Happiest Place on Earth???

So, I know I start almost every post with an apology for not posting often enough, but this time I have a decent (not good, but decent) excuse........We went to Disneyland!!!

What was special about this trip is, it has been planned for months and our children had no idea, nadda, zilch, zip! As far as they knew, we were taking them to "this is the place park" one Saturday morning for an afternoon of fun and Halloween festivities. Little did they know that Jamie and I had stealthily packed the car with their clothing and goodies for the airplane and were sneaking them off to the airport.

The morning went smoothly as most do.......haha! and we finally got everyone in the car and ready to go the 'park' only 25 minutes behind schedule! We drove for some time and when we started approaching the airport, the questions began.

Q: "Mom, are we going on a trip anytime soon"

A: "maybe, we just need to run in and grab something"

Q: "Why are we at the airport"

A: " I don't know, daddy, why are we here?"

Q: from daddy- "if you could go on a trip, where would you want to go"
A: K- Disneyland, N-Colorado (ok, we're getting warm)

Jamie and I were so excited to deliver our big surprise............................(drum roll)

"actually, we are going on a trip.........to Disneyland.........TODAY!!"

Squeals and screeching ensues from the second seat (Sierra, Kendall), Noah has no clue.......Kendall is overly concerned about having clean underwear and clothing for the trip...Sierra figures out why the Thule box is on top of the car and the tears of joy begin to flow! I believe they were truly surprised! YEAH for mommy and daddy.

Parker, however........is pissed!

"You said we were going to 'this is the place'........you TRICKED me!!!! I am NOT getting out of this car! You lied to me!!!" Seriously? Is this really happening? " I don't like it when you TRICK me!" " I am not going".

After about 5 minutes of persuasion from Daddy, Parker joins the family for a fun filled vacation at the "Happiest place on Earth"..........

our babies.....refillable diet coke cups that lasted the whole trip! precious cargo!

(Jamie and I joked about how it was Diet Coke prison.....if you wanted one, it was $3 for 20 oz......it's a long very expensive day at that rate! Then we found the nectar at a fountain in Downtown Disney! ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!)

A wonderful time was had by all!!! We met the Kener family at the airport after they pulled a similar TRICK on their kids! We had a blast! The weather was 80's each day and beautiful! It was a fun year as Noah was able to go on almost all the rides. More puketronic action for mom and dad! Oh goody! I really do love Disneyland! After 3 days and a weeks recovery.......I can finally tell you about it here!

enjoy the photos!

pooped Keners!

gotta love getting soaked in October and having it feel good! 85 degrees every day!!

my night owl party animals! The girls and I closed down the park!

A favorite was the Trick or Treat party at California Adventure! Lot's of fun!!

best sign of a great trip.........sleepy kids!

A page from your book

When I was very young, I was blessed to have two VIA's in my life. Very Important Aunts! Mary and Ca were legendary among family and friends as the greatest Aunts around! When I think of them, I am reminded of unconditional love and the sweet little 'nothings' that they were continually doing for us to make us feel out- of -this- world important.

I bring them up because I need to borrow a page from their book! I haven't blogged in over a month, mostly because I have been so busy and have little to blog about. BUT.....yes there is a BUT....I also haven't blogged because I have been running a little low on unconditional love and have been having difficulty being all sweet and nice about my offspring lately!

There, I said it! Is that legal in Bloggerville? They have been absolutely driving me nuts! At first I blamed it on PMS......but as the weeks wore on, this excuse lost it's validity. It is the entitlement, the whining, the infighting and the lack of respect that I get regularly from my brood, who BTW just returned from a surprise trip to Disneyland ..(hopefully I will be able to blog about the trip nicely very soon!).

What is a mom to do?

One day, when I was quite young, I remember standing in my VIA's kitchen and decided I would whip them up a delectable treat. Saltines and Peanut Butter, with a smattering of salt and pepper (I'd seen my mom shake this stuff on everything, it had to make this better, right?). I proudly displayed my creation to my VIA's and my mom and they dutifully nibbled on the treat, never once indicating that they wanted to hurl. They discreetly salvaged the unpeppered peanut butter and clean saltine edges for their dining pleasure. I was so proud and always felt so loved. This was no exception.

How can I dutifully salvage the 'good' in my children right now and show them that unconditional love (and not the door?). I love, love love my children with all my heart. I think that is my problem.......I am disappointed in our recent home life and want my cute, sweet, fun to blog about family back!

So, I blog on............I move on! I try to steal a page from the VIA's book. How I wish they were here to put me in my place! Anyone have a page I can borrow?

I have to believe that this too shall pass!