Happiest Place & Mom on Earth

After much planning and figuring, we took the kiddos to Disneyland. Most of it was to celebrate Owen's 5th birthday as a family - together. All of the kids had so much fun. I was giddy with excitement for weeks leading up to the eventful days. I knew they would be excited to go on the rides, see the princesses, see Mickey and just plain be at Disneyland.

One night at dinner, the kids asked when we would be traveling back to California. Adam and I hadn't told them we were going to Disneyland. We wanted to surprise them and have that surprise be as close as we could get it to the actual departure and trip to California. Reasoning aside, I told them we would be going in a couple of weeks. The rest of the conversation went a little something like this:

Owen: " Are we going to the beach?"
Me: "No. Not this trip. Probably the trip after this one we can go to the beach."
Owen: " Then why are we going to California?"

I looked at Adam at this point and asked if we should tell them what we were doing. He didn't care, so I told them about their surprise.

Me: "Well......... we are going to.......DISNEYLAND!"
Owen: "Caroline, we are going to Disneyland!"

The kids began to squeal with glee and excitement at the thought of going to D-land. Adam asked Caroline if she knew what that meant. Through he gleeful squeals, she yells, "NO!"

Adam and I busted out laughing. Not a clue as to what it meant, but she figured it had to be good. And boy was it!

It really is, THE happiest place on Earth. The music, the colors, the lights, the fireworks, the characters. How can anyone not be happy at that place? Impossible, I say. Even with the long lines to ride the rides (45 minute wait, during the daylight hours for just about every ride), the even longer line to see Princess Belle and Princess Tiana, the crowds, the tired feet, the whining of how hungry they were, applying sunscreen every couple of hours so our kids didn't look like little red lobsters, the sweat dripping down my back from carrying the backpack, the umpteen potty breaks, the blisters, and on and on, every last second was worth it.

Every. last. second.

The kids were champs, despite Caroline's meltdown on day #2 when she had to use the men's room because I was on a ride with Owen and my mom, Adam had to take her into the men's room, which was soooooo not appreciated by that little girl. The frustration that Adam experienced in those brief moments will not soon be forgotten. Flopping on the floor, screaming, crying, hysteria, tears...yep, it was a doozy. Glad it happened on his watch and not mine.



Owen's disappointment came when he realized he was 1/2" too short to ride California Screamin' - maybe next time buddy.

But, through it all and that being the only meltdown, the kids were fantastic. We left the happiest place on earth wanting to go back again. And that, my friends, makes me the happiest mom on earth!

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