It's not Disney, but we had a blast anyway!

We needed a vacation. Okay, we wanted a vacation. You see, I have a wandering soul and can't seem to go for more than a few months without a get away. In the past two years, our kids have been to the Grand Canyon and boating on Lake Powell, Skiing in Utah with my sister and her kids, Disney two times, Gatlinburg, Washington, DC, Florida Gulf Coast Beaches a few times, Jonah and Jon hit the World Series in Denver (Go BoSox!), Chicago, St. Louis, and Memphis, not to mention several weekend trips to Atlanta.

And, the wandering bug hit -- but my checkbook was sad. Lo and behold, Universal had a deal for us! Not being one to pass up on a deal or an excuse to escape, we tried the parks just a few miles from my beloved Castle.

Maren was annoyed there were no Princesses, and we had to take her to Downtown Disney just to appease her. And, quite frankly, there just isn't "magic" at Universal the way there is at Disney. But, they had some awesome ride. Maren braved them all -- including Spiderman and Jurassic Park. Archie peed his pants on the Simpson's, LOL, and we have a great story to torment him with for years to come ;-). It was scary, though -- especially the upside down roll and death drop!

My favorite part -- just being away...