I kind of like being called princess all the time. . .

We went to Disney World! When Travis and I decided to plan a family vacation to Disney World we decided to go all out with it and do everything we wanted to do thinking we may or may not ever go back (since our trip Travis and the kids have all assured me that we will most definitely be going back!). So, we stayed for seven days on property and did the big meal plan that allowed us to have full sit-down meals and snacks each day and included a lot of shows and character meals. Absolutely worth it! We had a fabulous week together and created many, many memories. (I have to give a shout out to Travis here for his amazing trip planning skills. He spent hours researching and planning the details of our trip. Wonderful job!)

Here are a few pictures and highlights of our trip . . .

"Have a Disney day!" This was the cheesy, yet oddly endearing, greeting that we received many times throughout our week. It was fun to be in a place where the atmosphere is intended to be magical. Even though it was ridiculously hot and crowded, almost all of the time we felt very well taken care of and attended to. One of the fun touches for Sophia was being called "Princess" by almost everyone she came into contact with. On our second day at Disney, Sophia told me "I kind of like being called princess all the time!"

One of Grant's favorite activities during the week was collecting character autographs. This was definitely an advantage of doing the character dinners on the dining plan. Rather than waiting in long lines to get character autographs, we sat in air conditioned restaurants while the characters came right to our table. Being the charmer that he is, Grant won many fans for himself throughout Disney World. The most sought after meet and greet of the week for Grant was the characters of Monster's Inc. The most memorable for Grant, however, was probably Mary Poppins and her friend Bert--as Grant visited with Mary Poppins, she told him that he was "very well mannered" and invited him to visit England with her. Grant was thrilled to have received this compliment!

Grant and Pluto . . .

Grant and the Dapper Dans, a Main Street barber shop quartet. Grant LOVED their show!

In his eagerness to fill his autograph book, Grant even enjoyed meeting the Princesses. He thought it would be funny to hold his shorts out the same way Snow White held her dress.

Sophia loved meeting the characters, too. It was fun to watch her balance her grown-up insight that the characters were not "real" with her childlike desire to believe in the magic of meeting princesses and cartoon characters in "real life".

Of course the best character meals in Sophia's opinion were the ones where she met the princesses!

A highlight for all of us was Cinderella's breakfast in the castle at the Magic Kingdom. I have to say, Disney did that one right!!!

Before we went to Disney a friend gave me the idea to buy most of our souvenirs here in Missouri, same junk just a lot cheaper. Wonderful idea! Wanting the trip to feel magical for the kids, I came up with an idea that I am quite proud of. Each day of our trip the kids woke up to a letter and gift from one of the Disney characters. They loved it! One letter that Sophia received was from Cinderella inviting her to a princess make-over at the Bippity-Boppity-Boutique at the castle in Magic Kingdom. Sophia loved it! She was made-over by a fairy godmother and got to choose her hair style and color, nail polish, and make-up. What a racket Disney has going there, but it was well worth it as Sophia will remember it forever!

You are never too old to enjoy the Dumbo ride!

Epcot! While the Magic Kingdom was definitely the family favorite, we spent time at each of the Disney Parks. At Epcot we loved the ride/3-D movie Soaring. You feel like you are in a giant air glider flying over America. Very cool...when you fly over orange groves, you smell oranges. When you see ocean spray, you get a little wet.

Of course we enjoyed the Nemo attractions at Epcot as well!

While we didn't spend a lot of time at the Animal Kingdom, we did enjoy the Safari and saw was what probably one of the best shows of the week: The Lion King. Amazing!

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What a wonderful week! I think the best part was spending an entire week focusing only on our family. It was wonderful to get away from the distractions of real life to focus on the kids and each other. It was amazing how much I felt like I learned about our kids over that week. They showed us everyday how grown up they have become and what wonderful little people they are. Definitely worth it . . .