Disney anyone...anyone?

Well, as I said we journeyed to Disney. It was quite a vacation. Todd and I had made the decision NOT to tell the kids we were going until we were actually getting ready to go. We figured it would be a nice surprise and we wouldn't have to hear them ask "How many more days till we leave?" constantly. Cole had really wanted to go. He had several friends from school go and return in the weeks prior to us leaving so he had been asking us to go and talking all about the things his friends had said we could do there. He also would inquire about going when we would see commercials on TV. We figured he would really be excited!

We told the kids we were going to Gommie and Grandpa's house, rented a van and loaded it up and headed for Southern Indiana. The kids were not suspicious as we've taken trips to their house before and my father in law had called Cole earlier in the week and had asked him if he would like to come and visit for a few days.

The trip was long but when you have 2 kids who insist on stopping repeatedly it's what we've come to expect. We arrived and got settled in for the night. The following morning we woke very early and decided it was time to wake the kids and tell them we are going to Disney- right now!

Expecting a lot of celebration we turned on the video camera and snuck into the kids room to wake them. What happened next, surprised us both so much that we laughed ourselves to tears.

Watch the clip below, it's kind of quite so I've typed the transcript below!

Todd: Hey you guys, know what? We were thinking we'd go to Disney World today!

Cole: Well...... I don't want to go.

Todd: You don't want to go?

Cole No....... Maybe tomorrow.

Todd: How come? You got some busy stuff on your schedule today?

Cole: No. I just don't want to go. ....... I just want... to go tomorrow.

Needless to say, we had not prepared ourselves for this kind of response! We both were laughing so hard we were in tears. We brought the kids downstairs for breakfast thinking they might come around. Cole was given a birthday present from his godfather Chris, Disney bucks, a Mickey Mouse shirt and coloring book but was still not convinced a Disney Vacation was right for his future! Gavin on the other hand seemed to come around a little more quickly.This definitely proved to us beyond a doubt that kids do say the darndest things!

By the time we loaded the in-laws into the van and were on our way the kids seemed to share our enthusiasm for the trip. It was long to say the least and not without some melt downs but we arrived there the following evening ready to tackle Disney. Many of you may remember our Texas vacation and all that ensued. We had hoped to have a hospital (and puke) free week. I am happy to report that we left Disney without visiting any hospitals however what we had not prepared ourselves for was TROPICAL STORM FAY!

The Armstrong's can not seem to catch a break when it comes to family vacations (are the vacation gods trying to tell us something?). Tropical Storm Fay hit us at the end of Day 1 at Disney. She came in with just a little rain as we were finishing up Epcot, however she was there in full force days 2-5. I had worried when we left that I had not packed enough sunscreen. Well that turned out not to be a problem for us. Instead of buying more sunscreen I invested in over $100 worth of disposable ponchos! They became our "second skin." One which I was never so happy in my live to shed as we were leaving!

Despite the horrific weather, gusts of wind, and at times down right torrential downpours the kids did remarkably well. Thanks to Fay the lines were not nearly as long for rides, the kids got to find out what it's like to try to eat a sandwich, and drink from a 100% recycleable cup and cardboard straw in the rain, and I didn't have to worry about doing my hair all week. It was to say the least a different kind of Disney. Not the one from the brochures or commercials, but the parks were not closed and we were all determined to make the best of it, and I think we did!

I'll post photos from each day we were there in later posts! Enjoy!