it's a small world after all

well, it appears that sierra's 9th birthday was a complete success. the party at chuck e. cheese's was not as painful as i had anticipated. in fact, if you consider the cost versus the idea of kids entertaining themselves and a staff of others cleaning up after them, i'd say it was money well spent. i just showed up with the kids and they all had a blast; ninety minutes later their parents came and collected them. i had a great time. actually watching how much fun sierra was having made me very happy. i feel that because of our lifestyle, they don't get much time for fun with other kids. what results is sierra feeling that she has to try to keep up with our adult conversations to fit in and have fun. she does surprisingly well with that at times, but she is just a kid and should be able to have fun doing kid things. i get a bit worried when she asks me questions like " daddy, what's a fetish?" i wish i'd known at the time that she was asking about eve's clothing line that is referenced in her favorite gwen stephani song. you try explaining a fetish in nine year old terms without reteating behind "you don't need to know such things." if you met my daughter you would quickly learn that this type of interaction is very sierra. anyway, kiddy themed restaurants are just what the doctor ordered to counteract some of this growing up too soon. to see the same kid jumping up and down with her friends to the tunes of chuck e.'s animatronic band does my heart good. i'm definitley considering a reprise for rylee's birthday party next month. jason and i are also back in talks about a possible disney vacation this year. the fact that jason brought it up still blows my mind. i'm sure he'd rather a getaway for two in a tropical locale or something, but he's trying to be all inclusive. it's very sweet. actually, when we were watching the dvd that accompanied the vacation planning packet disney sent us, i think he was more jazzed about it than the kids would be if we told them. i figure half way through the plane ride to orlando would be a good time to spring it on the kids. if i tell them now, we would have to endure a "how soon 'til we leave" check every five minutes from now until june. as it is, sierra spotted the planner on the end table the other day and still asked "what's is it?" two more times after i brushed it off as junk mail. i hope we can swing it financially. it would be fun. i was sierra's age when i went. jason thinks it's riot that when i went epcot wasn't even built yet, that busch gardens didn't exist, or that the excitement of going to the kennedy space center was to see the plans for the upcoming space shuttle idea that was in the works. as much as i hate disney, there is a little kid inside me that is psyched about the idea. after all, i still cry when bambi's mother gets shot. besides the kids deserve it for all that they have had to put up with these past couple of years, and so do i.