Disneyland Day 1

Well after an early to bed the night before we were up and ready for the parks.  The night before we woke up at 9:30 (yup, sound asleep) to the fireworks that momma thought were workers pounding at 6:30 am.  We were really out of it after our travel day.

 Of course the first thing on our agenda was the one and only Dumbo.  Our plan if we were separated was to meet at the Dumbo statue in front of the Castle.

 That's right folks, mom rides Dumbo!  She was excited to go on it again.  At first she said she'd wait for me and then remembered it isn't so bad and joined me :)

 After that we sat in the shade (well, I went again) and we waited for Casey Jr. to open up for the day.  This is only here in Cali and is the Dumbo Circus train.  So cute but it gets a fairly long line early since it takes forever to load/unload.

 We rode the caboose and were treated to some really nice views of the fantasyland area of the park.  Good thinking mom on where to sit since we were first in line.  Of course Dumbo needed some extra attention from me so back to the line so I could enjoy flying over Fantasyland since the one at Disney World is no longer near the castle.

 After it was over to mom's favorite attraction, it's a small world.  This one is huge compared to the one in Florida.  And of course we were able to catch it at an hour mark so the parade of nations came through.

After it's a small world I acquired a very special popcorn Dumbo.  He is just so stinkin' cute.  I had so many people checking it out as we carried it through the park all day.

 We headed over to California Adventure for part of the afternoon since we figured it would get crowded with the race crowd coming.  Last time we were here most of the park was under construction for Cars Land and the McCarthy Circle.  Immediately I was greeted by my pal Goofy.

 We went on the jumpin' jelly fish.  A surprise attraction that mom wanted to go on.  She amazes me with what she is willing to try.  I bet climbing that mountain in Colorado this summer made her extra brave. I know she's been on this before but still amazing that she likes it.  We also did our favorite Toy Story Mania.

 We had to have an afternoon snack/lunch and Ghiradelli opened since we were last here.  Before it was the Mission Tortilla factory (those wraps).  Delicious although our little caramel squares were all melty.

 Cars Land was spectacular.  There was no line for Mater's tractor spin so I went on it.  Think tilt-a-whirl at SeaBreeze but without the actual spinning but half spinning.  I was laughing so hard since it was hilarious what he was saying over the speakers and the music.  Loved it.

 After I convinced mom to go on the Cars main attraction.  She thought it was a ride through Radiator Springs but it actually turned into a fast race track at the end with hills and turns.  She started whooping and laughing.  She loved it so much we went on it again 2 times the next day and attempted to get a fast pass for it as well (those were out in about an hour after park opening).

 The heat of the day was getting to mom so (hello heat index making it feel like 102 out) so we went back to our room for a few hours before the evening fireworks.  We took the trolly from the back of the park area to the entrance area.  It was cute and very much played homage to Walt when he arrived in Cali.

 Of course a day at Disney is not complete without fireworks over the castle.  This is Sleeping Beauty's and they have an amazing Tinkerbell here that "dances" around the castle.

 Best part of their fireworks is the flying Dumbo.  I took video of him flying over the castle.  Tears in my eyes since I love Dumbo.  Sorry about the little shake in the middle I thought I would zoom but it wouldn't let me.

Trader Sam's Tiki-Bar

Hoory it was Disney time again and another Mommy and Me trip.  This time it was Disneyland.  Our plane got into LAX around 10:45am and we were hoping to go to the parks but I wasn't able to pick up our tickets until 5pm.  What do you do if you aren't at the parks you may ask?  Well, if you are with us you find something fun.

 Ok, so it is about noon California time and we've been up since about 3:30 NY time.  A drink was in order.  We walked in and mom chose where to sit at the bar.  After a few minutes she's shrinking.  I am laughing at her cause I think she's making it up.  But apparently she is not.  The bar tender asks if she likes the music and mom is like, yeah.  Bar tender says, "cause you seem to look a little down."  Duh, her chair is shrinking and so is the girl across the bar.  She is given a special straw to drink with.  Oh the joys of Tiki-room and Jungle Cruise bar.

 Here is my very strong rum drink.  Delicious and you only needed one drink to feel it.  Mom's was a delicious drink as well.  Who doesn't like rum?  

 Ambiance.   Every time someone ordered a specific drink the Tiki gods would be angered and the volcano would explode and it would "rain."  Read, the staff squirted spray bottles and shouted it's raining... while the lights dimmed and flickered red.  Way too much fun.  When a ship wreck was ordered the bottled boat above the other half of the bar would sink and we'd hear them shouting about life boats.

 Some of the great humor.  For pain relief use this mask for the pain.  Another was an anchor for sail with price sinking.  We had such a good time that we went back after the half marathon but it was packed.  Food was great there too so I highly suggest this to anyone at Disneyland (it is located near the hotel).

Meet Michael

Yep, I am a little behind on this blogging thing right now but I hope to catch you all up soon on what I've been up to.  Jen is in town for a few weeks and we hosted a Meet Michael party at the cottage for them (Jen, Bob and baby of course).

 I had a bunch of stuff from coaching that was from Talk Like a Pirate Day (September 19th incase you are wondering).  I always took it above and beyond to decorate and dress like a Pirate.  I had all the goodies out and even made swords with giant pixie stixs.

 Whoo-hoo moment was people asking where we got the cupcakes.  It was a box mix and cans of frosting.  Easy peasy.  Jen bought the cute wrappers and toppers.  While "baby sitting" her in June I made the pirate Jolly Roger toppers and taped them to the blue anchors.

 Mom hid money treasure in the sandbox that dad raked in.  Of course the sandbox was quickly the babysitter of the party for the kids while everyone else played pass the babies (yep, there was another cutie there named Fiona who happens to share my birthday and is only a few hours younger than Michael).

 Luke got to hold the little dude for awhile before the party began.  Of course Aunt Patty and Aunt MaryLou saw my parents drive by and figured that we might want the cheese and cracker platter so they had to bring it over early (excuse to get a sneak peak at baby).

 While finishing touches were being put in place and food brought out Papa Bear was given special hammock snuggle duty. The grin on his face sums up how he felt about that duty.

 Still babysitting kids is the sandbox.  Jen and I would spend hours in the sandbox growing up.  We even created menu's for our restaurant called Peanut and Pooh's Cafe.  Icky Dicky even ate a bite of our sand cake once (gross).

 We were very lucky to have such wonderful weather.  Here are the two little cousins born hours apart and many states apart too!

Washington, D.C.

A few weekends ago Luke and I headed to DC for a long weekend.  We were very lucky in that the weather was not stifling hot and humid until after we left.  It was a bit warm but not anywhere close to what the typical weather is for this time of year.  We had upper 70's/low 80's and fairly low humidity so it wasn't bad at all.

 We left on Thursday night and stopped in PA for the night.  Finding a hotel was not super easy since the little league championships were happening.  Typical Luke fashion we were lucky and found a place with our second stop... the best part was there were no ridiculous children running around at the breakfast running into me and spilling juice, so I was happy.

 When we arrived in DC we checked into our hotel (hooray for a block away from the White House) and headed out to do some sight seeing.  Of course we stopped at the Air and Space museum.  I kindly pointed out that all the females were sitting on benches along the walls while men were checking out the displays and such.  After about 30 minutes Luke decided he'd had enough and we left (we had visited previously when Jen lived in the area).

 Of course I could wander around walking for hours but I also knew we had another day.  We did visit the American History Museum as well that day and saw the Star Spangled Banner (it was football field huge) and you could not photograph it.  The museum also had the ruby slippers Dorothy wore along with Kermit the frog among other items.

 The next morning I let Luke sleep in while I went for a run along the mall.  This was by far my favorite part of the trip.  There was virtually no one else out (except those other crazy runner folk) and I was able to get some amazing photos.  On my way to the Lincoln Memorial (above) I saw two soldier in their gear on a training run.  They were the only ones out on the tree lined path along the reflecting pool.  I wish I'd gotten a photo.  At the Lincoln Memorial were a bunch of motorcycle police just getting ready to leave.  Very cool.

 Love the fact that there are not people all over in my photos and if you would believe it this was at about 7:15am.  The Smithsonian Museums don't open 'til 10 so it doesn't start to pick up traffic until 9ish.

 Seriously cool being able to see the buildings in the morning sunlight and cool temperatures.  As my run progressed I ran into a bunch of training groups running loops to prep for the Marine Corp. Marathon.

 Smithsonian Castle (where you go for info about the other museums and maps...).  If you want a photo of you with the White House in the background and without strangers near you go in the AM.  These are just two security people chatting it up.  Both sides of the White House were empty of tourists FYI.

 After my AM run and breakfast at the hotel (continental) we headed to the transportation system to check out the National Zoo.  Best thing ever was this sewer that had duct tape and cardboard that said Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Apply Within.  It was still there that night when we returned from our happy hour cruise.

 After the zoo we went to the Natural History Museum... sparkly bling and the Hope Diamond.

 Followed by the old post office tower for views of the city.

 Totally not a crowded place at all and basically never a line.  Free and you get great views just like you would from the Washington Monument (if it wasn't closed due to an earthquake). Plus you don't need a ticket with a special time to visit.

 And of course our happy hour cruise that I found on Groupon.  It was fun but we thought it would be more like sunset instead of dark.  It departed late so that is part of the problem.  We still had fun.