Keeping a secret......

Matt and I had been promising the kids we would go to Disneyland when he finished school.  Then he went into a different program and finished 2 years earlier than we had planned.  We thought we would just have to wait, but thanks to a good tax return, we decided to seize the moment and surprise the kids this year.  YAY!  Next came several weeks  - and HOURS on the internet researching our different options for hotels, vacation packages, flying vs. driving......the whole nine yards.  Luckily the older two were in school while I did most of my internet surfing, but as time went by (and we got more excited)  it was harder to NOT talk about it in front of the kids.  We finally decided on a hotel, only to learn that they had sold out the dates we wanted in the last few days since I had checked it.  Luckily, there was another option that was only missing a few amenities we wanted (in-room microwave, and continental breakfast) and this one ended up being much closer to the front gate of Disneyland.  Woot!  About the same time Disney came out with a ticket special - 5 days for the price of 3, so that sealed the deal on how many days we would actually be spending at the park.  We knew we wanted to take the kids to the beach, so that meant hours more research for which beach we wanted to visit, and where there was parking, and bathrooms.....all the things you need to know when you go anywhere with kids.  I am a big fan of free things, so I was able to find several free things to do if we had a few hours. After all the plans were made, and maps, information, and coupons printed out - then came the pages and pages of lists.  Next came packing without the kids noticing that half of their clothes were missing. Before we knew it - the "day before" was here.  By this time we were so excited we could hardly contain ourselves.  I had all the suitcases packed, and everything else that needed to go in (or on) the car all in one locked closet.  Matt worked a day shift so after the kids were asleep we brought everything dowstairs.  It was a HUGE pile and I had a mental plan of how everything was going to fit in the car, but I admit I was a little nervous.  We did manage to just squeeze everything in but the cooler that would go in when we were ready to leave and the luggage carrier that we didn't want to leave on overnight.  I think we finally got in bed around midnight. zzzzzz

It's about time!

I know, I know - I should have done this a long time ago.  I'm going to start with Disneyland in June simply because it was a HUGE adventure for us and needs to be documented.