My name is Ashley, and around here I call myself Mommy Mouseketeer. I am married to the greatest guy in the world, and we have one daughter, Evy Kate (rhymes with 'chevy'!), who is two years old. We're also in the process of adopting our son from South Korea! We've named him Liam, and he'll turn one on July 1st. We hope to travel to get him sometime in August or September. Those are the basics, and here's the background!
When I was a few weeks old, my parents moved to Orlando, where my father was the college pastor at First Baptist Church of Orlando. Needless to say, a lot of the college students in his ministry worked at Disney World, and at that time Cast Members could sign people in free (!!). So from the time I was literally weeks old, I was at Disney World! My mom and her friends would decide to lunch at Epcot for the day, or just take us to the Magic Kingdom on a whim. Although we moved from Orlando when I was 4 years old, something was ingrained in me from all of those hours spent in the World. Growing up, we visited Disney World every few years, and that pattern has continued.
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| That's me in the Mouse Ears. |
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| This is a family trip from 2005. From left, that's my dad, my little sister Andrea, my little sister Alyssa, my brother Will, me, and my mom. |
My husband had the OPPOSITE experience! He was one of three brothers, and he grew up in Mississippi. Obviously, 12 (or more) hour trips to Florida with three young boys just wasn't enticing. Finally, in the DEAD HEAT of summer, 1986 (I was only one year old then - ha!), his parents decided it was time to try. They loaded up in an RV along with Kurt's grandparents and made the eternal trek to the Holy Land. They camped at Fort Wilderness, and thank goodness their RV was air-conditioned, because it was around 100 degrees outside. When we were dating, I asked Kurt about his experience with Disney World and Disney Culture (this was an imperative question when trying to find my spouse!). He shared that his only experiences had been 3-hour-long lines, excruciating heat, and all-around misery. Oh, and his twin brother got lost coming off of Dumbo. Less than ideal. They did try again in the summer of 1988, with similar results. Obviously I knew I had some work to do!
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| In the above picture you'll see my husband (far right) and his brothers around the ages of their infamous first Disney trip. |
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| Evy receiving the Official Blessing while in the womb! |
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| Enjoying the Brown Derby. I still crave the Cobb Salad, even while not being pregnant! |
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| Evy's first Disney trip, January 2011. It was fantastic! |
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| Her expression says it all! |
Mommy Mouseketeer came about when I knew I was entering the season of life to experience Disney as a mother. I've been told there's nothing like seeing your child experience Disney World, and during our January trip, I saw that firsthand. It was just incredible, and so incredibly emotional for me. Long before I saw Disney through Evy's eyes, I wanted to create a place to document my love for Disney, my planning tips, and special memories. I've even had the fun experience of interviewing several of my friends who are Disney fanatics like me! Tons of friends have asked me to help them plan Disney trips, and I wanted to be able to point them to one place with all of the information. Mommy Mouseketeer is a combination of all these things, and I hope it reflects just how much I love the World that Walt created.
I'm so glad you're here, and I look forward to many fun loops together!
Thank you for joining me today. Your next stop on the Magical Blogorail Loop is Unknown Magic of Walt Disney World.
Here is the map of our Magical Blogorail should you happen to have to make a stop along the way and want to reboard:
1st Stop ~ The Disney Chick
2nd Stop ~ Manda’s Disney Blog
3rd Stop ~ Mommy Mouseketeer
4th Stop ~ Unknown Magic Within Walt Disney World
Final Stop ~ The Magical Mouse Pad
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