the happiest place on earth

We went to Disney on Saturday. I've had many a friend ask why in the world I would venture to Disney with a not-quite two-week-old. And I only have one explaination: free tickets. Disney was offering a pass for families in our fostercare agency, and they could be converted into annual passes, but only on this day. All of Mark's family has passes, as do many of our friends. We have felt the pressure to get passes for years, and this weekend we yielded.

Honestly, I'm not much of a Disney person. I hate crowds. I hate tourists. I grew up right by the other Disney (the one with more mosquitos), and I've been so many times that the appeal was gone long ago. I think most of the rides are lame, and I want to punch those Jungle Cruise hosts and their annoying commentary. Also - I am a totally lazy mom. The idea of packing up the diaper bag, stroller, sunscreen, change of clothes, food . . . oh my gosh I am tired just thinking about it. Why go to all that trouble when they can play at McDonald's for free?

I have to admit, my inner Disney scrooge was softening a bit on this trip. Especially seeing the kids have SO much fun with their cousin Tanner. Kipp and Sarah met us at the park, but found out that it was a "blackout" day for them, meaning their passes were invalid. We were so sad!! This is how Jafta felt about the news that Tanner couldn't go inside:

But then we had a little Christmas miracle. Sarah and Kipp went to Jamba Juice on their way back to the car, and the cashier overheard Sarah talking about what happened. She felt so bad that she used her employee priveledge and signed them into the park!

The night before, Kipp sent Mark a text letting him know it was "Sleeveless Shirt Day". I saw the text, and immediately thought I should delete it so that Mark and Kipp wouldn't look like dorks. As you can see from the photo, I did not follow up on my instinct. Kipp is the kind of guy who declares it is "Moustache March", or wears a velour pantsuit and matching sweatbands to his kid's birthday party. He is taking Mark down with him.

But not to be outdone, I had texted Sarah to let her know that it was "Hooter Hider" day.

So we had a great day with them. We rode a few rides, had lunch, and let the kids decide when it was time to leave. Tanner decided:

Okay, so maybe my nickname "The Crappiest Place on Earth" has been a little harsh. We actually had a lot of fun.