Happiest Place on Earth

It seemed ironic to be shedding a tear at the Happiest Place on Earth.

But before I knew it, that's exactly what I was doing as we walked out on our last night there.

Shoot. There was no pregnancy to blame those kind of kooky emotions on. Just plain old nostalgic memories causing my quivering chin and watery eyes.

For 3 years we have had the southern california resident annual passes, and for 3 years Jack, Lucy and I enjoyed outings to Disneyland. Spoiled, I know. I really grew to love that place. Not in a lapel wearing/pin collecting/Mickey Mouse hat sporting sort of way. But in a fun/bonding with my kids/new mom experiences sort of way.

So on our way out I was remembering all of those fun outings as just the 3 of us, or with great friends like Amy and Heidi.

For our last visit (for a while anyway) to Disneyland, we got to enjoy it all together as a family. 4 wonderful days of sunshine, magic, and happiness. Really, it was THAT good! We stayed at a great hotel, generous compliments of Troy's dad, that had two bedrooms and a kitchen. Everyday we went to Disneyland from 10-1, then napped at the hotel until 4, then went back to Disneyland for the night shift from 5-8:30. That, my friends, was the recipe for success and HAPPY, less-grumpy children (or parents).

I carted around my big camera with the resolve to take lots of pictures and get lots of video footage, but just like EVERY other time at Disneyland, it just didn't happen. Disneyland happens to be one place I really dislike taking pictures. I always find myself too busy with lines, kids, strollers to add a camera in the mix. Not to mention, sometimes "documentation" takes away from the overall enjoyment of the experience.

But here are a few photos from our trip. Not pictured, but captured in video are:

1. Lucy getting chosen for Jedi training and not being able to figure out how to "activate" her lightsaber. Sooooo cute!

2. Jack taking DEEP nervous breaths in and out before his first ride on California Screamin' blasted up the hill.

3. Sam crawling around Wilderness Adventure Camp and grinning from ear to ear.

4. Lucy running away when Darth Vader appeared.

5. Jack and Lucy riding the toontown roller coaster and Lucy's expression of sheer TERROR the entire time.

6. Surprising the kids on our first night at the hotel with the news that we'd be going to disneyland in the morning. Quickly followed by disbelief, then erupting in excitement.

The obligatory family photo complete with harsh sun and squinty smiles.

A unique smile from Jack

Jack's first official roller coaster.

Me with "rollercoaster hair" and another photo of my childrens' unique expressions.

Mesmerized by a mermaid named Ariel.

The end to a great trip!

Bodega Bay in Black & White

Prior to Christmas, we spent four glorious days in the sleepy town of Bodega Bay with my family.

Here are some of the sights. I thought I'd mix it up a little and post some black & white photos. It's hard for me to stray from color, but I'm willing to give it a whirl.

You can see why this location was chosen to film "The Birds".

Thanksgiving

We learned some things from the last Thanksgiving we tried to host.

(refer here)

One thing we learned is to set the turkey thermometer to Farenheit so as to avoid it IMPLODING when you when you attempt to carve.

Another thing we learned was that if you want a nice tablescape, this must be done the night before.

What we didn't learn is that once you start cooking, there is no way you are going to have time for a shower. That said, we did upgrade our yesteryear digs from pajamas to running attire.

It was so wonderful to sit (all 15 of us) at one LONG table.

Even little Sammy had a seat at the end where he smeared cranberry relish and pulled at the burlap until his heart's content.

Troy planned out the entire meal. Really...he insisted.

We ate:

Turkey

Ham

Cornbread stuffing with sausage, golden raisens & dried cherries

Homemade Mac n' Cheese

Mashed potatoes

The obligatory green bean casserole

Creamed corn with wild rice

Rolls

Frog eye salad

Jello salad

Cranberry relish

Hollie's sweet potatoes with brown sugar/pecan topping

The kids entertained themselves while waiting for dinner. No injuries to report.

Seriously...best turkey EVER. Mmmm...I'm salivating just thinking about it.

Life is good.

We feel so blessed and grateful!

(PS....thanks to my SIL, Hollie for most of the pictures!)

adverbial update

He's sitting up, mostly.

He's teething, probably.

He gets up on all fours, wobbily.

He is eating solids, sloppily.

He sleeps in his own crib, finally.

He's my boyfriend, definitely.

He drools and spits up, frequently.

He poops at 4 am, religiously.

He smiles, beautifully.

He's ticklish, extremely!

He grabs and touches everything, curiously.

He wants my cell phone, desperately.

He is our baby, undoubtedly!

Put a pin in it!

For the last few months, "Let's pin it!" has been a common phrase around here.

And no, it is not a reference to my latest obsession with Pinterest.

Rather, a reference to Jack's latest obsession with bug collecting.

Everywhere we go, Jack is looking for bugs.

He finds them in our house.

He finds them in the park.

He finds them on hikes.

At school.

At church.

It is not uncommon for him to come home with a live bug in his pocket.

I keep finding my Tupperware in the yard housing a new critter.

Then they usually make their way onto the kitchen counter where they sit until "pinned".

Jack even found a black widow (yikes) on the outside of our house.

Thankfully, he knows NOT to touch them.

But dad had the bright idea of capturing it, along with her egg sac, and keeping it in the house (in some Tupperware, of course) until it died.

Well, a week went by.

Then two.

Then Three.

Then four, and that little widow was still ALIVE! Not only was she alive, but so were her new 200 baby widows...all crawling around in my tupperware! Talk about heebie jeebies! I'm doing the spider shimmy and shake dance as I type!

Once we realized these black widows were invincible AND they had just increased in number ten-fold, we decided we had no other option than to freeze them.

It worked.

So you see, it has not been easy making this bug collection. I am out of Tupperware, tired of seeing bugs in the kitchen, and ready to call the exterminator.

But Jack LOVES it and is so proud of his collection.

(He's since added a really impressive GREEN praying mantis, a grasshopper, and a bee.)

apple hill

I was beginning to mourn the fast disappearance of October when I realized it was the morning of the 29th and we hadn't done our usual fall outings to the pumpkin patch or apple hill.

So, we quickly got dressed at 8 am and headed up the hill to pick some apples and eat some warm donuts.

Apple hill is just as it sounds. It's up in the foothills below Tahoe where you can pick from 60+ apple orchards to tour.

We started out at Rainbow Orchards which is famous for their hot-out-of-the-grease apple cider donuts. Oh my. We each got one, then decided they were too good to stop at that so we went back for another round.

Our kids only care about picking their own apples which is fine with us because we much prefer the smaller orchards over the ones that practically have fair attractions that your kids beg you to pay for. We were a little late in the season for the yummy red apples, but with some serious searching we managed to fill a basket full.

It was a great way to start a Saturday. Click here to see last year's Apple Hill trip.