To ..... Magical Vacations -

I love family.
and vacations
and Disneyland.

I love family vacations.
and seriously we are just suckers for Disneyland.
suc.kers.

Like the whole nine yards.
Like sure the ears & the cotton candy & the every. last. souvenir. you walk past ....
gah, who needs a savings account.

Let's keep it real .... family vacations are full of family.
And family is full of people. People are full of themselves.
And you get the idea.

Our vacation - even our Disneyland, happiest place on earth vacation - was not 24/7 happy.
In fact for the first couple of days it seemed the fights & grouchy & it's not going my way & why can't you just get along & for the love does that have to be a big deal & that totally didn't need to be said & tears & no one is having any fun .... all that seemed especially more.

Like, gee we could have stayed home & done all that & saved a whole lot of money.
And I was stupidly starting to think the kids would remember this as the worst vacation ever.

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But it wasn't ....

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Phone pictures .....
And just a word about my kids & the way they ride roller coasters.
They are thrill seeking, the faster the better, dna copies of their dad.
For reals - they all ride with their hands in the air & by the second ride know when & how to pose for the camera.
And I'm all holding. on. for. dear. life.

See what I mean :)

Also that trio of Chad with the cowboy .... it's the magic of Disney.
We walked past & he started playing Star Wars on his fiddle & they talked like they were old friends.

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And the rain ...
When we first looked at the weather it said sunny & seventy's.
The closer we got to going the colder the temps dropped and the more the rain increased.

It poured for 2 days.
Poured.
Soaked, drenched, dripping, wet poured.

And they made a small mint selling these ponchos :)

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When in Rome .... or if you're already wet .... why not ride every water ride there is.

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Dolly carried her autograph book in a ziploc bag to keep it dry in the rain & met every character she could.

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He made fast friends with McQueen's mechanic & they let him behind the private gates for an up close meeting & picture.

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When you're six spending your money on a Dumbo necklace & clip-on earrings is the obvious & magical thing to do.

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Waiting in lines went quicker with the electronic version of headbands -

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Driving home -

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And souvenirs ....

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They don't actually remember it as the worst vacation ever.
They talk about how the rides were so much fun in the rain.
They say remember how .... and remember when ....

And it was all worth it.