Our Vacation in the Making

I have been planning a vacation in my head for years now. Sort of. I've wanted to take a trip to Disney World since the day we welcomed C into the world...probably even before then. I know a lot of my friends have been to Disney multiple times and have a blast every single time. I have friends who have honeymooned there as adults and have had the time of their lives. I went once when I was in the 6th grade with my family and from what I can remember, we had a ton of fun. Our pictures sure are wonderful anyway!

When my good friend and I were pregnant with our first children 5 years ago, she and I talked about one day planning a Disney trip together since our kiddos are right about the same ages. It was fun to dream!

Now that C is almost 5, and D is 2 1/2 and our last baby is on the way, I can finally see our trip in the future. I didn't want to go when we had a newborn. I didn't want to go when I was pregnant. I wanted ALL of our family to be able to enjoy this trip. I think its because I know that this is going to be one big and expensive vacation and for us, and it may be a once or twice in a lifetime experience. We will not be going back yearly, haha.

With that being said, I have determined that we will go on our Disney World vacation in the Spring or Summer or 2013. I know it seems goofy to be thinking that far in advance, but hear me out...

B and I will celebrate our 10 year anniversary in 2013 and as much as I'd love to run off to a faraway beach with him (seriously, I really do day-dream about this), I know we would have a blast if we went on a vacation with our children instead. Maybe there will be another time for he and I to do a getaway :-)

B will be VERY busy in 2012 with the presidential election. I have been told we will not see much of him from the Spring of 2012 through inauguration in January 2013...so it sure would be nice to have a vacation planned in the Spring of 2013 when he rejoins our family :-)

Our children will be 7, 4 1/2 and 2 years old. Those seem like perfect ages to experience Disney World. Plus, we will not need any of the "baby things" that we would need to bring if we went any sooner.

Lastly, this will really be the first time that we will be able to afford this elaborate vacation. This gives us two years to focus on paying off debt (which we really want to do prior to splurging on a vacation). I think we will be in much better financial shape in 2013 than we are now. We just paid off B's car, so at least we're headed in the right direction!

See, in my mind, it just makes sense to begin thinking about our vacation in two years. I've even decided where we will stay based on the advise of other military friends. We'll be staying on the Walt Disney World property in the Shades of Green Hotel - a hotel especially for military families.

The prices and the amenities look amazing. I can't wait to begin planning everything for real! Okay, now back to day dreaming about Disney...and the dream vacation with my hubby. Do any of you guys have a timeshare we could use somewhere at the beach? :-)

Oh, and could you send us a nanny to watch our kids?