Well now the secret is no more. At the end of summer Leao and I made reservations and got tickets to take the boys to Disney World.  Every time I wrote a post I wanted to share the great news but it was a secret. But let me go back a bit to explain…

I would say that for about the past two years, the boys have been talking about going to Disney World. I had been once as a child with my mom and Leao had never been. But in my mind, I wanted them to be the right age to fully enjoy the experience and possibly remember it into adulthood.  So as this summer came to an end, I suggested to Leao that we seriously consider this year.  I didn’t want to go on spring break or any of the other school breaks. I knew the prices would shoot up even higher and the amount of people would probably be insane. So after talking to friends of ours, we picked dates around the Columbus day weekend. We only had to pull the boys from school 3 days. So we chose a 6-day vacation.

We decided to keep the entire trip a secret from the boys. For many reasons, one being we wanted them to focus on school work and  second to ensure they slept the days leading up and before we left for Disney. So I packed the suitcases and placed them in different locations so as not to draw attention. We decided to tell them the morning we left for Disney. Now how’s that for surprise?

I met with my girlfriend, Joan at Barnes and Noble who is our resident Disney expert having gone 4 times already with kids and without.  She and I giggled over my laptop in the cafe as we picked fast-pass selections and made dinner reservations. Which by the way, I thoroughly enjoyed her dinner recommendations!! Yum!!

I didn’t realize how difficult it was to keep the secret from the boys. I only told a few close friends and family. I didn’t even tell the teachers until the week before to ensure not slip ups.  We actually left at a good time because it was a review period at school.

As the days approached I began to get so excited. I couldn’t wait to tell them. The morning of our departure, we woke them at 3:30am to catch the cab (our flight was 6) to the airport. Leao video taped it but I decided not to put this footage online with Apollo who sleeps without a pajama top and Nicholas would kill me for putting him on the site. So I will just have to share the details in writing.

Surprise Revealed:

We  went into their room (they share a room) and turned on the lights and I told them, “It’s time to get up…We have to go to the airport”. Nicholas sat up in his bunk and because it was dark outside and very early he naturally seemed confused. Apollo rolled over on the bottom bunk to look at us.  Nicholas said, “What?” I repeated again that we had to go to the airport and that I layed out clothes for them to put on. Nicholas said, “The airport, where are we going?” I said, “Disney. We are going to Disney World.” Then he started to move towards the stairs and said, “What, I thought we were going next year?” Apollo said, “Disney World?” I said, “Nope, we are going right now.” Nicholas said, “Are you telling the truth?’ and Leao and I both said, “We would never wake you this early to tell you this if it weren’t true.” Apollo then jumped out of his bed saying, “I can’t wait to get a shirt. I can’t believe it. I am going to pinch myself to see if this is true…Yup, it hurt so it must be true.”

They both dressed quickly and then I showed them their Magic bands with their names on it and then it really started to be real.  We took the cab and fast forward to our arrival at Orlando! When we got on the Magic Bus that takes us to our hotel, they started really getting excited.  We checked in early dropped off our things and headed to The Magic Kingdom.  The temperature was hot around 88 but we were just so happy to be there it was worth it.

Over the course of the 6 days, we went to all the parks with our Park Hopper pass and had a blast. I realized it was our first family adventure with just the 4 of us. We have travelled to Hawaii twice with family to visit family, San Antonio with my in-laws, Florida several times with family and even to my hometown on Cape Cod to a resort with my sister and her husband. So this was really special for just the 4 of us.  My boys are excellent at flying, I knew that from our trips to Hawaii so I knew that would be a breeze and I have to say we had a great time with just the 4 of us and will definitely return. It has taken me some time to get back into my work schedule but the break was much needed and I had a blast.

Tomorrow I have a new blog series I am starting so be sure to check in tomorrow!

Have a blessed day!

Belinda