My Favorite Place

I have a stack of photos from this weekend's Great Balloon Races for you, but I'm slow getting them onto my computer this morning. Instead I thought I would share my favorite place.

This is our family's home away from home. We have been annual pass holders for years, despite the fact that we live eight hours away. The majority of our vacation dollars are spent in our quest to spend as much time with the mouse as possible. 

I lived within 15 minutes of Disneyland for the majority of my childhood. It was kind of meant to be. Mr Shawn only had the pleasure of going a couple of times with his family. He always enjoyed the experience, but hadn't thought of sharing it with our children until some friends of ours took theirs. I finally convinced him that Santa should take the girls. So we sat down and ha a little talk with Santa and you know what? He agreed it was time. The girls were 6 and 8. Not quite big enough to ride everything, but too big for strollers. So we decided it would be best to take them out of school for a few days in January, while the parks were slower, so that they wouldn't be overwhelmed. Plus the cost was lower than trying to go during Christmas break like the rest of the world. Santa only kicks down so much toward Christmas gifts. Mom and Dad had to come up with the rest.

That trip snowballed into a passion. The girls claim we have been 17 times now. Most trips have been 3 or 4 days. That's a lot of days spent with the mouse! Why would any one want to go to Disneyland so many times? Haven't you seen and done everything that is offered? Don't you get bored?

Nope. Mr Walt Disney has created something absolutely magical. For our family, getting to act like children is important. We never want to take life to seriously. That can be very difficult on a day to day basis, especially with the pressures of work, classes, and schedules. Disneyland offers an escape. An escape we have now shared with all of our immediate family at least once. And finally we get to share it with our best friends in October and do something we have never done before. See we can still find new experiences!

In late October we are going to share Halloween with Mickey, as a band of pirates. Aye matey! Mickey throws a series of Halloween parties throughout October with costumes, characters, trick or treating, and extra special fireworks. We cannot wait. Every trip has special moments and unique experiences. 

Yep, you've been warned...Thanks for the little walk down memory lane this morning.