It Was Such A Vacation Coming Home... Part 3 - The Happiest Place On Earth!

Really...

When we first got on the tram to go to the front gate of Magic World Jade said, "I LOVE this ride!"

I love her.

There's not much I can say here that Whitney hasn't already shared, and since these are all her pictures afterall and so, for her, not too many surprises... I still have a need to document a couple of things from what was probably one of my most memorable (and exhausting) days of my life. But first... I just love this picture!

We started from left to right. In Adventureland. I was told that typically most people tend to go to the right first, so we went against the grain.

And seriously, no lines at all! First stop Jungle Cruise. It was everything I had remembered it being, except for the stand up comedienne wannabe manning the boat...

Here's me and the boys underneath Tarzan's Treehouse still looking somewhat fresh.

And then quickly on to Pirates and Haunted Mansion. Who could have ever thought that holding on to two squirmy boys in line could be that much fun?

Jade was completely tall enough to ride Splash Mountain! YAY!

What a lovely day for a log ride and a splash down!

And she loved it!

Twice even!

And she loved Thunder Mountain too!

I think.

Ok... this day is already getting way to long and it's only noon! Where else can I manage to wheel this double stroller around while everyone else goes on the "big" rides? jk Not to worry. I'm REALLY not so much into the big rides.

We checked out the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique where for only $200+ your child can recieve a complete princess makeover while picking out a princess outfit which she can then wear around the park for the rest of the day and get ketchup all over it. "Trust me, you're not destined to be a completely horrible mom if you don't do this," I said. I hope she doesn't end up resenting me forever for talking her out of it.

I think my favorite moment of the day was most definitely It's A Small World, because well face it, no matter how how great your load in life might be... this ride will surely lighten it!

And I can honestly say there is nothing as precious as witnessing so much magic through a child's eyes. So if only for this one moment, it was an automatic happy, happy, succesful vacation just like that... in one fell swoop!

Except that almost equally as magical was glancing over at Jade's wide eyed and opened mouthed expression during Star Tours with her head planted firmly on the back of the seat... and then upon 'landing' hearing her say "Wow!!! That was absolutely crazy!" Haha. She is such a trooper!

And now, can we be silent for just a moment while I reflect on how many years I've dreamed about taking my future granchild on Dumbo?...

Aaron was pretty much jonesin' all day for a turkey leg, so when we rounded the Matterhorn and finally spied a stand that had them, he was all over it. It was a great little rest stop too. I searched out a ladies room, Whit went to grab some Fast Pass tickets... while Aaron chomped down on this very large... appendage. : )

But he SO deserved that moment of pleasure, because he then awesomely volunteered to trek those two very tired little boys back to the condo and put them to bed, leaving us girls to be able to enjoy the magic of the Main Street Parade. I nearly teared up as soon as it started.

It was sort of surreal... and I think I probably watched the dancers feet more than anything... just remembering all those cable car tracks... and hoping that none of them would get any of their high heels caught in them. haha.

But there was nothing more precious in the world than that "oh my gosh, wow!" expression that Jade put on her face when Princess Arial blew her a kiss!

Can't wait for the year-end video!

Anyway, I had such a great time with this little girl and I am just so thankful to have been able to spend this magical day with her! She was SO exhausted by the end of it!

But of course she would never let awwwwwnnn...

So are we really gonna try to do California Adventure tomorrow?

But First...

I'll never forget all those years of working at Disneyland. In fact it seemed like home for a very long time. I know I probably went a little crazy pointing out every little memory to Whit and her family while we were there but really, it was a huge and important time in my life.

I didn't recognize the outskirts at all!

The backstage lot, where I first fell in love... now consists of a huge parking garage.

And we use to get guest passes for free...

This photo was taken somewhere around the intersection of Ball Road and the street that is now called Disney Way.

That's me down there sitting on Paul's lap about mid-way towards the bottom. And no, he wasn't my first love. Unfortunately this pic was taken on my first love's day off... :(

"Main Street" however, has somehow still managed to forever stay the same...

Electrical Parade - Cinderella Unit 1973

Clarabelle - Christmas Parade 1974/1975

America On Parade - Showboat Showgirl 1975

Easter Parade 1975

It was a blast! It was a really, really sweaty couple of years in my life as I recall... but still a blast!

Ah, here he is, my first love, 20 years later... Reunited. *g*

And so who in the heck dressed me for this grand reunion anyway?...

And Now!... The Most Magical Place On Earth!..

It Was Such A Vacation Coming Home... Part 2 - Delta Connection

Airplane rides nowadays are pretty much well, Hell. Period.

And even though a quarter of a can of your choice of beverage and a bag of 14 peanuts can lend to make it a tad more tolerable... it's really still a moot point when you're not even able to put your tray table down to accomodate this fine faire. So thank you so much God for giving somebody the presence of mind to invent Goldfishies!... Because sometimes, just a little baggie of them can really, really save your arse.

Proof in point..

Thank goodness it was only an hour and a half flight. But I felt so bad for Aaron and his long legs. Trust me, I know about long legs... and mine are relatively short compared to his.

But what fun... because at least we got a few fun stares. I mean twins will always equal a few of those right? So nobody once had even an ounce of a rotten heart to toss us off the plane.

Touchdown... Orange County. Whew!

Jade was so excited! (as well as being really cute!)

Some have asked how it was that we managed all the luggage...

Well, putting mathmatics to work... plus just a little elbow grease, here's how.

Me = My doubled up roller plus Jade's.

Whitney = Stoller plus big roller bag.

Aaron = Backpack and 2 large roller bags + dealing with all the car stuff.

All of us = "Jade... honey, stay close by please! Please?"

Onto the Condo...

We rented a great big car! Sorry we didn't have the presence of mind to take pictures of it. Getting in and out of that vehicle with all our "content" was work enough.

I would recommend this place to anyone wanting to travel to the Disney/Anaheim area, unless creaky floors bother you. The owners were pretty amazing with their timely responses on any issues and the place was stocked with all sorts of goodies, most of which had to be immediately placed on very high shelves...

Here are a few pictures.

There was a big TV which proved to be wonderful in the evenings... like for watching American Idol on that night I stayed at home on baby watch... And there was an awesome porch outside that we didn't spend too much time on after that intial fall when Everest fell backwards off the chair and crashed his head onto the patio slider... But catastrophe averted!

I can still picture the two little hook-on feeding chairs and the cereal mess beneath them...

The kitchen had everything you could possibly need including a state of the art blender for making margaritas! Not wanting to rock the boat I stuck to root beer floats... haha

Kids room, complete with PlayStation. We put Calder on the lower bunk in a baby tent and Everest in a Pack-n-Play. Jade spent the first half night on the top bunk but quickly moved into her parents room upon hearing a "scary noise." I'm hoping that the scary noise wasn't the snoring coming from the adjoining room...

Mine and the kids bathroom. So cute. *heart*

The most comfortable bed I've ever slept in!

Master Bedroom...

The Playground! Just a hop, step and jump away...

<

A little mom break...

Next Stop...Magic Kingdom! The Most Magical Place on Earth!!!

Spring Vacation 2012 or "It Was Such A Vacation Coming Home"... Part 1 - Utah

I had such a wonderful time!  Really.  But there must be a reason why our child bearing years end right at about the same time our inability to chase after them does...

First of all, and for the first time ever I think, all six legs of my flights went exactly as scheduled.  No delays, no lost luggage, no unplanned sleepovers in some strange hotel.  Leg room for my two legs however has still not improved...

First stop Draper, Utah where I spent the night with my sister Alison who was kind enough to pick me up at SLC.  It's such a pleasure visiting with my sis, she always has the best stories and can always make such a mean salad!  This time she used pickled herring...  Charlie her husband thought it made the house smell, but I didn't notice.

"Against my wishes, she cooked fishes," he said.  Lol!

We went over all the details of this amazing new "business opportunity" she's recently gotten into called Zeek Rewards and she spent a couple of hours helping me get started...  But more about that later...

On Friday morning Daryn, Jon and Rachel picked me up on their way down from Boise and after a quick stop at Subway headed to Grandma's condo to join Whitney, Aaron and kids.  Very strange being at the house without Grandma and Grandpa!  But I think we were able to leave it "better than we found it" after our three day stay... : )

The first order of business was to trek up the hill to Aspen Ridge, the rehab facility where mom is recovering from her upper femur fracture.  You can see it up ahead. (The facility, not the femur fracture)...

This place seems to be becoming her home away from home.  But if you have to go somewhere, I guess this is the place to be.  A true 5-Star Hotel!  In fact, they made her sign a disclaimer when she checked in saying she understood that she couldn't stay there forever.  haha

On to Nane's room.

Kids everywhere...

Nane's Room

Daryn with her Grandma

We had the adventure of lifting mom into the car with wheelchair in tow and taking her out to Provo's finest Sizzler to celebrate hers and Whitney's birthdays. It was so much fun to see all my sisters, brother and their families. Carol, Lori and Whit did an amazing job of pulling it all together! But a buffet with a 5-kazillion kids (or so it seemed) was interesting to say the least...

Everyone got together and bought mom a Wii Sports package. Afterall, she IS the current Aspen Ridge Wii Bowling Champion!

Saturday was a busy day with us all going every which way at different times. But only after having lunch with grandma in the rehab's dining room. The breaded shrimp faire was cruise worthy!

Shopping, running errands, picking up after the kids, squeegying the showers:), the guys date and the gals date kept us juggling...

Finally a breather... Titanic 3D... It was fantastic!

Continued memories being made...

Sunday was a relaxing day with Whit and I joining mom for church at the center. It lasted 45 minutes. My kind of church!

I was so sad to hug Daryn and her little family goodbye. I don't get to see them nearly enough! But they were able to visit some other members of their family on their way back to Boise to continue the fun :)

I just love these pictures!

*sigh*

We brought grandma over to the house for the afternoon. First time she'd been back in six weeks! Lunch took a little more time to prepare than we had planned so I had to call rehab to ask if she could be allowed out for a little more than her allotted 4 hours. I looked for an ankle device, but didn't see one. haha

Anyway, they said that would be fine and it was nice to be able to spend some more time with her.

Lunch on the patio

The weekend provided such a great opportunity for the kids to get together. Cousins forever!!!

And now it is 12 hours and counting until lift off... and the condo is a complete mess! Sorry mom :( And so with miles to go before we sleep, aren't they just so adorable still?

Fishes and Dishes...

Next up... Orange County

Ship Of Dreams

It's hard to believe that it's been one hundred years ago tonight...

As I type this... at this moment... people were dining and dancing and others were just preparing for bed. How could they have known or even anticipated what would occur in the few short hours to come? One hundred years was not that long ago. It could have happened to any one of us. Just like 9/11 could have happened to any one of us. And did.



I have always been so intrigued by this story... even as a child.

Even LONG before meeting Jack Dawson and Rose Dewitt Bukater...

And then... my kids came along. Which is another story altogether about how all the emotions of it somehow fit in.

But tonight I just want to pay tribute in some way to those 1,517 human beings who losts their lives that night as well as to the countless others who were forever impacted by this tragedy.

Don't get me wrong... I love cruising and the gentle rocking to sleep that a ship provides. And I love the water. But just not THAT much water... and especially not all at once. And the thought of drowning or freezing to death absolutely freaks me out a bit, especially if it were to happen in the middle of a dark ocean... at 2 am.

So for those who had to endure it... that was for you. <3

I hope nobody ever asks me to write a memorial for anyone... Even though I was seriously trying my hardest to be serious and write a thoughtful blog here. : )