Three years ago we took our boys on a surprise trip to Disney World. They loved it and from the time we came home, they have asked when we would return. Before going, I never understood how people would take their kids there multiple times. But after going as a child and then going with my own children, I finally understand. So we decided this year would be the year we would return to Disney.We headed off a day after school let out to see if Disney could still feel magical on our second visit. One of my favorite pictures is the one above of Apollo and Mickey waving. It captures all the excitement and magic in one photo. We stood there with all of those people and when Mickey appeared the energy shot up like nobody’s business. Priceless.

At night we slept like pirates in our ships and in the day we sought out adventures in the different theme parks. I was still amazed how wonderful the service is and the boys were still captivated by all to see and of course their magic bands.  Oh and before I go further, I do have pictures of Nick on this vacation but he has reached the age where he does not like for me to put him up on the blog. So I am respecting his wishes.With Disney, it can be overwhelming but we learned so much from our first trip and we knew the higher heat would challenge us. We didn’t rush. I am a planner and I had everything planned and scheduled before we left our home for Disney. But I found myself in the position where I had to let go of the control.  Initially, I resisted and then I let go and set back and enjoyed each moment with my family. I remember someone telling me before my wedding to make sure that I pause throughout the wedding to take it all in or else it would be a blur and I would miss the beauty. I took that advice for both my wedding and on our vacations with the boys this summer. Each night I reflected on all the blessings we witnessed each day. It truly makes a difference. I didn’t want it to be like me checking off items on a list, I wanted it to be an experience where we truly immersed ourselves. I wanted the experience to create life-long memories for the boys that they could reminisce on into adulthood and I believe we achieved that.

Of course, we had to do a safari at the Animal Kingdom and I took way too many photos but there is something about it that makes me go photo crazy. I spared you all the photos and just included two.
The time of day dictates how many and which animals we were to see but this one below was a bit intimidating because yes, he was that close.If you have seen the movie Avatar, then you must go see this entire world they have created at the park called Pandora – The World of Avatar. It’s unbelievable and it occupies a large area of the Animal Kingdom. You can walk around and see really incredible creations. I would love to see the making of this attaction.They had two new rides that opened only a few weeks prior to our arrival that was inspired by the movie and somehow I scored a fast pass for us to ride one – Avatar Flight of Passage. We got to fly on the back of a mountain banshee during a 3D experience that is out of this world!  Hands down, this was my favorite ride. It felt so real I had to close my eyes a few times. On our first visit, I assumed the boys would not be so interested in Epcot but boy was I wrong so we had to make sure we returned on this trip. I love seeing all of the different architecture for the different countries. Morocco once again stole my heart and the meal we ate there was my favorite from the entire trip.We had so much fun roaming around our resort and we ended up eating most of our breakfasts there as well as swimming in one of their beautiful pools on a few days. The boys liked to beat us back to our room after breakfast by taking different routes around the resort and using their magic bands to enter the room first. Truly they did not get their good sense of direction from me.Once again we took my friend Joan’s advice and made sure the photographers took pictures of us with the kids but also just of us. Now if we could only get the people out of the background like the guy looking over Leao’s shoulder!!On the last day, the boys surprised me again and asked when we will return and I told them we will see. We have so many other places we would like to take them so, for now, we will have to wait. But I have no regrets returning to such an amazing place.

I am slowly getting my office in order as we prepare for Nick to return to school on the 14th and Apollo the 29th so I will resume a new posting schedule very soon. So come back so we can catch up!

Belinda