If Nate were typing this post there would definitely not be an exclamation point up there in the title.
We went to Disneyland with my mom and youngest brother last week. We drove down Wednesday, went to the park Thursday and Friday, and then drove home Saturday. That might seem like a short trip to you, but let me assure you, it was long enough. The kids were great—they travelled well, they were great at Disneyland, they slept well at night—and yet I was still crazy-exhausted every night, especially by the time we got back to Utah. All in all it was a normal vacation—no one puked or pooped their pants, I only cried 3 times, the grownups got grumpy driving in the car, the kids had a great time and keep asking to go back. I think I'll be ready to attempt another family vacation in 4 or 5 years. (And then only if someone else is going to be the mom. Being the mom on vacation is hard work!)
I didn't really take that many pictures. Turns out I spent all of my time corralling the kids and keeping everyone happy. That didn't leave much time for picture taking.
Here are the kids in the hotel all dressed up in their Disney pjs.
Happy Daddy and Kate waiting for Peter Pan. This was one of the longest waits we had.
Colin on the carousel. That's my mom in the background.
Nate and Kate on the carousel. You can't really see Kate. Also, she only lasted about 5 seconds on the horse. She was excited to ride it until Nate put the strap around her, then she wanted out. I ended up riding with her on a bench further back.
A visit to Toon Town. I think the kids liked the cars more than the actual rides there.
Mickey's house. Colin remembered Mickey's washing machine from his trip 14 months ago. He was really excited to see the clothes being cleaned. Weird kid.
I was trying to take pictures of the kids in front of cooler things in Mickey's house, but they just kept running too fast.
Kate sat and stared at the giant piano music thing for a moment. Colin reminded me that he fell down and got hurt there last time.
Colin meeting Sorcerer Mickey (which is obviously Nate's favorite Mickey, since Nate's all about the magic). I love the expression on Colin's face.
I got his attention long enough for him to look in my direction, but that was about it.
Kate preferred to play on her stroller over most of the toys to play on. She often didn't want to ride in the stroller, but she did want to climb in it and buckle the buckles.
Colin and Pauline playing peek-a-boo through a giant watermelon.
Colin and Pauline having a chat about life, the universe, and everything.
Nate squinting in the sun while riding the kiddie bumper cars in a bug's land. I took like 8 pictures while they were driving toward me, and this was the only one where Colin was kind of looking and smiling. Sorry Nate.
Dad and Colin wearing their bug eyes before we watched the bug show. I like this show, but it turned out to be too much for Colin. He was playing with his 3D glasses, putting them on and taking them off, but once he put them on and kept them on the bad grasshopper flew toward the audience and was then snatched by a lizard tongue. That freaked Colin out and he announced, "I'm done!" We sat in the back corner anticipating this would happen, so we snuck out easily. Kate was fine because she wasn't paying attention at all.
Kate preferred to wear her glasses as headphones. Silly goof.
And we've already made it to day 2! We went to California Adventure to ride the new Toy Story Mania ride (with the longest wait of 40 minutes, bleh), and Jessie was standing out in front posing for pictures. There were only a few people waiting in line to see her. Both kids were very excited. Colin ran right up for a big hug, but Kate just sort of danced around on the side, pointing and jabbering in an excited squirrel voice.
When we got off the Toy Story ride we walked right by Lightning McQueen and Mater posing for pictures. There were only like 2 other people in line again, so we joined in. It made me laugh to see Colin giving the car a hug. He's never seen the movie Cars, but he knows who these two are.
One of the highlights was Turtle Talk with Crush. Colin wasn't sure what to think at first. (The clapping of the audience made him nervous. He doesn't like loud noises.) But as people in the audience started to laugh he started to laugh, and he liked the funny words the turtle said. Even now Colin and Kate play with their stuffed turtle-looking creature and play Crush, taking turns to say "duuuuude" and "totally." It makes me laugh. Kate saying "dude" is hilarious, trust me. That is now the sound a turtle makes, the same way a cow says "moo."
I did remember to get a picture of our family in the front of the park. It was at the end of our second day, so that's why I look so tired and Kate looks so scraggly and Nate looks so beardy. (But notice how Colin looks as fresh as a cucumber. That boy loves his Disneyland.)
One of our last rides was the Jungle Cruise, one of my personal favorites. Here are the lions watching over that poor sleeping zebra. Isn't that nice?
And back at the hotel getting ready to come home, both kids just chillin' with a milkshake (Pediasure).
One of Colin's favorite parts of vacation is staying in a hotel. You should hear him talk about how awesome it is to sleep in a hotel. He's weird.
Some other things we did at Disneyland that I don't have pictures of:
Buzz Lightyear—Colin liked shooting at the evil emperor Zurg. Kate liked pushing the button that spun the car around.
Casey Jr. Train—Colin went around shouting "all aboard" the rest of the week.
Monorail—Nate's favorite ride.
The Little Mermaid—A brand new ride that just opened that week. Entertained the kids, but the storyline leaves so much out that it doesn't make much sense on its own.
A Bug's Land—The kids played in the little splash pad, chasing the water as it jumped from hole to hole.
It's a Small World—Nate still hates this ride. A lot. The kids still love this ride. A lot.
Gadget's Go-Coaster—I took Colin on this baby roller coaster since he was tall enough. I could tell he didn't really like it and was a little scared. When we got off he said, "I don't want to do that again." But when my mom and Pauline asked him about it he said that he liked it.
Pirates of the Caribbean—Kate loves the yo-ho song. Colin did not like the loud cannon's firing.
Mickey's Soundsational Parade—A brand new parade that just started that week. The kids loved it, but I have nothing to say about it because I didn't watch. My mom and Pauline saved some sweet seats, and then they watched the parade while they fed the kids. Nate is not a parade person, and he and I took advantage of the down time to go eat some real food. When I asked Colin about it he got all excited about seeing the princesses and Mickey, but he was very clear on the fact that the music was too loud and he didn't like it and it scared him.
Mike and Sully to the Rescue—A Monsters, Inc ride, and the only ride in the park that we went on twice. (I guess no one else likes it, because we waited like 3 minutes both times.) Colin liked it because he has seen this movie and likes Mike and Sully.
These last few pictures are not from Disneyland, but I don't want to do another separate post for them. Kate discovered a little skirt thing that goes with a set of pajamas that are too small for her. On Sunday she put it on over her diaper and was quite the little Redneck Princess. (Her mullet hairstyle helps complete the ensemble.)
And here she is hugging the skirt. She wore that skirt forever, but as soon as I pulled the camera out she wanted to take it off—probably just to annoy me. She's getting sassy like that.
The kids all cleaned up and ready for church. I let them stand on the bed because I thought it would help me get a good picture. It didn't work out. I just love Kate's jumper that her Granny made for her, especially with the flower clipped on and her hair did.
Colin can be so handsome when he wants to.
Thank goodness for Nana! My mom bought the kids a present while we were at Disneyland. Nate and I did not. (Oops?) Colin and Kate love Bullseye and have been galloping around the house with him basically nonstop since we came home.
Can I get a "heck yes" for the nice weather? It was so nice to be able to send the kids outside to play yesterday. It makes them happy and it makes me happy. Win win.
Nate went for a run on the treadmill when he got home from work. Colin wanted to go out and watch, so I went with him to make sure he didn't get into any mischief. You can't tell from the picture, but Colin was leaning on the freezer and running in place just like his dad. I got it on video, but how to upload videos continues to elude me, so you'll just have to take my word for it.
I'm pretty sure that is all. Also, I'm tired and going to bed.
