Magic

A few weeks ago, we experienced a little bit of magic in our lives. We went to Disneyworld!

Most people save thousands of dollars for years. They pore over books and blogs and websites. They create spreadsheets and timelines (believe me- I saw people pulling them out of their well-packed backpacks). They obsess over making it the most perfect experience for their kids- setting up lunches with princesses, selecting their fast passes six months in advance and making sure they have a swath of character trading pins around their neck.

We did none of these things.

We blindly looked online one night in the middle of winter, when we just couldn't stand the bitter cold any longer. We found a flight deal we couldn't pass up, and before even checking our work schedules, we just booked it. I had to get out of Minnesota- or else!

About a week before we were supposed to go to Disney, when Scott finally got around to booking our hotel, I figured I should do a little research... I downloaded some apps and started looking on Pinterest. Oh. My. Goodness. People sure love them some Disney! I quickly reminded myself not to compare myself to others. We are not planners. We are spontaneous and whatever we do would be fun. 

And it was.

 

This was our first real family vacation. We've taken the kids places before but it's always been to visit someone or stay with someone. So I was both looking forward to and terrified of what our experience would be. We hadn't had Kiley on a plane since she was about 6 months old and a lap child. How would she behave in a confined space for three hours? We all know Kiley can't sit still for more than ten minutes. And while Jaxon is pretty good in front of a movie, he sometimes gets restless or over excited about stuff.

I had nothing to worry about. Our kids were near perfect angels. Some might disagree with me, but I thought they were amazing on the flight. They stayed busy, made up games, played on the iPad, ate snacks, and only kicked the people in front of them a few times.

We arrived on a Sunday to Orlando, got our car and headed to our hotel. We quickly found ourselves at the pool for some fun in the sun. After a couple hours of swimming we headed to play mini-golf and found ourselves at the Ponderosa for dinner (Scott's only request).

Magic Kingdom Day
Monday we got up and headed to Disneyworld. The whole day was pretty awesome. Here are some of my favorite moments:

This was on the ferry ride to Disney, our second time going there (after Epcot). It was still exciting though!

 

 

 

Riding the Speedway with Kiley driving! Look out!

 

Meeting the characters at Epcot- we saw Goofy, Mickey and Minnie.

 

Man, these guys tired quickly! It was HOT- 92 degrees and humid. I was not complaining though!

 

My other favorite moments included:  

• Starbucks- the line was long, but I mean, thank goodness for Starbucks!
• Renting a stroller- highly recommend this to anyone. The kids got tired of walking pretty quickly!
• Having our stroller stolen. Don't recommend this. Though Scott got some extra steps in to retrieve a new one.
• Peter Pan's Flight- wow. This was a hot commodity in the Fast Pass world. There seemed to be a lot of hype for this ride. I guess I see why- it was pretty cool and the kids loved it.
• Buzz Lightyear- Jaxon loved this ride. It was like a flying video game. We did it twice.
• The Riverboat Cruise- can't recall what movie this was from, but it was pretty funny. At one point I think Jaxon thought real aborigines were coming to get him!
• Watching the excitement and wonder in Kiley when she met the characters- Micky, Minnie, and Goofy.
• Going to Epcot and getting caught in the rain, then ducking into 'Japan' to get a bite to eat
• The ice cold beer in Japan. Oh man, I needed that!
• Listening to Jaxon shout out all the movie names and singing to Frozen's Let it Go during the fireworks show
• Being told I ruined Jaxon's life upon leaving the park at 11pm because I forgot to get him ice cream.
• The mental breakdowns that happened between 11pm and 11:10pm and the falling fast asleep in the car at 11:11pm.

It's no wonder this is known as the most magical place on earth. Even for Scott and I, as adults, it was so fun. We didn't have a plan and we probably didn't see half the park. We didn't check things off a list or get any princess autographs.

We did, however, make some amazing memories. I'll never forget standing there with my family in front of the castle (is that Cinderella's castle?) watching the fireworks show. Before they do the fireworks they have a music and movie type thing going across the castle- Jaxon kept calling out all the names of the movies and his excitement kept building and building. It was so fun to watch and to realize that we had seen so many of the movies together. I started tearing up, just seeing how magical and amazing of an experience it was for them.

 

The Beach Day
On Tuesday, we ended up sleeping in and then headed to the beach. We went to Cocoa Beach because it was close and everyone was kind of tired and crabby. Nobody wanted to go to the beach. The kids just wanted to stay at the hotel and go to the pool. Or go back to Disneyworld. But we eventually convinced them to sieze the day!

And they loved it.

It was the kids' first time at the ocean. Jaxon, of course, was like, 'whatever, I've seen pictures of the ocean before.'. But I'm pretty sure he loved it and it was fun for Scott to have some time to ride the waves with him.

Kiley immediately went to work digging, making sand castles, and collecting seashells. Ever the mother hen, she made sure everyone knew she was hard at work (and of course put us to work too!).

There were many moments on this trip that I just stopped and took it all in. What gifts we have. We have these beautiful, amazingly funny and smart children. They brighten up my day in so many ways. It was a blessing to be able to spend four days with them, along with my amazing husband. And although I love my getaways with just Scott and I,  I can't wait for our next family adventure!