Disneyland Part Deux

Believe it or not, we actually did make it on a few rides and attractions in between photo ops. 

She was kind of puzzled that I would ask her to pull it out when it was obviously attached. 

Sam got two good naps a day in his stroller, and overall was a perfect child.

Morgan didn't get any naps, and consistently fell asleep every evening in her stroller before we left the park.

While we were waiting in line for princesses, Morgan made friends and played - preschool has done wonders for her social interaction.

Morgan thought the hotel was magical; elevators, fold out beds, and cable TV.  We almost had to drag her away from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse to go to Disneyland...

Erik was giddy in Cars Land - he was as excited to "meet" Mater as Morgan was to see Sleeping Beauty.

Tired little guy...

Ah, the Dumbo ride.

Christmas is really a beautiful time to visit the park - adds just a touch more magic.

The Bug's Life area was one of Morgan's favorites - very low key and  not scary.  My kid was scared of the Winnie the Pooh ride and Peter Pan.  No daredevil here, which means I'm stuck riding THE most tedious ride ever.

This flying ride didn't allow lap sitting, so Sam got his own seat belt, pretty wide eyed.

And bonus, my brother is getting his PhD in Irvine, so we got to see him for dinner!

 We had a great time, and while I'm not a Disneyland fanatic, I would definitely go again.

Happiest Place on Earth

Erik had his first week of vacation in November, and we live with a princess-obsessed child only 6 hours from Disneyland.  No-brainer, right?  For Morgan anyway.  We had all sorts of other considerations - money - will she even remember any of it? - naps - 10 month old child - naps - money - but in the end it all worked out.  Morgan has been preparing for this her entire life; she just didn't know it.

On our first of 3 days, we walked into the park and immediately met Alice and the Mad Hatter, who swept Morgan up into a dance.  That's kind of how our trip was - random moments of Disney fortuosity.

These pictures (lots and lots of them) should give you a good idea of how our time was spent: waiting in line to meet Morgan's heroes - and a few of Erik's.  There had better be princesses in Heaven, or Morgan will be disappointed.

One of our highlights: while waiting in line to meet Donald, she turns to me and says, "Mom, Donald Duck is real!" all full of wonder.  Sure, sweetie.

The pinnacle of Morgan's entire life.  She's still talking about it, and how Briar Rose invited her to the castle to play.

"I'm three!"

Random Cinderella mouse that somehow Morgan could name.  

"I want a horse.  A real one.

Mary Poppins and Bert randomly walking down the street.  We couldn't get near, so we stalked them and ambushed them in a quiet moment.  Disneyland MASTERS!

Erik's hero - Morgan had no idea who she was holding hands with.

And then all of Erik's dreams came true...

Halloween. I'm a little behind.

I'm going to say that I'm behind on blogging because we are so busy, fulfilled, and full of meaningful activities and outings that I couldn't possibly tear myself away to blog about it.  That sounds good.  The busy part is true, anyway, even if I'm not always sure what I did all day to be so tired.  Certainly not much that can be checked off a to-do list.  I really need to start putting breakfast, lunch, dinner, shower, and kids alive on my list, so that I realize just how productive I am each day. :)

I don't know how many of you have ever been in Arizona over Halloween, but it's a little different than other parts of the country.  I remember Halloweens in Illinois growing up where it was so cold that we ran to the neighbors on either side of us and were glad to be done.  Most of your costume was irrelevant, because it was covered by your coat, and crepe paper hula skirts are likely to be ruined by rain or snow (true story).  Sound familiar?  Well, not here.  Here you can shed the coat (heck, we still haven't brought ours out) and display your costume - although sometimes I wish the girls would wear a coat.  Or at least a shirt.  Here no one huddles inside waiting for the doorbell - they bring out lawn chairs and set up on the driveway, making Halloween a neighborhood block party, with candy for the kids and booze for the adults (first time I've witnessed "adult trick-or-treating").

We didn't think anyone would be knocking on our door in our gated anti-children community, so we went to Aunt Diane's house instead.  I handed out zero candy and came home with a bucket full.  Best Halloween ever!  Morgan had the spiel down - "Happy Halloween!  Trick or treat!  Thank you!" princess wave - and was really in her element.  By the end of the night, she could hardly walk because her bucket was so heavy, but she refused to hand it to me until I solemnly promised not to eat her candy.  I figured that was a "while carrying the bucket" promise, so I didn't feel badly about raiding all the KitKats later.  And maybe the Snickers.  And a few other things I'm sure she wouldn't have enjoyed.

Last year, Cinderella; this year, Sleeping Beauty.  She has informed me that she will be Ariel when she turns 4 and Tinkerbell when she turns 5.  I don't foresee any witches or ghosts in her future.

He was almost sweating in his little dog costume.  I made the mistake of buying it on clearance after Halloween last year, before we knew we were moving down south.

Sporting Erik's mullet, which is somehow revived every single Halloween.  I should have "lost" it in the move.

"Pumpkin Patch" visit

I'm using the term "pumpkin patch" very loosely, since I doubt Phoenix has ever produced a single local pumpkin, but we still try to get in the spirit of things.  We discovered a local(ish) farm that offered hay rides, pony rides, a petting zoo, and a pumpkin patch, and since Morgan has been dying to ride a horse (I'm guessing because they feature heavily in Disney movies) we made the drive and plunked our money down.  After signing a waiver (really?!), Morgan took a tentative ride on Dos with a death grip on the pommel.  I reluctantly agreed to walk with her, because as I realized shortly into our ride, flip flops and horse trails do not mix.  It was not the easiest assignment to keep one hand on Morgan while hopping around the horse droppings decorating our way.  Morgan was sold on horses by the end of her ride, and we had to drag her off to the other activities.

A hay maze can become much more complicated when you let your child choose the route

Again, a petting zoo is not the best place for flip flops.  I think sometimes that I'm so zealous in preparing the kids for any eventuality that I don't take any thought for myself.  Obviously.

"Mom, they have poo on their bums!"

Riding horse #2, Ruby.

Erik was actually there at the big event, cheering Morgan on, but as Sam slept on Erik the whole time, he became the designated picture taker.  A very successful outing, except that Morgan has now started asking for a horse as a Christmas present.  A live one.

PS.  The pumpkin patch, you wonder?  We took a long hay ride to get to a little grove, where hay bales and pumpkins were strategically piled to look a tad bit more festive than the local grocery store.  We did not pay extra to "pick" a pumpkin.

October Festivities

We've been kind of busy around here- it seems like October to New Years is a nonstop race to stay ahead of everything that needs to be done.  I'm failing at it this year, but at least I'm failing at a constant pace, not an epic free fall.  I'm in the "behind on everything" track, not the "I've given up completely and am waiting for next year" track.  Although that last option does sound tantalizingly peaceful.  Round one of our busy season: Morgan's birthday.  We were so busy mingling, cooking, and doing tantrum control that we kinda forgot about taking pictures. Oh well. At least the food was better than last year (think epic Elmo cupcake fail).

Riding her new bike while playing her new guitar.  She takes laps around the kitchen while singing to "Rockin' Robin."

Erik bet that Morgan would only have one meltdown during the party, and I voted for a more pessimistic two.  I won.

Arizona Family

I grew up in the middle of the country, with my mom's family on the west coast, and my dad's on the east.  Needless to say, I don't have really close ties to much of my extended family.  We just never saw them enough to develop that deeper level of familiarity and support.  For the most part, I didn't really mind - I didn't know any different, and I think we had a strange sense of pride in our independence and ability to manage all alone.

Then I married Erik, and experienced what it was like to grow up on the opposite end of the spectrum.  Almost all of his extended family lived in the same state, took vacations together, and got together for birthdays, special events, Sunday dinners, and holidays.  It was overwhelming at first, and sometimes it can still be hard for me to accept that level of intimacy.  It's just so different from how I was brought up.  However, I am jealous of the deep relationships that Erik has with his family, and the memories he has with each one of them.  I have relatives that I still haven't met... 

Now that we are parents, I've realized how important it is to me to provide my children with opportunities to know their family.  I want my children to know who they come from, and to be surrounded by love and support.  I swore I'd never come back to Arizona, but here we are, partly because we wanted to be close to family.  I don't know where we'll end up in 3 years, but for now, we're really grateful to see our Arizona family members on a regular basis and develop closer ties to them.  

My mom painting nails with Morgan over General Conference weekend

Enjoying a snuggle with my dad

Sam hanging out with Erik's aunt Diane

One of our weekly outings with my mom

Playing dress up with Merkley second cousins