We went to Florida for our vacation this year. Jacob kept a journal during the trip and I am including it here without any editing. :-) I am also including entries from Cindy's Journal and my own comments too.

Friday, September 23 Jacob's Journal Day Number One in the car So far we're still in the car. We just passed Matton illinois. We're also on interstate 57. Right now is 5:00 p.m. We're goeing to Walt disney world for our vacation. I hope it will be a good time there. (at Walt disney world.) If you have never gone their it is in Florida. We went one other time we stopped in Atlanta georgia. And went to a cubs agaist braves baseball game. (I am a cubs fan) We're still on Interstate 57. I just saw a huge cross. right now it is 5:17 p.m. A little while ago we saw some army cars going by. (evrything I said happened in the car.) Cindy's Journal Jacob got home from school about 3:10. It was raining so Paul picked him up at the bus stop. When Jacob got home, he showed me his journal from school that Mrs. Okraj sent home with him. He told me he needed to go on vacation so he could write in it. :-) We told the kids we had a surprise for them and Paul got the activity bags I had put together for them. Paul said that we were going on a vacation. Jacob's eyes got real big. Paul asked them if they could guess where we were going. Jacob said "Disneyland?" I told them that yes, we were going to Disney World. They were all very excited and were jumping around the living room yelling "We are going to Disney World." Paul loaded up all of our packed bags and we left right at 4:00. It was rainy and 65 degrees when we left. We stopped at the rest area at Rend Lake for a potty break and a chance for the kids to run around. We loaded up and left the rest area at 7:00. The kids spent the next hour and a half watching "James and Giant Peach." At midnight, we stopped in Chattanooga, TN at a Super 8 for the night. Paul's Journal I came home early from work and we left at about 4pm. We drove South on I-57 through Illinois and then East on I-24 through Tennesse, stopping at Chattanooga for the night. Along the way, we stopped at the rest area at Rend Lake in Illinois. We had the kids run back and forth across the wooden bridge at the rest area to burn off some energy. That night we stayed at a Super 8 in Chattanooga. We had all three kids sleeping sideways on one of the double beds. This must be the offseason for that area, less than half the rooms at the hotel were occupied. More pictures

Saturday, September 24 Jacob's Journal Florida here we come Day Number two We just entered Georgia a couple minutes ago. Right now we are goeing through some mountains in Georgia. On day number one we went to number 8 inn. Which was in tennessee. Right now it is 9:31 a.m. We are on interstate 75 in Georgeia. When we were getting gas two firetrucks went by. The firetrucks we saw were goeing to a fire on truck. We are almost in florida. We wre in atlanta there were eight lanes! So far we have had no trouble at all. We went in our red van. Not in our green jeep. Last time we went to days inn in florida. Cindy's Journal We woke up at 6:00 central time, ate breakfast in the room and got ready to leave. We left Chattanooga at 7:00 central time. We stopped at approx. noon central at the visitors center just inside Florida. Here we went potty, got some brochures and fresh Florida orange juice and had a picnic lunch. We were now on the home stretch! At approx. 4:30 CDT, we arrived in Titusville. We had reservations at the Best Western, but it looked run down so we cancelled and went to the brand new Hampton Inn. This was a good decision... the Hampton was very nice! Once we were settled in the hotel, we went across the street to have supper at the Cracker Barrel. After supper, we went back to the hotel and went swimming. We then got the kids settled for bed. Paul's Journal We woke up early and continued driving, taking I-75 South throught Georgia, then I-10 East towards Jackonsville and I-95 South to Titusville, Florida. We stopped at the Florida Welcome Center for a picnic. Inside the welcome center we had free orange juice and looked at brochures. Outside we ate lunch and ran around a for a little while. The Florida Welcome Center has been updated since we were there two years ago. The building is nicer, but the grounds are not as big and don't have all of the palm trees anymore. When we arrive at Titusville around 5pm or so, we checked into the Hampton Inn. The kids were very excited that we were on the second floor and that there was an elevator. For the next couple of days, they would negotiate as to who would get to press the outside button (calling for the elevator), the inside button (floor number), and who would get to use the keycard for the room door. That night, after we checked in, we went to eat dinner at the Cracker Barrel which was right next door. After dinner, we went back to the hotel and went swimming in the pool. Getting the children to sleep that night took some time, they were having too much fun and making Hope laugh.

Sunday, September 25 Jacob's Journal Day number three At the beach today we went to the beach. I sat down in the sand and the waves got me. One time my dad carried me into the waves one wave was so powerful it knocked me and my Dad underwater. We were under for enough time to make my mom nervous. We dug a hole also and made a wall around it. The waves knocked down the wall and covered up the hole with sand. Cindy's Journal Today the kids woke up at about 7:00 Florida time, which meant it wasn't long before we were all up. Once we all got up and got dressed. we headed downstairs for the free continental breakfast at the hotel. After breakfast we headed upstairs to get ready for the beach. Ocean, here we come!! We got to the National Seashore about 9:30. There were high tides and rip currents according to the park rangers. Once we saw the waves, we knew they weren't kidding! The kids had a great time playing in the sand and water. The kids and Paul built a big hole that was eventually washed away. The tide kept getting higher which meant we had to keep moving our stuff back as it got wet. The boys and Hope enjoyed sitting in the sand and waiting for the tide to hit them. Hannah was not a big fan of this. Just when she would start to get brave and enjoy it, there would be a high tide that pushed her. At one point, Joey, Hope, and I were sitting in the sand waiting for the waves and Joey told me that the beach was better than t.v. :-) Paul talked Jacob into going into the waves with him, but when they were knocked under water, he was not happy. We left the beach about 2:30 and headed back to the hotel to clean up. We showered at the pool shower and then got in the pool for a few minutes. While we were in there, some big creepy bug-like creature went after Paul. After we got up to the room and cleaned off, we tried to lay the kids down for a nap. The only one that cooperated was Jacob, so we rewarded him by having Paul take him swimming after supper. For supper, we got the kids Mickey D's and us Taco Bell, which we ate at the hotel. It was a long, but fun day which made for an early night. We were all in bed and asleep by 9:30. Paul's Journal Despite being on vacation, the kids woke up early as they do at home (6:30am or so). We started the day by having free breakfast at the hotel, which was pretty good. After breakfast, we headed for the beach at the wildlife preserve at Cape Canaveral. The sign leading into the park said that the tide was high and that was not an understatement. I've been to the same beach four or five other times in the past and the waves were much bigger than any other time. Usually, there is about 60 feet of beach but this time there was maybe 30 feet. We put our food, clothes, and blanket halfway between the water and the end of the beach and within 30 minutes of being there, a big wave crashed into our supplies. By the end of the day, we were pressed up against the grassy part of the dune with only 10 feet of beach or so left. The big waves made for some fun times for everybody. We liked to sit in the sand and have the end of the waves run onto us. Occassionally a big wave would come in and wash us up to the edge of the beach like beached whales. We dug a big hole a good distance from the water that was later overrun by the waves and turned into a small pool. An hour later, the hole had completely disappeared. I've always enjoyed swimming in the waves and so the big waves were a treat for me. They were big enough that they knocked me down a few times. I did take Jacob into the water with me once. I thought it would be ok now that he can hold his breath if necessary. We had fun for maybe 4 waves until a huge wave hit us. The big wave knocked us down and pinned us underwater for probably 4-5 seconds, but it felt like 5 minutes. I held onto Jacob tight and we survived, but it was probably not the best idea. :-) As the tide rose and Hope got tired, we decided to go back to the hotel. We rinsed off at the pool and rested in the hotel room. We were worn out from the sun and went to bed early that night. More pictures

Monday, September 26 Jacob's Journal The Space center day four We went to kennedy space center. We went to a imax. A imax is a movie about space. (This was one day before we went to disney.) We also went to mad mission to mars it is a show. day four Orlando here we come today we went to nick hotel! They have a pool and water slides. We went on them they have water buckets and funnel and hoses to get people wet when waiting for a water slide or just for fun. Cindy's Journal Today we checked out of the Hampton Inn in Titusville and headed out to the Kennedy Space Center. The last time Paul and I had been there (1995), it was free. Not anymore! $106 later we were admitted to the space center. After we got inside, we had to go through security. Paul ended up making two trips to the car due to his pocket knife and my dead cell phone being national security threats. The space center is a very cool and interesting place, but our kids are too young to have gotten a ton out of it. Paul and I found it fascinating, especially the bus tour out to the Apollo center. After the space center, we got a bite to eat and headed towards Orlando. When we pulled into the hotel parking lot and the kids realized we were staying at the Nick Hotel, they were so excited. We pulled up to the entrance and were welcomed by Blue from Blues Clues! We were put in room 1426 where the kids got a Spongebob room. After we got settled we went and checked out the resort and the super cool pools. After swimming, it was time for bed for the kids. Paul's Journal We had breakfast at the hotel again, checked out of the hotel, and then headed for the John F. Kennedy Space Center. In the past, admission to the museum was free and optional add-ons like the IMAX movies and bus tours were optional. Now, the minimum admission includes an IMAX movie and a bus tour. Maybe NASA needs the extra income. :-) Anyhow, we stayed at the center for about 5 hours. We saw the space shuttle replica, an IMAX movie about the moon, and a children's show called "Mad Mission to Mars" which the kids had fun with. Then we took the bus tour to the Apollo/Saturn V center. The Apollo/Saturn V rocket was impressive in person. It's hard to imagine that 3 men sat in a small capsule on top of a 360 foot tall tower of rocket fuel. Now that NASA wants to go back to the moon, the Apollo missions are promoted heavily at the center and the Shuttle material has been downgraded. For instance, the classic "The Dream is Alive" IMAX movie about the space shuttle was not being shown. That was unfortunate, because the "Magnificent Desolation" IMAX movie about the moon that we were shown was all computer generated and only depicted the lander and moonwalk parts of the apollo missions. The IMAX film format did not exist at the time of the apollo missions... After the space center, we got back in the car and drove to Orlando. We had kept our hotel choice a secret from the kids, so they were suprised to see that we arrived at the Nickelodean Hotel. It's a big hotel with family suites and a big lagoon/pool area with water slides. It also has a mall area with restaurants, stores, and of course, characters from Nickelodean TV shows and movies. The hotel is a popular destinatin and is often sold out, but this was the offseason and so it was not crowded at all. That first night, we ate at the Pizza Hut Express at the hotel and then we went swimming in the pool. The pool had a bunch of fun features such as water guns and waterfalls for the kids to play with. After swimming, we went back to our room. The room was a suite with a small living room, a bathroom, a kids bedroom, and a parents bedroom. Hope stayed with Cindy and I in our room in her playpen. The children took turns staying sharing the two beds in their bedroom. More pictures

Tuesday, September 27 Jacob's Journal Day five Magic kingdom Our first ride was pirates of the carribean it is a family traditoin. Then we went on splash mountain It has a height restriction. My brother and my sister were to afraid to go on it Spash mountain is a flume ride with a fifty foot plunge! Then we went on big thunder mountain railroad. it is a runaway train ride. Then we went on the mad tea part our mom telled us to stop but we kept on going then we went on the barnstormer. Cindy's Journal Today we went to the Magic Kingdom, but not before we had breakfast at the hotel. At breakfast, we saw Tommy and Angelica from Rugrats, Spongebob and Patrick from Spongebob Squarepants, and Dora. At the Magic Kingdom we started our day as we always do with Pirates of the Caribbean. When we first got to the park, it seemed like it might be really crowded. Most all of the rides were less than a 10 minute wait, with many being so short you could just walk up and get on. Paul took Jacob and Hannah on Big Thunder Mountain. When they got off, Hannah was in tears. That is one ride she was not happy about. The boys, Hannah and I rode the tea cups which we all enjoyed, especially Joey. Hope was fussy most of the day, but seemed to be doing better later in the day. She enjoyed riding Buzz Lightyear, Peter Pan and snow White, but her favorites were Winnie the Pooh and It's a Small World. Hannah kept asking if Cinderella was in her castle. When we walked through the castle and Hannah didn't see her she was disappointed. However, at the end of the day, we watched the show at the castle, Cinderellabration, which Hannah loved. All of her favorite princesses were there. One of the coolest things we did was watching Mickey's Philharmagic. This was a 3D show. The 3D was done really well and it was a great show that the kids really enjoyed. Hannah even got up and danced. It was a long, but very fun day. We arrived at Magic Kingdom about 9:30 and didn't leave until just before 7:00. In that time, we rode many rides, saw some shows, met Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy and ate dinner at Tony's on the Square. When we got to the hotel, it was time to put the kids to bed and unwind. Paul's Journal The following morning, we woke up early and went for free breakfast at the hotel. The children enjoyed seeing some of the characters and the food was good too. After breakfast, we drove to Disney World and went to the Magic Kingdom. As per Rajlich tradition, the first ride we went on was "Pirates of the Caribbean." After that, Cindy and Jacob went on "Splash Mountain". Then, Jacob, Hannah, and I went on the "Big Thunder Mountain Railroad." Joey was afraid of anything that looked like a rollercoaster, but he later went on the "Barnstormer". We went on a lot of other rides that day, the park was not crowded at all. Most of the rides had no lines at all, the longest we waited was probably 15 minutes for "Peter Pan." More pictures

Wednesday, September 28 Jacob's Journal Day Six Animal kingdom We went to animal Kingdom first we went to the wildlife express. It is a train. then we went on kilmajaro safaris. Then we went on kali river rapids two times. Oh! I forgot something it was that we went to affection section and habitat habit then we went to it's tought to be a bug starring flik from bug's life. Then we went home. Oh! forgot one thing dinosaur I was scared of it. Cindy's Journal We ate breakfast at the hotel again today. We saw Dora, Spongebob, Patrick, and Cosmo and Wanda from the Fairly Oddparents. Today's mission was the Animal Kingdom. When you first get inside, the scenery makes it seem as if you are in a jungle. The hot and humid weather made it feel like a jungle! This park is much smaller than Magic Kingdom and only has a few rides. There is lots to see and several shows. We took the Kilaminjaro Safari where we saw elephants, giraffes, warthogs, all kinds of things. The kids seemed to really enjoy this, especially after a 40 minute wait. A couple other memorable things were Dinosaur and the show "It's Tough to be a Bug." Jacob and I rode Dinosaur, which is a ride where you go back in time. It reminds me of Jurassic Park. On Dinosaur, it is dark and there are lots of big dinosaurs very close to you. It is labelled a thrill ride and that is definitely a good label! It scared Jacob and he is our adventure seeker! It's Tough to be a Bug was another 3D movie. It was very cute and all 6 of us saw it together. At one point Hannah got scared, but it was mostly funny. We all enjoyed it, even Hope. We also rode Kali River Rapids. I rode with the boys and Hannah. I had to be very vague to get Hannah and Joey on it, but I got them on. Now, granted, I did tell Hannah she wouldn't get wet. :) This should have been my first clue that we were going to get soaked! Hannah and I got the brunt of the big rapid and she was not pleased. As soon as she got wet, she started crying and didn't stop until she was in the stroller with her blankie. When we first got on the raft and buckled in, Hannah looked and me and said "you're in trouble.". i think she realized Mommy tricked her. We were at the Animal Kingdom until 3. We headed back to the hotel for lunch at the food court and a nap before dinner at Chef Mickey's. We had a dinner reservation at Chef Mickey's inside the Contemporary Resort at 7:40. After you check in, they take your picture which you can then purchase during dinner. Of course, I bought it! :) Dinner was a buffet and there was nice spread of food for kids and adults. There was also an ice cream sundae bar, which was a huge hit. The biggest attraction, though, was the characters. We met Chip and Dale, Minnie, Goofy, Donald and Mickey. They went to each table to greet everyone. It was very cool! It was so cute when Minnie came to our table. Minnie gave Hope a kiss and Hope kissed her back! After we finished dinner, we went back to the hotel and took the kids swimming or 15 or 20 minutes. After that, it was bedtime at 10:30. Paul's Journal On Wednesday, we went to Disney's Animal Kingdom. We went on various rides there, the most notable being the Safari ride and the River Rapids ride. On the safari ride, we rode in a big safari truck and saw animals walking around freely. A lot of animals were at a distance from the vehicle, but the giraffes were pretty close. The River Rapids had us riding in a round raft. Some of the people on the raft get soaked. Jacob absolutely loved this ride. Cindy rode the ride with Jacob, Joey, and Hannah. Jacob went again with me. During our days at Disney, a few rides were not for everybody. Cindy or I would stay with one or more of the kids while the other went with the rest. More pictures

Thursday, September 29 Jacob's Journal day seven epcot today we went to epcot. First we went to world showcase. And went to Norway. And we had a princess breakfast. Then we went on the fastest ride it was called test track. I liked it. Then we went on spaceship earth. Then we went to the living seas. But it was closed so me and dad went on mission space. Then we went on imageination with figment that is all I remember. Cindy's Journal Today we went to Epcot Center. We started the day at the Storybook Breakfast inside Restaurant Akerhaus. We got to meet Snow White, Aurora from Sleeping Beauty, Belle from Beauty and Beast, Princess Mulan, and Mary Poppins. After breakfast, we headed to the FutureWorld portion of Epcot. Paul and Jacob rode Test Track and then the whole family did Spaceship Earth. The boys, Hannah, and I waited in line almost an hour for Soarin'. It was awesome! Paul and Jacob did Mission Space and then the whole family rode Journey into Imagination with Figment. We skipped the shows as we didn't think they would hold the kid's interest. Now we were off to the World Showcase. Paul and I decided this would be great to do without the kids. There is lots to eat and drink, but not much for the kids. Paul, of course, had to sample some beer. :-) We did do two rides in the World Showcase. A boat ride in Norway, which Joey loved and another boat ride in Mexico. At this point, we were all tired, hot and cranky. It was time to go! We stopped at Wendy's for an early supper then to the hotel for a nap. While Joey and the girls napped, Jacob and Paul went to the pool and played in the water slides. At about 6:30, we left again for Disney, this time headed to Magic Kingdom. Our original goal was to take Hannah to see Cinderella and then watch the parade and fireworks. Paul and Jacob wanted to ride Splash Mountain, so they did that and then we watched the parade and fireworks. Cinderella is on the agenda for tomorrow. We had great seats for the parade and fireworks. The kids loved the parade and had fun waving at the characters. The fireworks were AWESOME! The show is called "Wishes" and it is how most every night at the Magic Kingdom ends. At one point, they played the song, "Star Light Star Bright" and I thought of my mom. A few seconds later I saw Jacob with tears in his eyes and he told me he had a wish that could never come true. He wished Granny was still alive. My sweet little boy made me cry. I told him as we were leaving Magic Kingdom that I had been thinking of Granny too and that she must be there looking over us. My mom always talked about taking her grandbabies to Walt Disney World, but she never got the chance. I am sure that wherever she is, she would be pleased that we are here. We arrived back at the hotel at 10:30, which meant bed for the kids. Paul's Journal On Thursday, we visited Epcot. The first thing we did was have breakfast in a restaurant in the Norway section of the world showcase at Epcot. It was a princess breakfast, so Hannah got to meet a few of her favorite princesses. After that, we went to the Future World section of the park and rode some rides. Later on, we visited the World Showcase. The kids made some paper masks at one of the activity areas. After Epcot, we went to the hotel for some rest. That night, we went to back to the Magic Kingdom for the parade and fireworks. More pictures

Friday, September 30 Jacob's Journal day eight First we went to the twilight zone tower of terror. Then we went on the rock and roll roller coaster starring aerosmith. Then we went to a playhouse disney play then we went on star tours. then we went to sci-fi-dinner restraunt then my sister and me got pins then we went back to the hotel. Cindy's Journal Today's agenda was Disney-MGM Studios. We decided to take it easy today, though, and spent the morning swimming at the hotel and then heading to Disney after lunch. We ate breakfast in the mall at the hotel and then headed upstairs to get ready for the pool. The water slides were not open yet when we got to the pool, so we swam in the pool until they opened. During the day, they have activities for the kids at the pool. Jacob decided to join in and played musical chairs. He finished in second place and was the only boy to finish that high! He won 3 tokens for the arcade. After the water slides opened, I took the girls and Joey to the area for small kids. Joey had fun going down the slides and playing in the spraying water. It took a little convincing to get Hannah to go down the slide. She was worried that her hair would get wet. :-) Once she went down once, she loved it and there was no stopping her! Hope loved going down the slide but she wanted to climb up the stairs and go down by herself like the other kids. Paul ended up taking Joey over to the big slides with he and Jacob. There was a small tunnel slide that Joey ended up loving. Jacob loved going down all the slides. He had so much fun! The girls and I headed over to the big slides to see the boys. Paul put Hannah down the small tunnel slide which she absolutely did not like. I went down the medium and tall slides. They were super fast and a ton of fun! Hannah wanted to go back to the little kids area, so the girls and I went back there for a bit before we called it a day at the pool. While we were at the small kids' area. Paul talked Joey into going down the medium slide. He loved it! After we got done at the pool and cleaned up, we went to lunch at Wendy's and then headed to Disney-MGM. It was either very hot or we were becoming less tolerant of the heat. I think it was a little of both. The first stop inside MGM was the Tower of Terror, which Jacob and Paul rode. While the girls, Joey, and I waited for them, we went souvenir shopping. Joey chose a water misting bottle with a fan and I picked up a lanyard and two pins for Jacob. When Paul and Jacob were done on Tower of Terror, Jacob and I rode Aerosmith's Rockin' Roller Coaster. It was very fast, dark and we went upside down. I really liked it, Jacob not so much. The Playhouse Disney show was next. It was very cute. It was fun just to watch the kids get excited and dance. Hope loved it! She was dancing, clapping and having a great time. We also did the MGM Backlot Tour before supper. Dinner was scheduled for 5:35 at the Sci-Fi Dine In Theater, but it was actually after 6 before we were seated. It was a neat place. We were seated in an old 50's style car at a drive-in theater that was showing old Sci-Fi films. The theming was great and the food was ok. After supper we went to the Muppet 3D show, which was good. The kids enjoyed it. After this, Jacob picked out two more pins for his lanyard and I picked out one more for Hannah (who got a pink lanyard and a princess pin set while we waited for supper). We then headed back to the hotel. Paul and the boys went down to the pool to do the slides before they closed. When they got done there, we all went down to the arcade so Jacob could use the tokens he won earlier. Bed was next. Paul's Journal Since we were out late Thursday night, Friday morning we slept in. We then spent the morning at the hotel. We went swimming and on the water slides. Joey was afraid of the bigger waterslides but after I convinced him to go on one he did not want to stop. After lunch, we went to Disney MGM studios and spent the rest of the day there. More pictures

Saturday, October 1 Jacob's Journal no entry Cindy's Journal I woke up at 6:00 Florida time and continued packing up to go home. Paul got up at 6:30. By the time we were all up, dressed, had eaten breakfast and got the car loaded, we left the Nickelodeoon Hotel at 8:00 Florida time (7:00 central). We got to Nashville at 5:00pm Central, 10 hours after we began, and promptly got stuck in a traffic jam where we sat at a standstill for an hour before we were able to exit I-24 to a road that bypassed Nashville. We were never so glad to get out of Tennessee as we were tonight. We arrived home at midnight. Paul's Journal On Saturday, we woke up early and drove all the way home in one day. The kids tolerated the long car ride suprisingly well, even Hope. The trip was smooth except for a traffic jam in Nashville. There was a horrible car accident that closed the freeway in both directions for hours. Luckily, we were able to get off at an exit and only lost about one hour of travel time. Earlier during the trip, we stopped at a rest area for a picnic lunch.