Monday, May 4, 2009

Memories of Disneyland

*The girls were so excited for their first airplane ride and it did not disappoint. They squealed and laughed in delight when the plane took off, and squealed even louder when the plane touched back down. They had several people laughing at them and the dad behind us commented that there were "too many girls on this plane".*On the shuttle to the hotel we discovered the couple riding with us had been on our plane and said that the girls were "very entertaining on the flight, in a good way". The wife said that it was wonderful and they acted the way that grown ups wish they could act*The girls surprised me and Mom by how well they could swim without their life vests. Sadie would purposely jump and swim AWAY from us, in the deep end. They are both little fish.

*On the first day I carried Sadie at least a third, if not half of the day. Partially because her feet got blisters and she was tired, but even more because I am not patient enough to wait for her to walk at her pace.

*The lines were incredible! I would definitely recommend going on a weekday instead of the weekend. Friday was the only day that we really had to wait for rides outside of Fantasyland and Toon Town. Those two lands had long lines everyday.



*It was cold! Wednesday was beautiful, but we wore jackets off and on the last two days, and even opted for longer Capri's/pants for Friday. The highs those days were in the mid to upper 60's. *We know where every single bathroom is and spent A LOT of time at them. I cannot tell you how much time was spent in the bathrooms.

*Sadie's obsession in life is Minnie Mouse and she met the REAL Minnie Mouse three times! She would have been happy visiting Minnie, playing in Minnie's house, and shopping for all things Minnie. My biggest regret is waiting in line for almost an hour to see Minnie in her house. We saw her a couple of more times throughout our trip and never waited more than a few minutes.

*The girls were so scared to go on the Haunted Mansion. Sadie had to be bribed with a Minnie doll and still screamed and forced me to remove her claws from the posts on the way in. She whined and whimpered but survived, declaring she'd never go again. The next day we told her that the real Minnie rides that ride (and ironically found a picture of Minnie in the Mansion on Sadie's lunch box) and Sadie suddenly changed her mind and decided to go. It became their favorite ride and all Thursday and Friday they would chant "Haunted Mansion, Haunted Mansion". I think we went on it at least 7 or 8 times.

*Kylie was disappointed in Soaring Over California because she thought that she was going to fly "for reals".


*The girls didn't understand just how big Disneyland would be, or how much walking we would do. They were exhausted every day! When my mom told Sadie on the afternoon of our first day that we had two more days she said "We have to come back!?" Of course by the next morning she was already begging to go back. *My late night diehards were not the night owls I had hoped they would be. We never made it until closing, although be probably could have the first night except...
*Kylie drank a lot of pop and then hot chocolate right before we got in line for Peter Pan on our first night. After waiting in line for several minutes she informed me that she had to pee and when I told her to hold it she squatted down and peed in line. Luckily it was dark so I don't think many people noticed. She ran out of the line and hid and cried. After chewing her out I felt guilty and bought her a skirt to wear home.

* The next night she almost peed on the Pirate's ride. She was rocking the boat for the last half of the ride and when it ended she and I went running for a bathroom. What we didn't realize was that Sadie also needed to go. When she and Mom made it to the bathroom mom went in the stall next to her and watched as Sadie couldn't hold it long enough to pull her pants down and squatted and peed on the floor in the stall. I asked Sadie if she was okay and she said that she was fine and just "wanted a skirt". No such luck for that little stinker!
*I brought an extra pair of panties and shorts for the girls on the last day because I knew that as long as I had extra clothes they wouldn't have an accident. It worked. We were accident free on day three.

*The girls fought over everything. Who got dressed first, who got their hair done first, who was sitting with Mom, who was sitting with Grandma, who was riding in the front, who was being the best kid, who pushed who, who got in who's way, who got what, who was more tired, who got to sit on the outside of the train...
*My number one favorite moment was coming out of the bathroom (big surprise there) with Sadie on our first night and discovering Mickey Mouse with a very small line. She went through and hugged him and then while we waited for Kylie to go to the bathroom we waited in line for him again. I kept letting people go in front of us while waiting on Kylie, until the line was gone and it was just Sadie. Mickey invited her over and sat down and they had a such a cute little conversation. Mickey was talking with his hands and Sadie had this look of complete awe and love on her face as she talked to him. They were alone for over a minute, and even when a couple of people came and got in line the assistant still let them sit for a minute. She must have know how much it meant to Sadie. I even got a little teary eyed watching my little girl with such belief in the "real" Mickey Mouse. I so wish I'd hadn't already put my camera in the locker for the night. *We discovered that Kylie has a nervous stomach. She would complain of a stomach ache when we were getting in line for a lot of rides, but it would disappear once the ride was underway.

*After the Haunted Mansion, the girl's next favorite ride was Pirates and we rode that one over and over and over. I love that ride so it didn't make me sad.




*Sadie was pouting about something and an employee at the Princess Forest stopped her and made friends with her. Then she gave her a fake flower off of the bushes. Sadie was so proud of her flower. Sadie was also pouting in a gift shop and the employee there took pity on her and gave her and Kylie each two pins. One said Happy Anniversary and the other said Just Engaged. They opted to wear the latter until they got sick of people asking them who they were engaged to. Kylie was very embarrassed once she found out what it meant.

*On the last day the girls got their faces painted first thing in the morning. We thought this would be smart because they could enjoy the paint longer. It turns out that when you are 4 years old paint never stays on your face for very long. Kylie, after seeing what Sadie's face was turning into, was very careful all day long to keep her face looking beautiful.

*On the second day our big "wait" was for the Princesses in the forest. I waited for over an hour and a half, with the girls joining me off and on. They got the giggles right before entering and really made an impression on the princesses. We got SUPER lucky and just as we were finishing with the last princess there was a shift change so we got to see 6 princesses instead of 3.

*On our last day my mom paid for us to have dinner with the Princesses. It was a very fancy meal with several courses. It was only after inhaling the delicious platter of chocolate desserts that I thought to take a picture. Oh well, you'll just have to trust me...it was yummy! While eating we got to see Ariel, Belle, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Snow White.
*Kylie was a really good sport for most of the trip. She got less attention since Sadie was a little on the whiny side, but she did really good to be a big girl.

*On our last night we got caught in the crowd trying to watch the fireworks. If you know me and my mom you know that neither of us likes crowds at all. It was such a joke and we couldn't get out. My mom took Kylie and climbed over people to get out and I was lucky enough to find a nice guy that offered to lift the stroller we had just rented (for a whiny 4 year old) over the crowd and a rope to help me and Sadie escape. My least favorite part every time I go to Disneyland is the crowds that gather at night for the fireworks. No fireworks are worth being that squished with that many people. *As we left Disneyland for the last time my feet hurt so bad I couldn't carry Sadie. Her feet were also sore and tired and she loudly exclaimed for all around us to hear "This is why I hate coming to Disneyland!"

*Kylie was suddenly camera shy for most of our trip.


*The California side was under construction and had no water in the "Ocean", which wasn't really pretty.



*Film crews were there filming and there were signs stating that our presence in the park meant that we agreed to let them use any pictures/video of us. Something tells me that the Happiest Place on Earth won't be using any pictures of my whining children.
*Sadie would always stop and window shop, or stop and watch something and we'd realize she wasn't right behind us. Once she thought she lost us and I followed her across the pier and into a crowd. A woman stopped to help her, but Sadie got distracted by a bird and took off running again. I stopped to thank the woman and explained that I was following her. Sadie found me a minute later when she heard my cell phone ringing. I'm not sure if she cried because she was scared, or cried because she got in trouble.
*On Splash Mountain we got a boat to ourselves and Sadie was in the front. As we went down the first little waterfall she jumped up and tried to climb back and sit with my mom. Mom had to hold her tight for the last fall to make sure she didn't try to stand up again.

*While waiting in line for the Roger Rabbit ride Sadie said she needed to go but could hold it. As the car pulled up to have us jump in she said "I changed my mind, I need to go now". I made her hold it. *After her intial purchase of a Minnie Mouse Sadie would say "I changed my mind!" every time she found a different toy (usually a Minnie) that she wanted. That girl was born to shop at Disneyland.

*Between getting the girls their promised ice cream cones, trying to use our fastpasses at Soaring Over California before that park closed, and fighting the extremely unpleasant crowd of people waiting for the fireworks, we ran out of time for dinner and most places had closed. We decided that we would go to the downtown Disney District to find food and then shop. By the time we cleaned out our locker, said good bye one last time to Minnie, bought Sadie her much anticipated Mickey and Minnie getting married dolls, and returned the stroller, it was late and the girls were very ornery. We found a little pizza place where Kylie promptly fell asleep on the table. Shopping was a joke that night afterwards with me carrying Sadie and Mom dragging a half asleep Kylie through the store. I am so sorry that Mom was unable to finish her shopping!
*The flight home was horrible! Just as the light came on to put our seat belts on for the landing Sadie to my mom that she needed to go to the bathroom. I told her to hold it. That seemed to be all the she needed. But when I told Kylie the same thing a couple of minutes later it didn't work as well. By the time we landed she was almost in tears, I was sick to my stomach from the amount of moving she had done to avoid an accident, everyone at least three rows around us knew how badly she needed to go, and I felt the need to apologize to the man sitting in front of us for all the kicking she had done to his seat. The minute the wheels touched down, and long before we stopped moving, Kylie was running down the aisle for the bathroom. Then as the aisle filled with people Sadie informed me that she needed to go again. We were able to make it off the plane with no accidents, although it was a miracle.
*We had to much fun, although Mom and I had a talk about just the ADULT girls in our family going next time. Thanks Mom for making our trip so wonderful!

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Someday...

Someday Kylie may regret all the pictures that she has taken of herself.

Brynlie's Best Friends

A mother always hopes that her children will make good friends that influence them in positive ways. Brynlie's recent choice of friends have left much to be desired.
This is her musical friend with an added bonus of a keyboard on the bottom that makes animals noises. It is loud and obnoxious and every time you flip the page or push the button a new song will play. Her favorite "note" is the green one. It is the farmer and will say "Rock On, Rock On" over and over and over again. Brynlie's loves to wait until I am watching TV and then this friend of hers tempts her into bringing it up on the couch so they can watch TV together with me.
This is Gloworm. She has been a wonderful companion for Brynlie at night, but recently convinced Brynlie that she wanted to eat chocolate with her. Now her left hand is covered in the residue and every time Brynlie goes to bed she wants Gloworm with her. After she lies down with her Brynlie pushes her a few inches away and points out the offending hand and makes a disgusted noise. This toy really needs to learn better hygiene before Brynlie follows suit. In all honesty, this may have been a little bit more of Brynlie's fault than Gloworm, but it is a mother's prerogative to blame her children's friends if at all possible.This friend of hers is much too old for her. It was purchased recently at a book fair for Sadie, but it immediately picked Brynlie as a friend instead. It is a puzzle book that was not meant for the little hands of a 19-month old. Brynlie is able to get all the pieces out, distribute them evenly throughout the whole house, and then leave the empty book for me to fill back up. This happens at least three times a day. I try to return this friend to Sadie, but Brynlie goes looking in the girl's room for her older, mature friend. I wish she would stick to friends her own age.
These baby friends have convinced Brynlie that ALL babies are her babies. It doesn't matter who has the baby first, or if the baby is still in a box. Once Brynlie lays eyes on the baby, it is hers.Her squeals of delight at finding this baby at Target were short lived.

Once she realized that this baby was NOT going home with her. It was not a pretty sight. Brynlie has also found a couple friends in the produce aisle. Specifically, strawberries and bananas. This friendship wouldn't bother me if she would pace herself and eat them over a period of several days. Bananas need to be weighed at the checkout stand. This means a screaming baby from the moment they are placed into the cart until we can get to the car and allow her to pig out on the way home.
Last, but not least, Brynlie's best friend, her stool. Apparently, at 19 months, the only thing that you need to succeed at any task is about 6 inches. Opening doors, reaching the bananas, finding melting chocolate left on the counter, emptying the silverware drawer, pushing items off the stair rail, pulling down tubs of wipes, and getting into the toothpaste are just a few of the things her stool has been an accomplice to. There is nothing that these two can't do together.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Some of my favorite moments this month...

Finding Brynlie's missing shoe, the day AFTER I bought her a new pair.

Putting my foot in my flip flop, only to discover that someone had spilled something sticky in it.

Walking down the stairs and knowing three steps before getting to the bottom and turning into the basement that Brynlie had a stinky diaper.

Russ informing me after Sadie's weekend in Logan that"Sadie likes to fart...a lot".

Pouring myself a big glass of Sprite, only to discover that the girls had finished it off and refilled it with water.

Spending a good half an hour in a dressing room with all three of my girls, trying on swimming suits. For me, not them.

Vowing never to eat again after trying on the swimming suits.

Leaving the store with my new swimming suit and going directly to Chick-Fil-A for some much needed comfort food.

Checking out at the grocery store and having the cashier tell me "Good luck with all those kids". I only had my three girls with me.

Discovering Brynlie as she learned how neat bananas feel when squished between her toes.

Driving down the road and hearing Kylie say "Oh, that felt good", and then smelling what "felt so good".

Realizing that my friends are trying to make me fat. Delia forced her super delicious chocolate mint recipe on me (and gave it to Tawnie to make sure that I couldn't escape them), Maria baked me an amazing cookbook cover worthy Cherry Cheesecake, and Amanda took me out for Ice Cream and fries at Leatherby's.

Finding my flosser near the girl's toilet. The toilet.

Getting told at Brynlie's first ever dental check-up that her teeth are already getting soft and showing signs of decay. Why did she and Sadie both have to get my teeth?!

I'm leaving for Disneyland on Tuesday, but I really don't know how the rest of this month can top the first half.

Friday, April 10, 2009

Not a Fan

Ten years ago I had the privilege of working at the MACU in branch in Bountiful and commuting each day from Salt Lake. This was during the I-15 reconstruction for the 2002 Olympics. The traffic was horrible every single day, and I understood how desperately another road was needed. So I was all for it when they announced they were building Legacy Highway out there. I took Sadie up to Layton to meet Kristi last night and on the way home I decided that I would try out the fancy new highway. The highway is this nice, beautiful, wide, smooth road. And then they went and ruined it. Once I was fully committed to the road and had no way to turn around, I saw it. A sign. A big ugly sign. A big ugly sign that said 55 MPH. Then they made the road even uglier by adding several cars with bright red and blue lights on top of them. Never again.