We're home from our Disney adventure. It was awesome. But I'm still too

tired for a coherent post. Here are a few random thoughts, in no particular order

-7 days is the max for a Disney trip. By the 8th day you are just too tired.

-Mid-June was hot, as expected. However, no one could ever prepare you for just how hot and sticky it's going to be. No one can prepare you for feeling wet 24 hours a day. And you'd never guess that sweat dripping would become so normal you wouldn't notice it, or that you wouldn't care because everywhere you turn is someone just as sweaty, if not sweatier, than you. You'd also never guess that you'd happily pay $16 for a water bottle/fan thingy that your girls beg for.

But really, you'll buy it for your own enjoyment as much as theirs!

-Mid-June was NOT as crowded as we had thought it would be. We waited longer in food lines than ride lines. And while navigating the crowds while pushing 100 pounds of stroller should be an olympic event (Chris would win Gold in that one) the actual lines were NOT that bad,and

overall the crowds were tolerable.

-A note about strollers - a sit/stand double stroller made for 2 can easily accommodate 3 children (ages 6,4 and 1, approximate weight of 40,30 and 20 pounds) This greatly reduces the w

hining and potential for losing a child. However, it will increase your workload, because pushing 100 pounds is not for the faint of heart.

-Everyone is friendly at Disney. Even total strangers. Even when you ask a stranger if you canbutt into line to avoid standing in a food line 400 people long. That stranger, who will initially look at you like you are a freaking idiot, she will be friendly and chat with you on the bus later that day. We actually met a LOT of people while riding the busses around to different parks and hotels. Richmond VA, Washington DC, Tennessee, North Carolina, Michigan, Indiana, they were all friendly!-Abby attracts attention. One of her favorite activities was to be quiet and standoffish on the bus when strangers would try to get a smile or a wave. But once they'd give up and look

away, Abby enjoyed shouting as loud as she could to get their attention again and would then smile, wave, say "Hi" over and over until everyone was tired of it!

-Katherine is a total Ham. She is so so so funny! She is also only 39 7/8 inches tall. Somehow she was 40 inches on Big Thunder Mountain, and Splash Mountain. But if you ask the folks at Soarin', in Epcot, they'll tell you she's just shy of 40 inches, and therefore not able to ride. And if you want to see a sad, pathetic Katherine, Oh man, that's a face I won't forget. I'll take goofy, crazy, hilarious Katherine any day!

-There is no magic age for Disney. Abby had fun - she'd look around with big eyes, never sleeping in a show or on a ride (except the safari) She seemed to love almost every minute, having only maybe 2 or 3 meltdowns during the whole week. Katherine and Maggie thought everything was magic, and believed in every magical thing that happened. When the Disney photographer told them Tinkerbell was on the loose, but that perhaps she'd land on the girls hands if they held them open, they completely believed him, even saying later "I think I felt her wings on my hands" When Maggie got to "drive" the boat for the Jungle cruise, she believed she was actually driving the boat, and that if she didn't steer well enough we would go into the waterfall or crash into the trees. She still has no idea that she wasn't really steering at all. And at the end of the Epcot Fireworks, they turned around and sighed happily, saying "This is a dream come true"

-Although there is no magic age for Disney, the next time we go, I hope we don't have a stroller.

-Disney, for us, was a magical vacation and we are so grateful to have had the opportunity to go. And, I'm pretty sure that we're all excited to go again in the future!