Saturday with the Hunters

After El Torito, Allie and I drove to the Hunter's house. We spent Saturday hanging out with them. Rose didn't leave Allie's side. If Allie went to the store, Rose went. If Allie took a nap, Rose took a nap, etc. They are so cute.

We got up around 8:00 and just relaxed and wore green, of course. Rose had set up a leprechaun trap on Friday, but didn't catch anything. I guess mom helped her with that project and it took 3 hours. Rose is so creative and full of grand ideas. Derek had bought some of the most delicious donuts I've ever had. Wow. At one point, we went grocery shopping to get stuff for dinner. The menu started with asparagus because it looked so good. We then got fingerling potatoes and delicious sourkraut. Derek ended up grilling some chicken to go with roasted veggies. It was great. We picked up Little Caesar's for lunch.

After lunch, everyone napped while I hung out. Charlie was awake too. He was in his room playing. At one point, I went to check on him and he was fine. Next time I went to check, I found he had discovered Rose's markers. He had a nice beard, but hadn't drawn on anything else. Thank goodness. I know Derek thinks they're not very entertaining, but I really enjoying just relaxing and visiting. After dinner, we watched "Enchanted." We girls went to bed early because we had to be up at 3:00 to get our flight. Dang early morning flights.

Uh oh. Our little leprechaun

Cousin Movie Night

Playing on Allie's phone

Disney Day of Trying New Things

Friday, March 16, mom was in Santa Clarita with Derek and Rachel and family. Allie had the day to ourselves in Disneyland. We decided early on that it would be a day where we would try new things. We would look in nooks and crannies we'd always ignored and even eat food we hadn't tried before. We had a BLAST! Here are some of the adventures we had:

1. Shared a burger in Tomorrow Land. Neither of us had eaten there and we decided to share so we had room for more food later. It was really good. Had bacon and grilled onions.

2. Walked into shops that had fancy and very expensive souvenirs.

3. Watched the show at the Golden Horseshoe in Frontier Land. As we walked by, I said "I think there's a show in there. Want to watch it?" What?! Allie thought it was just a place to eat chicken strips and fries. Sure enough there is a show so we sat and enjoyed an old time vaudeville type show. So funny.

We laughed when the guy next to us jokingly asked his buddies "Do you think there will be any nudity?"

4. Rode the Monorail all around the park, which includes a view of the employee Starbucks that's on the back side of the park.

5. Went into the exhibit on the new Star Wars Galaxy's Edge and even met Chewbacca from Star Wars.

I told him I'd been a fan since I was 12

6. Stood in line to meet Black Panther and to see his Wakandan Warriors. Black Panther is a movie that came out last month. It's a good one. The characters are really strong people.

7. Rode Mark Twain's Riverboat through the Rivers of America and saw a beaver chewing away at the train bridge. LOL.

8. Allie bought us a mini strawberry shortcake inspired bundt to share at the Jolly Holiday.

9. Got to the park late (around 10:30 am) and left early (around 6:00 pm)

10. Went to El Torito for dinner. During the day, I had mentioned that sometimes at Disneyland I just want a real meal. Allie agreed. I suggested we leave in time to hit one of my favorite restaurants from high school. It was the place that Jenny, Kris, Kim, and I would go to for special occasions. I was hoping that it would still be good. I was hoping that it just wasn't good in my teenage mind. Well, it was GREAT. We had such a good meal.

Break Even Day at Disneyland

To make my pass pay for itself, I had to go 4 times. Every time I visit after that is just a bonus. I broke even last Thursday at an epic visit with mom, Allie, Derek, and Rose. Derek is so good to join us. He has to take a day off of work, but still get his work done. It's not like someone is there to do his job when he's not there. It's a huge sacrifice and I appreciate it.

Derek is always ready for a good time!

A few weeks ago, mom had told Allie she wanted to go to Disneyland with me and her, so we planned the trip and it happened last week. Allie and I didn't have work/school on Friday, March 16, so we took advantage of the day off and headed to California. We flew out early Thursday morning. We picked up a cute little rental car - a Nissan Versa - and headed to Anaheim where we met up with Derek and Rose. We got into the park around 10:00 am. We had a blast and mom kept up. She wasn't even sore the next day. I thought she'd be fine, but she was rather proud.

Rose didn't realize Allie was coming. On the way to the park, she asked Derek if Allie would be there. When he said "yes," she was very excited. Those two girls have such a cute bond. Allie is so kind and patient with Rose and genuinely enjoys spending time with her. Here are some of the things these two cousins enjoyed.

This was Rose's idea...C for cousins!

The first ride was the Matterhorn. Derek tried to get Rose to join us on the ride. She was really nervous. He told her he thought she'd really like it; to try. She was in line with us and we were talking up the ride. Derek told her he would tell her if he thought she wouldn't like it. Well, at the last minute she chickened out. The first 30 seconds of the ride Allie, Derek, and I are riding up a hill in the dark, listening to the screams of the yeti. Derek says "I take it back. Rose would have hated this!" We laughed about that all day. That would have been a major dad fail.

We went on Alice in Wonderland, Small World, Storybook Land (where we discovered that you can open the door on the little light house. Derek dared us to sneak in and spend the night in the park), Buzz Lightyear, and the train. Then we went to Earl of Sandwich, where mom was kind enough to buy us all lunch. Loved the caprese sandwich. I think that's my favorite.

We then went over to California Adventure. Mom had NEVER been there. She loved every square foot of that park, every detail. We walked through bugs land, cars land, went on Little Mermaid and Soarin', and got free samples of chocolate and sourdough bread. We just soaked it all in and took lots of fun pictures. Mom and Derek and Rose left around 6:30, after Soarin, the perfect way to end the day. Allie hung out at the park and found Black Panther while I took mom to the car to get her bags. Allie and I reunited and hung out for a while more before heading to our Airbnb. I had gotten us a place to stay so we could go to the park together on Friday. That was an excellent choice because we had a blast. We left the park, exhausted, around 7:30 and went to Rite Aid pharmacy so I could buy Allie Thrifty ice cream. Then we went to Taco Bell then to our room. We were asleep by 9:30 pm. We had gotten up EARLY that morning and we needed the sleep.

Bye Disney...until tomorrow...

2018: The Year of the Pass

Ok, so I have another pass...in addition to my Movie Pass. I have an annual Disney Pass and I've had so much fun with it so far. The year has just begun.

Allie and I went to Disneyland in early January. Allie had a pass that she bought in October. On the way to the park she said "mom, you're gonna get a pass." I was pretty sure I'd give in and buy one. After all, my girl has one and Jenny my sister has one and Derek can get in anytime. Why not? It could be a really fun year.

Allie and I had a great day at the park and Jenny and I made plans to return to the park. Jenny and I went back in February. We left Sunday after church, stayed in Primm, Nevada, and got to the park around noon on Monday. We had so much fun just hanging out. At one point, Jen grabbed my arm and said "hey, let's go on the Walking in Walt's Disneyland Footsteps tour tomorrow. My treat!" What? I was shocked. We headed over to the tour garden, which I'd never noticed before, and inquired about Tuesday's tour. They said it was sold out, but to come back in the morning because they often agree to sell a couple more tickets. Ok. No big deal. We'll just wait and see. We continued to enjoy our day, had a sandwich at the Earl of Sandwich, and generally soaked in the magic. We stayed at my friend Jenny Hebdon's house, about 15 minutes from the park. Good sleep, even though I got the love seat. I insisted since Jen's taller than I am.

Road Trippin'

Jenny Hebdon, former TA, with her 3 kiddos

Got up and left in time to be at the tour garden early. Walked right into the park. They did sell us the tickets. Wahoo!!!!!! So we just had to kill 30 minutes until our tour. We just walked up and down main street. The tour was excellent. We learned so many fun facts about Walt Disney and about Disneyland. I hadn't really stopped to realize that Disneyland is the ONLY park Walt actually walked in. He really loved that place. Once when his grandchildren were spending the night, the looked out the window onto main street and his grandchild commented that the place was really magical. Walt said that the magic really started when the people started coming. The people were the magic. The tour included lunch and a visit to Walt Disney's apartment above the firehouse on main street. We learned that his grandkids would sneak out at night and go behind the apartment to the jungle cruise ride and jump out of the bushes to scare people on the ride. What?! Can you imagine having Walt Disney as a grandparent?

Jen and I met some very interesting friends named Mark on the tour. Here's the deal on the Marks. They have been friends for about 30 years. They met across the work table in LA, working in film. Shorter and bald Mark was from Minnesota. He graduated from college in the early 70's in theater and took the opportunity to go to clown college with Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus. He learned makeup and prosthetics from a man who had just finished working on the original Planet of the Apes. He worked and travelled on the train with the circus for a year. Then he got a chance to go to LA with his makeup teacher and work in the film industry. He worked on special effects and makeup. Then he got hired by George Lucas' business in the Bay Area. He moved there and learned digital technology and retired from Disney. What an interesting life. He "made" the Darth Vader you see in Star Tours and the tom toms on planet Hoth on the same ride.

me and Jen in Walt's apartment

With our Mark friends

We got special pins to wear and a commemorative pin

Taller Mark with hair is a puppeteer. He was interested in puppets since childhood. He was Slimer in "Ghostbusters." He also auditioned for Jim Henson and got the job. It was to work on a 3-D Muppets film that played in California Adventure for a while. I told him the bit I knew about Jim Henson, that he had a degree in Home Economics. I said I often imagine what his parents would have thought. He said that they were probably thrilled because they were puppeteers and very supportive of their son's career. This Mark had once met Henson's parents and brother at a conference. He said they were excellent mentors of others in the business.

At the end of the tour, we were fed lunch. I had selected a salad and the Matterhorn macaroon. Both were delicious. We were coincidently seated with the Marks for lunch so we got to keep talking. After the tour, Mickey happened to be outside of the Emporium for pictures, so we got a picture. We then sat down on a bench to people watch at the hub. That's the center part of Disneyland, where the Walt and Mickey statue stand. We decided it had been such a magical day that nothing would top it. We thought about heading home then I suggested we go to Derek's house. YES!!!!! So we went to Jenny's and got our stuff. We found a place with Thrifty Ice Cream to get a taste of our childhood and got to Derek's with Little Caesar's pizza around 7:00 pm. As moms, we knew we needed to let Rachel know we were coming with dinner. Nothing worse than making dinner only to have someone show up WITH dinner. We had a great visit. Slept well, and got on the road Wednesday morning after going on a walk with the dogs they were sitting.

Rose with her girl scout stuff. Yes, we bought cookies from her.

Milo is getting so big

I introduced Jen to Cane's. We won a free piece of toast

You can say it was a great trip.

Allie and I went back the weekend after her 28th birthday. I invited my Chick fil-A friends to come along. I thought it would be fun. That they'd hit it off. Well....it didn't quite turn out that way. First of all, I had an epic mom fail that Friday morning. I wouldn't have blamed Allie if she had decided to not come. She did come, though, but things were a bit strained at first.

That didn't happen. The drive through Vegas was small talk with Allie texting in the front passenger seat texting like mad. I assumed she was texting everyone about my bad behavior earlier in the day. I wouldn't blame her for it. We get to Baker, California, and she texted me "Look at my finsta," meaning look at my funny instagram account. Ok. Wow. Turns out the guy Jessica had been telling us about. The jerk that she was dating, but kinda didn't trust, the guy she decided to not date anymore was the guy in Allie's English class that she liked. She had gone out with him and she had no idea he was dating someone else. Allie texted Drew. Drew texted Jessica, but nobody talked about it all weekend. I just made sure Allie wasn't stuck on a ride alone with Jessica. It was awful. I'm glad that weekend is over. It was so awkward. Jessica didn't know I knew. I didn't know if Laura knew. It was like a giant elephant in the park.

Allie and I are doing a re-do this weekend with mom. Allie, mom and I are flying out to California on Thursday, meeting Derek at the park and playing. Allie and I will stay at an Airbnb and mom will go back to Derek's on Thursday night. Allie and I will do the park on Friday again then spend Saturday with the Hunter gang.

The ONLY picture I got of Allie on her 22nd birthday. She wanted me to bring donuts to work.

New shirt for my Disney year

Me and my girl

She's 22

Learned about portrait setting on my phone

Me, Jessica, and Laura

Can you believe I got to ride the carousel right next to Mary Poppins?

Jenny got me this great jacket for my Disney trips. It's lightweight, but warm.

horrible pic taken by me, but we found Minnie

We just read this book for our book club