unless you already know of course. Here's a hint.....
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Yep! Disney World! We decided to go on Monday night and left on Friday. Talk about an impulse decision. Actually, it's not quite as crazy as it sounds. Jared just accepted a new job and is leaving his job at the airline in a couple of weeks. Which means the end of flight benefits. So we figured we better take advantage of them one more time. I use the word 'benefit' loosely, because we are restricted to 'stand-by' travel and standing-by to Orlando is never a good idea since the flights are already 99% full and the chance of getting 4 more people on any of them is pretty slim. (And yes I did say 4, we left Kate with my dear friend Liz for the weekend (who I can't thank enough) and she's none the wiser now, but I'm sure it's a decision we will likely regret years from now. Jared suggested photoshopping her into the pictures since she won't remember if she went or not and he doesn't want to suffer the years of whining I'm sure we are headed for... LOL!)
So we left before the crack of dawn on Friday morning and drove through light snow to get to the airport, but we didn't tell the kids where we were going just in case we didn't make it on to a flight. Luckily we did make it on (BARELY!), but we still didn't tell them until we landed at the airport and got ready to board a bus with a gigantic picture of Mickey Mouse on the side. At that time, we let them guess where they thought we might be going. And they had no idea. Jared told them that we were going to the zoo, and they both got super excited (and which point we were wondering why we didn't choose the zoo since it would have saved us A LOT of money), but when we told them it was Disney World, they were even more excited.
I'd love to write the whole story, because we really had such a great time (with the exception of Cole catching the flu while we were there), but I have one million other things that I should/need to be doing. So I'm just going to post a few pictures instead. Please forgive the quality. I took my old camera (which I can barely remember how to use), and I didn't discover until later that there was a big smudge on the underside of my lens. So if one giant spot in them looks fuzzy to you, it's totally not your eyes, it's the result of my dirty lens! Ugh!!
Little Minnie Mouse at Minnie Mouse's house. She looked so cute in her Minnie Mouse costume. (I happened to pick it up before we left and I'm pretty sure that decision alone saved me about $40 extra dollars. Disney sucks the money right out of your pockets for sure!)
Cinderella's castle by day. One of our few glimpses of sunshine. It was pretty overcast/rainy most of the time...
The kids on the Dumbo that's made for picture taking and we didn't discover until after the ride. For future reference, don't hop out of your Dumbo and try to snap a pic before the ride starts. Because I tried that and yeah, it wasn't a good idea...
Cole at the Magic Kingdom entrance. With a fever and the flu....
Big Minnie and Little Minnie. Aww aren't they cute?
The line had already closed to meet Buzz, so we had to admire him from afar.
Giant, overpriced balloons by day...
Giant, overpriced balloons by night....
On a magic carpet ride....
The only shot of all of us taken by a friendly park worker. Notice the giant smudge on the right. Nice....
admiring the view....
The end....
That picture of Chloe gazing at the castle needs to be on an advertisement for Disney. It's beautiful. Old camera or not, the colors and composition are stunning! I've been checking the blog every day since you've been back for some pics even though I know you've been crazy busy. Thanks for sharing. So glad you guys got to go but so sorry Cole man got sick! love you lots, Mom
Posted by: Gram | February 29, 2008 at 01:10 PM
I am so glad that you all got to go. I am sure you had lots of fun! I am jealous! I am soooo wanting us to make a trip there this year! We went last year but wished we had had MORE time! I LOVE all the pics!!
Posted by: Shari | February 29, 2008 at 02:01 PM
I'm so glad that you guys went. It really is a magical place and so much fun. Although, I have to agree with the comment about Disney World sucking the money out of your pockets! :) We had so much fun having Kate and we would definately do it again! In fact all week everyone in our house ( including Travis)have been talking about how much we miss having her here! She's spunky but such a sweetheart and we love her so much! I think the pictures turned out great! I don't know how you managed to get goods ones of them without strange people in the background !
Posted by: liz | February 29, 2008 at 02:55 PM
Oh, those pics are so fun! I am astonished as to how much that first pic of Chloe by the pink flowers looks like her aunt Meg! Whoa! Glad you all got there and back, safe and sound! Have missed seeing you this week-here's to better health next week!!!
Posted by: jamey | February 29, 2008 at 06:56 PM
Yay! Thanks so much for sharing these Kelly! Every one of them is soooooo cute! I think my favorite is the one of Chloe in front of Minnie's house. I can't wait until Abbey is old enough to go!
Oh, and I want to know more about the Dumbo incident.
Posted by: Lacey McKay | February 29, 2008 at 08:31 PM
How magical! We went to Orlando in July for a conference my husband had and we only had tickets for one day at Disney World. I thought for sure we'd get to see *most* of it....not even close!
LOVE your pictures. That one of Chloe gazing at the castle is gorgeous. My cousin works in marketing and promotions for Disneyland....I will send her a link to your blog and have her contact you if they could use it for anything. It's adorable and the dream of every little girl!
~Kim
Posted by: ~Kim | February 29, 2008 at 10:33 PM
What a fun weekend trip! I'm glad you all had a fun time, despite Cole having the flu. No fun! That pic of Chloe looking at the castle is priceless. Thanks for sharing.
Also, thanks for your sweet message. It's been hard without little Violet around, and I'm trying to make good use of time and get some other kid fixes in. If you ever want a great babysitter, give me a call!
Posted by: Emily | March 01, 2008 at 10:48 AM
Kelly,
It looks like you had a great time! What a wonderful getaway, and don't feel bad for not taking Kate; I bet you all will be back when she WILL be able to remember it! ;) Awesome pics. You are probably the only one who is bothered by the "smudges." Thanks for sharing!
Posted by: Annie | March 01, 2008 at 07:25 PM
Stunning photos...smudge and all! Looks like you guys had a marvelous time---but how can you not at Disney. That whole place is magical and picturesque (except for the prices, of course!). Thanks for sharing.
Posted by: Colby | March 02, 2008 at 06:17 PM
So glad you got to go and have fun on the spur of the moment. I think it's awesome that you were able to do it.
And, uh....Never underestimate your talent, my friend. With your "old camera" and a smudge, your pictures are still lightyears beyond mine! LOL.
Posted by: Jeneen | March 02, 2008 at 06:41 PM
I have to agree with your mother. That picture of Chloe gazing at the castle is incredible! What fun!
Posted by: Jenny Gordon | March 02, 2008 at 09:19 PM
Sweet! I saw Kate's picture on Liz's blog and wondered where you had gone. ROFL at the kids being so excited to go to the zoo. Haaaa!! Yours is the second "I went to Disney with a sick kid" story I've read in about as many weeks.
Posted by: Susan | March 03, 2008 at 11:55 AM