Christmas Break - Day Four

It was the fourth day of our California vacation before we went to Disneyland.  Tracy and I were dying by this point.  I couldn't sleep the night before.  We'd put together a plan for how we would reveal our true purpose for coming to California.  It all hinged on a stuffed Dumbo doll.

For those of you who missed it, there is a commercial on television that shows Dumbo flying to children's homes, picking them up, and whisking them away to Disneyland.  Shea has seen these commercials.  She'd also asked on multiple occassions, "When is Dumbo going to pick me up?"  This was the initial spark for our idea. 

So, after a near sleepless night for Tracy and I, the morning finally came.  We woke Shea up and brought her to our bed to snuggle.  We let her watch some cartoons and wake up with some juice before we really got things going.  She was in a great mood already as can be seen by this picture.

Shea's Morning Silly Face.

After she'd sufficiently woken up, I got out of bed, got dressed, and made some excuse for why I needed to go to the lobby.  Tracy and Shea were going to wait for me to return.  As I made my way out of the condo, I grabbed my phone and set it to camera mode, and I grabbed the video camera as well.  In the condo's dryer, I grabbed the stuffed Dumbo Tracy bought before our trip.  I made my way out to the hallway and waited.

I could only stand the anticipation for a minute.  I placed Dumbo in front of the condo door, knocked, and backed up to the far side of the hall with two cameras at the ready.  Tracy told Shea I must have forgotten my key and that she should open the door.  She did so dutifully.  When she opened the door, she was curious as to what I was doing with all the camera gear, but she soon noticed the stuffed animal at her feet.

She knew something was up and she swung herself into the hallway a bit by holding on to the door jamb.  She was looking to see if there were any other unanticipated surprises waiting for her.  It took us a while to get her to understand what was really happening.  Even when we told her she was going to Disneyland, she was a bit unsure.  Over the last couple of weeks/months, we told her that only five-year-olds got to go to Disneyland. When it sunk in, she said, "When I'm four?!"  We agreed and she ran to her mother and said, "I'm a big girl now!"

The message finally sunk in and she was overjoyed.  She hugged Dumbo tightly in her arms and ran to Tracy and I each individually and gave us hugs.  She said, "You're my favorites" in that sweet, tender voice she has.  If you want to see it for yourself.  Here is the video:

Coming soon...First day in the park.