Weekly Pic--It's a Small World

This week's pic is from our trip in June 2007 to Disney. Believe it or not, it was my first time to go to the Magic Kingdom in Florida. Elizabeth and her mom thought it would be fun and invited us to tag along. Now, while I had never been to DisneyWorld, I have been to DisneyLand twice. Neither experience convinced me that this was the "Happiest Place on Earth". The first time involved blacking out from heat exhaustion/dehydration (seriously, not exaggerating for the sake of artistic license) and the second time involved one of the worst migraines of my life in which I wound up taking unidentified prescription medication from a complete stranger. These two experiences mixed with three other important factors: 1.) I don't like being hot. 2.) I don't like amusement parks; and, 3.) I don't like traveling with my children, made me somewhat skeptical about the trip. In fact I didn't even tell the girls about it until Elizabeth spilled the beans. I had planned to pack their suitcases while they were sleeping and load the car without their knowledge. How cool would that be? Just imagine, "Mom, where are we going?" "Oh, no where in particular....wait, look over there! It's Disneyworld! Let's stop in for a bit, shall we?"
Mr. G and Big Joel both had "previous engagements" that prevented them from going, so the stage was set for "Girls Gone Wild". (Wild in this case refers to crazy, giggly, we've-been-in-the-car-for-days wild, not the other wild that refers to getting drunk, signing a waiver and then losing your dignity on late night TV.) To make a long story not quite so long, we had the most wonderful adventure! There really is something magical about the Magic Kingdom that softens even hard-hearted cynics like myself.
So Joel and the guys are going to Disney this weekend and the girls and I are not...not that I'm bitter or anything. Unfortunately, Tropical Storms/Hurricanes Hanna, Ike and Josephine will probably spoil most of the fun, and Joel is working so we wouldn't see him much, and the girls have school, and since I quit working we don't have as much "disposable income". In other words, sometimes the real world gets in the way of the "Small World" (After All).