We had not planned to take a big vacation this year, but when our DaddyO found out that he had to go to a conference in Orlando, ON Disney property, the week after school got out, we decided it was too good to turn down. We didn't tell our kids though and they really thought we were doing nothing for the summer. We made them ride the bus to school on the last day and they were NOT happy. I had already told their teachers our plan so they knew that we would be a little later in picking them up that day (it was a half day and all you really had to do was show up, get your report card and leave). After they left we worked frantically to finish packing and load the car. We didn't quite finish so we decided to pick them up and bring them home and tell them the news here. We talked on the ride home about how we had some chores to do when we got home BEFORE we could do anything fun to kickoff summer. Of course, we were the worst parents ever making our kids do chores on the last day of school :-) When we got home we sat them all down and handed them an envelope which we told them held their list of "chores." They begrudgingly opened them and were surprised instead to find a letter from Mickey inviting them to spend a week with him at his home, Disney World!!! They were so surprised they didn't even act excited at first. They couldn't figure it out. It was a great moment as parents :-)
We drove and brought LOTS of food. I packed lunches and snacks for us each day and each child only bought ONE thing as a souvenir. It was the most economical Disney trip one could do and it didn't hamper our good time one bit. We had an absolute BLAST! As I wrote in my last post, I am so thankful that we had this time with our kids before things change and get a little "turned upside down" for a while. We made some great memories and are already talking about when we can go again with the whole family. The entire time we were there, we kept asking each other what we thought the other two would be liking/disliking etc. We felt incomplete :-( Below are some of our favorite pics...
Heading out...
Whitney waiting for the bus to take us to the Magic Kingdom shortly after arriving at the hotel. She is holding the picture she colored for Cinderella.
Walking down Main street for the first time. We didn't notice until we got the pics uploaded to the computer that the lady in white looks like she is about to sit on Whit's head. If you are FB friend of my hubby you read his comment...hilarious.
Whit told me that when she met Cinderella she wanted to give her a hug...she got her wish!
In line for the newest ride...Toy story. It was a favorite; in 4-D. It's at Hollywood Studios and is lots of fun for anyone heading there anytime soon.
Hayley is old enough to drive by herself (at least at Disney's speedway)...scary. Brent followed her in a car with Whitney and said we have some serious driver's Ed to do :-)
Ryan and I about to take off on Space Mountain. It was fun to finally be at an age to be able to ride the roller coasters. We bonded this week by riding roller coasters together. Our favorite was "Rockin Roller Coaster" at Hollywood studios...0 to 60 mph in 3 seconds...awesome!!!
The famous family pic in front of Mickey at the Magic Kingdom.
I hope you enjoyed. It was hard to say goodbye. Whitney told me with her sleepy eyes the night we left, "I don't want to leave Disney World. Can we go back right now?" She has asked me everyday since we got home when we are going back. She still doesn't understand time words like today, tomorrow etc. so she really has no understanding when I tell her that it will be a couple of years before we go back. I guess she will keep asking for another week or two...
Looks like so much fun, and what a great way to surprise them--I'll have to try that some time!
ReplyDeleteMelissa W.