[mom to 3 princesses and 1 prince]

Well, I’m one month away from our trip, so what better way to celebrate than to start my pre-trip report? This will be my third trip since January 2007. This is very unusual for me; my last trip before that one was May 2001!

In order to explain the title of this report, I have to tell you a little about my Nana. She was 89 years old, independent, still living alone and refusing to go into a retirement community. Nana was in pretty good health for a woman her age who smoked most of her adult life. She lived in Vermont, so I didn’t see her very often growing up, since my dad was in the military and we moved around quite a bit. Nana didn’t like to fly, so we would make the trip to her house for Easter or Christmas every few years. Occasionally, we would go out during the summer and spend a week at a cottage on the lake.

Nana was very special to our family. In fact, my daughter, Rose, wrote letters to Nana since the time she learned to hold a crayon. Last February, Nana passed away. Her death was due to a freak accident, so it was very unexpected and we were all very sad.

Fast forward to Christmas Eve 2007. After we had eaten our traditional fondue and opened our presents, my dad gave all of the assembled grandchildren and great-grandchildren plain white envelopes. Inside were monetary gifts from Nana’s estate. We were instructed not to use this money to pay the credit card bill or car payment. It was to be used for something special. My husband looked at me and said, “Disney World.”

Now, this money certainly wasn’t going to pay for an entire WDW trip, but combined with a Christmas bonus my husband received and hadn’t expected, it would certainly give us a headstart. Could we have used the money for other things? Absolutely. Home improvements? Down payment on a new car for DH? Sure. But once my DH said WDW, there was no going back! Thanks, Nana!


Up next, the cast and crew.