Disneyland | The Surprise
Months ago Jessica (my sister) emailed me and told me that her partner Jeffrey had a speaking event in Anaheim in late March and did we want to meet them at Disneyland? I checked the calendar and the dates matched perfectly with our Spring Break. The opportunity to go and be with Jessica and her family and take the kids to Disneyland was way too much to pass up.
I decided I wanted it to be a surprise (hard not to get a little choked up when watching those commercials where the parents surprise their kids with a trip to Disney) - it just seemed all the more magical that way.
In the weeks leading up to Spring Break the kids and I talked a bit about maybe going somewhere, but also the possibility of just staying home and what we would do if we did stay home. Hang out, go to the park, watch movies - all good stuff and all stuff they would have been perfectly happy with. But I knew something they didn't know...
On Monday, March 29th I woke up at 4am and took a shower & dried my hair. For the last ten months I haven’t slept good at all. The night before we left I didn’t sleep well either but it was the first time in months & months that I didn’t sleep for a fun & exciting reason.
At 4:30 I woke up the kids who were both sleeping in my bed. They were hard to wake up at first.
I said, “Wake up. I have a surprise for you. We are going on an airplane.”
I think it was Anna who rolled over first and asked, “Where are we going?”
“First we are going to Seattle.”
“And then where?” asked Simon in that super-sleepy voice of someone who is really not awake yet.
“It’s a surprise.” They both looked at me and smiled and decided they were okay with that. There wasn't any "tell me now" or "where, where, where are we going?"
Anna got up as soon as I said we were going on an airplane. She was ready to get dressed immediately.
Simon was a little more sleepy and a little more skeptical.
“I don’t want to go. I want to stay home. I want to get a hook.” He’d been talking for weeks about getting a pirate hook. I’d been telling him that we could get one during spring break (knowing we were going somewhere he could get one).
“We can get a hook where we are going.” I told him.
At that he jumped up and said “Okay” with a big smile on his face.
And then he asked if we were going to Hawaii or Disneyland. I told him it was a surprise and he would find out later.
I finished my hair, grabbed my make up bag and corralled them downstairs. The night before I’d already packed everything in the car, including their backpacks so all I had to do in the morning was get them dressed and in the car.
They are both really good travelers. Excited, happy, ready to go - even at 4:50am. I was also ready with movies (Tinkerbell was especially popular) & games on the ipad (More Breakfast is a new favorite) and a new DS game for Simon (Star Wars: The Complete Saga).
We flew to Seattle (yep, sometimes you have to go north to get south) and then proceeded to wait a couple of hours until Jessica, Jeffrey and Gabrielle arrived at the airport. We planned that Gabrielle or Jessica would tell Simon and Anna. Simon and Anna didn't know we were meeting them either. By the time they arrived Simon was about at the end of all this surprise business. I told him that we were going to be meeting someone very soon who would tell us about the next phase of our surprise (very thankful at this point for the ability to text with my sister and get the exact details on when they would show up).
Here's a video of what happened next:
We Are Going To Disneyland from Ali Edwards on Vimeo.
Such a fun moment.
I love the pointing back & forth - the you & me?
I love that Anna really didn't care and was more excited to get to play with Gabrielle.
I love that this was something I got to share with my sister and Jeffrey.
I love that Simon is all about the magic. So much sparkle in that boy.
I'll share more in an upcoming post about some of the details and general thoughts on our actual time at Disneyland.
Gosh, I so feel like a part of your family. You don't know me but I know so much about you. I've followed you forever, love to hear your voice when you guest on PRT, !! When I watched the video with Simon I got such a warm feeling inside!! I know the past several months have not been the best for you but take it from someone who knows, there is life after this and it can be WONDERFUL as I wish for you. Sleep may be eluding you now, but it will return again. You will adjust to the new normal!! Until then, know you have cheerleaders all over the place....this one is in New Jersey!
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Thanks so much for sharing , Ali! That was awesome! Huge smile and a tear from me...that was the best! I do love how you tell a story, too!
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love this!!!! I get choked up at those commercials too. and I get to do this next year as my father is sending me, my sister and our two kids to disneyworld next summer. so fun!!!
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Good heavens! I just wiped my eyes and blew my nose, lol! What a precious post! So glad you had this experience. Thanks so much for putting a little magic in MY day, Ali. :-)
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Ali, how wonderful that you surprised the kids! I did the same for my son as a graduation present from college! It was a life-long dream come true. I hope you have a blast! (Your sleeplessness and some of the blahs you've been feeling sound like symptoms of peri-menopause to me. It hits some folks at a pretty early age. Try Melatonin...it's helped me alot). So glad you're taking some time for fun! xo
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What an awesome surprise! I wish someone would surprise me with going to Disney! That was such a cool idea & nice way to document it too. Can't wait to see more about the trip. (and from experience, the sleeplessness goes away, you will be fine)
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So wonderful to see Simon on video for the first time! So sweet. And what a great idea to surprise them. A gift to you as much as it was for them, I'm sure.
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Very cool! I love that Simon had to ask "Are WE going to Disneyland?".
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this is so fantastic - thanks so much for sharing. its put a smile on my face!
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SO sweet! I'm so happy you took that trip & really hope you enjoyed many magical moments!
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Ali, my eyes totally welled up with tears watching that! What a great surprise! My son is 9 and would have a similar reaction, wanting to verify the whole thing before getting excited about it. But you could tell by the look on Simon's face just how excited he was...truly heartwarming. I'm happy for your family that you had that time together and that Simon could enjoy that moment. I guarantee that he will never ever forget it.
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That was great! Thank-you for sharing your life with us.
ox,Dara
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I found myself shouting at the computer screen, "Yes, Simon! YOU are going! Total magic.
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That was great!
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Simply. Magical. In true Disney form. Precious, priceless video Ali! So happy y'all got to share in the Magic together.
Looking forward to more posts on Disney. :)
Take care you.
Suz
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TEARS!!!!! so BEAUTIFUL!!!! someday i hope to surprise my boys too.. they are both too young to understand the MAGIC of disney... loved it!
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Thanks for sharing Ali! Love his precious smile! I love surprises like that. What an absolute happy memory!
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sitting here with tears in my eyes. he's the sweetest boy.
xoxo
liz
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Precious!
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Having annual passes, my kids have been going to Disneyland all their lives, but they STILL get so WooHoo! excited whenever we go--whether it's for two days or two hours. I love that, too. I stopped sleeping well as soon as my first child was born. Just could not turn my brain off at night, no matter how tired my body was. Have tried for years to find a natural, healthy way to reclaim the sleep of my youth and the only things that work for me are 60 minutes on the treadmill or a half-mg of Lorazepam at bedtime (just enough to take the edge off during an especially difficult night). So, run Ali, run!
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You should make that a QR code and put it in project life that's great!
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Thank you for sharing this Ali. It truly warmed my heart. Have an amazing trip. Love surprises :)
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Thank you for sharing this Ali. It truly warmed my heart. Have an amazing trip. Love surprises :)
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I love to surprise my kids like that!! Thanks for sharing and bringing a tear to my eye :)... and glad you had a great time!
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This is so so cool!!
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