My little Star Wars Fan...

SO, when I took Harvey to the pediatrician for his 3 year old check up and discovered he was 40 inches tall, the FIRST thing I thought was, "HE'S TALL ENOUGH TO RIDE STAR TOURS!!" I didn't dare say anything in case things didn't pan out. You see, being the Star Wars fan that he is, we basically go straight to star tours to check if he's tall enough as soon as we walk into Disneyland. For six months I've been telling him, "Sorry bud. You probably won't be tall enough until you're at least three." Even if he WAS tall enough, he wouldn't be able to ride because it's usually me with my three kids and June definitely isn't tall enough.

We had the chance to go to Disneyland last week with a bunch of our cousins and my mom (who is awesome and stays off the "big rides" with the baby so I can ride them with my "big kids.") I told Harvey he might be tall enough to ride Star Tours that day. His little eyes got big and an open mouthed smile covered his face. We took Harvey right up to the front of the fast pass line where they have the 40 inch tall measuring stick. He was so cute standing there, as tall as he could, following my directions. "Put your feet together. Stick your neck out straight. Put your chin up. Stand with your back against the bar." He was right on the line. The workers were a little hesitant. Strangers in line started shouting, "Let the kid ride the ride!" "Let him on! He's tall enough!" Harvey smiled nervously at the worker as she had him raise his hands above his head. 

She gave the okay and I squealed, "Harvey! You're tall enough!" He did a double handed fist pump and screamed, "I'N TALL YEENUFF!!" Everyone watching from the line laughed. I cannot describe the way his little face was beaming as he passed the threshold and entered the line to that ride. He was walking fast and probably screamed, "I'N TALL YEENUFF!!" like five times. Some of those screams included jumping up and down. The people in line were giggling at his excitement. He kept pointing out all the Star Wars characters to me. He was amazed at the life sized C3PO and R2D2. It really was something special to watch. 

While we waited to board our "space ship" a little screen shows some characters getting it ready. Harvey was entranced. He asked me what they were doing to our spaceship. Once we got on, I decided to tell him it wasn't real, I didn't want him to freak out when we blasted into outer space. But he LOVED it. He's been telling people all week about his ride on Star Tours and how he's "tall yeenufff." He even asked me if he could drive my car because, "I'n a big boy now, mommy, I'n even tall yeenuff for Star Tours." Man, I love that kid. 

*that face says it all

Disneyland in the RAIN!

When I see this rainbow tiled floor I let myself start to get excited that I get to spend the day with my kids at one of my favorite places on earth. By this point the stress of packing food/diaper bags, getting there and parking is over and the fun is about to begin. I've started to become a crowd snob and plan my trips around times that will tend to have the least amount of people there. One of those times is in the morning, on a weekday, in the RAIN. If I wake up to clouds I try to open my schedule to take advantage of the opportunity for a possibly empty Disneyland.

Of course, we always have to hit up Harvey's favorite ride first: the horseys! I also love this ride because the line moves quickly. On top of being a crowd snob, I am a line snob. We hit up all the rides with either short or fast moving lines, or both. These include the carousel, the tea cups, it's a small world, pirates of the carribean, pinnochio, snow white, sleeping beauty's castle, the train, and winnie the pooh. I used to rate the success of our trip solely on how many rides we were able to hit up in the shortest period of time. I try not to do that anymore. I try to let myself enjoy the experience even if we just walk slowly down main street and take in the sites and smells. It's not easy though, sometimes the productivity obsessed crazy in me comes out a little.

I fought the princess obsession for a little while after having a daughter, but gave in a long time ago. Really though, how freakin cute is my little girl in her princess dress and rain boots. I mean...

Harvey Jay. My little boy friend. He's still only one year old in this picture. ALMOST two, but still one. He looks like he's four. He doesn't want to/get to wear foofy princess dressed to Disneyland, but he's just as stinkin cute... ONE activity that is NEVER on my Disney todo list is waiting in ludicrously long lines to see characters to 2 seconds (horrible invention). If you're lucky you can catch them walking around. But I have to give in every once in a while. It's all worth it to see the look on Wendy's face. 

Fall days at Disneyland

Fall is the best time to go to Disneyland! (Christmas time is awesome too, but more crowded- therefore, not THE best). I've been able to take my kids about once a week, for a couple hours during the fall season. The decorations are wonderful, and since the weather doesn't feel much different than summer, at least our surroundings there do. Man, I love living in California. My kids don't know how lucky they are (do all moms say that?). 

*can you tell which one of my kids is obsessed with the characters & which on isn't so sure? haha! 

 
Wendy's favorite part about going to Disneyland is getting to see the characters. It would be buying cotton candy, but moms don't buys stuff at Disneyland, only Grandmas do. Harvey LOVES the carousel. He actually cries and waves to the horseys when we have to get off. (But sometimes, because it's fall, it's so empty that we just ride it a couple times in a row). He also loves the petting zoo.

 Happy Fallidays!

Princess, shmincess

... I thought I was above the whole princess thing. I remember running into a friend at the mall on a Black Friday. She has a daughter about Wendy's age and excitedly told me about the great deals they were having at the Disney Store and showed me all her princess paraphernalia. I really hate to admit it, but deep down (or maybe more in one of my more shallow areas) I turned my nose up. MY daughter is't into cheesy things like princesses, I thought. Boy have I eaten those thoughts now. I should probably apologize to my friend. My daughter is obsessed (and you can bet I was one of the first people at the Disney Store this last Black Friday).

I've come to realize there is "a whole new world" out there when it comes to princess culture. Letting Wendy wear her cheesy princess dresses to Disneyland and ignoring all the rides just to get a moment with one of the princesses, I can't help but melt when I see the way she lights up. I don't fight it anymore. Now my only dilemma is planning a princess party. Dang it. I don't want to, but she's been talking about it for 6 months. I've got a few tricks up my sleeve to make this party not cheesy and fun for the boys. I hope it works.

The Happiest Place on Earth

*her favorite rides: the carousel and it's a small world

Now that summer is over and our passes aren't blacked out anymore, Wendy and I have been going on a lot of mother-daughter dates to Disneyland! I've always enjoyed going to Disneyland, but getting to watch my little girl light up as she experiences it for the first time is a whole knew kind of wonderful.

Currently, her favorite part of going to Disneyland is getting to see the princesses. I really think she thinks they're the real ones. She does this slow motion running hug to them then caresses their face and hair as they talk to her. And MAN those girls are good. They do such a great job of returning the love and making her feel special. Whoever is hiring/training these girls deserves a raise.

Wendy knows EVERY Disney song and sings them to herself all day long. In her little voice and with her little lisp, it's the cutest thing I've ever seen/heard, but the girl WILL NOT perform for the video camera. I've tried everything: begging, bribes,sneaking up on her... nothing works. She always catches me because the flip beeps when it turns on. Then she stops. So no video.

"Give a Day, Get a Day," more like "Give a Week, Get a Year!"

After having my house covered in fabric, needles, sewing machines, irons, scissors, and thread for a week, we (the Williams, Watene, & Jones families) accomplished our goal of earning a free ticket to Disneyland (or, in our case, half of our annual passes paid for). That, plus the added satisfaction of helping others, made everything more than worth it.

Disneyland in the Rain

*looks like someone is starting to get a little annoyed with all the pictures I make her take

On my way to Disneyland with my toddler in the rain, I thought to myself, "I'm either a genius or just crazy to be doing this right now." It was a last hurrah before my pass expired and my foot surgery (two things that would prevent me from getting to go for a long while). So I bundled up my baby and myself and we took off.

We went on FIVE rides in 1 hour!! The submarines, it's a small world, peter pan, and the carousel(twice- it's her favorite). I started to believe I must be a genius, but on our 2nd ride around the carousel it really stared to pour. Luckily we were just about done anyway.

We had so much fun playing in the rain at Disneyland, I just might make a habit of it. When I was a little girl we had passes and during the off season, the place was empty. I remember running around the park with my sisters, feeling like we owned the place. Now that the passes are so much cheaper, there's no such thing as an "off season." Going in the rain, with the park pretty much empty, reminded me of that feeling I had as a little girl. As you can see above, Wendy enjoyed it too!

Now, to totally contradict myself and go against my wishes that Disneyland passes were less accessible so that I could have the place to myself, here is a great way to get in free for a day OR have 1/2 of your year round pass paid for. If you go HERE you can sign up to volunteer for a day to get free admission to Disneyland for a day (instead of getting in free on your birthday). The have a great list of places you can choose from to volunteer near your home. My friend and her kids are going to feed the homeless. I have signed up to make fleece knotted blankets for children in need (this is one I can do at home and turn in on my own time!)