jaredmeaghan

[jaredmeaghan]

Aaaand we’re in our way!!

[jaredmeaghan]

And we’re off!!!

[jaredmeaghan]

17 more days.....the countdown is on!

#aulani #disney #getmeouttahere #wintervacay #familytime #DVC

[jaredmeaghan]

[jaredmeaghan]

Disney is our happy place!!

[jaredmeaghan]

On our way to stop one!!!

[jaredmeaghan]

What a pretty little mouse from 2015....t minus 2 days until we get an updated shot.....

[jaredmeaghan]

Does anyone else listen to Disneyland rides and sounds while getting ready in the morning?! Just me? I feel bad for the rest of you.....

[jaredmeaghan]

Our opportunity to stand in the home of Walt and the Disney family. Looking out the window where he once watched kids run into the happiest place on earth was pretty surreal.

[jaredmeaghan]

4 more months and counting....

[jaredmeaghan]

So when one does not have anywhere to go, and no Beachfront Bargain Hunt or Hawaii Life to watch on a Sunday morn, this is what I turn to. My Disney Cruise Line vacation planning DVD never disappoints!

[jaredmeaghan]

I’ll never forget this moment.

We were aboard the Disney Dream, our first experience with a Disney cruise line, and we knew within five minutes of boarding it would not be our last.  “Now welcoming the Reist Family!” was the jubilant introduction we received stepping on the ship.  My daughter ran into the arms of a princess the minute we were on board, and my son was geared up for the Aqua Duck, despite the chilly breeze in Florida that Monday.  

The kids club, the friendly family assigned wait staff at every dinner, the interactive activities, the pirate party...it was all amazing.  But nothing topped this moment.

It was our last evening to watch the evening entertainment (another amazing feature of this cruise).  The kids were so engaged, smiling and laughing throughout, and it was clear all were having a fantastic time.

But then the confetti canon went off. Vibrantly coloured little pieces of nothing floated from the ceiling and my son, as if on cue, jumped up and began cheering as if he had been given the best gift of all. 

It was sheer joy.  Unbridled joy sparked by a confetti canon.  Joy because he met his favourite character, Stitch, that week.  Joy because he hugged Queen Elsa, an act he now claims was not ‘that cool’.  Joy because he spent one whole week experiencing magic around every corner.  It was joy, and although he had been happy all week, appreciative every day, it was then I saw pure joy and innocence and childhood in all its glory.  I cried then, I still tear up now, and I am so grateful for this precious moment with my son.

[jaredmeaghan]

Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world

Flaubert (via bkpkme)

[jaredmeaghan]

Get me to some sunshine and plus temperatures again please!!!

[jaredmeaghan]

It still breaks my heart this will not be in Disneyland anymore....At least we shall see it in July!  It holds such dear memories for us: my Grandma’s favourite ride when we took her at 75 years of age, and my son on it at 3 years of age when he was tall enough to ride (and of course loving it!)

“You unlock this door with the key of imagination, beyond it is another dimension. A dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind. You’re moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas. You have just crossed over into … The Twilight Zone.“ 

The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is located at the Disney Hollywood Studios in Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. At the end of Sunset Boulevard looms the imposing Hollywood Tower Hotel. It’s 13 stories high (naturally) and is home to the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror a high speed thrill ride, that sends you falling down 13 stories.

[jaredmeaghan]

The family that sprays together stays together!!!

[jaredmeaghan]

So we pull in to the cold, grey, barren frozen north and this is what results.