The Happiest Place on Earth

I'll admit. When the day started out with pouring rain, I was pretty sure it was going to be the most miserable day on earth. (I know, I'm such a pessimist.) While waiting in the rain for a shuttle to Disneyworld, I could only imagine that rain, plus massive stroller containing all our stuff that was going to get wet, plus wet kids, plus waiting in more lines in the rain was going to be a nightmare. (By the way, the apparition on the left is my sister in her disneyworld poncho.)




Well, I was WRONG!

Thank goodness, huh? Granted, we had our fair share of this:



















(Flailing and uncontrollable tired kids. I'm pretty sure I was not born under one-room family circumstances because I would spend my entire life ornery. I am convinced that those people in the old days (or now) who had to sleep in one room with their whole families are either chronically overtired or else the world's best sleepers.)

And some more of this (trying to manage resistant kids scrambling in every different direction while attempting to look like somewhat composed parents):














But really, is there anything more magical than taking your kids to Disneyworld for the first time? Seeing the wonder and excitement in their eyes:




















(Or shyly hidden smiles, although I know he's excited under there)






















Watching them feel the wind on their face as they fly through the air on Dumbo the Flying Elephant.


Or seeing them mesmerized by It's a Small World.




















Watching your poor child get taken on every single ride because he is just barely tall enough to go but has no idea yet what Splash Mountain or Big Thunder Mountain are:


(Yeah, Ryan insists he had fun, but it looked a little different to me.)


Seeing your husband as excited as your kids:







And with his game face on:



















Watching your kids try to take in the spectacle of the greatest parades they've ever seen with their favorite characters coming to life before their eyes (Cash is a huge Mickey Mouse fan. I think one of the babies few words is even Mickey):























Watching them point excitedly at all the cool things they see on the rides:










Seeing Cash remember the one toy he wanted all day long and even what store had it, then watching him carry it around the rest of the day everywhere we went.

























Seeing your kids so tired by the end of the day that their head keeps nodding around during the firework show.














And even as hard as you work dragging the kids on and off all the rides, of course their favorite parts are just when they get to get out of the stroller and run around!









































And nothing warms my heart like seeing my kids interact with their cousins. Why is it that you just seem to be born with a bond between cousins? It was so fun. Besides the fact that it was sooooo nice having them there. I didn't get a picture, but at the end when we were standing in line for ever waiting for the shuttle home, those boys saved us from utter meltdown by entertaining our kids. People in line were fascinated watching us and commenting on how well everyone in our group helped out. Then they were all trying to catch a glimpse to see what magic Dawson was working on them (holding Ryan's ipod touch with a baby movie on it, which actually captivated the attention of anyone surrounding us, adults included). It was pretty funny.






































The next morning when Dawson came to our hotel room in the morning, Cash opened the door and exclaimed, "I missed you!" a phrase I've never heard him use and didn't know he even knew!

It was actually even nice that we had the rain. It was lighter than the typical drenching Florida downpour that I'm used to, and I could tell right away those clouds weren't going anywhere, but I realized later on, we would have been wet anyway, so might as well be damp and cooler rather than wet and nasty from the humidity and blaring sun. And it did stop periodically which was nice.

Sorry for the choppy video recap and the tons and tons of pictures, but I guess this is more for me anyway. Who knows if I'm going to get around to scrapbooking anymore.
































































































Maybe next time our kids will be a little more photogenic. :)






Phew.











When we finally made it home (about a 4 hour drive), the babies immediately got on their hands and knees, almost like they were so happy to have their feet on the ground and be out of the car that they were practically kissing the ground!



It was a lot of fun. And a lot of work. I'm so glad we did it! But I wouldn't do it again anytime too soon. :)