Our Fall Break to Disneyland Day 1&2

Right before Emma's birthday I started seeing the ads on TV for Halloween Time at Disneyland. It had been two years since we had been (I actually thought it had been three years but I was wrong.) and I was having some serious withdrawals. I was still upset that we hadn't ever gotten to experienced Space Mountain's Ghost Galaxy. Of course the kids always want to go to Disneyland. 

After watching one of the commercials I texted Paul and said "I want to go to Disneyland!" That's how it all began. A few days later (after some bartering, research and planning) we had our reservations set. 

We were going to keep the trip a secret from the kids but that plan didn't last long. What we did manage to keep secret was where we were staying. We had booked a room in the Grand Californian. It was an AWESOME surprise. I video'd the kids when we pulled into the hotel and their reaction was priceless. I will always treasure that video. 

We decided to drive to California this time. We left Wednesday afternoon after checking the kids out of school a little early. We were going to stay in St. George for the night to break up the drive but decided to go on to Primm (two hours further down the road) so we could have more time in the park on Thursday. 

We stayed at Buffalo Bill's. 

Our room was $35 LOL! Check out that bed skirt. That is some sweet fabric. The beds were actually really new and nice but the carpet was a little funky. One thing we LOVED was the water pressure in the hotel shower. It was so strong. Dang I love that. 

Thursday morning we got up, had a healthy McDonald's breakfast and hit the road. We made the last few hours without any problems. We stopped for Rubio's for lunch. The kids were dying. They knew we were so close yet so very far away. After lunch we went to our hotel. This time the room was a little bit nicer. ; ) 

They gave the kids balloons and 1st visit buttons when we checked in. Look at the cute shower curtain. It was all Bambi stuff. Awww!

Here we are on our little balcony that overlooked the monorail and part of the California park.

I loved all the little extra goodies we had in the bathroom including a full sized bar of soap for the shower. It doesn't take much to make me happy. 

Once we got checked in had everything taken to our room (the service at that hotel was impeccable), we were ready to play! This is the only family picture we got and Andrew's face is in the weeds. 

Finally, we were back IN Disneyland.

After visiting with Minnie and going on the Buzz Lightyear year it was on to Space Mountain. I had unfinished business that I couldn't wait to resolve. 

Ghost Galaxy was quite awesome. Andrew and Paul loved it the most. I am so glad I got to experience it. It was a lot of fun to have a family favorite turned spooky for Halloween. 

We met with our Fairy Godmother...

Admired some of the tiniest details of the park...

Got a Dole Whip (I would love one RIGHT NOW!) from the Tiki Juice Bar...

We went to the Haunted Mansion...

Emma got her fortune...

And then we tried something new for dinner. 

I started with a non-alcoholic mint julep. 

Emma and I liked it. 

Andrew, not so much.

We got the pommes frites as an appetizer. They were totally yummy!

Paul and I ordered the Monte Cristo sandwich. He had eaten them before and tried to explain them to me but I just wasn't getting it. A ham sandwich with powdered sugar and jam? Hmmm, I wasn't so sure. I really didn't know how I was going to like it but holy cow it was so good!!! 

It was enormous. Paul and I could have easily shared it and had more than enough food. Live and learn. Emma ended up eating half of my sandwich (She didn't like the french onion soup too much. I thought it was good!) and I still got very full. I think that eating this will be a new park tradition.

We finished up our meal with Mickey Mouse Beignets. They were really good. Everyone loved them. I wanted to eat them again but never got the chance. There was a Jack Skellington chocolate coffin with blood berry sauce that I also wanted but I was so full I didn't order it that night. Unfortunately we never made it back to this restaurant. There were too many other things to try. Next Halloween...

Since it was a Thursday, the park closed early. We headed back to our hotel where the kids spent a little time in the pool and the hot tub. Even though it was only a half day we got a lot done and had a fabulous time. It really was a great, great day!

It's Halloween Time at Disneyland

We just got back from a fantastic trip to Disneyland. I need to take some time to go through all the pictures but that will have to wait. Right now laundry takes precedence. Here are a few of my early favorites.

The first character we saw was Minnie. You can't beat that!!!

 

We went to Mickey's Halloween party. It was pretty much awesome. 

 

The castle was looking extra spooky during the party.

 

Sweet Emma and super cute Dumbo.

 

It's my favorite mouse!

 

The World of Color from the observation deck at the Grand Californian.

 

Paul and Andrew on the Astro Blaster ride

 

Paul and I waiting for our Dole Whip. I could sure use one of those right now. 

 

Emma and Andrew got to ride on the Tower of Terror with Jenna and her family. Unfortunately I was left behind. Boo. At least I got to go on it once before. 

Good Health is a Blessing

 

This is how I've been feeling lately.

Lately I've had a string of little medical annoyances that has really made me appreciate how lucky I am to have have been blessed with good health. I feel bad for complaining. I know other people have it so much worse but I have to get this out.

It all started with a funny feeling in my tooth. I thought a filling was coming loose. I felt a suction like sensation when I would chew on my right side. It wasn't bad, just annoying. I figured I would have it looked at when I went in for my check up, in six weeks. (I really do try to avoid medical professionals at all cost) Well it got worse. It turned into a constant dull pain that I couldn't ignore any longer.

After a few days of pain I went in and guess what. They couldn't find anything wrong. Upon my insistence that there really was a problem the dentist decided to drill to see if there was something going on out of his sight. Sure enough, I needed a root canal on my very back tooth. They started it right then but after a couple of hours in the chair they decided there was a problem. I had to be on an antibiotic for at least four days before it could be finished. I was sent home with half a root canal and a lot of pain. At this point I was wishing I had just had the darn tooth pulled. It would have saved me sooo much time and hundred and hundreds of dollars.

The next day we went to the football game and I was not feeling well. I was sore. I was drugged, but not with anything good. I was sad.

The antibiotic they gave me gave me an infection of another kind. Oh the joy.

Just when I was starting to feel better all the way around it was time to go back in to have the rest of the root canal finished. When he was numbing me he hit a nerve. Oh how that hurt. It actually made me cry. I had another couple of hours in the chair where I was feeling pretty beat up. It took a whole week for my jaw to stop hurting. My mouth is now okay but I have to go back in on Monday to get my crown put on. To say I'm not excited is an understatement.

Tuesday morning I woke up feeling awful. I must have had a fever. My body ached, my head was pounding, my eyes were scratchy, my throat was itchy and I felt like a fire breathing dragon. It was not a good day but I still had to drive carpool and do a couple of other things I would have rather not done.

Wednesday I woke up feeling much much better. I had a head cold still but I was way better off than I was the day before. I was on the mend! Oh happy day. All is well.

I spoke too soon. Last night I noticed my eyelids felt tight. As we watched Survivor my eyes got more and more swollen. I was having an allergic reaction to something. I'm guessing it's new make-up sponges since that is the only thing I've changed. They are latex free and hypoallergenic but my eyes are almost swollen shut so something isn't adding up. As the day goes on they are improving slightly. They are itchy though and it is hard to look straight ahead since the lids don't open well.

For weeks now I have had this or that. I can't wait until I am feeling 100% again.

BYU vs. Utah State

We were able to get tickets to another football game! This time we had six tickets so Emma and Andrew each got to take a friend. 

We got to the game early enough to play games and win stuff from the sponsors. The most elaborate booth was by Xfinity. You could win all sorts of things and they had actors there in full costume. Pretty cool. The kids came away with very very mini footballs, t-shirts, a light wand and key chains. 

Emma and Jenna had to sit alone on the south west side of the stadium. Paul took them over and got them situated while the boys and I went and found our spots in the north end zone. We love sitting there. We are surrounded by a lot of fun people. The guy over Andrew's shoulder is the most fun. 

We were having a pretty good time but Utah was winning. It was close enough that there was some hope but we were getting worried. 

The last couple of minutes though everything turned around. There was some serious celebrating going on. Paul was high-fiving everyone near him. He was screaming and yelling like a mad man. 

BYU pulled off the win 27-24

Even after threats of arrest the fans still stormed the field. We were up too high. 

The win literally came in the last seconds of the game. Paul said it was too close. That kind of excitement is hard on his heart LOL! 

After the game we met up with the girls.

They snuck out of the field for a minute but I didn't get any pictures.

I think everyone had a great time. It was so fun for the kids to take their friends. 

Victory Pose!