Preparing for the trip

 Every morning the boys ran to the kitchen to tear off a ring and open a present.

 The first morning they got their own clipboards for the car ride. 

I got the clipboards at Walmart for $2 dollars and then put their names on them. 

 Inside had lots of fun things to keep them happy. I found all the Mickey stuff at Easter time. 

They were fillers for easter baskets.

We needed disney shirts for everyday we were there, of course! 

So the boys got these shirts one day. 

Anytime I saw shirts on sale at the disney store or at Target, I got them. 

All the things Wes got were for our camping part of the trip. 

He was really excited! He got a bug net for his hammock, maps of

the Grand Canyon and Sequoia, lanterns, flashlights. Just a few fun things 

to make him excited about our trip.

 Some of the other things the boys opened was glow in the dark stuff

for the fireworks and the nights we stayed in the park late. 

(all from the dollar store)

 More shirts. I got these back in January at Target.

Love Sam's hair in this next picture. 

 

They opened these water bottles that I found at Target and I just put their names on them. 

They were perfect for the car.

This next one I saw on pinterest. They are bead containers, but we filled them with snacks 

for the car. So they had their own snack trays. 

They loved getting to open something for the trip everyday. 

Like I said I have been planning this trip for a long time and saved a lot of money

by buying things ahead of time. Mickey stuff is everywhere if you look for it. 

While the boys were enjoying opening things and getting excited...I was a little stressed out trying to pack us for 3 weeks. We needed clothes for cool weather, hot weather, and camping stuff. 

It was a lot!!! But some how I did it!

The Reveal

We have been planning our trip to Disney since November and we booked the trip in January, but have been keeping it a secret from the boys. It was the hardest thing for me. I would almost cry every time I would think about it, I was so excited. I just couldn't wait! I have been dreaming about taking our boys since they were little. I LOVE Disney and was beyond excited!

I think you get the idea, I was excited! 

When the day finally came for us to tell the boys, I had big plans!

First of all I had a present for the boys to open everyday until we left for the trip. 

We told the boys with 10 days until we got to the park. So they had 10 things to open. 

Each gifting telling them how many days until Disney!

And of course, I had to have gifts for Wes to open too! 

He had only 6 gifts because we left in 6 days. 

I love getting to spoil him too! 

While Wes took the boys to pick up the pizza for dinner, I was busy setting up our kitchen to look like a Mickey Mouse party. Our plan was when they got home, to bring the boys into the kitchen and see if they could figure out where we were going on vacation. 

I made Mickey Mouse cookies

They had a Mickey Mouse countdown

This fun countdown that I made. 

(Just use a dry erase marker and write on the glass)

The boys had no idea they were picking up a Mickey Mouse shaped pizza. 

Pizza Hut did a great job!!! 

The whole set up. Of course, Mickey plates and napkins. 

The luggage tags were free since we booked with Costco. 

 Here are the boys before they came into the kitchen. We are telling them that we have a big surprise for them and they have to figure out where we are going.

 Love this next picture. Micah is really thinking.

 And they guessed it!

I forgot to change the setting on my camera, but as you can tell. 

They were super super excited!!! 

 They just kept saying, "Are we really going to Disneyland?"

And sweet Sam teared up and so did his momma!

 They noticed all the present right away. 

They got to open up the one that said, 10 Days til Disney.

Every kid HAS to have a shirt with their name and Mickey...right? 

I think so too! 

 I had to include this picture because look at Sam's face in the next picture.

I don't think he knew what to do with himself he was so excited about everything!

While we ate our pizza we watched the video that Disney sends you for free that tells all about the park. Which made it even more exciting. And we told them about the rest of our trip. Sam started to cry again when we told him that we were going to see Caleb and go to Lego World with him. 

It was a lot for them to take in at one time. 

Our plan: Drive to San Diego, California (23 hrs) and stay the weekend with our wonderful friends the Winter family. Then Sunday night drive to Disney and have dinner with the characters. Monday through Thursday we will do Disneyland and California Adventures. Thursday night drive back to the Winter's house and stay with them until Tuesday morning. While in San Diego we planned to go to Lego World, Zoo, and the beach. Then Tuesday morning drive to Sequoia National Park and tent camp in the redwoods. Friday morning we will pack up and drive back to Disney for the opening of Cars Land, then spend the night with the Winters again. Saturday morning drive to Sedona. See the Grand Canyon while in Sedona and drive home Tuesday. We are going to be gone almost 3 weeks! 

I took almost 2, 000 pictures...it might take me a few days to get it all posted. But we had an amazing trip!!!