Winter in California

Bike rides in the cooler weather are nice. 

Visits to the beach were much less crowded, though it was too cold for swimming. 

The kids were content to play in the sand, but they really wanted to wear their swimsuits and get in the water.  

Visiting the beach is free therapy. 

Winter is also when we frequent the playgrounds that typically fry during the warmer months due to their lack of shade. 

Disneyland is beautiful during the holidays and much cooler, thankfully. 

Coming into Tomorrowland 

Gordon loved the Buzz Lightyear ride in Tomorrowland. 

It might be winter, but you can still try a water slide for the first time. Peter and Melinda Andersen spent a few days at one of the Disneyland Hotels and invited us one afternoon for swimming. 

Winter also means clear and cool sunsets. Fashion Island is silhouetted against the sun. 

Halloween and Jilly's Birthday

 I told Evelyn to document the fact that I, me, myself, was carving these pumpkins instead of the children who begged to buy carving pumpkins. They ran around on the playground instead. 

From the left, Princess Leia, a princess, and Batman. 

 Mommy dressed up too, at the girls' request. 

 Funny cut-out pictures at a local Halloween festival. 

 The finished product - the glow sticks were kind of cool. I still prefer candles though. 

 One afternoon trip to Disneyland and the teacup ride. 

 Another family bike ride in which Jill decided a "nap" was in order and Gordon agreed. 

 Jilly turned seven at the beginning of November, and requested cheesecake and strawberries for her dessert. A girl after her parents' hearts. 

 She got Legos for her birthday and worked with Evelyn to get them together. 

 We went to California Adventure the next day in honor of her birthday and had lots of fun. She specifically requested to ride California Screamin'. She always looks afraid in the pictures, but loves this ride. 

This handsome man is always behind the camera. So here he is in front of the camera. 

10th Anniversary

We celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary in October and decided to make a Disneyland date out of it. It'll probably be the only anniversary we can spend there. On the Christmas break following our wedding ten years ago, we came to SoCal and went to Disneyland. It was my first time. And it only cost $63 to get into the park. It seems like a hot deal now!

The only food we bought on that first Disneyland trip was a bowl of clam chowder in New Orleans Square. We honored that little memory by getting another bowl on this date. 

California Adventure's Cars Land. 

In line for the Cars ride. The line was long as usual, but it was fun to stand in line together and not worry about trying to keep the whining and Gordon in check. 

I went on the roller coaster for the first time on this date. I was terrified at first, but now I think it is one of the funnest rides in the two parks. 

We walked around Downtown Disney for a bit and stopped by the Lego Store. We'd watched 'The Avengers' the previous night and had fun with this guy at the Lego store. 

Ben brought home flowers for me, along with some 'Dang' brand root beer. I don't think he's ever forgotten my birthday or anniversary. I'm actually the one prone to forget those milestones. Ten years has changed us, but all for the better. Getting older can't be too bad when I've got someone this good to grow old with. 

What we did in September besides go to Disneyland

 Sunday afternoon bike rides. Here with Peter the Anteater. Side note: I have always thought of the anteater as a not-so-stellar mascot. However, UC-Santa Cruz's mascot is the banana slug. "Go banana slugs!" Yeah, that's definitely worse. 

 First day of school. Far less emotional than last year's first day. Evelyn apparently got the strictest 3rd grade teacher (according to peers at school), but has liked her teacher and has done her homework more willingly this year than any other year. Jilly's teacher tells me the girls are really sweet together, helping each other out and waiting for each other when they're headed to the same place. It's good to hear they're buddies when away from home. I'm volunteering weekly in both classes this year, and that's been a new and fun experience.

 With only Gordon at home during the day, I've had to find stuff for him to do. He's not much of a "play alone" kid. We headed to this "farm" in Costa Mesa. Straw bales in the OC are a rare sight, and so they had to be climbed by he and his best friend.

Sunday night football. Ben hums/sings the song from the "football" scene in Disney's Robin Hood and hauls a different kid around. They love it.

 Aunt Chelle and Uncle Nate gave Ben this Mexican cookbook for his birthday. It inspired him to actually cook (this is a big feat in our kitchen). This was the first taco recipe we tried out, and it was fantastic.

 Gordon says he's allergic to church. He also asks why everyone in our apartment complex doesn't go to church. I told him not everyone does, and he's mad that he's one of the people that does go. Apparently singing time in Primary was too loud for him and his buddy on this Sunday. On Saturday he'll ask what day it is tomorrow, and I will answer, "church day." He answers with a stomp and a loud, "Aw-wwww!" or, "NO!" Sundays are fun times around here!

 Jilly's lost quite a few teeth in the last few months. Both top ones are now gone, and the other one on the bottom is about ready to fall out.

 We parted ways with the love seat we bought when we first moved here. The kids had broken the supports under the cushions, and it just couldn't begin to hold most of us anymore. Here the kids display their attachment to the couch.

Hello OC Craigslist! We managed to fit a barely used sofa and love seat in the living room. Four of the seats recline, and we can fit all of us and then some. I got the honor of taking the first nap on the couch.

Disneyland and California Adventures

The girls have been waiting for this day. For a good two years. We promised them we would get annual passes, and we finally delivered. 

It was a 98° day in Anaheim, but we went anyway. And it was very hot. But very fun too. 

This was the end of the day, when the shade was finally making its way over the park. 

 Train ride to Tomorrowland. 

 Our first ride was Autopia. The kids loved this one. Evelyn was thrilled to drive, though I had to hold the gas pedal for her. 

Then, we decided to hit Space Mountain. In hindsight, it was a bad idea to do one of Disneyland's most intense rides at the very beginning of this experience. We had kind of assumed that the kids' high enthusiasm levels would somehow cancel out any fear they might experience on the rides. 

Wrong.

This ride is fast, in total darkness (except for the "stars"), and the music is very loud. We found out the hard way that this is a triple threat for Gordon, and Disneyland has it in spades. Ben spent most of this ride trying to convince Gordon he wasn't going to get hurt or die. After this, he pitched a fit at any ride line that led through a darkened doorway. 

Disneyland fail.

Jilly was nearly in tears when we got off the ride, but we won a small victory when she later went on the ride again with Ben and Evelyn. Evelyn has nicknamed herself the daredevil of the three kids and thinks roller coasters are the only way to enjoy life right now. 

 Gordon did love 'the rockets.' It's fast and high, but not in the dark. 

 He loves Dumbo too. We enjoyed the parade and one of the staged shows, "Mickey's Magic Map." 

 The day before school started, we went again to get to areas of the park we missed the first time. Splash Mountain was one of those rides. Somehow we convinced Gordon to go with us (with his blanket), but he still spent most of the time doing shallow breathing and ready to break out in screams at any second. 

Which he did once the log started the long, dark ascent to the top of the hill. Then they speedily drop you down the other side. I DO NOT like that part. It looks like a tendon is going to pop out of my forearm, I'm holding on so tight. Jilly was tearing up at the end of this ride too. Evelyn, of course, loved it. 

 We comforted the scared children by visiting Winnie the Pooh and his friends nearby Splash Mountain. (While Evelyn whined/asked to go on Splash Mountain again). 

 Everyone likes the teacup ride. We can all barely fit, but that makes it more fun. 

 The kids tried to get the sword out of the stone, but it wasn't budging that day. 

 The kids haven't been too interested in the characters, but occasionally they'll stand in a short line to take a picture. 

We did Disneyland a few times, and then headed on over to California Adventures once Disneyland started attracting larger crowds due to Halloween. This has become our favorite of the two parks. 

 Jill and Gordon really like Bug's Land, there's nothing scary there. We did that area first on this visit. 

Then we tried out Grizzly Mountain/Rushin' River. 

 This time, they younger two were in freak-out mode for most of the ride. We will most definitely not be riding this again as a family. Jilly did not like the free motion of the boat we were in, combined with the rapids and waterfalls. 

 Gordon was mostly afraid of the short tunnels (he has developed a fear of tunnels now, even while driving), combined with the short water falls. Two boys we didn't know were in the raft with us, giving us a play-by-play of what would happen next on the ride, but no amount of talking could calm Jill and Gordon down. Evelyn, no surprise, thought it was awesome. 

So Ben decided that a true roller coaster was the next step for Evelyn. 

This is her first ride, and she is in heaven. We told her Dad and Uncle Dan can take her to Magic Mountain next year for her birthday. Which is good, because I have no interest in going and feeling like I am going to die on one of those super-crazy roller coasters. 

I'm so glad we saved the money (even though it's an atrocious amount of money) to do this. We've already had so much fun with it, and look forward to many other visits in the coming months.