Dreaming of Disney.

Earlier in the year, I started talking up a family vacation to Disney World over Christmas. Nick was very unsure, saying the kids were too little and it's so expensive when they won't even remember it, etc. Although he made some very good points, I just wasn't buying all that jive. I really want to go and I know the kids will LOVE it! Every single second. So he caved in and we booked our rooms. Shortly after that, he changed his mind and said we couldn't go. That it just costs too much. I agreed but I never lost my dream of Disney.

On our way home from Iowa this week, he and I had a heart-to-heart about Disney. I realize how expensive it is, but really feel like we could pull it off and that there would be memories to last a lifetime for all of us. Annabeth may not remember it, but she'll see it in pictures on the pages of my scrapbooks. I firmly believe Evan WILL remember. He's only 5, but that's a big memory. There's no way he could forget, plus there is always the scrapbooks! lol Nick and I will always remember the looks on our children's faces and how much fun they have, even if they don't. Plus, I LOVE Disney! When Nick and I went in 2002, we had a great time and always said we'd do it again soon. Shortly after, I became pregnant with Evan and the rest is history. Time has flown by and it's time again for another visit to sunny Orlando!

Although, we're not struggling financially, we're not really doing much in the way of savings either. So we decided that if we can save enough to pay for the trip, we'll still go. That starts now! We talked about what we could do to cut costs and the urge to shop frivolously. We made a budget. (All this while on the drive home from Iowa.) And I put our plan into action yesterday. I called and cancelled 2 of our credit cards. The first one was our Phillip's 66 gas card. We talked about it and decided that we didn't need it. We'd use our Discover card for gas and since P66 didn't offer any type of rebate (we've had the card since 2000), we'd kiss it goodbye! That one was easy! The other card we cancelled was our Target Visa. Anything we buy at Target is frivolous. Really. That is a trip we do for fun and we never walk away from the store without something we didn't need! The rewards on it just wasn't worth it. We even decided the rewards we'd earned so far weren't worth keeping the card and gave them all up! Yay for us! That was a big step in the right direction and puts us closer to our Disney vacation in December!

So back to my dream Disney vacation. We already decided we'd drive. Mapquest says 18 hours and 1150 miles! Yikes! We'll obviously have to stop somewhere along the way and I'm going to do a little more research on finding a shorter route. I almost think 18 hours straight would be cruel! By that time, Annabeth will be 2.5 and Evan will be 5.5. Can you imagine?? And to be there over Christmas and be part of the Christmas parade and all the magic?? It will be an amazing adventure for sure. I just can't help dreaming of Disney!