DISNEY!!!

So, a couple weeks back, my family and I did the most spontaneous thing in the history of our family's existence (est. 1984). WE MET UP IN DISNEYWORLD!!! Orlando is about halfway between Caracas and D.C., and since I was promised when Mom was pregnant with the twins (circa 1997) that we would all go as a family someday, we decided that there's never been a better time, to make our dreams come true. :)


We went around the world at Epcot, did the obligatory Teacups, Small World, and Pirates rides. Thank heavens we've finally all matured enough that no one wanted to ride on the Dumbo ride. But I guess someone in the family still hasn't quite grown up, because when Mom wanted a nice family picture in front of Dumbo, she made the mistake of calling out "Look like an elephant!" The results are below.


I definitely got in trouble for ruining the moment, though now every time I look at this picture, I can't stop laughing. I'm such a dork! That's my elephant trunk, by the way, for those of you with no imagination.

The whole family rode Space Mountain, which was a huge triumph for some members of our family. We also went on Soarin', the paragliding ride over California. Totally rad. Our family-size Ghiradelli's ice cream sundae was heavenly, and we sampled Norweigen, French, and Irish food. And the antics didn't stop:

We gave it our all, trying to get the sword out of the stone...


But Michael had to step in, as we all watched in awe.


Us three older kids slipped away in the evening to Hollywood Studios, primarily for the STAR WARS ride. The jump to light speed was particularly awesome. We also got our pictures with C-3PO, an AT-VT, and we each got a shot of us on a forest speeder. Awesome.


Luckily, we had some extra time, and decided to swing by Tower of Terror. As we stood in line, Rachel and I kept commenting on how crazy it was that we were going on this ride, as we had both sworn we wouldn't. Michael, who had been and had told us it wasn't so bad said "I don't know how I convinced you to come on this ride, I don't really like it." WHAT!?!?! By that time it was too late, and there was a 10 year old in line ahead of me going by herself so I figured I could handle it. It was OK.

As we were walking out of the park, we saw what looked like the entrance to a concert hall. And it said Aerosmith. And I thought "An Aerosmith concert?" But NOOOO, it was a Rockin' Aerosmith Rollercoaster! Oh my gosh, it was literally the most awesome rollercoaster I have ever been on! They set it up like you were late to the concert, up flew a "stretch limo," you got in, and.....there are no words. Pretty much it just shoots you forward like a rocket, and then you twist and turn (upside-down, even) through the streets of L.A. trying to get to the concert, with rock music in the background. We watched the car before us fly off, and everyone's jaws were on the ground, even the 250lb macho dudes in front of us were like "Whoa."

So that's my Disney update. I didn't mean to dedicate an entire paragraph to that Rockin' Rollercoaster, and I don't mean to imply that it's one of the 100 things you should do before you die, but, well, it is.