He Would have been Happier in a Sombrero

During our Disney trip in 2009, I bought Nick a pirate hat.  I should have bought him a sombrero instead.

He was lucky it wasn't a puffy shirt

Two years ago, the three of us went to Walt Disney World for Spring Break.  It was Nick's* senior year in high school, and we decided that if we were going to go as a family, that would be the perfect time to go.  We were making preps for his Eagle Court of Honor and graduation, as well as getting him ready to leave for college.  Scott and I were a bit melancholy, so we thought this trip would be perfect timing....and we were right.

The fourth or fifth day we were there, I started going through all of the pictures on my camera and noticed that I didn't have many from my favorite park, The Magic Kingdom.  I panicked.  I almost started crying and told Scott that we had to make another trip over there so that I could take a ton of pictures of all of my favorite places.

Scott had already bought a Captain Jack Sparrow hat and had been wearing that every day to every park we visited.  He was really getting into the 'zone.'  We decided to be a family of pirates that day at the Magic Kingdom.  I bought a set of Pirates of the Caribbean Mickey ears and then saw the perfect hat for Nick:  a set of Goofy ears with a bandanna and gold earring.  He did his best Seinfeld impression that day..."but I don't want to be a pirate!" 



Almost exactly like that, except for the Spanish subtitles, that is.  ;) 

Scott told him that he would wear the hat and smile.  He said, "you want to make your mother happy, don't you?"  He reluctantly put on the hat, but wasn't happy....at first.

A bit annoyed....

Still annoyed, but warming up a bit

The happy pirate family in front of the castle.

Starting to relax and get into the zone.

Finally!  

The three of us had some much fun on that trip.  We laughed harder than any other vacation.  Scott was reluctant to go to Disney World because of the heat and the crowds.  We went in mid-March before most of the country was on spring break, so the crowds weren't bad and the weather was gorgeous.  Our timing was perfect!

I'm hoping to go again in 2013 after the Fantasyland renovation is complete.  Is it a coincidence that it is also the same year Nick graduates from college?  Hmmmmmmm........  Must. save. money. NOW.

*Nick aka The Boy....he will always be "the boy" to us, but he's 20, so I'm thinking I can start calling him 'Nick' on here now.

Our trip to the Big City

I had the bright idea of a 'family' Christmas gift this past year. Something amazing that would require time spent together with no distractions. I talked to Scott about it and he said that as long as The Boy was up for it, he'd go along with it. I called The Boy and asked him if he'd like to see Blue Man Group or Wicked. Surprisingly, he chose Wicked. I was secretly pleased!

I got online and purchased 3 tickets to the 2pm showing the day after Christmas. We got very good seats...right side of stage, floor seats, row Q. I looked at the tickets and got a bit alarmed because they were seats 24, 26, and 28. Would we be separated? ACK!

Scott was scheduled to fly out of Chicago on the 27th at 7am, so he was going to have to leave the house at 3am, so we decided that driving to the city (instead of taking the train and having to heed to its schedule) would save us time and frustration. Scott told me that I was in charge of getting driving directions and parking information. Not a problem, says I! I'm your girl! I have been the 'navigator' our entire marriage, so this shouldn't be a problem, I thought.

So, I log on to the Cadillac Palace's website for driving directions and parking information. I got the directions telling me which exit to get off of the interstate and then it said, "Our self-park will be on the right, one half block from such and such avenue." Not a problem, I thought!

So, we got up on the morning of the 26th and got ready to go to the big city. I was so excited! Scott double checked that I had the directions and the parking information. Check and check. So, off we went.

It was a bright, sunny day when we left Farm Country, but the closer we got to the city, it started to snow. What a fun, Christmas-y day this is going to be, I thought! Scott was driving since I tend to get a bit of road rage (or so he says) and I sat back and directed him on where to turn, etc. We got to our exit and made the appropriate turns and there she was....SELF PARK...on the right-hand side of the road! Woot! I said, "Scott, there's the self park. Pull on in there and we'll park and walk to the theater!" I was feeling so proud of myself.

So, we got our ticket, parked the car and started walking...and walking...and walking. I kept looking at the guys and smiling and saying, "I'm sure it's just up ahead! Isn't this fun?" After awhile, it wasn't so fun. There is a reason they call Chicago "The Windy City." It was cold. And windy. And snowy. Finally, I started apologizing. Ok...I should have looked more into the parking situation. I said, "Hey! There is a 7-11. I'll just go on in and ask for directions! You just wait here and I'll be right back!" I go in and asked the kind man inside where the Cadillac Palace was. He said, "just go out, turn right and it's right there." Um, yeah...I go outside and see the signs for "Wicked Parking". I sheepishly smiled at my guys and said, "Look! We're so close! It's right over there!" I think by this time they were thinking, "No $h!t, Shirlock!"

We made it to the theater and went inside. It was so warm in there! Finally! So, our tickets said to go to the doors labeled "Aisle One", so we did. I said, "ugh, our tickets are evenly numbered. I hope we're not separated." The Boy said, "Mom, don't say anything to the usher. I don't want to look like a noob! We'll just make sure we're sitting next to one another, ok?" Lucky for us, the seats didn't have any odd numbers in our row, so we were sitting next to each other. Glad I didn't have to embarrass The Boy and make him feel like a 'noob.' WHATEVER

We settled in and the show began. I cried because I get emotional at Broadway musicals, the guys were restless cause it was a musical, you know, and they couldn't stand the fact that the actors kept breaking out into song every two seconds. Hello? That's what musicals are, thankyouverymuch.

After the show, we found our way back to that self -park and paid THIRTY DOLLARS for like 2 and 1/2 hours of parking (I found out from a friend that if we would have parked closer to the theater, it would have been about 1/2 that cost...but we wouldn't have had our adventure, right?) We got a bit lost leaving the city because Sassy Manassy got confused every time we went through construction, so I almost started laughing and saying, "Look everyone! Big Ben! Parliament" (like in European Vacation?) except that by now it was dark and the area we were lost in was scary and it just wasn't very funny.

We finally made it to the interstate and got home around 7:30pm. Scott logged in to Southwest and found out that all of the flights East were canceled due to the snow storm they were having, so we could have taken the train after all. But then, it wouldn't have been such an adventure and we wouldn't have had anything to look back on and laugh about later.

Why am I the only one laughing about this? hmmmmmmm

Homesick

I read a lot of blogs. I just finished reading Liz's blog This Full House where she was lamenting on the size of her house versus the number of people in her family. She has a small house in comparison to the number of people who live in her house. It brought back a lot of memories of my growing up years....thanks, Liz!

When I was growing up, we had a similar situation. We had a very small house. There were 5 of us under one roof with only one bathroom. Very small indeed when you're talking about 2 teenagers, 2 adults and one small child. My sister and I shared a room, so there was no escaping her. We didn't have a family room...just one living room, so we were all in the same place at the same time, much of the time. We were pretty jammed in that house.

The wonderful part about it? We were happy (well, most of the time). We liked spending time together (most of the time!) My parents enjoyed taking us places and because of our tiny house, we weren't 'house poor', which meant we got to go on vacations every summer to the ocean or to Disney World. Sometimes, they would even call us inside when we were out playing and say, "Get ready to go!" and we would take off for the mall, out to dinner, or even on an impromptu trip to Niagra Falls. Good times.

When I went away to college, I met many interesting new friends who came from different backgrounds. I went home with a friend one weekend. Her house was huge. To me, it was like an estate. HUGE. I invited her home to my house to reciprocate. I was a bit nervous because my house didn't even come close to being like hers. We got to my house and my mom met us at the door. My friend took a deep breath, hugged my mom, and said, "Now THIS is home!" That just made me feel all warm inside...yes...that WAS home!

As a grown-up, I realize it isn't the house that makes it a home, it's the people inside. We always felt safe and warm and we were well taken care of and loved. There are times when I feel 'homesick', but I know it isn't for an actual place (because that place is long gone), but it's for a time when things were easier and worries didn't seem to exist.