Disney in review

So we are back. Sorry I have been so late in posting (I know everyone has been waiting on the edge of their seats for my Disney review). We brought back some unwanted souveneirs.....Greyson some pneumonia and Quinn and I a very nasty cold. The Erim house is slowly recovering and getting back into a normal routine.

So how was it, you ask? How was Disney for the non-Disney family? It turns out, it was a lot of fun. I paid $20 and got this on-line Disney guide which was really helpful. It told us the best days to visit each park and what rides to go on when. We hardly had to stand in any lines the entire week. The kids loved the rides (though the themes of the ride (a la Dumbo and his feather) were sometimes lost on them). We had to explain some of the things but all in all we had a blast. For example, having never seen or read Peter Pan they really didn't get the premise of the ride but still loved flying over London in a magic ship and then seeing the pirates in the water below.

The two biggest surprises of the trip were #1 my son loving roller coasters (who would have thunk it) and #2 my kids love of the characters, even if they didn't know who they were. Which brings me to my funny story of the trip.

As we were walking around Animal Kingdon we spotted a character Meet and Greet which contained Baloo and King Louie, two characters my kids actually knew. But before you could get to them there was another Meet and Greet station before them containing the monkey from Tarzan. Now I didn't know who or what this thing was and neither did my kids but nonetheless they wanted to say hello. So as we were waiting in line I very politely asked the character assistant who exactly this was. He looked at me with this shock and a bit of disgust and told me it was Terkina from the Tarzan movie. I really wasn't impressed and we had Fast Passes to the jungle Safari that were about to expire and so I asked if we could skip Terkina and head up to Baloo and King Louie. Well, did I get a nasty look and as we walked by he shouted after me that they would only be there for 10 more minutes. I think I insulted them both.

So the bottom line is that we had a really fun time at Disney. That being said, I think we have a 'been there, done that' attitude about the Magic Kingdom and I really don't see the family heading back there anytime in the near future.

Pictures posted soon.

The Vacation Contradiction

Yes, the rumors are true (well as much as there are rumors out there about the Erim clan)....we are going to DisneyWorld.

Now, those of you who are familiar with my 'parenting style' are probably scratching your heads a little at this point.

"Aren't you the ones that don't let your kids watch TV??" Yep.

"Aren't you the ones who avoid at all costs branded and plastic toys?" Yep.

"Isn't your daughter the only 4 yeard old in the world who thinks at the end of the Little Mermaid that the little mermaid commits suicide instead of harming her Prince to save her own life?" Yes, that would be Quinn (we like to read the original Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen)

So why the hell are you going to DisneyWorld??? Very valid question.

I may be crazy and fooling myself but I still think that Disney can be a magical place without knowledge of the Disney characters and can be enjoyed without immersing into the complete commercialization that is Disney. Cinderella's castle is still a beautiful and magical sight to any 4 or 5 year old regardless of who you think lives there. And everyone can enjoy riding on Dumbo even if you don't know the whole story. The Animal Kingdom animals are still animals..I don't think they have Disney logos branded onto their sides.

So we are off to view Disney through the eyes of children who have little idea what Disney is. We will see what happens.

4 Year Old Logic

Quinn and I were in the car earlier this week and Quinn wanted to talk about speeding tickets. I explained the whole process - getting pulled over, talking to the policeman, him/her writing the ticket and then having to pay the fine.

"So I guess people on motorcycles don't get tickets then."

"Why do you think that?"

"Because Mommy, they have no where to put the ticket when they get it because it would blow away."

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Beak Em Hawks (a little early)

Quinn was quite excited to show her Jayhawk spirit today as March Madness is rapidly approaching.

Yes, for all the basketball fans out there, I know that the tournament doesn't start until tomorrow (I don't consider these play-ins as part of the real tournament) and Kansas doesn't play until Friday but Quinn doesn't have school on Friday and tomorrow is St. Patty's day and she has to wear green so today was Jayhawk spirit day!!

Rock Chalk Jayhawk and let the madness begin!!

Quinn's School Pictures

Seriously, could she get any cuter? And when did my baby girl grow up?

Scenes from Mardi Gras