Busy Week on The Backroad

Are you ready for your busy week? Busy weeks are all that are to be had around here, for sure. Ours began this morning when our whole family participated in a pancake fundraiser for the Community Theatre, followed by the usual list of chores necessary to keep us going all week.

This week we have work, school lessons, guitar lessons, Lego club, teaching, dentist appointments on two different days, and a doctor's appoint on another. Auditions for the upcoming production (The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, I am directing and the kids are participating) are Saturday...which begins the busy-ness of rehearsal season.

But...I am not complaining. We are living the life. It's easy to become wrapped up in the must-do moments and overlook the fact that we are reveling in the best days of our lives. All I have to do is look at my daughter, who will be a teenager in one month. These are the moments that will sustain us and they are flying by...quickly.

So we make a point to build in time in our schedule for each other...
Breakfast before lessons
Family Dinner at 6pm
A walk in the dark
A visit to the humane society to play with the cats
and a few special activitiess here and there.

This week we will head to Cincinnati to the Museum Center Omnimax to see this...because who can say their life is complete until they've seen The Rocky Mountain Express on a five-story screen? (Well, we could actually RIDE the Rocky Mountain Express, but not this week.)

And we are looking forward to Easter here...because we all need a trip home now and then.

And I'm sure some of us will be dreaming of the Backroad Adventures we could take in one of these...because who doesn't have dreams of leaving it all behind sometimes?

What will you be doing this busy week? 

Whatever it is...here's hoping we all make a little time for the Backroad!

Namaste 

The Mouse Photolog: Days 4 & 5 - Magic Kingdom

Thanks for sharing this week with us!

Namaste

The Mouse Photolog: Day 3 - Animal Kingdom

The Mouse Photolog: Day 2 - Epcot

The Mouse Photolog: Day 1 - Hollywood Studios

Our vacation to Disney

We finally took our kids to Disney!

Our oldest is almost 13 and though she has been asking for years, we wanted to make sure that the youngest (almost 5) would be old enough to enjoy and remember it.

Our plan was to go once. There is so much to see in the world. That's still our plan...mostly. Disney makes family vacation so easy.

Some of the things that wowed us:
The Dining Plan made all the difference in the world. Plenty of food. Excellent service and help with food allergies. We feel that it really saved us a great deal of money and hassle.

The lines. We went at the end of January, first of February. We utilized the fastpass system a few times, but really didn't need to on all typically crowded rides. The longest we spent in line was 25 minutes the whole week.

The time of year. Again, crowds were minimal. A few rides were closed for refurbishment, but it didn't detract from our fun. The weather was between 79-84 degrees all week. Perfect for us.

The cost. While it is not a cheap vacation, we were aware of the costs upfront and didn't come away with buyers remorse because we felt pressured to spend more than we planned. Part of that success, I think, is giving the kids spending money and allowing them to spend it at their discretion. No negotiating and begging, so no feeling guilty or pressured into impulse buys from the family funds.

The cleanliness. It was clean, really clean. There were only a couple of bathrooms that needed attention and both times there was a cast member either already there working or passing us as we walked out. The rest of the park was just pristine.

The Cast. We never heard the word, "No." There were always smiles. They seemed happy. We hope their working environment is as happy and satisfying as it seems to the guests.

The resort (Port Orleans-Riverside). Clean. Lush vegetation. Quiet. 24 Hr heated pools. Easy access to transportation and parking. Decent food.

What didn't wow us...NOTHING. (Well, maybe we got a little tired of the food by the end of the week, but...we just missed homecooking, I think)

It was a totally satisfying vacation.
While we may not go back, it will always remain a favorite for all of us, I am sure.

In the next week, we'll be sharing our photolog of our time at the parks.
Hope you enjoy!

Have you been to Disney and had a great experience too? Tell us about it!

Namaste