Hey. Thanks. You. Yeah, YOU.

Our family has had a crazy few months.

It’s been busy.

Good things like babies being born.

And stressful things like hospital stays.

We needed a break.  NEEDED.  Neeeeeeeeeded.

While I adore our extended family, and they have been absolute lifesavers more times than I can count, we had actually never been on a vacation together…just us.  The 6 of us.  Without an auntie or cousin or grandma in tow.  We’re a close knit crew, and we have a ton of fun together…but I kinda just wanted some time with our little unit.

Since a trip to Hawaii was out of the question (for a lot of reasons), we figured a trip to Disneyland would probably work best for everyone.  Besides, Andy and I both genuinely love the place so we weren’t really taking one for the team anyway.

Lucky for us, we live within driving distance, and because Andy travels for work so often, he had accumulated hotel points…which we were able to use to fully pay for our two nights at a nearby Sheraton.  (p.s. no affiliation, but seriously, stay there if you need a place.  It was awesome.  Huge rooms that easily accommodated our family of 6, and free shuttle to and from the park every half hour.)

Also lucky for us, while we are still a 3+ hour drive away, our zip code still qualifies for the So Cal discounts for annual passes and it wasn’t too much more for a pass as it was for two day tickets.  SCORE.

We had a BALL.  And we have already mapped out at least the next two trips in our calendars.

Not more than two days goes by before Andy or I mentions how we can’t wait to go back again.

Ohmyword.

When did he grow up???!!

This is the quintessential “Seriously mom…I don’t want to smile and take a dumb picture but I will because you are threatening my life” pose.

I told the kids there were 4 rules at Disneyland:

1) Stay by mom and dad at all times.

2) Do not touch ropes or chains in the lines (not because I’m a germaphobe, but because touching them turns irresistibly into swinging them around wildly and whacking other patrons with them).

3) TELL US AS SOON AS YOU HAVE TO GO TO THE BATHROOM AND NOT WAIT UNTIL YOU ARE 4 SECONDS FROM PEEING YOUR PANTS.  Oy.  I seriously think I spent half my days walking to and from restrooms.

4) Have fun!!!

“But mom, it’s okay if I get lost.”

“Huh?  No it’s not.”

“Yeah it is.  God is with me all the time.  So even if I get lost from you and Dad, God’s still with me.”

::Insert jaw drop and absolute utter speechlessness here::

More speechless…

Searching for words….

“Well, yeah.  That’s totally true.  But I’d just prefer it if I was with you too.  So let’s go with that.”

Dude.  Maybe bible memorization is more than I bargained for.  After all, our last verse was “Do not be afraid, for I am with you” (Isaiah 43:5).  I still don’t quite know how to respond to that comment in a biblically accurate way.

We saved a load of money by packing in lunches for the kids.

In fact, they complained when they realized they had to eat park food for dinner.

We brought a loaf of bread and jars of PB&J and made sammies at the hotel every morning.

Next time I’ll pack in dinner too.  Maybe lunchables or something easy.

Andy and I ate at the park though.  Which cuts costs significantly, and we’re more high maintenance than PB&Js and Pringles.

This guy was a ROCK. STAR.

He just chilled and hung out in the stroller and the Ergo.  No bigs.

Did you know that babies can ride on most rides?  I just left him strapped in my carrier and he hung out.

Overstimulated.  But he hung out.

I even nursed him on It’s a Small World.  And he rode Pirates.  Twice.

Love this kid.

There were a handful of rides that shorty couldn’t ride on, which was actually fine because I would let her wander around in her walker a bit.  Stretch her legs.  Get some energy out.  I just followed her around wherever she went.

It’s funny how my kids have kind of paired up: Henry and Lu are besties (who fight like crazy too)…and Jill and O are in love with each other.

He started fussing as I was snapping pictures and she managed to position herself in front of him so she could try to shush him.

In this case, O was having none of it.

Rescue me mom!

In what may be my favorite picture of all time, Jill stopped dead in her tracks when a giant Sully walked by.

I cannot get over how bitty she looks.

I think this needs to be a stretched canvas somewhere in my house.

Shock and awe.

I die.

(and you can also see how my wee girl gets more attention than a giant hairy blue monster.  ha!)

Also jaw dropping was the parade when the princesses went by.

She may not be able to name them verbally, but girlfriend knew who they were and kept saying “woooooowwwwww”…which is her way of telling you something is pretty.

There’s my little boy.

Phew.  That was stressing me out.

We needed this trip.  It was good for us.  We can’t wait to go back.

* * * *

Oh, and the title of this post?  What does it have to do with anything?

Well, lest you think we are ballers who can drop mad coin on annual Disney passes for our family, I want to take a minute to thank each of you.

For reading these silly words I type every morning.  For coming back.  For encouraging and praying and commenting and being a community.

For being gracious as this blog space evolves and I learn alongside you how this all works.

Because as I have slowly been monetizing, I ignored my PayPal account for the better part of the year…and slooooowly it grew…until there was just enough to surprise my family with passes to Disneyland.

Thank you for blessing my family through this goofy little space.

Without this hobby of mine, and your continued support, we wouldn’t be able to afford such a luxury.

Thanks.  We appreciate you.  All 6 of us.

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jeannett

I'm a mom to four. A wife to one. I believe in story. I love telling you about mine and would love to hear yours. There's really no sense in wasting our suffering and not sharing in each other's joy. We're all in this together...even if it doesn't always feel like it.

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