Disney Vacation

Well, where to even begin. It was such an amazing trip and we feel so totally blessed to have been able to go. C was so excited that it was literally very difficult for her to contain herself. She acted excited and anxious as we packed and drove. The drive there, we had figured would be the easier of the two trips. We picked up C from school around 12:30 and headed out. I had packed each child their own backpack full of goodies from the dollar store. It actually held their attentions longer than I had expected and the first 2 hours went pretty smooth. From there on, it was a bit trickier, but still, not too bad.

C was unable to sleep in the car, claiming it was uncomfortable. She had the whole middle row except for A's car seat so had more room than any other person but she begged to differ. There was a definate attitude about this trip revolving around her and I was a bit nervous that it would continue and when it came time for rides, would have a hard time doing what the family wanted instead of what she wanted. This did prove to be partly true.

She was confused as we entered the park the next day. Main Street was not what she had expected to walk into and "Where are the rides?" was what she said. The 100 foot Christmas tree wasn't impressive to a girl who had heard about rides.

We had two great days at the park. She did have a hard time with doing things that others wanted to do and would constantly try to redirect our activities to what she wanted to do. We told her that there was enough time to do it all and WE DID! We stayed out until 11PM CA time on Sunday taking in seconds and thirds on her favorite rides which we the coasters. She was having so much fun and I don't know if or when she will ever get back so wanted to be sure she really felt like she got to do it all.

One of my friends took a foster child to Disneyland a couple years back and the girl had cried as they left the park saying "I don't want to go." When questioned about it she had stated that she would never get to come back. I feared this for C but was prepared for it. That is not what we got. We got, " It is ok. I will be back next year... well, do you think we could come back sooner or will it be next year?" She does NOT CONSIDER that she is not a permanent part of our family. She knows we go to CA twice a year for vacations and that we intend to come back... that means she would come back, too. Yet she kept saying without us putting a question or statement to her "It is ok. I will be back next year." It was like she was trying to convince herself.

I enjoyed my family, C being a part of that, SO MUCH. I feel like we are closer for the experience and that C really did have that once in a lifetime first trip that will forever be burned in her mind. I love her. She was very grateful for the trip and I was so grateful to have her be a part of it. I have so many amazing pictures of the trip but can't post them so next CFT we will have to have them out for you all to see. It was truly, truly an amazing trip.