The Happiest Place on Earth

While that magical feeling is still in my heart, I must record my thoughts on our first real, flying in an airplane, family vacation. I could cry when I hear "a dream is a wish your heart makes" Disney World truly was the happiest place I have ever been.

Surprising the kids was really fun, they had seen youtube videos before of kids being surprised by their parents, so it was really funny when Chloe came in and saw all the Micky Mouse plates and shirts she was like, I know how this works! We are going to Disney World! They were kind of in shock and didn't believe us. They just kept asking us if it was for real!

Getting there was no picnic. It was really hard getting from A to B with 3 kids, 5 suitcases, 5 carry-ons, 3 car seats, a playpen and a triple stroller. We didn't really think about that part, and it was tricky. Customs at 3:45am wasn't fun either. Especially when Darryl accidentally checked off that we owned a farm on his customs form. It was interesting, but we made it. Everyone one of us cried at one point, except for Darryl.

I loved having a condo and a vehicle to drive, rather than staying right at Disney. We stayed at the Tuscana World Resort, and it was just beautiful, I would highly recommend it to anyone. The pools were beautiful, the staff was friendly, it was great. I love the way Carter says "hotel" Staying there was his fave part of the trip. When we arrived we grocery shopped and unpacked, then the next day we hit Blizzard Beach. This day was one of my faves just because everything was so new and exciting to the kids on our first day. It's a huge waterpark with a Christmas/winter theme. I loved watching my kids fly down water slide in 90 degree weather while we listened to Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye sing "we're having a heat wave...a tropical heat wave" from White Christmas. It was too perfect. The kids were so brave! Carter especially surprised me when he did a really crazy water slide that I would never do. Chlo loved the wave pools. There was a chair lift that took you to the top of a mountain you could toboggan down, and the kids just LOVED that. Claire and I spent most of our time lounging in the sand and snacking. It was nice to have so much time just me and her at the water parks. The kids got fake tattoos afterwards and they thought that was pretty awesome. A ladybug, a wildcat (from HSM) and Cinderella :) Typhoon Lagoon was great too, At the end of the day before the park closed all five of us spent a good hour and a half just floating down the lazy river. It was bliss. Claire had her own baby inner tube, Chloe and Carter shared a double, and Darryl and I had our own. We floated along and I thought of the lyrics of a song I like:

"Have you ever wished for an endless night?
Lassoed the moon and the stars and pulled that rope tight?
Have you ever held your breath and asked yourself will it ever get better than tonight?"

It was so warm, the kids were so happy, it seemed so carefree, so unusual for our family of 3 small kids to be still, peaceful, and content.

Going to Magic Kingdom really was magical. I was choked up the minute I saw that castle. It was almost surreal to be there. I'm not a Disney fanatic by any means (nothing like the woman I saw with Walt Disney tattooed on her calf) but my Gran took us to see so many of the classics in the theatre at Yorkdale, like Lady and the Tramp, The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. My Papa made sure we had every Disney movie ever made on VHS, so so many of the songs and sights at Magic Kingdom were familiar. There was a gift shop that said "Osh Popum - Proprietor" on the front glass window, which is a character from one of my (and my kids) favourite Disney movies, Summer Magic. Little touches like that were every where we went. The music that played through the park, the characters, there was just something all so familiar about all of it, even though we had never been there. It really is the happiest place on earth.

We rode the Ariel ride, the Buzz Lightyear, Dumbo, Magic Carpets, the carousel a dozen times, saw a magic show, just did pretty much whatever the kids wanted to do, we really let the kids set the pace, rather than trying to see everything. They loved meeting their favourite characters, Tinkerbell and her friends, Goofy, Stich, Peter Pan, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and Jasmine. Breakfast at the Cinderella's castle was well worth the planning and the money. The princesses come right up to the table and talked to the kids and sign autographs. It was so cute. Chlo had Cinderella's wedding dress on, so every princess she met would say "My my, you are getting married today? You must be so busy getting everything ready" and most would turn to Carter and say something like "Is this your Prince Charming? He's a little short, he better work on that" The Bibbity Bobbity Boutque (or "booty" as Chloe kept accidentally calling it) was a total highlight for me and Chlo. They give you a fairy godmother to whisk you away and do your hair, make-up and nails. She was the most lovely lady who chatted away to Chlo like she was a real princess the entire time. I made everyone wait in a very long line to eat eat french pastries in Belle's castle. She is my all time favourite disney princess and her castle did not disappoint. Once you go inside, it really feels like it's night time in Paris. The windows are dark and it snowing, just like in the movie, just beautiful. The fireworks at Cinderella's castle were another thing that brought me to tears. It really was perfect. The kids had a million glow sticks that I had bought at the dollar store beforehand, and were running around sharing with all the other kids around them. I was sad to see that day end. Claire was such a trooper. She went full speed that day in her Cinderella dress, barefoot, from 8am to 11am that day without a meltdown.  I thought she would be the most work on a trip like this, but really she was the least. That was a pleasant surprise.

Thanks to a good friend in Florida, we were able to watch the fireworks a second night from a hotel fire escape (which was filthy with some kind of soot, so we were all black by the end of it, especially Claire, who we called Mary Poppins for the rest of the night) He also took us to the Animal Kingdom Lodge, which was a beautiful, african paradise. The kids loved all the zebras and giraffes. We had fun a Downtown Disney, eating at the T-Rex restaurant and riding in a hot air balloon. But one of the best days was Mother's Day. We had the chance to go to church with Darryl's mission president and his family, which was really nice. They are such wonderful people, who have always made us feel like part of the family. We had a lovely supper with them after we took the kids to visit the Orlando temple. Their home is one that is so full of the Spirit. When you walk in, the air is thick with it. Even though every time we have been to their home it has been full with their 8 children and their own families, it is never unbelievably loud, there is no contention, no one raises their voice, no chaos, just peace. That's not easy with over 40 people, including lots of small kids. It always amazes me. I always leave their presence wanting to try harder to be a peacemaker in my home.They are pretty wonderful people.

While it would never have been my first choice of a place I'd like to vacation, it exceed every expectation I had. I was little leery to believe friends who told me my kids would be so entranced by all that was going around them, that they wouldn't whine or complain. Even Claire!  But they were so right. I think we had a record 5 days with no meltdowns or tantrums. That also had a lot to do with the fact that since our cell phone got stolen while we were there and there was no wi-fi at our condo, our kids had our complete, undivided attention! It was so nice to escape from making lunches, running to sports and music lessons, etc. No phone to answer, no e-mails to reply to, no playdates, just us. And I loved it. Being alone, just the 5 of us is one of my favourite things ever. Darryl's plan was to work every day while we there, but he accidentally forgot his Softplan key, a USB that unlocks every architectural drawing on his laptop, so he wasn't able to to work at all while we were there. After the initial shock wore off, he was really able to truly relax.

I also discovered what relaxes me. Although all of us loved the parks and restaurants, it was really nice to come home at the end of the day and cook, clean, and do my laundry. I really came to realize on this trip that taking care of my family is what relaxes me. After a busy, fun, chaotic day, I loved coming home at the end of the day and deciding what I was going to cook for them, what clothes I was going to lay out or wash for the next day, what I food was going to prepare ahead for the morning. I loved bringing Chlo and Carter peanut butter and jam sandwiches in the gigantic bed they shared at 11pm while they watched Sponge Bob and Full House. They really thought that was the greatest thing ever. Cable was a big hit on this trip. What a treat. I know that sounds weird on vacation, but I loved watching Wheel of Fortune while I made supper every night. But honestly, I realized the things that stress me out at home like having to be places on time, getting to school, here there and everywhere, deep cleaning, etc. are non existent on vacation. I realized taking care of those amazing, darling, adorable, precious 4 people is what I truly love and not really a burden or chore at all when there are no other distraction. I love all the little inside jokes and memories we created on this trip that we have re-lived 100 times now that we are back at home. Claire's eyeball joke in Target, Carter's rendition of "Just give me a Reason" by Pink in the rental van over and over again, just lots of funny little things like that, things that make the kids says "member that happened in Florida???? That was the best" make it all worth it to me.

I asked a good friend who is in her sixties how she ended up with 5 wonderful kids. Her husband says it was luck, but she says it was living in the country that kept them close, because all they had was each other and going on vacation often just the 7 of them. Taking them away from school, work, their friends, j and reconnecting. Although I don't know if I could ever live in the country, Darryl and I both agreed getting away often should be a priority, if if it is just and hour or two away from home. We are taking the kids to the Kirtland Temple, Palmyra, camping, cottaging and even Alberta this summer and I can't wait to make more memories with these people I love so much.