Our Trip Part 2, California Adventure

We went to Disney first thing Sunday morning. We planned to spend the day at California Adventure as it was a holiday weekend and we knew Disneyland would be packed. However, CA did not open until 10:00 and it wasn't even 9. So, we decided to head into Disneyland for a few hours and then hop over to CA. That is why we have park hopper tickets after all.

We get in and head straight for the castle. Whose castle is it? Snow White, Sleeping Beauty? I'm not sure. We quickly scan the lines and decide on Snow White's Scary Adventure for our first hoorah. There's a reason why the line was so short. The ride is scary as heck as you can see from Emily's face. They seriously need to refurbish this ride. It was turn after turn of total darkness with witches. Nice Walt. After that ride, Emily declared that she only wanted rides outside like the carousel and Dumbo. Lovely. We'll spend the entire time going in circles. That ought to make David happy. He is becoming less able to handle such experiences with every passing year.

Emily was thrilled to ride the carousel.


Ben liked it too. He always has the same look on his face. This is happy.


We decided to head over to California Adventure and continue our day there. They have a great area all dedicated to the movie A Bug's Life. The kids loved all of the rides there.



This was a kid's version of the tea cups. David thought it was more his speed.


Here's a video of the tea cups in action.


When the ride was over, he realized maybe he should stick to the carousel.


So, we rode the carousel...again.


A lot of the rides had a height requirement of 40 inches. Ben didn't make it. David was more than happy to stroll him around while Emily and I did the "crazier" rides. This was the jumpin' jellyfish ride.


We had a great time at California Adventure and even went back another day for the parade. After riding all those rides, it was time for dinner with the princesses. To be continued...

Our Trip Part 1, The Hotel Pool

I'm feeling much better. It was a 24 hour thing. Emily got it Sunday morning. For her, it was a 4 hour thing. How did that happen and why didn't I have that same luck? David spent 3 hours yesterday cleaning the car inside and out. He even steamed cleaned the mats. I spent 3 hours inside unpacking everything. The washer and dryer didn't stop yesterday. David was astounded at the volume of clothes we go through in one week.

I'm going to break the trip down into little sections or this post would be 4 pages long. The first part was our trip to our hotel in Anaheim.

The kids did so well in the car. We stopped for an hour in Blythe and let them play in the play area at McDonalds. We got to our hotel in 7 hours and 15 minutes. Not bad.

We stayed at the Howard Johnson in Anaheim. It's within walking distance to Disney. I would highly, highly recommend this hotel. It was a great deal. The hotel pool was worth the stay alone. When we arrived at the hotel and Emily saw the pool and slides, she excitedly said, "Ahhhhh Disneyland!" Um, not quite, but I was happy she was happy.




Here's Emily going down the big slide.



Here's Ben. He didn't plan to be a daredevil and go down head first. He's just too light, so he flipped at one point and ended up that way. He didn't seem to mind.





The whole thing looks like this giant pirate ship. It drops 300 gallons of water every 10 minutes or so. The kids loved watching the water splash everywhere.


Here's Emily getting Ben with the water canon.


The pool area was so much fun. The kids could have done only this and been happy. There's still more to come...

My Dearest David...

Could I possibly be married to the most wonderful man in the world? I think so, yes. We are back from our wonderful week long trip. We had an amazing time (more on that in a later post).

It was amazing until today, well yesterday, as it is 2:00 in the morning. I woke up on Saturday feeling like a had to puke and I had a headache from hell. No, I wasn't hung over from my Aunt's wedding. I only had one very small drink. I knew we had a full day of driving not to mention a hotel room, that looked like a tornado hit it, to pack up.

We got everything loaded in the car by noon. Not, quite the time we were hoping for, but it was what it was. I had puked 3 times at this point. Thank God for the little bucket we brought with us. It was the best $1 I ever spent at Target's bargain aisle. A little green trash can with a lid. A lid is very important. I had envisioned Ben's little army men in there. It is now officially a puke bucket.

I puked over 10 times on our way home. I couldn't keep anything down. I love my husband for many reasons. After being with him today, I love him even more.

My Dearest David,
You handed me a warm washcloth or baby wipe after every puking session.
You kept one hand on the wheel and the other rubbing my back while I vomited...again.
You knew to roll down the windows when the smell alone was enough to keep the bile coming up.
You drove over 7 1/2 hours today and never once complained that you were tired or sore or bored or about to puke watching me puke.
You took both kids to the bathroom twice while I stayed in the car in the fetal position with the air on high.
You made me hot tea when we got home.
You unpacked the entire tornado in the car.
You made the kids dinner.
You gave them a bath.
You brushed their teeth and put them to bed.

You rubbed my matted greasy hair and kissed my forehead and told me I'd be okay.

You're right. I will always be okay as long as I have you by my side.
I love you Sweetheart.

We're Outta Here

We are off to Disneyland and my Aunt Rosie is getting married! Not at Disneyland silly, at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Totally separate event, but we are combining it into one fun filled week. I don't think I'll have access to a computer nor do I really want access to a computer. So, I'll check back in next Sunday the 19th. Check back then to see way too many pictures of my kids.

Up To No Good

They look sweet and innocent, don't they?. They were outside playing. I noticed they had turned on the hose, so I turned it off as I went out to check on them. Too late.

When Forest was here, he dug a hole behind their climbing wall. He was probably scared from a storm or something. The kids filled the hole with water and were playing in the mud. I always know when it's quiet that they are up to no good.

The Pumpkin Fairy

Some of you readers from back east have made comments on our pumpkin patch. We do things differently out here in the desert. As you can see from the picture, we have our pumpkins delivered beautifully by the Pumpkin Fairy. She sprinkles hay across a field and places the pumpkins perfectly with a 2 foot radius around each one. We don't have to go stomping through fields to find the perfect pumpkin. They are all laid out before us awaiting inspection until the perfect pumpkin with the perfect stem is chosen.

The crazy thing is that pumpkins grow amazingly well in Arizona. Case in point, the pumpkins that I didn't even plant. Our compost pile didn't break down thoroughly before we started our garden. We have 3 pumpkins that are decorating the inside of the house right now and several more still growing on the vine.


I put some plastic under this pumpkin because the rocks blemish the skin. We weren't anticipating sprawling pumpkin vines or we would have raked the rocks away.


When we were at the pumpkin patch, I asked if they grew the pumpkins there. It is an operating plant nursery during the rest of the year. They said they had them shipped in, probably from back East. Why? I don't know. I guess if we want a pumpkin off the vine, we will have to go in our own backyard.

I cut this guy off and realized he wasn't as cooked on his belly. So, I laid him out in the sun for a few days to get a little color. It was that or self tanner lotion. He came out perfectly.

Does anybody know how to get the stickers off the stem? The Pumpkin Fairy smooths out the stems for us. The ones off the vine will prick ya! I've had one inside for a month and it still has stickers. I'm thinking a little sandpaper? Somebody has to know what to do. This city slicker needs help!

The Pumpkin Patch

We went to a local pumpkin patch with Emily's preschool last week. My Mom came too. We all had a great time. Well, all of us except Ben. He was in one of the foulest moods ever. I don't know what got into him, but he was actually growling at other kids. I was so embarrassed. This is one of my favorite photos of my girl. She was so sweet and cooperative with all of my picture requests. Why is it when one kid is great, the other acts rotten?

Here is Ben growling at me. We'd been there 5 whole minutes. I knew it was going to be one of those days for him. I know...it looks like he pooped a pumpkin.




The pumpkins didn't mind his lousy attitude.




Bye pumpkins...until next year.