I’ll give you a hint – it rhymes with Shmisney World. Before I go into detail, I must explain that my husband and I are uniquely lucky. Our daughter has inherited this luck. I think it is a recessive gene (otherwise there would be a lot more lucky people running around), but it is expressed fully in her. When our powers combine we are… the luckiest family in the universe.
By luck, I of course mean that we are truly blessed. In this case, we are blessed by amazing family. I could devote an entire blog to how incredible our families are (I know – both families. I told you we were lucky), but alas, that is not what this blog is. About four weeks ago, my husband’s brother-in-law (try to keep up, we have A LOT of family) asked him if we wanted to go to Disney World. It has been over ten years since he has been and I think twenty for me (measuring your life in the tens of years makes you feel old). Needless to say, we have been crazy super stinkin’ excited.
So last Friday all ten of us loaded on a plane and flew to Florida. Ten, yes ten. Myself, my husband, my Little Bit, sister-in-law, brother-in-law, Goldi Locks, Bo Peep, Huck Fin, Little Boy Blue, and Miss Muffet (learn more about their adventures on her blog). We had children ranging from 14 years old to 7 months old. At first glance, you might think we were a disaster, but in fact, my sister-in-law’s family runs like a well oiled machine. I’m sure she is laughing to herself reading this, but it is true. In five days there, we didn’t lose one child! It is very weird to visit Disney World as a parent as opposed to a child. We rode the It’s a Small World ride, which in the past was a nightmare of animatronic horrors. Seeing the ride through my 7-month-old’s eyes turned it into a world of wonders. She was transfixed. We rode Dumbo and Peter-Pan with the same fascination. We found Nemo with the utmost enthusiasm. We slept through the haunted mansion, unphased (well she did). It. Was. AWESOME!
We also got to spend some quality time with my husband’s family. The older kids talked me into trying out for the American Idol Experience. My husband tried out on a whim. We both got to the third phase where we were pitted against each-other and he beat me in the live show. In an effort to make me feel better, my brother-in-law asked his 4-year-old, Little Boy Blue if I did well. He agreed that I did, but added that my husband did “WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY better.” He is lucky he is adorable.
Their oldest, Goldi Locks is a beautifully complicated and complicatedly beautiful young woman. I got to spend some one on one time with her in the parks and experienced 14-years-old all over again. I see a lot of myself in her and yet she is so very much her own person. Most girls her age would be swooning over prince charming, and she was more worried about her pet lizard (or is it a gecko?), Brogan back home. She has such a unique heart and I love her for that.
Huck Fin is their all-american boy. This sweet boy is too good for his own good. He loves my daughter and was always the first to volunteer to hold her while my husband and I went on rides. I talked to him a little about what he wants to be when he grows up. Forget the normal answers you’d expect. The answer I got was a well thought out thesis on the problems and possible solutions for our society. He wants to be in a position to change the world, but he doesn’t want to be president because there is too much corruption in government and he wouldn’t be able to spend as much time with his family. By family he means his wife and six children. He plans to adopt. This is of course if his football career doesn’t pan out (ok, maybe you would have expected that answer). He is ten.
Bo-Peep is 12. She is way cooler than I ever was. She is on the cutting edge of all the trends. She is beautiful like her Momma and big sister, and yet she is not too cool for me! Despite my best efforts, I find myself floundering over on the nerdy side of the spectrum about 86% of the time. Luckily she meets me over there and makes it cool for me. Our first day in the parks we had ridden all “baby” rides and finally got to one that had a height limit. I was stoked and began dancing and singing about going on a real ride. She easily could have hid her head in shame and acted like she was not with me. Instead, she joined in the song and dance. She is the friend I wish I had at 12.
Finally, there is Miss-Muffet. She is 2 and is the smallest of the crew. She has never let this keep her from winning a fight. She and Little Boy Blue are fierce competitors, but are also each other’s favorite person. To her, food is meant to be worn or scattered on the ground in order to find one’s way back home. Disney characters are to be loved intensely (as in run full force into the back of them while they are taking pictures with someone else’s family). And smile means purse your lips and stick out your tongue. Despite her rough-and-tumble lifestyle, she is so gentle with my Little Bit. I am so excited to watch them grow up together.
I can’t end this post without mentioning my sweet brother and sister in law. They are truly the most generous people I have ever known. We will never be able to repay them, but they would never expect us to. They do things out of the kindness of their hearts, and happily give to others from the blessings they’ve been given. It should also be noted that my sister-in-law can change a diaper in 4 seconds flat and will do it without hesitation. It should be an Olympic event.
So that is where I have been. Disney World is the most magical place on earth, but it is only made that way through the people there with you.
More pictures to come. My cameral ran out of batteries so hopefully my Sister-in-law got some good ones!
