Disneyland- Round 2 (October 2015)

When an opportunity for Chris to tour SpaceX in SoCal arose, we decided to couple it with a trip to Disneyland.  I have to come right out and say it, the trip was A.W.E.S.O.M.E.  We had so much fun!  Last year when we went for the boys' third birthday, the trip was fun but it was also a lot of work.  We spent a lot of time painting everything in a good light and trying to assure the boys that rides and shows were not going to be scary.  It was fun in the way new experiences are, but it was not an easy-going-good time.  This time EVERYTHING was fun and exciting (except indoor rides, they are still off limits!).  Around every corner and in every sight line there was something amazing to experience.  The boys had memories from last year to build on and being almost a year older gave them a new maturity to deal with new situations.


On the first morning we got up early and walked over to downtown disney to eat in the Storytellers Cafe.  The boys remembered the cafe from last year and were looking forward to seeing Chip and Dale.  When we got there, they were about to do a group dance (the hokey pokey) and Brody jumped right into the center of the circle and busted out his moved.  Everyone was cheering and clapping for him.  It was quite cute.  We then walked over to Disneyland, grabbed some maps, and headed to the Astro Orbiter.  That is by far the boys favorite ride!   For a few hours, we *seemed* to have the place to ourselves (it's all about where you choose to look!).  The little kid rides had almost no lines and we were able to ride things more than once.   We had so much fun going on that ride over and over again until the crowds started to grow. We took them on the Buzz Lightyear ride where you get to "shoot" at the bad guys.  The boys did not really like being in the dark they freaked out every time we suggested going on the ride again.  We called the bad guys "moon monsters" and even though they said they did not like it, they talk about this ride constantly.  They have conversations with each other about the moon monsters, they ask us about the moon monsters, they explain the ride to other people (who have no idea what they are talking about because we made up the name "moon monsters").  It has become this huge thing which is so contrary to the level of excitement that they actually showed for the ride itself and has been all they have talked about since we have been home (go figure). We also rode Autotopia and the Finding Nemo ride.  This solidified the fact that although the kids were enjoying the rides, they wanted nothing to do with inside or dark rides.  We kept to those rules for the rest of the trip!

 After Tomorrowland, we headed over to Toontown and then to Storyland.  In Toontown the boys got to ride a rollercoater that was short but sweet!  Brody loved it so much he road it twice!  In Storyland the highlight was the Tea Cups.  Chris and the boys like to try and make me throw up!  They got close this time.

After a full morning of fun, we headed for lunch, ended it with some ice cream and went to the hotel for a nap.  

Friday night was the night of Chris's space tour so the boys and I were on our own.  I smartly brought our BoB stroller knowing that I was going to be on my own at night in a very crowded place.  Because of a couple of Disney scheduling things that I had no control over, California Adventure was incredibly busy and all the magic we experienced that morning with surprising small crowds was lost once the sun went down.  It was so busy that it was hard to walk around, eat, and ride rides as a party of three.  We made the best of it and lasted until 9ish pm, but I was happy to call it a night and head back to the hotel room for bed.  Just as we got to our room we heard the fireworks and when we opened our door, we were able to view a great show!  It was a perfect way to end a fun day.

Saturday we planned to party hardy all day for as long as we could and see what the day became (meaning, no naps).  We again had breakfast with Chip and Dale.  I loved that at breakfast when Chip (or was it Dale) gave the boys a simultaneous hug, they told him "You're the meat!" as if he should know what that means.  I always call the middle person in our hugs the "meat" and they called Dale the meat!  We started the day back in Disneyland and headed straight for Dumbo.  We road several rides and then headed over to California Adventure.

In California adventure, we said hi to some characters, and then spent some time in Radiator Springs and Bugs Life.  Both areas are really well done and it is probably our favorite places to hang out.  Bugs life had a water feature which was key because it was pretty hot out.  We let the boys get 100% drenched and then headed over to the ropes course and climbing area. Then we got some lunch and resurrected the bubble guns.  I swear nothing brings people more joy than being showered with bubbles by cute boys.  It brings happiness to all!

At this point we decided to wait online for one of the most talked about rides, Radiator Springs Racer.  It is really the only line that we stood on for any significant time and the ride was worth it.  It was so well done!  We liked it so much we went on it again the next morning.  As the sun was going down we headed over to the pier and road on many amusement park rides, some over and over again.  We packed in a ton of activities and made it until about 7:30.  Then we decided to grab some food and head home.  We were all asleep by 9 after a full and very fun day!

The next morning we woke up, packed and decided that a few more hours in the park were worthwhile. We chose to play in California adventure.  In addition to the radiator springs rides, we rode the rides on the pier over and over again until we had our fill.  The skies were cloudy, the park was lightly crowded and it was so much fun just to pick and choose what we wanted to do.  When we officially walked out of the park one last time, I knew we had the absolute best time possible.  The boys were the perfect age and size to be able to experience so many new and fun things.  I am so glad we made the trip, it was magical!

A visit from Nana and Tickle Grandpa (September 2015)

September is always one of my favorite months.  Back to school, fall, my birthday, and a visit from Nana and Tickle grandpa were amongst the things we had to look forward to this year! This visit was a little different then ones in the past.  The boys started pre-school a few weeks before and were still adjusting to the new schedule (meaning school plus some naps and thus a little less face time).  Three mornings during their visit I had my parents all to myself!  We were able to balance a nice amount of kid playing and adult conversation.  We did not do any grand adventures this time around.  Instead, we swam at their hotel pool, played countless games of memory and Paw Patrol, snuggled, and tried to keep Hank from eating everything in sight.  Aunt Kathy came over for a visit and we pretty much laid low and hug out at home the rest of the time.  It was a great week!  Come back, come back, come back!