A vacation to remember.
I pulled Maile and Laina out of bed at 4am last Thursday, “get dressed girls…we gotta go”.
Laina popped up quickly whispering “where are we going Mom??” while Maile quietly took sureveillance of the situation, “Is it still dark time? Why are you waking us up at dark time?” They grappled for their clothes in the dark and I let them stay confused.
Laina repeated her question approximately 143 times between her bedroom and the car. Maile could not register why we were breaking the rules and going anywhere at that hour. When they saw our luggage I began fielding all kinds of new questions. Were we going on a field trip? Were we going on vacation? Were we going camping. WHAT IN THE HELL WAS GOING ON?
When we pulled into the airport Maile asked if we were at the hospital before reading signs, “are we at the airport mom? Are we going on an airplane?”
Yes. Why yes we are.
“Are we going to school today?”
No. Why no you’re not.
“Are we going on vacation?”
Yes.
“Are we going to Hawaii?”
No.
And finally…”are we going to Disneyland?”
And then we went to Disneyland.
The girls were in heaven.
I thought I would have major regrets about not taking Kainoa…that when we got to Disneyland I would look around at other three year olds and think “man, we could have brought Kainoa…he would have loved this.”
I am happy to report that did not happen. It surprised me. I really really missed him, but the lines and long days definitely would have brought out the worst in him. And then the worst in us. It was the first time I’ve ever left him with anyone but Pat for longer than a night. But we had an amazing time!
Pat and I cruised through Disneyland with the girls in strollers from sun up to sun down. They loved every bit of their vacation and we couldn’t stop talking about how we’ll stay for more days in a couple years when Kainoa is finally old enough to go.
Day One…
After a long day of flying and walking and shopping and eating and waiting in line and enjoying the sun and finally laying down in a hotel room on Disney Street…it’s hard to believe just that morning I was pulling those girls out of bed, “get dressed girls, we gotta go!”
I have a feeling they’re going to remember this trip for a very long time.
***
Now it’s your turn!
Choose a prompt, post it on your blog, and come back to add your name to the link list below. Be sure to sign up with the actual post URL and not just your basic blog URL (click on the title of your post for that URL). For good comment karma try to comment on the three blogs above your name!!
The Prompts:
1.) A vacation to remember.
2.) Finding the balance. How do you manage?
3.) Husbands. A post that hopefully will not get you in trouble.
4.) A memorable date.
5.) How’s that New Years Resolution treating you?
{ 59 comments… read them below or add one }
Disneyland rocks but I, too feel sad for Kainoa. :( Next time….
Glad to hear you had a blast! We’ve been going to Disneyland once or twice a year since my girl was 2.5 and my twins 6 mo old. It’s crazy and exhausting and ridiculous, but I am such a sucker for all of it. The looks on their faces when they see Woody or Belle or the pirates or Ariel are priceless. Worth every callous on my feet. lol. Go Disney! They don’t call it the Happiest Place on Earth for nothing!
I am so glad you guys had such a great time!!!
We’ll be there next week, and again in May…..with a 3.5 year old AND a 2.5 year old….I’m stupid aren’t I?
I loved leaving for trips when it was still “dark time” when I was a little girl. There’s something so magical about it. Looks like a fun trip. Glad you had a good time.
I can only imagine the excitement and joy those girls felt! It looks like so much fun.
I’m here to tell you that taking kids of different ages to Disney can be HELL. I have a very vivid memory of crying my eyes out at lunch in the Jungle Cafe. NOT as a child, as a Mom with my own children who were acting like ungrateful BRATS!
It’s great that you had fun at disney.. I too will be waiting till the kids are all much older to bring them there.
I didn’t realize you were surprising the girls— so much fun!!!! Did they rub it in his face when you got home?
We went to Disney in Sept and took both our girls (4 and 2). You were smart to leave him home TRUST ME!!
What a fabulous surprise! They will definitely remember their special vacation.
Glad you had a great time! I’ve never been to Disneyland!
I am glad you had such a phenomenal time! I know how worried you were about leaving your son, but there’s nothing wrong with giving the girls their “princess day” all to themselves!
What a wonderful surprise for your girls! Now I can’t wait to surprise my girls with Disneyland some day.I’ve only been there once before I had kids, and I think it will be so much better with kids!
So cute – I don’t know if I could’ve kept that secret from my kids that long!
I just took my little bird to Disneyland for the first time. Can’t wait to go back!
It sounds like it was a wonderful trip! What a great thing to wake up early for.
I am so glad that you had a good time and didn’t have any regrets about not taking Kainoa.
What a special time for you and your girls. Oh and Pat too.
Looks like a blast!!! So jealous.
We just got back from Disney World last night! We took our little almost-3-yr-old princess. We outnumbered her, so it worked out fine. If only I could have written a whole post about it… stay tuned. I was wiped out last night!
Great pictures! I can’t wait to take our kids to Disney World. Our oldest is not yet five, and like you, we didn’t want to waste the money on kids who would make the experience miserable with meltdowns and the like. Maybe in a couple of years!
The next time you go, just send The Boy his plane ticket, and he’ll join you. Thanks to a letter from his shrink, just stop first at guest services and you’ll never have to wait in a single line..
It’s like one place that the whole disabled thing will work for ya.
That is such an awesome idea – waking the girls early and surprising them with vacation!
My girls have always loved Disney. We took our youngest right before she turned 3 and she loved it although I don’t think she remembers it very much now. Sounds like you guys had a great time.
Something about Disneyland inspires a vacation to remember. I think it’s the magic found there. Looks like you had fun!
Looks like a fun time! We usually go to Disney World as my parents live close by. Next summer we’re driving to Disney Land. From Kentucky.
Yes, we are masochists, why do you ask?
I’m a big believer that one should never get up during “dark time.” It is wrong to do so. However, I would make an exception for a vacation.
I KNOW that they’ll remember that for a long time! I’ve never surprised my kids like that, but my son has a big birthday coming up and now you’ve got my wheels turning. Hmmm……
Love your writing prompts, as always! I had already written my balance post and love that it was one of the prompts this week. Sigh, balance. I don’t got it.
Going to Disney next week with all 3 kiddos . . . Am excited and a little scared too!:) Glad your trip went well.
I still remember my first trip to Disneyland as a kid – now I wish that my mom had taken pictures :)
I went to Disney with my family when I was 17 . . . and I can’t wait to go back again. :) I love the idea of surprising your kids at the last minute with the trip.
How exciting for them! My dad surprised us on our first trip to Disney, too – he told us he was going away for 2 weeks active duty and that we were going to the airport to see him off. It was the best surprise when he showed us our own tickets for the plane.
And Disney does have a way of making you wonder how you managed to fit so much into just one day, doesn’t it? DH and I have gone to WDW 3 times now and every first night I marvel at the fact that I was just home that morning.
Oh, how I loved my first (probably only) trip to Disneyland. I was in love with all things Disney for months after that. :P
Definitely the coolest parents…EVAH!
What a fun vacation for the girls. They will definitely remember that.
what a special trip with just the girls – i bet they felt soooo important!
Now I want to surprise my kids with a trip!! What an awesome mother you are!
OMG that just is the greatest isn’t it? We went to WDW back in Nov. I remember wanting to just cry the morning we walked up main street towards Cinderella’s castle so that Abby could have breakfast with all the princesses. I was thinking this is the best thing ever!
We were so tired at the end of everyday and my feet have never hurt so bad but it was awesome. Glad the girls had a great time, and don’t worry he will eventually forgive you, just go ahead and start his therapy fund now;)
Aww.. I didn’t realize you were surprising them.. That’s sooo cute! :) Glad you guys, and the girls, had a great time! :)
What a great adventure for all of you! I love that you were able to surprise them!
This is awesome! I have been debating about taking my girls too. They also have a crazy little brother that wouldn’t have handling this so well. Gals you had such a wonderful time!
My girls love Disneyland. Me? Not so much. My husband takes them. You definitely did the right thing by leaving Kainoa at home. There are times I’d like to leave my 6 yr old at home!
What a great surprise for them!! :-) That is awesome
Don’t feel bad about leaving one at home..we also did that while taking the two oldest to San Fran. It’s just so much easier sometimes… looks like fun at Disney, we live 45 min away but don’t have the $3000 to go! lol
That’s awesome. I want to take my kids on a trip so bad. I just wish it wasn’t SOOOOO expensive.
I remember your post about not taking Kainoa on your Disney trip and wasn’t sure when you guys were going. How cool that you got up SOO early to take the girls and surprise them!! Looks like they had a great time! Best vacation!
So so sweet. We’re definitely want to surprise our two boys when we go to Disneyland this summer. Love the way you did it. I bet the girls were so excited.
We’re going to take their baby brother (the one year old) with us, though. Thankfully, we’ll have reinforcements since we’ll have the auntie, uncle and possibly grandma with us so if he goes a little beserko, we can just play “pass the baby”. :-))
This is so precious! What a special time for you and your girls and wonderful memories too.
I wish I had played along, but I couldn’t today. It was one of those days. Loved the pictures. Especially the one with Belle when one girl is being hugged and the other is looking at the event unfolding like…figures she would get hte first hug….it’s a really cute pic.
I’m kind of sad for the little guy! 3 is a great age to go to Disneyland! I hope you go back soon and take him with you.
Oh man!!! I’m so excited! We are taking our 2 kids in about 6 weeks and while I’m nervous about taking my youngest {3.5} He’s overall a well mannered easy going kid, and he’s super stoked.
Thanks for sharing your images! I hope we get to see more than just day 1! lol
And give me tips on things you learned. I so could use them! lol
Great pictures and it sounds like you had a ton of fun. good for you and the girls!
Elizabeth
This was a fun week for prompts… lots to choose from and then to see your vacation photos was very sweet. Happy to see that you and your girls had a fun time. :-)
Elizabeth
It looked like you had an amazing time! I can’t wait until my girls are old enough for us to take them to Disneyland.
aww how fun, looks like the girls had a great time.
You were in my hood! I’m sorry you were subjected to It’s A Small World. Now I have that stupid song in my head.
I cannot wait to take my little guy to Disneyland someday!!!!! I have so many good memories there for myself.
YEA for you!!! So glad you left Kainoa at home. HUGELY good choice!!
We will spend two insane days on the Florida side of that during spring break with everyone else in the world. Can’t wait!
Oh, I’m such a bad mother! I never took my kids to Disney. They went, though, when they were in college, and I’m glad.
When I was 8, my parents took us on a surprise trip to California by Amtrak. It was amazing how carefully they constructed the ruse. The trip included on day at Disneyland.
Naturally, I held this up as the ideal vacation in my mind, so this past November, we took our kids (then 8, 4, and almost 2) on a surprise trip to Disneyland (via plane). It was amazing … the surprise element was so much fun! We can’t wait to go back, and, like you, plan to stay longer next time. (We were in California 6 days but only 2 at DL.)
Thanks for reminding me what fun it was … even though it was less than a year ago for us!