340,000 miles

There was a time in our lives when Alex and I were saving his airline miles for a trip to Fiji. I figured we should use all his hardworking miles to get as far away from our everyday lives as possible. I pictured myself sipping cocktails in our oceanfront bure overlooking the seas of the south pacific. It was going to be the vacation of a lifetime. And then we had three children; and I remembered that I'm not a ba-jillion-aire or a celebrity whose life you read about in US Weekly. So instead...WE'RE GOING TO DISNEY WORLD! And we're taking the children with us.

If you recall, this time last year we were gearing up for our first family trip to the Wonderful World of Disney. The vacation was such a hit that we decided to go back again this year...or that's kind of how it happened. Alex was asked to work a basketball tournament in Orlando the week of Thanksgiving. Over the years we've spent many Thanksgivings apart due to his work schedule. While I've grown accustomed to our holidays being cut short by business, I didn't know if I was up for a solo gig this year. One thing lead to another, and the next thing we knew Alex was on the phone with US Airways burning 340,000 miles to get the children and me to Disney. Although it meant putting my dreams of Fiji on the shelf for a while, the decision was a no-brainer. With Alex's "cast member" status we get free admission to the parks and we can all get cozy, hostel-style and cram ourselves into his fancy hotel room (fancy for Orlando, FL anyway).

I may regret this all on night four of sleeping in the same room with our exhausted children during one of Disney's busiest weeks of the year. But, then again, it is the happiest place on earth. Cue the music...When you wish upon a star...