Family Vacation

We went on a family vacation to Disneyland. It was great. My kids are the perfect ages. Josh finally worked up enough courage to go on the matterhorn. It was great. Miriam was all for it. Miriam even puts her hands up on all the roller coasters. and Miss Miriam, my little dare devil, went on THE TOWER OF TERROR! I bought her a shirt that says, "I survived the tower of terror." I normally think those shirts are stupid, but never has it seemed more appropriate. We let her pick what we did for the rest of the day. We mostly played in Bugs Land after that. Happy, happy, happy place. :)

We ran the Neverland Family 5k. It was really great! The race course weaved in and out of Disneyland and California adventure, but it also went behind the scenes where they store the trains at night and where they repair and build ride cars, etc. And they had all the warehouse doors open so we could see inside as we ran by. It was really cool. We saw all three Disneyland trains parked in their storage area, we saw a tea cup saucer being repainted, we saw space mountain cars being built, pirates of the carribean boats being repaired, etc. We ran by all the horses they use on Main Street and in Toon Town. They told us the horses work 9 hours a week, Three hours a day for three days in a row, then they get four days off. So they have A LOT of horses. All Clydesdales. It was really neat to see.

When we got to Main street to start the race, which began in front of the castle, they did a little fireworks show for the runners and tinker bell flew across the sky as well. My kids loved it! Garren told us where to meet up in case he left us "in the dust." I laughed at him thinking, "yeah right!" But he ran with Miriam all the way to It's A Small World, then he picked up and put her on his shoulders and did, in fact, leave us in the dust. It was funny to watch Miriam bobbing up and down in the crowd as Garren ran ahead of us. (Pictures and video of that on FB, hilarious). Me, Ashley and Josh ran the rest of the way on our own. Josh ran and skipped and galloped and did a great job. The funniest part was when we got to the road that connects Dland and DCA and I asked Josh if he thought it was neat to see this part f the parks. He said, "I think it's easier to just buy a ticket." haha.

We did cars land. We got there an hour before rope drop because we didn't want to have to wait in line as it is a very popular place right now. They had mater and lightening McQueen (actual cars) at the lead of the crowd to set the pace. Apparantly people were getting hurt and trampled trying to get to cars land. So they had a gas dispenser rope thing and then about six workers that made sure everyone stayed behind it and we all had to walk into cars land behind that and behind the two cars until we got to the racers. The racers is an awesome ride. Really well done. ALl of cars land is really well done. They take your picture on the racers and ours was hilarious (can be seen on my FB). Oh my gosh, it was too funny. We were one of the first people in line since we were there so early and didnd't have to wait at all.

Then we went to meet mater and lightening. It was really neat because they had a bunch of different sayings. One boy went up to mater and was wearing a birthday button and mater started singing happy birthday. it was a really special experience for that boy, I'm sure. And one of the employees asked mater to turn off his engine for Josh (Josh has some sound and sensory sensitivities because of his EDS, he also couldn't get the hand stamp when we left the park because of this). So mater was nice and quiet while we took our picture. As we walked away josh turned and waved at him then mater said, "Pleased to meet you!" It was nice. Made josh happy.

All of cars land was so well done. It was just really neat. All the rides were  blast. The cozy cone was a great place to stop for ice cream and churros. It was just really great.

We did a lot of kid swap passes which was nice. So Garren and I would go on a ride and then they'd give my sister and I passes to the front of the line for when we did the kid swap. We did this on space mountain, among many others. But I went through with Ashley and our picture (on FB) was SO funny. I don't know if the flash scared me or what but the look on my face is sheer terror. Then Garren and I went on right after that and Garren's face in the picture is like sheer joy and I look like I'm driving in rush hour traffic. So funny! It was a lot of fun.

My brother in law, Bryant, got to come for one day with us. It was good to spend some time with him. Ashley is leaving for boot camp next week, so it was nice that we could all spend the day together at Disneyland.

My favorite memories, other than the ones already listed, are Miriam meeting Minnie Mouse, her hero. It was such a precious moment I CRIED! (pictures on FB). Ashley told me that the Disneyland characters are taught in training to never be the first to let go in a hug. And we found that to be true with both Minnie and Daisy. I had to step in and tell Miriam to take a picture. They hugged forever. It was precious (both pics on FB). Then we went to meet goofy and Miriam was so precious waiting in line with her autograph book opened (on fb). Just waiting patiently. It was darn cute.
-riding in the front of the monorail is always a special moment with my kids.
- driving on the autopia with josh and crashing into Garren because we were focusing on how to steer instead of what was in front of us.
- Going on pirates, turning around to check on Miriam and seeing her with both hands in the air waiting for a drop.
- Waiting at starting line for the race while my kids watched the fireworks, the looks on their faces were priceless. Magical.
-The canoes with my kids. Miriam can row like no ones business! Not kidding!
-Shopping with my sister. Got new Disney cook books (I get one every time I go). My favorite purchase though, was in New Orleans square. I got Minnie and mickey mouse cups at the crystal shop and I had them engrave our names on them.  I also went a little too far and bought a bunch of Mickey mouse shaped pasta. :) Never spent so much on a pasta product in my life. :)

And so many more. My kids were real troopers and were happy almost the whole time. It made the trip a lot of fun and made every moment special.

We also visited with Garren's grandparents. It was a nice and pleasant visit, as always. We went to dinner and went to the cemetery. I went for a bit, but sat in the car with my sister for a while. I've lost too many people in my life to not have cemeteries mess with my head a little too much if I'm there too long.

My kids love visiting Garren's grandparents. They really like their house and their backyard. And their cats.

Now we're back and the kids have off of school. So we are unpacking and getting adjusted to both time and climate change. We are getting a big snow storm tomorrow, so it isn't likely the kids will be going to school tomorrow either.

When we got off the plane Miriam said, "I want to do that whole exact trip AGAIN! I can't wait!" Me too Mims, me too. Good times had by all.