Disney World!

Well, here it is exactly two weeks before school starts, and this is my first post all summer long. It hasn't been for lack to blog about or desire to blog, I just have-not-had-the-time-or-energy! We've had such a busy summer - which is okay by me because at my household boredom tends to equal trouble and fighting. Anyway, I couldn't let the most significant part of summer go without a tribute on my neglected blog, so ...

We vacationed at Disney World from July 26 - August 1, thanks in part to a discount Disney is giving military members right now. This was truly a dream come true for me, because last fall, while Carlton was still in Afghanistan, and I was desperately needing something to look forward to, I started daydreaming about going to Disney World. Carlton had never been to Disney, and was skeptical about the effort and financial investment really being worth all of the "magic" that Disney touts. After several dead-end conversations about my little daydream, I dismissed it as something we'd just have to revisit another year. But, one day Carlton came home and said, "I think we should go to Disney!" I gave him a strange look as if I was uncertain that the man that just said those words was really my husband, and then quickly replied, "okay, let's do it" (so as to not give him a second to change his mind!). We did lots of research, planning, polling friends who had already made the trek and shopping to get ready.

In a nutshell, parts of our trip were very magical. You just can't recreate the magic of meeting the princesses face-to-face, or any of the other characters for that matter. It's not every night you get to see fireworks over Cinderella's castle or see a magnificent light parade with all of your favorite Disney characters.
And, visitng some of the Disney icons like the Dumbo ride and It's a Small World were very nostalgic for me, since I went to Disney Land several times as a small child while we lived in California. It was a full-circle moment for me to watch my kids enjoy some of the same rides I had enjoyed as a child. However, I am certain that collectively we have never been as hot as we were on this trip. I mean h-o-t! It also rained more than normal while we were there which complicated getting to and from the parks. Some days the kids were just so miserable from the "conditions" that it was hard for them to enjoy all of the magic, and of course it wore on us parents too (especially when you know how much you're paying for it all!). That said, we made some wonderful memories, and I'm certain that as time passes we will remember all of the magic, and less of the misery!

I think I took close to 300 pictures, but here are some of our favorites!