The Parents go to Disneyland...Alone

Nate and I just got back from our trip to California.  We had a lot of fun, although we can't say that it was relaxing.  But we knew it wouldn't be, because Disneyland is not a relaxing sort of place.

My mom and dad came on Tuesday night to watch the kids for us while we went.  We were so grateful that they were willing to come and watch our kids for almost four days.  We left Wednesday morning and drove straight to the beach.  We went to the tidepools at Little Corona Beach and arrived right at low tide.  There were so many hermit crabs in the tidepools that it was a bit hard to walk around without stepping on them.  And I found a little starfish, about one inch big.

That night we stayed with Christy and Tennyson.  In the morning we drove over to the parks and spent our first day at California Adventure.  Both days we were there were very hot--close to 100 degrees.  This is supposed to be the "off" season for Disneyland, but we found that there were a lot of people there.  I don't think that the time after spring break and before summer can any longer be called an "off season."  We were able to do everything at California Adventure that we wanted to, but we did stand in lines longer than what we would have liked.  

Our day at California Adventure went like this:  When we got in the park, Nate and I split up to get fastpasses for Radiator Springs and World of Color... along with every single other person in the park.  Then we rode Luigi's Flying Tires (which is a waste of time, and we didn't even wait in a line for that one) and Mater's Junkyard Jamboree.  That one was fun, but Nate didn't try to keep himself from squishing me and at one point, he hit me so hard I could have sworn I felt my whole rib cage crack.  I think I will only ride that one with the kids when we go back.  Then I got fastpasses for Soarin' Over California while Nate went and got in line for Toy Story Midway Mania.  I've decided the line for that ride is never short, no matter what time of day you ride.  After that, we went on Soarin' and then Radiator Springs Racers.  Then we escaped the heat and watched Aladdin, which is like a shortened Broadway production.  I highly recommend watching it.  After that, we had a late lunch and then went on Goofy's Sky School and California Screamin'.  I really like roller coasters, but don't like that they give me a headache.  We wanted to watch the 3-D show, It's Tough to be a Bug, but they had replaced it with a sneak peak of the upcoming Disney movie, Maleficent.  We went ahead watched it anyway because we were still wanting to be out of the sun.

California Screamin'

Then we did Monster's Inc. and the Animation Academy, where we drew the Steamboat Willie Mickey Mouse.  Then we did Toy Story Midway Mania and Soarin' again before we ate dinner.  I was glad to find a place where we ordered Teriyaki Chicken with rice.  I get really sick of burgers and fries or things similar to it when on vacation and can't cook my own food.

Then we went and got our places to watch World of Color.  We had never seen this show because it is late at night and we always went back to the hotel to put kids to bed.  I really enjoyed it, but my feet were not happy about standing in place for another 30-40 minutes at the end of a very long day.

The next day we went to Disneyland.  We made sure that we got to the park an hour early so we could be one of the first ones in line.  At the turnstile we lined up at, we were about fifth in line and were then able to be right up at the rope that keeps everyone on Main Street until opening time.  It was SOOO worth it.  We have the book "The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland" and we followed their touring plan.  We were able to literally walk onto the first three rides we went on, and then not wait in many long lines.

Space Mountain the first time

Space Mountain the second time--we took this picture just for our kids because we knew they would think it was gross.  :)

Here's a complete rundown of our day, starting when the park opened at 9:00 a.m.:
Peter Pan--no line
Star Tours--no line
Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters--no line
Space Mountain (and grabbed fastpasses to come back later)--15-20 min. wait
*all this was done by 10:00 a.m.
Matterhorn--20 min. wait
(got fastpasses for Thunder Mountain)
Space Mountain, using fastpasses--6 min. wait
Winnie the Pooh-- 3 min. wait
(got fastpasses for Splash Mountain which was in super high demand for some reason... oh yeah, it was stinkin' hot outside!!)
Thunder Mountain, using fastpasses--5 min. wait
Lunch at the Golden Horseshoe while watching the Laughing Stock Co. show.

Nate became part of the lunchtime entertainment!  He doesn't know this, (but will find out when he reads this) but I may or may not have kind of pointed at him when the Sheriff came down looking for "eligible husband" replacements for himself to marry the lovely Sallie May--who was actually a super ugly guy dressed as a girl.  I have a video of it, but blogger won't let me upload it.  The show was really funny and the comedians were pretty good on their feet--most of the show is impromptu, based off of the dating show type answers given by the contestants.

After lunch we did:
Haunted Mansion
a bit of the Disneyland Railroad
Roger Rabbit Car Toon Spin--we waited way too long in line for this, but had no choice because we were already holding fastpasses to other rides.  So we waited for at least 40 minutes on very tired feet.
Splash Mountain, using fastpasses-- 5 min. wait
Tiki Room
Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters--10 min. wait.  Nate scored 511,000 due to the lucky fortune of getting stopped in front of Zurg and his hidden spot worth lots of points.
Star Tours, using fastpasses--15 min. wait
Captain EO 3-D show--the 80's were such a strange time.  That's all I can say about this one.
Walked through Innoventions
Browsed shops on Main Street
Shopped and bought kids presents
Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters--15 min. wait
Space Mountain, using fastpasses
Thunder Mountain, using fastpasses
Haunted Mansion
Watched fireworks from Fantasyland behind the castle--so we could then ride rides in Fantasyland without having to wait 40+ minutes for them.
Pinocchio's Daring Journey--3 min. wait
Snow White's Scary Adventure--10 min. wait
We left the park between 10:30 and 11:00.

It doesn't seem like it when you look at what we accomplished in one day, but the park was super busy and packed.  We passed by rides that had super long wait times that we didn't wait for at all.  We were only able to do this because we followed the advice in that book I mentioned.  We are believers.  When we go again with kids,  we will stick to the touring plans as best as we can.  The book claims their plans save 4+ hours of standing in line.  I was very skeptical, but I'm sure it saved us that much time.

To summarize, in our one day we went on 20 rides, watched 3 shows and fireworks, and went shopping.  We rode Buzz Lightyear and Space Mountain 3 times each and Thunder Mountain and Star Tours twice.  Oh, I guess I should mention that Indiana Jones, Small World, and Pirates of the Caribbean were all closed.  So sad.  Just so you know, we didn't leave them out on purpose.

And now our feet may be irreparably damaged.  We are way more tired after going without kids because we were able to push it harder and faster and not take breaks.  We walked so much!

When we got home, the kids were super excited to see what we bought for them.

We got Arie an Anna/Elsa doll (from the movie Frozen).  You can see Elsa in the picture, but Anna is underneath, so all you have to do is turn the doll upside down and the dress flips over and the doll becomes Anna.  So the doll has two heads... I'm not sure that makes sense.  She loved it and started singing "Let it Go."

Damon got two cars (from the movie Cars):  Mater dressed as Darth Vader... or Darth Mater, as we call him around here, and Lightning McQueen dressed as Luke Skywalker.  They even have lightsabers.  They are pretty cool.  (You can see Kelton holding Arie's doll which has been switched to the Anna side.)

Kelton got Star Wars bowling.  The headpin is Darth Vader, the other pins are Storm Troopers and the two balls are the Death Star and a thermal detonator.  Kelton was really excited.

Natalie put in a special request, and we honored it.  She wanted a Woody doll to match her Jessie doll that she bought last year.  (You can see that doll in the picture above.)  The dolls are pretty cool because they are made to be just like the ones in the Toy Story movie.  They even have a pull string on the back.

A Vacation

How do you tell your four children that you are going to Disneyland?....

Without them.  :)

Nate and I both need a vacation.  We've been married for over ten years, and since we've had kids, we have never been away from them overnight together.  We wanted to go on a nice vacation together (Puerto Rico was the plan) to celebrate our ten years of marriage, but it just didn't happen for several reasons.

Instead, we have decided to go to Disneyland.  By ourselves.  The kids took it pretty well, but mostly because we promised to bring them something back.  Damon gave me his signature grumpy face, put his hand on his hip and said, "Hey! That's not fair!!" But then he smiled when I told him we would bring him something.  I'm glad my children can be bought off. 

We are leaving mid-week and I am already discovering this long list of things about a trip to Disneyland without children that will be so awesome.  Don't get me wrong, I love my kids and I love taking them to Disneyland.  In fact, Nate and I were worried that we would have a hard time even having fun without them.  Disneyland is a magical place with children.  But as parents, there are a lot of things we sacrifice to have kids.  And I wouldn't even consider for one second trading my children for a more convenient life, but to be able to remember life before kids for a few days will be fun.

I get a bit giddy when I think about a seven hour car trip with no kids in the car, and packing for only two people instead of six.  Then once we get to Disneyland: we will have no strollers, no children needing mid day naps, no backpack full of snacks and hundreds of water bottles, we can walk at adult speed (if I can remember what that is), no waiting in line for characters or princesses, no being late to the park because we will only have to get ourselves ready in the morning, we can go on the rides together, we can stay in the park until it closes at midnight and not worry about bedtimes, we can watch shows without worrying about keeping someone quiet, we don't have to worry about losing children (did that several times last time we went), we can sit in the hot tub at the hotel because we can actually leave our room together--at the same time, we can afford the convenience of eating meals at restaurants in the park, we meet the height requirement for all the rides and none of them are too scary.... the list goes on, and other things will randomly pop into my mind that could be added.

We are excited.  And our kids are excited to get to spend some time with Grandma and Grandpa Burgess.  We only have to wait two more days.

BUT... Nate says he won't take me unless I actually blog about our last trip to Disneyland first.  This is going to take a while... here it is below!

Did I mention we went to Disneyland?

Yeah, like a year ago.  I've done so good at keeping my blog updated, except for this one big blog fail.  It was such a big thing to blog about, and I never had a chunk of time big enough to do it, and then I started forgetting, and now it's a year later.  So, I've come to accept that this post will need to be in no particular order.  It won't be a walkthrough of our day by day adventures.  And, if you know me at all, you know that's going to drive me somewhat crazy.  But at this point, it is what it is, and I guess we will see what was really important enough to remember.

We planned this trip for a long time beforehand.  We had done Disneyland before and it was always crazy and exhausting.  I'm not sure the word "exhausting" can be eliminated from a Disneyland trip, but we found a way to make it much more manageable.  We took my brother's idea and planned a week long trip with five day park-hopper tickets to Disneyland and California Adventure.  We stayed at the Best Western Park Place Inn, which is literally across the street from the main entrance.  It took about five minutes to walk from our room to the front gates.  This was great because we were able to come back in the middle of the day for lunch and naps.  Although we didn't do that for the first couple of days and we kind of paid for it with Damon and Arie.  We were in the park almost exactly a year ago, from April 29th-May 3rd.  Natalie was almost 8, Kelton was 5, Damon had just turned 3 (which meant we just missed being able to get him in for free), and Arie was 6 months old. 

When we got to California, Christy and Tennyson were nice enough to let us come over and make us dinner.  We had fun visiting with them and the kids had fun playing with Hudson and Easton (who was going to bed when we took the picture below). 

Nate's parents actually came to Disneyland with us for the first three days of our trip and stayed in the same hotel.  It was very fun to have them there with us and helpful to have the extra hands.

Waiting for the parade.  I believe this was on Wednesday, and Melanie and Jade were actually in the park that day too.  We all watched the parade together and then went on a few rides afterward.  At one point, we took Jade somewhere with us and we looked like completely crazy people walking around Disneyland with 5 kids ages 7 and under.

Maybe this would be a good time to mention that we only lost children twice.  And never permanently, so that is good.  Keeping track of four small kids at Disneyland could be considered a full time job.  It does seem like we were constantly saying, "where's... (insert child's name)" but they would be right there.  But once, Damon walked off and it took us a couple of minutes to find him.  Then once Kelton walked back into the exit of one of the rides to look at the pictures and we left not realizing he wasn't with us.  That one was a bit scary, but Kelton stayed put when he realized we weren't with him and we were able to find him relatively quickly. 

One of the last days of our trip, after Nate's parents were gone, Tennyson and Hudson joined us for part of the day.  We did the Jedi training and Natalie got picked the first time.  We went back again later and Hudson and Kelton both got picked to participate.  I think the guy thought they were brothers and that's why they both got picked.  They all thought it was really fun.

Natalie fought Darth Maul.

Kelton fought Darth Vader.

Oh, do you remember what I said about Disneyland being exhausting?

To make our vacation a little more fun and special, we had something new for the kids almost each day.  Mostly, it was clothes that we bought in advance (at a 1000% discount over Disneyland prices).  On the first day, we had matching shirts for the whole family, except Arie because for some reason they didn't make a baby size of that shirt.  On another day the kids got new pajamas, that they actually needed anyway.  They got a second new shirt-- the boys' were similar and the girls' were similar.  It was a lot of fun.

Here we are in our matching shirts.  You would never be able to guess that this picture was taken at the end of a very long, eventful, Day 1 as we were leaving the park.

We also had both of our moms help with this gift for the kids.  I bought $5 plain, hooded jackets from the store and had my mom, with the help of Nate's mom, embroider Mickey Mouse on the boys' and Minnie on the girls'.  They turned out so cute!  And we ended up using them several times while we were at the parks (and a lot of times since).

Arie, at six months old, proved to be a bit more of a challenge than we expected.  When we took four month old Kelton, he just slept the whole time.  Arie wasn't as happy to sleep when she was tired and required a lot more effort to keep happy, or asleep.  I think the only real naps she got were when she was in the baby carrier.  Like in this picture with us and Hudson riding the Disneyland Railroad.  And by the end of our trip, she cried when we even approached the stroller.  :)

Let's move on to the Tower of Terror.  First of all, let me just say that I don't enjoy this ride.  I don't find it fun to be repeatedly dropped.  I really only enjoy the dropping, "free fall" feeling as part of a fast, exciting roller coaster.  Falling straight down just to fall is really not my thing.  So, Tower of Terror is a ride I am more than happy to just pass by.  But, for some reason, Natalie and Kelton both had it in their mind that they really wanted to go on this ride.  Nate and I explained what it was in detail and they still wanted to go.  We even stood them in front of the ride and had them watch the people falling and screaming and they were as excited as ever for their turn.  So Nate took Kelton and I took Natalie. 

They don't even take the picture when you are actually falling.  Otherwise, I would not be smiling.  I am smiling because of a conversation with Natalie. She was so funny because she was so excited, but as soon as they dropped us that first time, she looked at me and said with great desperation, "Uhh, I don't like it!!"  It was as if she wanted me to somehow make it stop.  But then they drop you several more times and one of the times they were pulling us back up, Natalie said, with the same desperation, "Oh no!  Not again!"  Kelton liked it about as much as Natalie.  It was funny though because they were both smiling once it was over.  They just never wanted to do it again.  I can live with that decision. 

Natalie was the only one tall enough to ride the only real roller coaster, California Screamin'.  I rode it with her, and she screamed non-stop.  I was worried that she was traumatized.  When we got off she said she didn't like it.  But for some reason, she went ahead and used the rider-swap pass to ride it with Nate.  I think she was afraid if she didn't go with him, he wouldn't get to ride it, even though I told her I could go again.  So as much as she hated it, she went on it a second time with her dad just minutes later!  I wasn't able to take a picture of our picture, which was a good one, so I waited at the picture station to take a picture of Nate and Natalie's.  This is what I saw:

I scrutinized this picture trying to find my daughter, while convincing myself that there was no way that she could have fallen out.  I decided that she must have backed out and not gone on it again.  Come to find out, she hunched over and curled up on Nate's lap, not looking, for the entire ride.  Silly girl.

We went on the new Radiator Springs Racers ride and really liked it.  I wish I could have gone on it a few more times.  But, it was notorious for breaking down while we were there.  It broke down twice while I was in line trying to ride it for a second time.  They wouldn't even give us our fastpass back because we had the option of waiting in the line for it to get fixed (which they estimated would take an hour!).  I really wished Damon would have been tall enough for this ride.  He would have loved it.

At California Adventure they have an Animation Academy.  I only knew about this because of a Disneyland guidebook I bought.  I was so glad to find out about this.  We didn't do it until the last day.  It's something that Natalie and I would have liked to do a few more times, but didn't have the chance.  Throughout the day, a Disney animator teaches you how to draw different Disney characters with step by step instructions.  I went with Natalie and Kelton while Nate was napping with Damon and Arie at the hotel.  Poor Kelton didn't come close to finishing his drawing because the perfectionist within couldn't get past the first step--drawing a circle.  He wanted it perfect and the instructor, of course, didn't stop and wait for him.  Natalie loved it. We drew the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland.  Here's Natalie's drawing:

And here's mine.  Nate looked at it and told me that I missed my calling in life.

The only photos I have left are about a hundred character photos.  As much as I know you are dying to see every single one of them, I will only select a few and intersperse them with whatever stories I can remember.

We were very sad to find out that both Space Mountain and Thunder Mountain were closed during our entire trip.  Thunder Mountain was undergoing renovations for the whole year.  Space Mountain was supposed to be open, but Disney voluntarily shut it down shortly before our trip after a run-in with OSHA.  (some spot on the outside of building where maintenance workers work was supposedly unsafe.  The ride itself was fine.)  A year later, I am still bummed that our older kids didn't get to go on Space Mountain.  It is my favorite ride, followed closely by.... Thunder Mountain.  Next time...

Damon will still tell you that his favorite ride is the Gadget Go Coaster and he can describe it in pretty good detail.  This is a mini roller coaster that is made for smaller kids.  He laughed the whole time he rode it, and we rode it several times just for him.  I can't wait until he is taller and can go on the Mountain rides.  He will love them.  Another thing with Damon that made us laugh was on Pirates of the Caribbean.  Years ago, when we went to Disneyland and Natalie was about Damon's age, we went on this ride, forgetting that there is a little flume near the beginning.  It terrified Natalie and she only wanted to ride Small World for the rest of the day.  We later figured out it was because she thought we were going over a waterfall, which is very scary, if you happen to watch cartoons.  Anyway, when we went down that little dip, Damon started giggling hysterically and exclaimed, "we just went over a waterfall!!"  He thought it was the greatest thing ever.

Over the course of our five days, we went on everything we wanted to, and a lot of things were done multiple times, like Small World.  I lost track of how many times we rode that one.  But I enjoy that ride, I don't find the song annoying, there is usually not a long wait if any, it's cool inside, and all the kids, even Arie, really liked it.

Nate's parents watched the three youngest kids while Nate and I took Natalie on Indiana Jones.  It was fun for just the three of us to do that together.  After being in Disneyland for a few days trying to keep track of four children, it was a bit odd to remember that there was once a time when it was just the three of us.  Natalie liked the ride and screamed nice and loud when the snake came at us.  We happened to get her on the side of the jeep that is right next to it.  The lady behind us in the jeep was getting as much enjoyment as we were out of listening to Natalie on that ride.  It was pretty funny.  She said that was one of her favorite rides, along with the Matterhorn.

Kelton loved Star Tours and it is one of the rides we went on several times.  I really like that ride too, especially with the newer renovations they've made to it.  I asked Kelton this morning what his favorite rides were, and he mentioned Toy Story Midway Mania.  I would also agree that this was one of my favorites too.  There's not much to it, but there is something very fun about the carnival style 3-D shooting games inside.  The longer line at that ride prevented us from riding it more than we did.

I know there is so much more, but that's the most of it.  We did watch Fantasmic...what we could see of it anyway.  We caught a little bit of the fireworks afterward.  We didn't get to see World of Color, which I really wanted to see and knew the kids would like it too, but it just started too late at night--our kids would not have been able to make it.  Oh, we did see Aladdin at the Hyperion Theater.  It is a Broadway quality show that only lasts about 40 minutes.  I thought it was great.

On Saturday morning we woke up and headed home.  But first we went by Christy's and then by the beach.  It was a bit cold outside.  Kelton's not in this picture because he wanted nothing to do with the cold sand.  He wanted to stay up where the sand was dry.

Our vacation was very fun.  It will be fun to go back again as a family.  We already have our next Disneyland trip in the works, but it won't be this year.  We have for sure decided that we probably won't ever do less than five days again.  It was so nice to have plenty of time to see what we wanted to see without getting completely worn out in the process. 

Damon's 4th Birthday

Damon has been anxiously awaiting his 4th birthday!  And this year, Easter fell on his birthday!  I wonder how many times that will happen in his lifetime, or if it will ever even happen again.  He thought it was pretty cool. 

 

He was very excited to open presents after we woke him up.  Kelton and Natalie even decided, without my prompting at all, to use their own money that they earned doing jobs to buy Damon a birthday present.  Well, Kelton got carried away with the spirit of giving and had to be reigned in.  He bought Damon three presents and wanted to get more.

 

Nate and I got him a scooter, new clothes, 2 Disney Planes airplanes, a Hotwheels monster truck, a train car, and a sock monkey (that I made).  Kelton got him 3 Planes airplanes and Natalie got him one.  (Can you tell there was a good sale on those?)  G-ma/pa Webb got him two Hotwheels helicopters and a Bubble Guppies board game.  G-ma/pa Burgess gave him a Planes track set with a set of mini planes.  This kid loves toys and was so excited about all of them!

Here he is with all of his new Planes and his helicopters.  (One of the planes, Dusty, he had already bought a month or so ago.)

New clothes--oh, so handsome!

I didn't get input or give options for Damon's cake.  I know he likes Ninjago and knew it would be an easy cake.  I know that Cole, the black ninja, is his favorite, but I tried to get him to pick a different favorite so I wouldn't have to frost the whole cake black.  No such luck.  The black ninja is the favorite.  I debated buying the black "spray paint" for frosting, but decided to just go the route of dying it black.  I started with chocolate frosting to make it easier, and really, it wasn't hard at all.  The taste wasn't affected by the coloring, and it didn't even turn our mouths black!

Happy boy, before church on Easter morning with his birthday cake.

I know I have mentioned how much I love his cute little face.  But I do.  It shows his personality so well.  These pictures are all pretty much the same, other than his expression, and I couldn't choose my favorite.

I still can't figure out what he kept looking at up there.

He wanted to take a picture with his "Cole hat" that he got for Christmas.

Rob, Tina, Christian, and Grandma Trish (Tina's mom) joined us for Easter/birthday dinner.  It was fun to have all of them over.

And yes, chocolate cake with black frosting is messy.

Unless you are Kelton.  "Mom, look at my messy face..."

Arie looked like someone had punched her in the eye.  Which.... would not be entirely improbable around here.

Damon was lucky enough to get two bonus presents from Rob and Tina and Grandma Trish.  Rob and Tina gave him a Switch N Go Dino.  It's like a transformer that goes between a dinosaur and a car and has lights and talks.  He of course loves it.  Grandma Trish gave him a monster truck that goes on its own after you give it a push.  He really liked playing with that too, once he got the chance.  Kelton confiscated it shortly after it was opened.

That night, Damon was having a hard time sleeping.  He has such a good daddy.  Nate got up with him and calmed him down and even went and layed down with him so he could go back to sleep.

We are so happy to have our wonderful, sweet Damon!

Easter

I don't really do Easter dresses... not because I am opposed to them, but I just usually don't think about it.  But this year, it just so happened that I got both girls new dresses right before Easter.  They both looked so beautiful!

 

I love Easter.  Easter celebrations may be a bit overshadowed by other holidays.  But everything we are, everything we want to be, everything we do, everything at all, would mean absolutely nothing without the events surrounding Easter.  We would have no happiness and no hope and the very reason for our existence would have become void.  Again, I love Easter and my Savior Jesus Christ for giving us the chance to become everything.