Disneyland! (aka hell on earth)

Some 15 odd years ago, after being caught in an overcrowded and closed down Disneyland nightmare (due to last Electrical Parade show) I swore to never darken the main street entrance of Disneyland again!

Well...here I am some 15 odd years later and my sister and hubby invited me to join them on their family vacation to hell...excuse me...I mean Disneyland.

They have 4 children. 2 Toddlers and 2 Tweens. Yes, think about that for a moment. I knew I would be signing up for days of endless tugging between Small World and Space Mountain. And I still went. What is wrong with me??

So we headed out to LA in two cars loaded up with snacks, babies and tweens. It was 108 on I5, by they way. It wasn't long before the inevitable pit stop in the pit stop known as Bakersfield took place:

The next day - we headed to the park - via car, then shuttle...I didn't realize you can't just "park at Disneyland" anymore. Getting in cars and in lines and on shuttles and off shuttles was a ride in itself!

Once we got into the actual park, we decided to throw all caution to the wind and let the 3 year old figure out the Disneyland map:
oh yes, did I mention who ELSE tagged along?
We started our journey in Fantasy Land...look how fresh and bright and happy everyone is! For giggles, we will compare this image to one taken on the last night in a later blog...
Snow White, Mr Toad, we hit the kiddie rides all morning:


a nice group shot of the kids on one of MY favorite characters...Dumbo!
Then it was off to the carousals!

and finally - the hit ride of the trip - Small World - I think we rode it 4 times over the course of 3 days - the toddlers could not get enough of the ride!
while others, I WON'T SAY WHO, were less enthused by the ride:
The toddlers spent the first day of the trip learning the vital Disney lesson - IF YOU WANT TO RIDE IT, YOU MUST SUFFER FOR IT:
But the end result was sweet!
Then it was TIME. To meet the MAN. Excuse me, I mean MOUSE:
Someone, I WON'T SAY WHO, was a little apprehensive of a 6 foot mouse:
but she warmed up:
while others, I WON'T SAY WHO, refused to come within 6 feet of a 6 foot mouse:

While waiting for Adult Supervised Group One to come out of Splash Mountain, I managed to get a great shot of them coming down the big drop. They are the three in the front of the log boat. The guy in the last seat was creeping me out as he looked like that creepy guy Dave from "Storage Wars" -I hate that guy. I hate that show.

But I digress! More to come later this week with photos from California Adventure, more Disneyland and the hotel pool!

Mid Summer Madness! Another Kid Party!!

Yes - I attended the party for a newly crowned six year old - yet again - the parties are endless with this tribe!

This child loves:

* the color pink

* Hannah Montana

* flip flops (ugh! a girl not after her auntie's sense of style!)

* Root Beer Floats

* her auntie (that would be me)

I started off with a little cake making for the princess, and enlisted her older sister to attend to such details as "decorations" and "pretty stuff":
You'll see the results shortly. As usual, the cousin crowd showed up to help the girl celebrate:
and goodie bags were properly handed out:
and there was the usual tomfoolery:
Then the star could wait no longer - presents had to contended with:

Then it was back to a bit of tomfoolery:

a tragic "boo boo" incident:

Then this sap had to show up at the party:
(ha! ha! Ha!....anyone? anyone?)

The party girl was duly impressed with her auntie and sister's cake creation:
and then it was time for the annual "breath test":
It was about this time auntie realized she had MISTAKENLY (I swear!) bought trick candles that not only sparkled, they re-lit themselves and threw sparks out...
The girl was slightly stressed by the danger...
But, being 6 years old now - she dealt with the situation was soon back to her smiling self!
Here's a last shot of the cake with monkey man standing guard:

Three years old and counting...

Ah, another Saturday, another party. This time, one of the 11 niece and nephews (second youngest) was turning the big "3" - and was she ever excited!

Here are some vital stats:

Potty trained - 95%

Loves Dora the Explorer

Knows her ABC's and 123's

Favorite Game: Hide and Seek

Super Power: Can dress herself in 3.5 seconds when Auntie is going to take her out

Nicknames: Lissy Lou, Sissy and Sassy

So the family gathered on a COLD JUNE AFTERNOON to celebrate the greatness that is being three. There was a definite theme to the presents:

The birthday girl held off while I managed to get ONE SHOT:
And then she let loose! It took her approximately 15 seconds to rip through the pile of presents. All we heard was paper tearing and "ooooh!!", "Dat mine!!" and "yeah!!!":
Some of the older cousins were immediately pressed into assembling the various toys.

Gratuitous Rant:

What the hell is up with the toy manufacturers and their insidious need to anchor every toy in the packaging as if it was a weapon of mass destruction? The twist ties, the rubber bands, the tape, the molded plastic around each and every tiny little molded plastic thingy...it was too much!!

But I digress. Time for some photography while Mom and Dad set up the cake:

Handsome older brother:

Then, the cake - picked out by the birthday girl herself:
she was a little wary about the whole blowing out of the candle activity....Took her awhile to warm up to the idea:
Some people, I WON'T SAY WHO, were a little impatient:
Then, after party specifics were complete, it was time for silliness before the annual "sit down and smile, damn it!" photo sitting:

For a three year old, she did pretty good - I took about 40 shots, and got about 4 that were really good:

Of course I had to fool around with them in photo shop, just for kicks:

A last image of the day, with the baby sisters exploring in the backyard: