Visit with the Mau Family

We just got back from a quick trip to Orlando to visit some friends. Laura Mau and I were Girl Scout leaders together back when I lived in Austin and we just recently hooked back up on Facebook. When I found out her family was going to be in Orlando, I decided it was time for a little road trip!

Much to the angst of my children we didn't hit a single amusement park while we were there! We got into town around 2 or so on Friday and stopped to do lunch (Pei Wei - YUM!!) and a little shopping before checking into our hotel which was right across the street from The Marketplace at Downtown Disney. The Maus were staying at Wilderness Lodge, a Disney property. Their resort was so beautiful. It looked like it had been transplanted right out of the Canadian Rockies! It was all decorated for Christmas and it was just so charming.

The Mau's room was on the bottom floor, just a few yards from the swimming pool and the beach. Very convenient with four kids. So after we got there, the kids all played on the beach in the sand until it got dark. This was the view from their room:

Instead of going off-site to eat, we stayed at the Wilderness Lodge. They have several restaurants there; we decided on the fastest option which was a cafeteria type place with indoor and outdoor seating. The food was really quite good. I had a Roast Beef and bleu cheese sandwich with a grilled chicken salad, Kenzie had a turkey and brie sandwich, Mike had pizza and Becca had a burger (I think). Not as expensive as I remember Disney being and the quality was much better than I thought it would be! We ate outside (temps in the high 60s) and were visited by two little bunnies. The kids got a real kick out of that. After dinner we visited some more, took some pictures and tried to see the fireworks from Magic Kingdom (alas! Too many trees in the way).

Here are all of the kids: Clockwise from the left: Rebecca, McKenzie, Andie, Phoebe, Meredith, and Jonathan.

Here is just Laura and me. Laura just celebrated her birthday. Happy Birthday Laura!

What cute girls we have! Becca, Meredith in McKenzie's lap and Andie.