My Happy Place

It's my birthday this month - my 35th for anyone who's keeping count - and my darling husband and children are taking me to one of my favorite places on earth: Disneyland. :)

Did you know that Disney is offering free park admission on your birthday? Check it out!

(On the way home, we will stop at one of my favorite stores: Ikea. I will likely overspend in both places. Ah, well. There are worse addictions, I suppose. ) :)

I love Disney. Always have. Always will. If I have to explain why, you probably wouldn't understand anyway.

I have no idea how many times I've been to Disneyland (one of the many benefits of living in California), but I never get tired of it.

Of course, the experience is even better with kids.

I think we took Minion 1 for the first time when he was about a year and half. And I know Minion 2's first trip was in utero, followed by another when he was just shy of 1, as well.

This week, we go with a 4-year-old and a not-quite-2-year-old. Ought to be a blast. :) Minion 1 is already making a list of which attractions he wants to do first ... and Minion 2 is at that age where he will start to recognize familiar faces and sites.

Some folks think we're a little crazy to take kids "so young" to Disneyland - muttering about meltdowns and being old enough to appreciate it.

Meh.

The key to a great time is simple: Don't have too many expectations, and go with the flow.

I don't "expect" this trip to be the end-all be-all event of a lifetime. I don't "expect" to go on every ride. I don't "expect" to have perfectly happy children all day long.

Kids getting tired? Take a break. The line for a picture with Mickey too long for little tummies to wait for lunch? Skip that experience this time. Kids want to ride Buzz Lightyear three times? Why not? Minion 2 thinks the Pirates are too scary? Take advantage of the rider-swap. (You DO know about rider-swap, don't you? Second-best Disney invention ever. Right after the FastPass.)

I'm looking forward to this birthday present from and with my family very much. But I'm not going to pile so many expectations on it that I bury any chance of enjoying every moment for exactly what it is.

I expect to turn 35 Wednesday. Everything else is chocolate sauce. :)

"Why do we have to grow up? I know more adults who have the children's approach to life. They're people who don't give a hang what the Joneses do. You see them at Disneyland every time you go there. They are not afraid to be delighted with simple pleasures, and they have a degree of contentment with what life has brought - sometimes it isn't much, either."
~ Walt Disney

"So I go right straight out for the adult -- as I say for the honest adult, not these sophisticates, not these characters that think they know everything and you can’t thrill them anymore. I go for those people that retain that something that no matter how old they are, that little spirit of adventure, that appreciation of fantasy, of the world of fantasy and things like that. I go for them, I play to them. There’s a lot of them. You know? These poor sort of lost souls, these sophisticates that are so bored and turn their nose up at anything and say that it’s childish. What the heck is wrong with something being childish? I think it’s equivalent of never losing your sense of humor, you know?"
~ Walt Disney

Enjoy your week. I know I will. :)