This past fall the girls turned 4. I was pretty darn pregnant with Jack, we just finished a big move and the weather was still quite warm--so what did we decide to do?  Naturally, we loaded up the fam and took a trip to Disney World. Well, that is not entirely true. My mom was kind enough to take Benson (sorry Ben if you feel left out if you ever read this but when you have an 18 month old son you will understand) so it was just Ryan, myself, the twins and fetus Jack came along for the ride.

 It all started when Disney was brought up at work. I, being the super practical person that I am, informed my coworkers that we were going to wait until all the kids were old enough to fully appreciate Disney. They quickly informed me much to my dismay that I could miss the 'magical window' that the girls were in--the window where they are enamored with princesses and all things that make Disney so magical. The wheels started turning and by the end of the shift I was looking up flights to Orland to take a 4 day weekend trip to Disney to commemorate the girls 4th birthday and to have one last hurrah before the baby arrived (again, I'm sorry Ben but after our last flight with you as a one year old whirling dervish on a 2 hour flight I vowed never to fly with you again until you were at least of double digit age).

We decided to make it a surprise. We had to get up early to get to the airport and by the time we arrived they were tired and out of sorts so our 'reveal' video is definitely not material for a Disney commercial.  We arranged to stay in a hotel that has a little mermaid themed room (commence eye rolling) and I think they loved that the most--combined with the finding nemo themed pool of course.

We did the Magic Kingdom on one day and Disney Hollywood Studio the next day.  I don't know why I thought September in Florida would make for a lovely fall trip--it was stinking hot! I got many sympathetic looks as I waddled around the park. The girls were a little wilted as well and at times I would look at them and think they were hating us for putting them through this Disney experience. When we came back from a break at the hotel Lydia got off the bus, looked around and said "Not the magic kingdom--it's so hot!" The real magic though was when they had a chance to meet the princesses--the looks on their faces when they met their infamous princesses was priceless and they haven't stopped talking about it since (although I do hope they acquire better role models than giant doe eyed size 0 twigs with generous breasts that only wear dresses and little high heels)

Just a side note that Disney is one of the greatest places to people watch. There are people of ALL kinds--and I have never seen more glittered and glammed up little girls in flouncy princess dresses in all my life. We did the cheap version of this--we brought chintzy costco versions of princess dresses and they proudly paraded around in those. All in all it was a very memorable trip. Maybe we'll have to do it again soon, ditching Jack this time and trying it with 3 enamored preschoolers.