a date with my girlie.

our annual disney passes expired last friday.  we had been meaning to get in one last visit before our time was up.  and up until the end of last week, we were still thinking we were going to be in new mexico for the coming year and so wouldn’t be able to go again anytime soon.  but with phil’s ultra crazy schedule the last few months, an opportunity to go just didn’t appear.

for the most part, that was okay with me.  we’ve gone several times in the last couple years and so it wasn’t really that big a deal if we didn’t go one more time.  except for one thing.

we’ve never taken allie through the long line to meet the princesses.  first, it was cuz she was too young and wasn’t really in to princesses and we (actually, it was mostly just me) didn’t want to do the whole princess thing if she wasn’t interested in it.  and later, it was cuz we’ve always been there as a whole family and we’ve tried to do things there that everyone would enjoy.  and standing in a long line just to meet princesses would only appeal to one person (okay, now it’s two) in the family and so…  well, we just never got around to it.

and that never bothered me before.

until last week, when i realized the passes were expiring and allie never got the chance to go see her princesses.  and maybe, by the time we got back from new mexico, she might have outgrown her princess phase and for some reason, that thought just made me really sad.  that my middle girlie would be one year older and not in to princesses anymore.  and that she’d have missed her chance to see princesses just when she loved them the most, when her awe and wonder at seeing them live in person would be at its peak.  and that i would miss seeing her in that moment.

i just couldn’t let it pass by.

so i hatched a plan.

i dropped mikey off as usual at school for the day, but i also signed him up for the extra hour of playtime afterward (which he’s long been wanting to do).  this would give us six hours to accomplish our mission.  which was…

to drop off lauren at a wonderful friend’s house for the day (who agreed last minute to watch her), and then whisk ourselves off to disneyland…

to MEET PRINCESSES!!!

when allie woke up in the morning, i told her i had a special surprise for her.  she wanted to know if it was something to eat.  heh heh, that’s my girl, alright!  🙂

we made it to disneyland, rode the train to the back of the park, then went straight to the princess store to buy her a princess autograph book and a princess pen, and then we got in line.  where she wanted to put on her princess dress in order to get ready to meet the princesses.  her excitement was building…

unfortunately, there were quite a few people in front of us, so we had to settle in for a long wait.  but she did a great job keeping herself entertained in various ways.  and the princess autograph book and princess pen came in handy during that long wait.  cuz you know she loves nothing more than to draw!

she found other ways to keep herself entertained.  like being silly…

and watching a brother and sister tease each other in front of us.  which made her miss her own brother.  but only for a moment.

and draw some more. 

and get a picture with mommy (thanks to a nice lady who was also in line and offered!).

and hug my leg and tell me she was excited to see princesses.  and then tell me she loves me.  and then ask if we’re almost there.

and then get excited all over again when i told her that yes, we were almost there!

and finally, after fifty minutes of waiting, our feet made it to the front of the line and were very, very excited.  can you tell?

“are the princesses in there?!”

and finally, we SAW PRINCESSES!!!  allie was enthralled.  it was everything i hoped it would be for her.

princess tiana and allie.

i wasn’t sure if allie would be too shy and not want to get too close to them, but she walked right up and had a nice chat with each one of them.

she loved meeting cinderella and snuggled in close with her for a picture.

so she wasn’t afraid of the princesses, but she was scared to meet minnie.  she didn’t want to meet her.  allie’s afraid of any and all characters with over-sized heads.  but the sole reason she overcame her fear and approached minnie?  minnie’s dress.  it was pink and purple and beautiful.  ’nuff said.

she still kept a safe distance away, though.

oh, but that lovely dress.  allie wanted- no needed – to be near it.  so she went in close and stood right next to minnie’s dress for a picture.

until minnie leaned over to give her a kiss.

and then she was done.

ok, will have more pictures to share tomorrow.  but for now, all my monkeys are down for naps and i can’t pass up this golden opportunity for a quick nap myself.  so, will be back to finish this tomorrow!