On our way to DW!!!

We picked up the kids from school on Friday afternoon, and started driving east! They had no idea where we were going, and just went with the flow. We told them we were going "on vacation" and that we would be staying in a hotel (just that simple fact had them excited!).

We drove until they were asleep, carried them into the hotel, and then at 4am the next morning we got in the car and told them we were on our way home: "Wasn't that fun to sleep in a hotel?," unanimous cheers, and plans for dinner that night at home. We are either really persuasive, or our kids have the perfect balance of optimism and faith in their parents.

Around 3pm they started to get antsy and wanted to know when we would be home, so we stopped at a Starbucks and told them where we really were going. At first they were in shock, but then started to grasp the reality of it (except Ricky- watch how excited he gets, yet he has NO CLUE what we are talking about!!!! :) The truth is they mirrored our excitement, because in reality none of them know what Disney World entails. The second surprise was even better- Grandma and Grandpa were in the hotel!!!

I think every parent should get to surprise their kids with a vacation when they are young- their smiles are pure joy.