A Good Life . . .

The year of the sibling photos . . . or not

Every year I try to get a picture of the girls while on the Santa train, and use it for our holiday stamps.  This year, we may be skipping that tradition . . .

Family Fun

This is a photo of a mom who is having the time of her life at Disney.  But this is also a photo of a girl who is about to see her big brother . . . something that is done all too infrequently.

The fact that we were able to combine Disney with seeing my brother and sister-in-law in Florida, took the trip to yet another level for all of us.  The girls so clearly have a fond place in their hearts for their Uncle Jeff and Aunt Diane.  Something I can easily relate to.

Amelia still asks me almost daily for "more Disney."  I think we just need a personal jet plane to Florida . . . for more Disney and more family time!

The Princesses

Amelia continues to tell me that she "wants more Disney," so I thought I'd post some more pictures.  We had both lunch with the princesses at Cinderella's castle and dinner with them in Epcot.  Both experiences were priceless.  The princesses spend an appropriate amount of time at each table, and the overall atmosphere was much calmer than our other character meal.  But, of course, a certain amount of refinement is to be expected from a room full of princesses.

I LOVE this photo, because Audrey is telling Cinderella her Cinderella joke (Why is Cinderella bad at basketball?  Because she runs away from the ball and has a pumpkin for a coach!)

Wishes were made . . .

Spells were cast . . .

And a magical time was had by all!

Lesson Learned?

I wish I had recorded my conversation with Audrey in the car tonight, as she plead for a puppy.  Some of it was typical - "Please, please, please!  I really love puppies and I need a puppy!"  But some of it was pure Audrey. 

When I explained to her that I am not fond of the smell of dogs (my friends with dogs, please forgive me for my honesty), she said, "I just want a puppy, not a dog!"  And when I reminded her that the puppy would grow up to be a dog, her comeback was, "We'll sell it!"  And when I asked what would we do if no one wanted to buy the dog, her next solution was . . .

Audrey: "Well, you know when we no longer need things and we give them away?

Me: "You mean when we donate things?"

Audrey: "Yes, we'll just include the dog in that stuff."

Now I'm happy that donating things we don't need is a given in the life of my four year old.  But I think I need to work on what exactly is an appropriate donation.

"Have a magical day!"

If you've planned a Disney vacation, you've likely heard this once or twice.  In all honesty, I called and checked, double checked, triple checked so many details the last few weeks before our vacation, that I had heard "Have a magical day!" countless times before we even stepped foot into Disney.  And each time I heard it, I felt the magical bar rise just a bit.  Should I even admit that by the time we left, I was fearful that my magical bar was too high . . . that the vacation couldn't possibly live up to my expectations?  Well, it was a fleeting fear and merely fleeting with good reason.  As our pictures illustrate, the magic of Disney is overwhelming, intoxicating and appropriately surreal.  

We were captivated by the performance in front of Cinderella's Castle.

And we were smitten by our first character interaction.

We were even giddy about just waiting in line for the characters (though that smile may also be the result of having just rode the Tea Cups - a favorite of Amelia's).

The Dumbro ride was a hit as well!

And if I attempted to document every ride, event, etc. that was a hit, I would surely lose your interest. . . because every day was a "magical day!"  Even, for the record, when it rained. I know of no other place in the world where we would have so happily worn ponchos and hurried from one location to the next, with a smile (and a times just a bit of frustration only because ponchos are really mediocre at best for keeping one dry).  I don't have any pictures of us in those ponchos (which luckily were only needed for one morning), but this was taken on the rainy morning . . .

as was this . . .

 and this.

So, the magical bar was not set too high.  And just tonight Amelia told me, "Mommy, I want to go to Disney more times, 'cause I really like Disney."  Me too, Amelia . . . me too!

Stay turned for more magical tales (including adventures with automatic toilets and other unexpected moments for which no amount of research can prepare you)!  Wait, that's just parenthood in general . .  but these are fun parental tales from Disney. : )