H.P.O.E.

We made a last minute decision to spend the kids’ Fall Break at the happiest place on earth (h.p.o.e.). (I, for one do not buy into this claim, but whatever.) Three days of un-interrupted family fun and sheer bliss. (Sure.)

This is our family during one of our more behaved moments:

We usually looked a little more like Paige in this pic:

(To be fair, this was taken at the end of the day. We were all exhausted, and Paige seemed to be coming down with something. But, we must. take. a picture. with the Halloween decorations!)

1- Gabriel just cleared the height requirement for all the rides. Not so lucky for him. He held the golden ticket (that being the pass to get to the front of the line, a.k.a. best thing EVER). We took him on everything from Space Mountain to Tower of Terror. He loves speed and dips, just not in the dark. We don’t think he’s scarred for life. Don’t worry, he had his share of It’s a Small World and Peter Pan, too.

2- Buddies. Gabriel was painted up as a fierce lion.

3- Paigey’s MUST HAVE Minnie Mouse ears. We gave the kids a spending allowance for each day and she was perfectly willing to blow her money on these babies. (Taylor preferred to spend his wad on churros.)

4- A drizzly day at Disney means no crowds! Disney is so much more enjoyable this way. By our third day we were fighting our way through a crazy sea of people.

5- Cali!!

6- I dragged Taylor along with me as I chased down Mr. Incredible. He obediently posed for a picture.

7- Beautiful walk to DL. Funny story. When I booked the hotel, I thought it was directly across the street from the Disney entrance. Not until we’d been walking for 5 minutes did I realize I was wrong. We were about a mile or so away. Kids were not happy. Mommy was not happy. We took the shuttle after that. Okay, so it’s not a funny story.

8- Paige had a fever all the first night. So Miss P and I spent the bulk of day 2 in the hotel room watching Disney Channel. Some time after lunch we couldn’t take it anymore, met up with the boys, and went to a couple shows. She was perfectly fine by the next day.

9- All my kids. Smiling. No whining. Although, I can’t promise that it lasted long after the shot was taken.

Oh… it was a good time. The kids say they had fun. The Halloween decorations were fabulous, the fireworks show was amazing. I just don’t think we’re due for another Disney vacay for at least 5-10 years.