Life Escalated

I have always thought that standing in line at Disneyland to get pictures with the characters is crazy.  In fact, I always laughed at all the people wasting their time waiting for characters when they could have been riding on rides instead.  Robby was never very interested in characters and so Kirk and I thought it was something we would never do.  Zoe, however, has changed everything.  The last two trips we have made to Disneyland, the characters have been her absolute favorite thing.  She can spy them from clear across the park and starts screaming “Hi Mickey” or “Hi Goofy” at the top of her lungs.  She is patient while we wait in line to see them.  When it is her turn she walks right up to them and gives them a hug.  Then, when it is time to leave, she tells them goodbye, and cries.

Amazingly enough, seeing the characters has now become one of my favorite things to do at Disneyland.  Seeing my baby girl so happy makes it all worth while.

This trip, we were especially excited to see Princess Tiana.  We watch “Princess and the Frog” at least once a day.  In fact, right now, if you ask Zoe what her name is, she will most likely tell you “Tiana.”  She loves her.  Princess Tiana is a little difficult to see.  She is only available a few times a day.  The first time we went to see her, we found out that she wouldn’t be taking pictures and talking to the kids, but instead was doing a show.

Zoe loved the show.  She was singing all the songs with her.  At the end of the show, they invited all the kids to come up and dance with them.

Zoe went right up to the stage.  She didn’t even hesitate.  One of the dancers held her hand.  Zoe loved it.

Before long though, she got bored with the dancer and decided she wanted Princess Tiana instead.  So, she just walked over and stood right in front of Princess Tiana, staring at her.  Tiana was so cute with her.  She kept smiling at her and grabbing her hands and dancing with her.  Zoe loved it.

A couple of hours later we went back and Zoe was able to talk to and get a picture with Princess Tiana.  She was so excited.  She doesn’t exactly look happy in this picture, in fact,  she doesn’t look happy in any of the character pictures I have.  She loved seeing the characters, but she was not at all happy that she had to turn around and let me take her picture.

We saw many other characters on the trip.

Pluto

Mickey

Pluto again

Some fairy whose name I don’t know.  Zoe thought she was a princess.  Zoe liked her because she had beads in her hair.  They had a great time looking at each other’s beads.

One of the characters Zoe was most excited to see was Tinkerbell.  I didn’t even know she knew who Tinkerbell was, but she got so excited anytime she saw anything Tinkerbell at Disneyland.  Kirk and I finally decided that we would wait in line to let her see her.  We sent Robby and Emily to ride a few rides, and we waited in line.  It was one of the longest lines we waited in while at Disneyland, but it was worth it.  Zoe was so excited.

Pooh is always a favorite.  I think she would have stood right there, snuggled in Pooh’s arms, forever.

And Tigger.

Zoe tells everyone she sees that she went to Disneyland and that she said “Hi to Tiana and Tinkerbell.” Evertime I am at my computer she asks to see the pictures.  I have such cute kids.

Hi, my name is Alice, and I am addicted to Disneyland.

A couple of weeks ago, we made another trip to Disneyland.  It was another one of those very short notice vacations that we are getting really good at.  Our annual passes expire at the end of May.  I helped my cousin and sister-in-law in planning their May Disneyland trips, which made me miss it.  We had been working hard at finishing our back yard.  The combination of all those things somehow led to us one day joking about how we should squeeze in one more trip, that night looking at a calendar to see if we even had a few days we could go, and a week later, packing the car and heading out.

It was a really fun trip.  My sister Emily went with us, which was a lot of fun.  The kids loved hanging out with her and she had a good time too.  As usual, the kids were great on the drive.  It took us about ten hours to get there, and we only stopped once.  I couldn’t believe that we could get there with that few stops.  Zoe was awake the whole drive and didn’t fall asleep until we drove into the hotel parking lot.  If they weren’t such great travelers, there is no way we would have gone so many times this year.

We had a blast at Disneyland.  Robby, as usual, loved all of the roller coasters and trading pins.  Zoe’s favorite ride this trip was Pirates of the Caribbean.  She called it the “wee hill” ride.  She loved the little hill and splash.  She loved seeing the characters again too (pictures to come later in the week.)  I don’t even know how to explain why I love it all so much.  It is just so much fun for me to see my kids so happy and to have so much fun together as a family.  Hardly a day goes by that the kids don’t mention Disneyland and talk together about something they remember.  I feel like we have such a short time that they are young and I want to take advantage of that time as much as I can.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the trip.

Robby thought he was so funny wearing this princess hat.

Zoe loved the Playhouse Disney show this time.  Her favorite shows on TV are Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, My Friends Tigger and Pooh, and Little Einsteins, and all of those are part of the Playhouse Disney Show.  She thought it was great.

This is on California Screaming.  It looks like Robby is scared or something, but in reality he was just mad at me that I was taking his picture on the ride.  He was pretty sure that it was against the rules and he just knew we were going to get in trouble.

Our annual passes have expired now, so we are done with Disneyland for right now, at least until December.

Along with getting baptized, one of the greatest things about turning 8 for Robby was that he got to start Cub Scouts.  He loves it.  He can hardly wait for Tuesdays to roll around so he can go to Scouts.  I love seeing him so excited about it.

Our ward had the pinewood derby just a couple of weeks before his 8th birthday, so he was invited to participate in it too.  He built a great car with his dad and had a lot of fun.

He loves to pass things off and earn things.  So far, in two pack meetings, he has earned his Bobcat and 4 belt loops.  He has probably read his scout book from cover to cover 5 times and is always asking if we can work on scout stuff.  I love that enthusiasm and hope he continues to have a good time with it.

Here are a few pictures from his first official pack meeting, where he earned his Bobcat award.

I am so very behind again.  We have been landscaping our backyard.  I feel like I have spent every waking moment either doing yard work, recovering from doing yard work, or trying to catch up on the things I have ignored while doing yard work.

But, even in the midst of all the yard work, the world has still been turning and a lot has been going on.

Robby had a great 8th birthday.

I can’t believe how grown up he is getting.  When I asked him what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday, he told me he wanted a grade cake (grades meaning A, B, C, D, F.)  I couldn’t quite bring myself to do that, so instead I made him a math cake, since math is his favorite subject.  The challenge for him was to put all the cupcakes in order so that they equal 8.  Definitely not the best cake decorating in the world, but he thought it was pretty cool.

He got a remote control car for his birthday, which he loves.  He also had a really fun birthday party with his best friend, Kalvin.  Their birthdays are only 6 days apart, so they have a joint birthday party every year. This year they had a late night party, watched “Where the Wild Things Are” and played the Wii.  They had a really good time.  I didn’t take any pictures though; keeping up with that many boys was challenge enough.

A couple of days after his birthday, Robby was baptized and confirmed a member of the LDS church by his dad.  It was one of those moments for me, when I am truly grateful to be a mom.  I am so proud of Robby, and his decision to be baptized.  I love watching his testimony and strength in the Gospel grow.  He is an amazing example to me.

I love this picture of the family, both Grandmas and Grandpas and Aunt Emily.

Here we have Kirk and mini Kirk.  Sometimes it amazes me how much they look (and act) alike.

Robby and Kalvin.  The baptism date in March just happened to fall right between Robby and Kalvin’s birthdays, so Robby was baptized in March, but Kalvin wasn’t baptized until April.  It was a little bittersweet for them.  They have always done so much together that they thought it would be really cool to be baptized at the same time, but Robby was not about to wait an extra month.  It worked out well though.  This gave them the chance to be there and support each other and each have their own special day.

I am truly in awe at what an amazing young man Robby is becoming.  He is so responsible and kind.  I am a very lucky mom.  I love you Robby!