Saturday was a long day! We only had six hours of drive time (compared to the 16 the rest of the lot had), but with Orlando traffic and pee breaks, it ended up being closer to 8 hours. The Butterfields and my parent in laws didn’t roll in till about 10 PM, so once I got there, I checked us in, unloaded all of our stuff in one trip, left the kids and picked up dinner, dropped off dinner, then swung by Walmart to get a few things I forgot before getting my pickup order. There were no buggies available at Walmart, so I lugged a cake, apple juice, and two things of spaghetti sauce around the store before quickly checking out and getting out of there. They also had a bit of an issue with my pickup order, but in the end, I got everything. I called the kids down from the hotel and they helped haul all of the groceries in one fell swoop. My Hulken bag made both the car unload and the grocery unload possible. There were no trollies available at the hotel.
Back at the Resort
It was a blast going to universal with my in laws. I appreciate that, despite Andy’s every busy schedule and military demands, they love us and welcome the rest of us with open arms. I am grateful to them and all they do for us. Taking four kids to an amusement park without your spouse is no easy feat, I don’t know how I would’ve kept track of all four of them without my in law’s help. We started the trip off on Monday with a visit to Epic Universe. We didn’t even get to see it all, it was so crowded. I only managed to ride three rides due to line wait times and ride delays, but I think the kids rode a couple more. The food was good at How to train your Dragon world. I got salmon, quinoa, and stewed tomatoes. It was very surprising to have healthy food at a park.
Getting a clear picture of these bouncing kids is near impossible in these dark rooms. 
This was the ministry side of Harry Potter in Epic 
Going through the Ministry’s chimneys with flu powder. 
Max was having bad allergies so he took a Benadryl… I think it was beyond exhausted at this point. 
Harvey and I did the minion ride while the rest of them went on the Mummy. 
Bev thought this whole trip was for her birthday. Not really, but it was funny because any time someone asked her what she was doing for her birthday she said, “going to universal” 
Maverick taking a call on the superhero phone line. 
Grandma, Papa, and Ben chilled by the dinosaur playground the last day. I don’t think they minded because we were all a little exhausted. 
I preferred the other parks to Epic, but mostly because there were less crowds (until Friday. Friday was nuts). After riding quite a few rides Tuesday and Wednesday, the kids enjoyed playing at the Jurassic playground part of Wednesday and most of Friday. I think my in laws and I were tired enough that we didn’t mind sitting while they played. Max said there was a splash pad and an underground playground. Next time I go, I’ll have to actually go explore it myself. My favorite ride (same as last time) was Hagrid’s wild ride. I still enjoyed all the other ones, but that one is by far my favorite. I rode the Velocicoaster way more times than I signed up for so that Max and Mav could go again. They LOVED that ride (especially Max). The first time I rode it this trip, I felt my neck pop. I’m not sure if it aligned me or made my neck worse, but given I didn’t have a headache again until Saturday, maybe it helped.
The week went by fast! Yesterday’s drive was pretty uneventful (thank heavens). My in laws had much longer of a drive with a lot more traffic. I’m not sure what time they ended up pulling in to their first stop in Baton Rouge. I’m grateful for delivery services. I had our groceries delivered last night so I wouldn’t have to do any shopping today. They dropped off our groceries one minute before we got home; perfect timing! The kids were mostly helpful unloading everything and putting away their stuff so I’m almost back to normal routines. We need to get up Christmas today or the elf won’t know where to leave the advent calendars.