Day 1- Getting There

The 20 days from Christmas morning until the day that we caught our flight to Orlando flew by with the preparations of all things Disney.  I spent a good portion of the time hunting down and gathering up Mickey shirts, sandals (in January!), ponchos, costumes, smashing pennies, glow sticks, decongestants for the flights and anything else I thought we might need in the parks.

And then we got on the plane!

Boy, for kids who haven't flown since 2012 this was a VERY exciting day!

It was just a quick two hour flight and we were looking up at palm trees!  We met up with our chauffeur, made a quick grocery store stop and were on our way to Disney World.  I tried but didn't quiet succeed at explaining to the kids that we weren't going to be IN a Disney park until the next day.  Every time we went somewhere new (the hotel lobby, our hotel room, the pool) Noah would ask, "Is this Disney World?"  There was so much to take in and so far, none of it looked like Mickey Mouse or Buzz Lightyear, which must have been pretty confusing for him.

My original plan for our first evening there included taking the Disney bus over to the Magic Kingdom and riding the monorail to the Polynesian, where I knew we could play on the beach and watch the fireworks from across the Seven Seas Lagoon.  I'm glad that plan didn't work for reasons that I'll explain later- and the minute the kids saw the pool, they weren't interested in anything but swimming.  So we swam!  The water was heated and it was just so fun to say we were swimming outside in January.

That plus Goofy gummies and giant letters to sit on and movies projected at the pool and the overall warmth of the night and the beautiful flowers and trees to enjoy and tired little travelers made for a magical, but rather calm, first evening.  We even managed to go to bed at a fairly reasonable time (for the first and last time of the trip).

And the next morning, we were ready to hit the ground running!

Deciding on Disney World

From the moment we stepped off the boat in 2012, we have been talking about going on another Disney cruise, with a few days at Disney World tacked on, of course.  We decided a few years back that 2018 was the earliest we could possibly hope for Noah and Emma to be old enough to really remember the trip, at ages 4 and 6.  (In comparison, Leah and Adam were 5 and 3 when we went last time).  When it came time to book our 2018 cruise in October, we started talking about the possibility of going to Disney World sooner than we originally planned.  After all, the "only" added expense would be the second set of airplane tickets, everything else we were planning on doing either way.  (That was our first mistake- comparing 3 days at DW combined with the cruise in 2018 with an independent week-long trip in 2017).  Once we found inexpensive plane tickets for January and discounted tickets through Jason's work, we decided to cut our usual Christmas gifting in half, surprise the kids and take a vacation all of it's own a full 13 months earlier than we originally planned.  And we were so excited!

And then we really started planning a week-long trip to Orlando, and realized that parks, food, and hotel were going to make this trip it's own level of expensive, too.  And I got a little bit nervous.

But we were committed, and we already knew it was guaranteed to be magical, so we really buckled down and started gathering up the money to make the trip all that we wanted it to be.  

Once I started really planning and looking into all things DW, I quickly realized that we had made a few more mistakes that, thankfully, could be corrected for the most part.  I honestly have no idea how someone could take a trip to Disney World on a whim.  It has taken so much planning.  But I am a relative first-timer with all of the planning, so there's that too.

We had booked a very nice hotel off-property, but when I started considering transportation, Magic Bands (your key to DW- included with an on-site property, almost $100 for our family to purchase on our own), FastPass reservations (60 days in advance on property, 30 days off), and the overall Disney-themed magic, we decided to switch to a value on-property hotel.  And it even ended up being less expensive than our first hotel choice, plus it came with all of those added bonuses, too.  Plus we now have two rooms with a total of four queen size beds instead of a combination of beds and pull-out couches in a family suite, which should make everyone happier and better rested.  

The highly coveted Magic Bands, which I purchased separately when we were staying off-property, had to be returned once we switched to on-property, which required refusing packages and making a ridiculous number of phone calls to the Disney store and then holding my breath in hopes that the actual bands would arrive in time to be under the Christmas tree, which they did.  Phew!

Another perk of staying on-property was the transportation to and from the airport provided by Disney World... until I realized we were flying into the smaller Orlando airport, which isn't included in the deal.  I definitely still would have chosen the flight we did based on total airfare plus flying non-stop plus the private transportation that I had to arrange, but that was another stressful lesson learned!

Advanced Disney Dining reservations were another consideration that I didn't know to make.  You can make reservations 180 days- six months!- in advance, but we only knew we were traveling about 75 days out, so many of the dining options we might have liked to have (like eating in Cinderella's castle) weren't even an option for us.  But we still have a few fun restaurants planned, and we know full well that dining is a much bigger deal on the cruise, so we'll just keep looking forward to that.

And matching Disney shirts!  My mom was a complete and total fairy godmother when she and Grandpa took us last time, right down to the adorable matching shirts for everyone in our group.  Magic!  I looked and looked for something that would work for the six of us, but couldn't find anything.  But I couldn't let the idea go!  We have to wear something while we're there, and now we've got an assortment of Disney-themed shirts that I think will do the trick.  Lesson learned- either let it go or start shopping sooner!

Last lesson learned- pre-trip- was Fastpasses and our overall plan of attack for conquering four parks in five days with four kids, two adults, and one double stroller.  Thankfully I have a secret weapon- my neighbor Melissa is absolute Disney nut and has been a HUGE help to me in figuring out Fastpasses, which are now reserved online months before they are used, and how to get to all of the rides, shows, parades, fireworks, character sightings, and meals that we want to enjoy in each park.  She has spent hours helping me sort everything out, talk about my feelings about each ride, park, and potential disaster, and I can honestly say that without her we'd probably just wander aimlessly around the park and wonder what we did wrong.  She has been amazing!  And I'll never ever forget the night that she came over to help me and I kept falling asleep in my chair!  I am not really a night owl, but that night was ridiculous and I was so embarrassed- and even more so when I realized I had taken a hefty dose of Benadryl to help control the effects of the poison ivy I was dealing with back in November.  No wonder I couldn't stay awake!

I realized that this is our first full fledged just our family week-long vacation with air travel, hotel, activities, and food ever.  Ever!  We've always driven anywhere we've gone, we've always done vacations on the cheap (national parks and such) and we've always tried to cram as much as we can into a few days.  But this time, we are doing it all and it is going to be a blast!  It made for an interested conversation with Leah and Adam on Christmas Day, as we were showing them our hotel and explaining how magic bands and fast passes work, and promising them that we'll eat Mickey bars every day if we want to.  It all sounds so wonderful (because it is!) but made me pause when Leah asked, "So are we rich?  Are we getting to do all of this because we're rich?"  Which is a fascinating concept all by itself, but is especially in light of all of the money that we've been pouring into this trip- as jokingly illustrated here-

Jason and I both went to Disney World and Disneyland as kids and don't feel that we were "rich", entitled, or overly spoiled by our loving parents, and we are approaching this trip with the same attitude.  It's a big trip, but certainly not one we're taking every year, and one that we've been planning and saving and sacrificing for years to make happen.  We talked with the kids about how everyone makes different choices with their money- some people love to eat out regularly and others go to the movies every week or buy new clothes even when they don't need them- but that one of the choices we've made for our family is to do fun things together whenever we can so that we can be rich with memories!

So!  All of that considered, and all of those lessons learned, I think it's fair to say that I'm more than a little anxious to see how everything comes together next week.  I know it will be magical and I know that we will make memories of a lifetime.  It has taken months of planning, saving, preparing, gathering, and researching, but it's going to produce millions of smiles and memories, and I can't wait!

Oh, and one last bonus lesson learned- we love Disney but we are not crazy Disney fans in this house. As we've been talking about rides and experiences we want to have while we're there, we realized that at least and in some cases all of our kids have never seen Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp, Snow White or Pinocchio.  So we've been having a "daily dose of Disney" in preparation for our trip to make sure that everyone understands what all the fuss is about when they start flying above London in a pixie-dust sprinkled boat or eating spaghetti in Tony's restaurant where Lady and the Tramp shared their first kiss!

The Countdown

2017 marks the beginning of the end.  

This is the year that Emma goes to kindergarten, and Noah starts preschool.  Just two days a week, just for two hours, but for the first time in 10 years, I will be alone for a few hours every week.  All alone!  To run errands or sit in a house that is staying clean (or messy) or visit a friend or read a book or even go to the bathroom without narration through the door.  I'll be by myself for the first time in 10 years.  

And, of course, it's the saddest thought ever.  

How did this happen so fast?

And also pretty darn exciting.  Who am I if I'm all by myself?  

Some of my very favorite things about myself are my little people.

While I take the next 8 months to think about it, you can bet I'll be soaking up every minute I can with my two littlest buddies, playing the board games of their choice in footie pajamas.

 And letting them beat me at every one.

And playing at the craft table, listening to the wild stories that are being invented along the way.

And squeezing all of the love out of every one of my babies that I can get my hands on, every chance I get.

Sunday Naps

9:00 church means we all get to take naps on Sunday afternoon... 

except Adam.  He's been too cool for naps since he was two. 

Winter Break

In addition to the highlights of Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Leah's birthday, New Year's Eve, and general excitement and preparing for our trip to Disney World, we squeezed in plenty of other fun and relaxing over the break from school and scheduled days.  

The Sunday before Christmas was so, so cold that church was cancelled!  The kids and I snuggled up in my bed and tried to keep warm.  

  There were lots of toys to play with after Christmas, thanks to Grandmas, Grandpas, and the Hulls.

Games, too!  Board games by the fire were some of my favorite moments of this break.  This picture was on the last day of break, when Adam told me he was going to stay in his pajamas all day, just because he could.

These mermaid blankets are the best!  Especially for Emma, who still (still!) insists on wearing her size 3T Cinderella nightgown 90% of the time that she is home.  At least now she's warm. 

   

 Truman came to visit!  

Not even for 24 hours, but boy does this puppy bring joy into our home.  I think we might just have to get ourselves a snuggly fluff ball like Truman some day. 

 I introduced my kids to Mr. Roger's Neighborhood.  Just as I was as a child, they were enamored. 

 Hmmm... I'm not sure what's happening here, but there has been some serious fun going on in the basement. 

We went to our favorite movie theater one day (the one with leather recliners the size of a love seat), thanks to a gift from Grandpa Art.  Jason and Adam saw the new Star Wars movie (Rouge One) and the rest of us saw Moana.  It was such a fun movie, Jason took the three big kids back to see it again the next day.  We want to be prepared for all things Disney World!

I didn't take a picture of it, but the kids were so cute the dreadful morning that we had to take down the Christmas decorations.  They snatched up the top third of the tree, plugged it into a corner and started decorating it with whatever "ornaments" they could find.  It's always a sad day when Christmas is officially over.  

But oh, the newness and freshness of a clean slate to go along with the new year!  We did a bit of furniture swapping, 

and I couldn't wait to put up this new monogram from my sweet friend and neighbor Erin.  It's a perfect match to the lamp, and I love it!

Christmas break was over much too quickly, but it was made a bit easier by telling the kids that they only have to go to school 9 times before we get to take a whole week off and head to sunny Florida!  The adjustment back to early mornings and long days at school has been hard, but we're slowly ticking those days off one by one!

A Sunbeam

My baby graduated nursery and joined the ranks of the big kids in Sunbeams today.  He didn't think twice as he marched into the Primary room instead of the nursery, and sat mostly quietly and attentively (as best he could with the excitement of his sister, brother, and mommy in the room with him).  Near the end of sharing time he asked quite loudly, "How do we get out of here?" and after church he reported that Sister Bills is not his teacher anymore, but that he did get to eat animal crackers.  I think he's going to do just fine.

Happy New Year!

We started the night with a family dance party, where we rocked out to the YMCA, the macarena, the limbo, the twist, some swing, disco, and more, then finished up with a slightly quieter evening with our sweet friends and neighbors.  A few rounds of heads-up, the newlywed game, a card game, a few movies and a lot of food and even more laughs were the perfect way to ring in the new year.  This family full of stripes is excited to see what the future will bring.  Here's to 2017!