Disney Pilgrimmage, Part 1

It was time once again for Phil's annual conference where he gets to go sit in lectures all day while the kids and I lounge around and do our thing at the hotel.  Somehow I think me and the kids get the better end of this deal, but who am I to say?  ;)

So two weeks ago, I packed us all up and we headed out for our yearly weekend at Disneyland.  Woo!

This year they put us up in the recently expanded Disneyland Hotel.

We all particularly enjoyed this headboard/nightlight/lullaby thingy.

The next morning, Phil headed off to his lectures while the kids and I lounged around watching cartoons before heading down in search of food and drink.  I somehow felt inordinately proud of myself for tackling breakfast in Downtown Disney on my own with my four in tow.  It seemed like such an accomplishment ought to be documented, so here it is.  ;)

The kids would stop and stare at this replica of Frontierland in the hotel lobby every time we passed by it.  And this was the moment just before she pressed her lips to the glass and began sliding them across it.  Just felt like that needed to be shared.

Even though temps were in the chilly 50s (downright frigid to us Californians!), the sparkly heated pool beckoned.  This girl and her sister thoroughly enjoyed the time in the water while the two brothers decided they were fah-reezing.

Ahhh, much better.

After swimming came long bubble baths followed by a viewing of "Enchanted".  Afterward, she contentedly sighed and declared her love for happy endings.  Love this girl.

Daddy finally rejoined us and let the boy get this.

While the girls got this.

Because, he reasoned, it's more fun when you can race 'em.

Slap me some skin, Mickey!

More Disney fun coming up next!

Her Half Birthday

Sometime back in September or October, Lauren's teacher noticed that she has a summer birthday and so asked me if I'd like to bring in treats on an alternate day during the school year.  She suggested doing perhaps a half-birthday celebration.  I readily agreed since that would put it in mid-January, well before birthday season kicks me into high gear in the spring.  I figured that the window after Christmas and before our rapid-fire birthdays would give me enough time and sanity to pull something special together for Lauren.

And it was all good in the hood.

So good in fact, that I completely forgot ALL about it.  So her mid-January date came and went without any ado whatsoever.

Mother of the year, right here.

So I sheepishly asked for another date and got the very next preschool day.  Which was a Friday.

So I scrambled a bit and made these for her birthday treats.  Potted flower cups, also known as dirt cups.

In seemingly unrelated news, January was also "community month" and the preschoolers were learning about different jobs people do.

And look who volunteered to come in and talk about his job?  (Never mind that it was February 1st and not technically "community month" any longer.)

There was first a little discussion about what a doctor does.

And sharing their vast knowledge about going to the doctor's office.

Then it was time to suit up because with a wave of his hand, Dr. Phil had magically turned their classroom into an operating room.

Because poor Mr. Bear is hurt and needs help fast!

Better check to make sure the stethoscope is working properly.

Good thing big brother was there to assist.  Whew, looks like Mr. Bear is going to make a full recovery.

They decided their teacher had several owies that needed bandaging up.

Testing out the gas mask.

Aw, I think he had just as much fun as they did.  Even though he was up the entire previous night at work and was running on fumes by this point.

Then it was time.

She was just a teensy bit excited.

She dove right in but others weren't sure their moms would like them eating dirt.  Even the teacher initially thought I had brought real potted flowers for each kid to take home.  A couple of the boys asked the teacher to wash the dirt off so they could eat the gummy worm.  They weren't going to let a little thing like dirt keep them from the gummy goodness.

They caught on soon enough though and we were saved from being that family who brought in dirt for birthday treats.

Overall, I think she had a marvelous not-exactly-half-birthday celebration.

Love this girl.

Valentine

The day started off with a special valentine treat from daddy for each of the kids.

And I love that he's the kind of dad who knows it's Ariel for this one.

And Rapunzel for this one.  (And also that the boy's good with anything boy-related).

He had a little something for me, too.

He also planned a special lunch for just us two.

I love our little people, but man, do I love when it's a table for two.

Especially when it involves this cheese fondue.  With chorizo.

Followed by this chop chop salad.  So. Good.  Except we were getting full already.

But there was more!  A good ol' burger for him.

And a swordfish sandwich for me.  I was simply too full for even one bite of this so it got boxed up and became my Valentine's dinner.  Still really good even a few hours later.

Such a wonderful time with great food and even better company.

After lunch we took a little stroll around the hotel grounds.

And tried to make the moment last before it was back to the grind for both of us.

After we returned home, Phil had to leave for work and Lauren decided she wanted to make some Valentine cupcakes.

Good thing she has the perfect outfit all ready for just such an occasion.

Both girls had Valentine parties at their respective schools and came home with a bag full of cards and treats.  I was a little concerned that Mikey would feel sad and left out of all the festivities.

I needn't have worried.  He simply shrugged and said that since it was a day to do nice things for family and friends, he'd just go ahead and make valentines for all of us.

And that's just what he did.

And then decided he wanted to make little cards for all his small group buddies who would be coming over the next day.  He changed the wording since it was the day after Valentine's day.  ;)

Probably it also helped that both girls shared more than a few of their treats with their brothers, too.

And I didn't find this until a few days later in Allie's backpack.

"Love is being with my family."

Couldn't have said it better myself.

Although, "touching a soft dog" and "tasting mac and cheez" are definitely close seconds.

Hope your Valentine's day was lovely, my friends.

Field Trip!

Being sick has taken me completely out of commission the last couple weeks.  Anytime I wasn't needed to make food, assist someone with something, drive someone somewhere, or help someone learn something, I could be found curled up on any nearby flat surface passed out cold.  It was neither fun nor pretty.  And I took a few family members down with me.

The stomach bug last month and now this hacking cough cold has made for a rougher winter for us than any in recent memory.

Either that or the fact that we have six people in the house with whom to share all these lovely bugs so each illness seems to last an eternity.

Heaven help you if you're the last one to get the bug too, because all patience and sympathy and comforting soup have all by that point worn thin and/or eaten up.  Just saying.

Anyway.

Before all this illness, Phil had a midweek day off, and Mikey asked if we could go somewhere fun.  In his exact words, "Can we go somewhere fun?  Like a museum or something?"

Field trips have been few and far between this year with Phil having fewer days off and the girls having different school drop-off/pick-up times and all the other general crazy running around we've found ourselves doing lately.

So on this particular day, we said yes.  And off we went (minus Allie who was definitely missed by her sibs) in search of like a museum or something.

And we ended up here.

Doing whatever the big brother is doing totally counts as fun in the little brother's book.

This is fun.  Right, big brother?

We tried out a flight simulator which some of us found more riveting than others.

And then we saw it.

And were amazed by it.

Mostly we just thought it was really, really cool.

Pretty neat to see it all up close and in person.

She was the most impressed when daddy bought her her own "personal space ice cream".  This is what she called it.  This is also how she dressed herself that day. 

On our way out, Jonah made his way over to these schoolgirls.  He went and stood with them giving out high fives and totally acting like he didn't even know us.

Sheesh.

And that's all I have to say about that.