FINALLY get to tell my 13 yo

dtkids

Mouseketeer
Joined
Jun 23, 2017
Planning this since March. Trip in Dec, week before Christmas. We are a foster family, and because there was a good chance our foster kiddos would not be with us by December, we couldn't talk about the trip...and daughter can't keep a secret like that.

So, last week, after 15 months with us, our sweet kids have been moved to family. The last few months especially have been really hard, with behaviors off the charts, daily meltdowns, broken walls and doors, etc. We love these kids, but looking forward to a break.

Anyway, today we are telling our 13 yo. Her birthday was last week (mostly skipped because our foster son just not a fan of things being about anyone but him). This isn't a bday present, it's not a 'no more kids' celebration. It IS a first time trip, and it IS for the three of us to reconnect, reflect and recharge after a particularly hard and difficult few months.

We have been telling daughter we were planning a trip to grand canyon over Christmas. So for Halloween 'trick or treat,' we are giving her a card that talks about our family's last few months, our need to reconnect and how much we are looking forward to 'our trip together.' And 'here are a couple of things you'll need on our trip.'

A pair of hiking boots...to keep the grand canyon thing going....trick.

A pair of warm jammies...minnie mouse body jammies...still kind of trick, but really treat.

And then our itinerary, maps, ticket, fast passes, etc all in a folder. Super treat.

She is normally a pretty serious, stoic kind of girl. But she's been asking for Disney for years, convinced she is the only one in her class who has never been. Pretty sure she will be excited.

I can't wait to tell her after school today! It's gonna be real. FINALLY!
 
Planning this since March. Trip in Dec, week before Christmas. We are a foster family, and because there was a good chance our foster kiddos would not be with us by December, we couldn't talk about the trip...and daughter can't keep a secret like that.

So, last week, after 15 months with us, our sweet kids have been moved to family. The last few months especially have been really hard, with behaviors off the charts, daily meltdowns, broken walls and doors, etc. We love these kids, but looking forward to a break.

Anyway, today we are telling our 13 yo. Her birthday was last week (mostly skipped because our foster son just not a fan of things being about anyone but him). This isn't a bday present, it's not a 'no more kids' celebration. It IS a first time trip, and it IS for the three of us to reconnect, reflect and recharge after a particularly hard and difficult few months.

We have been telling daughter we were planning a trip to grand canyon over Christmas. So for Halloween 'trick or treat,' we are giving her a card that talks about our family's last few months, our need to reconnect and how much we are looking forward to 'our trip together.' And 'here are a couple of things you'll need on our trip.'

A pair of hiking boots...to keep the grand canyon thing going....trick.

A pair of warm jammies...minnie mouse body jammies...still kind of trick, but really treat.

And then our itinerary, maps, ticket, fast passes, etc all in a folder. Super treat.

She is normally a pretty serious, stoic kind of girl. But she's been asking for Disney for years, convinced she is the only one in her class who has never been. Pretty sure she will be excited.

I can't wait to tell her after school today! It's gonna be real. FINALLY!
How did your trick or treat Disney World surprise go? Tell us all about it, please?
 
Planning this since March. Trip in Dec, week before Christmas. We are a foster family, and because there was a good chance our foster kiddos would not be with us by December, we couldn't talk about the trip...and daughter can't keep a secret like that.

So, last week, after 15 months with us, our sweet kids have been moved to family. The last few months especially have been really hard, with behaviors off the charts, daily meltdowns, broken walls and doors, etc. We love these kids, but looking forward to a break.

Anyway, today we are telling our 13 yo. Her birthday was last week (mostly skipped because our foster son just not a fan of things being about anyone but him). This isn't a bday present, it's not a 'no more kids' celebration. It IS a first time trip, and it IS for the three of us to reconnect, reflect and recharge after a particularly hard and difficult few months.

We have been telling daughter we were planning a trip to grand canyon over Christmas. So for Halloween 'trick or treat,' we are giving her a card that talks about our family's last few months, our need to reconnect and how much we are looking forward to 'our trip together.' And 'here are a couple of things you'll need on our trip.'

A pair of hiking boots...to keep the grand canyon thing going....trick.

A pair of warm jammies...minnie mouse body jammies...still kind of trick, but really treat.

And then our itinerary, maps, ticket, fast passes, etc all in a folder. Super treat.

She is normally a pretty serious, stoic kind of girl. But she's been asking for Disney for years, convinced she is the only one in her class who has never been. Pretty sure she will be excited.

I can't wait to tell her after school today! It's gonna be real. FINALLY!
How did she react?
 
She was excited about the hiking boots, didn't understand the Minnie jammies until she pulled out the folder with all the reservations, maps, etc. Then she was excited! We got a quiet, whispered "I love you so much." It was perfect.

Though, I must say, she is equal parts excited and shocked/appalled at the amount of lying and withholding of information for the past six months. She seriously cannot believe we were working on this and never told her. Lying about the Grand Canyon. People asking her about the trip to the Grand Canyon. She does, however, very much appreciate the amount of work put into the preparation.

She is asking lots of questions, which means she's thinking about everything. We are going with "Free Dining" so she is ECSTATIC about that! ("Does that include dessert?!?!? and cotton candy?") When we told her I've been working my freelance job these past few months just to pay for the trip and that the trip is officially paid for 100%, I could see the appreciation in her eyes. Though she is anxious to hear what her "souvenir" budget will be :-)

And staying at AKL Jambo House, animal lover that she is, well, she couldn't have planned it better herself.

44 days and counting... :-)
 


She was excited about the hiking boots, didn't understand the Minnie jammies until she pulled out the folder with all the reservations, maps, etc. Then she was excited! We got a quiet, whispered "I love you so much." It was perfect.

Though, I must say, she is equal parts excited and shocked/appalled at the amount of lying and withholding of information for the past six months. She seriously cannot believe we were working on this and never told her. Lying about the Grand Canyon. People asking her about the trip to the Grand Canyon. She does, however, very much appreciate the amount of work put into the preparation.

She is asking lots of questions, which means she's thinking about everything. We are going with "Free Dining" so she is ECSTATIC about that! ("Does that include dessert?!?!? and cotton candy?") When we told her I've been working my freelance job these past few months just to pay for the trip and that the trip is officially paid for 100%, I could see the appreciation in her eyes. Though she is anxious to hear what her "souvenir" budget will be :-)

And staying at AKL Jambo House, animal lover that she is, well, she couldn't have planned it better herself.

44 days and counting... :-)
Thanks for sharing! Enjoy your trip!
 

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