He posed with it in the picture, and then we placed it back on the shelf before it broke. Check out Landon in the background posing with a body board that he wanted to get and take home on the plane.
Cute boys rocking some beach hats...I was silent thinking "please don't let those hats have lice in them."
Behind our resort was a path to the beach...stunning!
All of the boys were out in the water this time without hesitation! It was so fun to watch them all jump the waves as they crashed into the shore. Landon is currently really interested in football so Bob grabbed him a Michigan football for Christmas. We took it to the beach with us and threw it around.
The port for all the cruise ships was right at the end of the beach so we watched in awe as they would leave the channel. I am amazed by how many floors there were on each boat and how can they still manage to keep that boat afloat?? Landon has this cruise ship in his hand!
Out of all the cruise ships we watched we were all imagining ourselves aboard the luxurious Disney Dream Cruise Ship. There was a waterslide on the top of the ship.
Those poor sea gulls were chased so much by the boys.
For the most part we ate lunch and breakfast in our room but would splurge and eat dinner out. One of our favorite restaurants was called FishLips. We sat out on the dock in the back and watched boats come in as we eat. The food was delicious.
Posing on the surfboard in front of the restaurant.
Another amenity that we enjoyed was the putt putt golf course. Landon would beg for a round of golf each day before we went to the pool. They are all so competitive about everything that there is always a frown on someone's face.
This is what it's all about! Relaxing poolside as the kids play and I read a book! A whole book! It was just what the doctor ordered.
While watching the tourist channel on the hotel TV, they mentioned a park called Manatee Sanctuary and it was within 5 minutes of the resort so we decided to check it out. Unfortunately we didn't see any manatees but the view was gorgeous. Maw Maw could have stood there all day waiting to catch a glimpse of a manatee in the wild.
So this is what happens when you try and take a selfie with your husband and your jealous little boy photobombs! He is so lucky that he is as cute as he is.
As Bob and I were chatting on a bench we turn around to the boys climbing the palm trees at the park. It wasn't two minutes before they had this great idea and were little spider monkeys climbing as high as they could get.
Nolan and Maw Maw looking for manatees
This picture is far from glamorous but it is just where I want to be. Right in the middle of all of these boys, cuddling and snoozing from a day full of fun memories.
Each day when we ventured out to the beach, Carter would ask about renting a body board to take out into the ocean waves. We finally gave in and let them try it out.
Ready to head out into the ocean
I watched from the shore so I could get some pictures, not because the water was a little chilly and inhabits sharks...wink, wink.
Nolan even took his turn at riding the waves.
Not far from our resort was the Kennedy Space Center. The ticket prices were outrageous and with a trip to Legoland coming up I couldn't justify spending any more money. We drove over to check it out and see what we could see without buying tickets. 
The next day Bob was lucky enough to head down to the Orange Bowl where Michigan was playing football. He stopped and picked up his Dad and then drove to Miami. Bob was so pumped about the big game that when he woke up he was saying, "It's game day, baby!" as he bounced around the room. The boys were also hyped up with hopes of a Michigan victory.
Bob said the atmosphere of the crowd was unlike any game he has ever been too. Unfortunately, Michigan didn't win but he had a great time with his dad.
Father and Son Selfie
It was New Year's Eve and our vacation was winding down. We packed up the car and drove to LegoLand for the day. We were so excited to go.
At the park everything is made out of legos, so it was right up our alley. Can't get enough of Nolan in his photo...he was quite a character on this vacation. His first reaction to everything right now is pure anger. At one point he slapped Carter across the face for a reason I can't remember now but I put Nolan right into timeout. When I sat him down he said, "I don't like you anymore Mommy. You are not the Queen, you are just a creep." Yep, I am hoping this phase passes soon.
Landon and Carter were happy to show Nolan everything since they had been there a few years ago in California.
Landon and I were pedaling on this helicopter ride.
Nolan got his driver's license and drove around the speed track. The boys cheered him on and laughed when he crashed into the side.
These boys have such a personality!
Nolan had so much fun driving Bob around on the boat ride.
The boys favorite place was called Imagination Station. This was a place with many stations for creation with legos. The boys built cars that they raced against others, created lego fish to swim in the virtual ocean, and made flyers that sailed down the bars to the bottom. We spent almost 2 hours just there letting them explore and create.
Every time Carter's creation didn't win the race he would run over to upgrade the car before the next race.
Landon would cheer for his car as it whizzed by each time.
Here is Carter using the tablet to create his fish and Nolan and Landon are watching their fish on the virtual aquarium.
We had such a fun time riding all the rides. The lines weren't bad at all either.
One of the super cool things you can do there is, each employee has a lego name tag they wear and on it is a lego mini figurine. If you bring your own figurine, you can trade it with any employee. Carter brought one of his own and traded with someone but Landon forgot to bring one. Luckily a worker was gracious enough to let Landon have his. Can you tell that Landon was over the moon about this?
Coolest Christmas tree ever. Made of Legos.
Coolest Christmas tree ever. Made of Legos. 
At the entrance to the park was the largest lego Christmas tree. Every 20 minutes they would light it up to the tunes of Christmas carols. We watched and danced as it flashed and lit.
Since it was New Year's Eve, they held a countdown fireworks display at 8pm for all who came to the park that day. We were worried that the boys might not last until the fireworks because we were one of the first one's at the gates in the morning at 9:30am. To our surprise they were troopers and were eager to see the fireworks display. As we entered the amphitheater, workers were handing out 3D glasses to wear during the fireworks. These glasses made every light look like a lego brick. It was mind blowing because every firework would come down in the shape of legos. It was icing on the cake!
In the middle of the lawn, they dropped a Lego brick with 2017 on it. The firework display was the best I have ever seen. What a great way to end the night. Happy New Year! 
The next morning we rolled out of bed to make our 8:20am flight back home. It was such a great little adventure together. I can't wait to do it again!
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