The Happiest Place on Earth

This is the post I've been procrastinating. Why, you ask? Let's just say the experience of taking our children to Disneyland was anything BUT the Happiest Place on Earth. For the sake of preserving memories though, here goes...

In May we embarked on the childhood rite of passage, 1st trip to Disneyland. We planned to drive there in 2 days, relish in the magic for 5 and 2 more days to drive home. It was to be filled with magic day in and day out. The first night in our hotel one child was up all night vomiting, Miss A, that was. In the morning she arose happy as could be and seemed to be fine. Mom was exhausted but we pushed on. The next day we made it to Anaheim and after seeing my aunt we went to our hotel to get some sleep in preparation for the big day ahead. We surprised the kids with new Disney jammies and they were thrilled!



See what traveling does...this one was so tired she didn't move from her self-made pillow perch!


The sleep didn't last long, it was another all night vomiting affair for the same one, Miss A. Crazy thing is she arose in the morning claiming to be just fine. Two nights of non-stop vomiting was taking it's toll on Mom, though! Again, we pressed on and headed out for our 1st day of Disneyland. We pulled out another surprise -- Disneyland shirts and we were off! Let's just say that child #2 and #3 had pretty much zero interest in being there. Being the ages they are this is displayed in lots of tears and screaming!

See -- it pretty much looked like this most of the day!


By about noon it was clear that naps were in order so Mom and the little ones headed to the hotel. After waiting over 45 minutes for our shuttle bus (out on the sidewalk with no shade & 2 small tired children) we got home and put them to bed.

We did manage this picture of the 3 of them:

Upon waking up we headed back to Disneyland to meet up with Dad and K. Well, Dad was not feeling well so he camped out with the little guy and Mom and the girls went on a ride. We managed to wander into a parade, so stayed and watched. Then it was off to another night of sleep.


It gets better. This night there were 2 of them going ALL. NIGHT. LONG. Miss A again and now the little guy (S) joined in! I don't think I laid down for more than a 20 minute stretch at a time. It was madness! I was at the front desk begging for cleaning supplies, towels and all kinds of things. After assessing the situation in the morning we decided the 3 sickies would stay home (Dad, Miss A and S) and Mom and K would go to the pool. Well, that didn't last long and we were back at the room. Within the hour, she had joined the sickies -- I was the last holdout and WORN OUT!! Thankfully Target was right across the street so I was able to pick up supplies for all the sickness. (Wouldn't you know it the Tylenol I thoughtfully packed had been recalled after we left!)

We decided to call the day a bust and extend another day at the back end of our vacation to make up for it. Kids bounce back fast, right!?

WRONG. Another night of vomiting. First thing in the morning we called Disneyland and they were gracious enough to reissue our unused 4 days so we could come back in 6 months. We were packed and on the road within an hour. That 2 day trip there was only 1 coming home. We wanted to be home so bad!

So there you have it -- INSANE! And, we get to go back!! Can't wait! It's actually really sad because what do the girls think of Disneyland? "We don't want to go back that's where you get really sick." That's just not fair, it's supposed to be the Happiest Place on Earth!

A Graduation...

from Kindergarten. Complete insanity to think next year she'll be gone all day! She's ready... but am I? Only time will tell. Anyway, here are some fun pics of the big graduation day! She was so proud to have her family there including a grandma and an uncle!

The AM Kindergarten Class:


Her drawing of what she remembers of kindergarten: The First Day of School


Her teacher telling her, "You are officially a first-grader!"

Daddy Time

The kids LOVE to have Dad come home and turn on the music and dance. The other night he got out their tutu's and it was pretty hilarious!! I was a bit surprised Dad went for putting one on the little guy. The little guy was SUPER persistent though and thrilled when he finally prevailed.

Another one gone

Well, my oldest child has lost another tooth -- it still seems hard to believe we are in this phase of life. This one was quite different in some ways though. The tooth came out in May but the Tooth Fairy only recently visited. She has had real issues with the Tooth Fairy taking her tooth and so had no desire to leave it under her pillow. The trouble with that was she really wanted some money but every morning there was nothing under her pillow. We talked about the possibility of leaving a note for the Tooth Fairy and asking her to leave the tooth AND the money but the risk seemed too high... until she saw the Hello Kitty spin toothbrush that was $6.00 and NOT being bought by Mom and Dad. That night she decided to write the note. In the morning she had money and a tooth -- that afternoon she spent it!! She loves brushing her teeth. We figure it's Tooth Fairy money well spent.

Beautiful Weather...

Back in May we were expecting gorgeous weather one Saturday so we decided to pack up and go to the beach. The kids had a great time and we FROZE! It was barely 50 degrees and windy!! I guess the warm sunshine didn't make it all the way to the beach.

Helpers

Last week I got 30 pounds of strawberries. Yes, that's a lot! The girls and I had a lot of fun making jam and freezing them.

What, you don't believe me they had fun? Just take a look...