Alley Oops: Girls' Trip with Brooke

Back in late February, my friend Christy and I had planned to surprise the girls with a weekend at Disney (a trip that we'd talked about for years and finally pulled the trigger on before they got to school). Poor Kali developed pneumonia a couple of days before and we had to reschedule for mid-May. Thankfully, back in February, I had only told Brooke that I had a surprise for her that weekend and the Fun Fair at Aunt Jamie's school did the trick. This time, Brooke heard me tell someone about a week prior to our leaving that she and I would be gone for the weekend (she is incredibly nosy for a five-year-old), so I copped to her and I taking a girls' trip. She was really excited about this, but was sad to be leaving everyone else, so she wanted pictures with them "to remember them." (I was also feeling pretty conflicted about leaving Miles and Paige. Turns out they did fine.)

When I asked her where she thought we were going, her first guess was Disney World. This might be because the only other trip just she and I have taken since she wasn't an only child was to Disney, or it might be because Matt asks the kids a couple of times a month if they'd like to go back to Disney World. He's kind of mean. At any rate, I think some lowered expectations are in order. All week, she kept talking about how we'd "do things Miles doesn't like to do, like go shopping," or she'd ask if we were driving to wherever we're going if we could take Daddy's car (she likes that she can sit by a roll-down window in his car).

I told her she'd have to wait until Saturday morning to find out and that morning, Matt told her that she was going to Disney World as we were sitting on the couch, waiting for our ride. When Kali's car pulled into the driveway, Brooke seemed a little confused and asked if they were taking us to the airport. Of course the girls squealed and started chatting up a storm when they got the whole story.

Our flight got in around lunchtime on Saturday, so we had a little time to get settled into our hotel. We all stayed in one room and I'm happy to report that it went very smoothly - at least from my perspective.

We even had a little time to swim on our last day.

Christy, much like Krissi, is basically a Disney wizard and knows her way around the place as well as many of the tricks of the trade to increase affordability and effeciency. Part of the reason that we wanted to do this trip was because in addition to being such good friends, Brooke and Kali are both pretty adventurous and have both been to Disney enough to know what they do and don't want to do, for the most part.

We also tried a few new rides and learned that The Haunted Mansion and Dinosaur are not rides that Brooke will be visiting again anytime soon. I was excited because it was my first time to ride any of the roller coasters there. Brooke was too little my first time and I was pregnant the last time we went.

We had great weather all three days we were there and the girls were able to sit together on a few rides.

Our efficiency allowed us to see a few parades and dance parties. And partake in a hula hoop game. The girls actually did pretty well.

We met a few princesses. The girls would get SO excited if people asked if they were sisters, or better yet twins!

My first time on Test Track. That's a great ride.

It happened to be Star Wars weekend, which was totally lost on us. We were about to get in line for the Star Tours ride when we noticed Princess Leia standing at the entrance. The girls went up to say hi to her (they had no idea who she was, but she had "Princess" in her title so they were happy for a photo op). Instead of just getting a picture, we were escorted straight onto the ride and got to ride with Princess Leia. I think I jeopardized our good fortune when a little boy in costume passed us and I said, "Oh look, an Ewok!" The gasp was almost audible as our escort corrected me. Turns out the kid was dressed as Yoda. Did I mention that I've never seen Star Wars? At any rate, it was an exciting experience. The girls kept commenting on how jealous the boys at school would be.

Our only Fast Pass at Hollywood Studios was for the Frozen Sing Along that night and we had some time to kill, so the girls got their faces painted.

And played on the "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" playground.

And caught up with Sofia the First.

And had a dance party. These girls were dancing like no one was watching. It was really entertaining.

We finished at Animal Kingdom and the Magic Kingdom on our last day.

I think this is the third time we've met this exact Rapunzel. She is SO great with the girls. And Brooke is so starstruck every time.

The girls got along really well almost the entire time. It helps that Kali is ridiculously easygoing and is usually happy to let Brooke be a bossy stinker. A couple of times, I had to put my foot down and let Kali make a decision. Overall, I think they compliment each other really well and I'm happy to facilitate the friendship as long as possible.