For most people, including myself, the first thing that comes to mind when we hear the word Disneyland is Mickey Mouse. Then we think about the rides, and the popcorn, the parades, and of course the childhood memories that have now become adult memories made with our own children.
On a recent visit to Disneyland I sort of zoned out and looked around me.
Not at the people, or the rides, but at the beauty that is Walt Disney… the Nature of Disneyland.
I can’t believe summer is over and my little boy will be starting 3rd grade in just two days. Where did the time go?
It seems like the older I get, the faster the years go by … and the more I wish I could freeze time. My cuddly little boy is growing up so fast.
As I look at school pictures from the past 3 years, my mind is flooded with memories and my heart is filled with love. Through pictures like these, I can freeze time … at least in my mind.
This week has been so crazy with basketball camp and science projects that I thought it was time for a mother and son date night. Disneyland style!
So last night with no planning, we grabbed our annual passes and headed to the “Happiest Place on Earth” for some fun and laughs. Just the two of us. No backpacks, no sunscreen, no camera (well, we had the cell phone, but not the real camera). We normally go to Disneyland during the day and Dylan is wiped out by 7 or 8 pm, so this was a whole new experience for him. Disneyland after dark.
Since we haven’t been to Disney California Adventure Park in a few months, we started there.
With all the construction going on for the new attractions we couldn’t take our normal route, so we walked around the long way … which turned out to be a fun adventure at Redwood Creek Challenge Trail.
Dylan was excited because when we have come before this area is so crowded. Tonight it was perfect. Not too many kids and Dylan got to have some fun – Wilderness Explorer Style!
Um, watch out for these stinky critters …
Dylan had the best time running through the area and all the moving bridges. The only bummer was we were too late to get the Wilderness Explorer Badge. (The last ceremony is at 4:30 pm – next time for sure)
Dylan even got to connect with his true “Animal Spirit” …
After spending a good hour at the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail it was Mom’s turn to pick something. If Dylan only knew what he was in for …
My 8 year-old LEGO loving, Star Wars fanatic, 100% boy was about to go under the sea on the ride I have been dying to go on since it opened. Yes, The Little Mermaid – Ariel’s Undersea Adventure I have the best son ever! He huffed and puffed, but I know that he secretly enjoyed the ride.
I went right into Little Mermaid mode, singing along and eyes wide open like a child. I was so entranced, trying to take everything in that I totally forgot to take pictures on the ride! haha
The payback for going on the ride with me was that he got to ride the dolphin (my all-time favorite animal) on King Triton’s Carousel of the Sea
We had a wonderful mother-son date night and will definitely do this again soon!
What better way to kick off summer vacation than with an impromptu visit to the Magical Kingdom … The Happiest Place on Earth … well, minus the long lines and the 87 degree heat. Although Dylan finished school last week, I still work until the end of the month. He was so excited to be on summer vacation that I decided to surprise him with a late afternoon visit to Disneyland. Dylan has been watching all the commercials about the new Star Tours ride and just about jumped out of his shoes when I told him we were going.
Surprisingly, the lines were only 15-30 minute waits. However, this is beacuse everyone was standing in line for Star Tours! The wait went from 115 minutes down to 90 … no more fast passes … ugh … the things we do for our children.
As much as he wanted to go on this ride, the heat and the idea of standing in line did not make Dylan happy. He did everything he could to sit in the shade alongside the building while I stood in line.
As we got closer to entering the building his frown began to fade and the excitement was hard to contain.
After 80 long minutes of standing we finally make it inside. The happiness on Dylan’s face made all the numbness in my feet disappear and I quickly remembered what it was like to be a child at Disneyland.
Our destination was Hoth, which was the first choice of Dylan’s … coming in close second place was Endor. The flight was smoother than before they renovated the ride, but the best part was Dylan’s reaction when the ride was over.
“Seriously, that was it? Seriously? So not worth the wait”
Classic.
Now that we had accomplished the mission of riding the new Star Tours it was off to all the other fun rides. Pirates of the Caribbean, Matterhorn, Tarzan’s Treehouse, Haunted Mansion, Indiana Jones, Jungle Cruise, and a few spins on the Gadget Coaster (all by himself)
All in all, it was a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon and evening. Next visit we hit California Adventure and Mom gets to ride the new Little Mermaid …
Today was Dylan’s day and somehow it turned out to be one of the best days I have had in a long time. Nothing really planned out, just a few errands to run and then play at the park. Our day started at GameStop because Dylan saw a commercial on television that said you could bring in your DS and Pokemon Platinum game and get a free mystery Pokemon downloaded to your game. This made him happy. Then off to the Scouting store to buy a bigger shirt and some patches we needed. Nothing too exciting. Next it was off to the park to play a little football. Yes, I said football. Believe it or not, I have a pretty good arm and even surprised my Dad that I knew how to hold a football properly.
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| Practicing his form |
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| Seconds before he threw the ball down … Touchdown! |
Listening to Dylan give play by plays and instructing me what to do was hilarious. I told him he should try playing football and he said no because they get tackled. So I suggested he try Quarterback since they don’t get tackled as much. He still said no. He just wants to play for fun. Fine with me because I don’t want to watch my baby being tackled. As we got in the car to leave he said, “Mom, that was awesome!” Totally made my day. Today was such a beautiful day too … perfect for tossing the ball around.
Next it was off to Downtown Disney for a visit to the LEGO Store. Dylan realized he needed a few things to complete what he has been working on. Good thing Grandma and Grandpa were with us because his eyes were bigger than his wallet.
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| The infamous Death Star, a mere $399 |
No, Dylan did not get the Death Star! Although, he has been asking for this for two years now with the same enthusiasm … if he keeps it up, Santa just might bring it to him one year. What made this trip to the LEGO Store so special is Dylan had his new wallet and was ready to spend his coveted $12. Today we also joined the LEGO VIP Club and now earn points toward every purchase made in the store or online.
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| Creating with his new Legos |
While Dylan was searching the store for his purchases I was mentioning to my Mom that I couldn’t believe they had not opened a Lego store at South Coast Plaza. Ironically, when we got home and I was online registering our new VIP card I did a search for store locations … and guess what? Next week (March 11-13) is the Grand Opening of the LEGO Store at South Coast Plaza! Some really cool events will be going on during the Grand Opening, including an opportunity for kids to help a Lego Master Builder build an 8 foot tall Yoda out of LEGO’s that will be displayed in the store. This is definitely going on our calender!
There come a point in time when you have many so many things going on, deadlines to meet, papers to write, laundry to wash, and as hard as you try to keep all the balls in the air sometimes something has to give. Unfortunately, the ball that I just couldn’t keep in the air was our blog. So, finally someone told me that they have been checking our blog and it still shows Dylan’s birthday from July 2010.
Once again, I will do a quick recap and try my best to keep up. I promise once school is done in May I will have more time. At least I hope so! In a nutshell, here is what we have been doing:
DYLAN – excelling at school (2nd grade now), advanced to Wolf Cub Scout, started after-school tennis and science classes, loves reading and of course playing his video games!
MICHELLE – still working for the Newport-Mesa Unified School District, still attending University of Phoenix (BS in Psychology), running a successful business (Shel Cosmetics), single handedly keeping Starbucks in business so I can stay awake on a mere 4 1/2 hours sleep, and of course raising the most wonderful child on God’s planet!
OK, now for the pictures to get you all caught up …
Life with Dylan 