And now the moment you've all been waiting for...

Disneyland Pictures!!! Day 1 only. People - please understand that I have 81 pictures of the first day alone to go through!! So, this is going to be a long post because I love them all. No, I won't post all 80, but there will be a good amount. Here we go. So we woke up Friday morning and Halle was just so thrilled, jumping on the bed, "GO TO DISNEYLAND!!" We got ready as fast as we could because we had to be there on time for a Character Breakfast. Mind you this is a $30 buffet, but it is SO worth it to get your one on one time with your favorite characters. Our breakfast started before Disneyland opened, which was really nice because we got to go across the big chord they put across main street and people looked at us like we were crazy and that the workers were being totally unfair. It took Halle a little while to warm up to the characters, but by the end (and for the whole rest of the trip) everytime we saw a character she would say, "I need to hug [character we were walking by]." I would tell her we already hugged him 4 times already, but inevitably we would get in line again to satisfy her. Hey, it's Disneyland and that trip was only about Halle and her pure joy.

Max - Goofy's son

Rafiki (from The Lion King)

Dale

Chip

Cinderella's Fairy God Mother

Captain Hook

Pooh Bear - who she was thoroughly thrilled to see.

How sweet!!

Tigger. She was also excited to see him. He rubbed my dad's bald head for good luck.

Eeyore.

And the highlight - Minnie Mouse!

The characters started dancing and Minnie came and danced with Halle, which Halle thought was so cool (and I did too).

After breakfast it was time to head for the rides. We headed for the Buzz Lightyear ride first, and after that we came out to find Buzz, who Halle also loves.

Then to Small World (aka the boat ride).

Then we headed to toon town and rode Roger Rabbit, which Halle thought was scary (however later she did ask to go on the bunny ride a few times). In toon town we found Pluto, Goofy, and MICKEY!! Minnie was there too, but we avoided that hour (or more) long line since we'd just eaten breakfast with her.

She was petting Pluto's nose. I'm so glad my dad caught this picture.

Mickey was not on the front porch of his house like the other characters, so nobody knew he was inside his house (even though there was a sign that said he was). So we wandered through the house, doubting ourselves that he was really there. Eventually we got back to his 'recording studio' and we were the only people there! Poor Mickey didn't have a line!! Typically you cannot see Mickey without waiting in line for hours, and at Disneyland Mickey doesn't come to character breakfasts, so this was a special treat.

This year Halle was old enough to go on the littler roller coasters. Waiting in line she was saying, "Not that, not that" and signing all done. But, we got her on and she didn't scream along the way. This was her first roller coaster ride, and she LOVED it. She was screaming that giggly scream along with the other kids on the ride and just loved it.

(The sun was in my eyes.)

Since she enjoyed that so much we headed to the Matterhorn.

That one had a 'scary monkey' but she still liked it, just not as much as the toon town roller coaster. From here on out everytime she saw a roller coaster she'd say, "Rowa coasta!" and we'd have to explain that she wasn't quite big enough to go on it. We felt pretty bad because she was sad about that. While Jared and I went on space mountain Halle drove the cars with my parents. Once she figured out she could move the steering wheel I think they got pretty car sick.

We rode the up and down horsies.

We did a little more, and then headed back to the hotel for Taco Soup in mom's crockpot (which the maid had kindly unplugged). The soup was still pretty warm luckily. Then we headed down for naps. Once we got up it was, "TIME TO GO TO DISNEYLAND!" again.

We headed to the teacups and Dumbo.

My parents and I played until about 11 and headed back to our rooms exhausted and very cold. Jared and Halle stayed for the remainder of the evening and came back to the room about 12:30 not exhausted. I was sleeping in the bed when Halle pounced on me expressively yelling that she saw Nemo (on the Nemo submarine ride). I told her that was great and fell back asleep. Then we were back up at about 7:30 ready for another day. Which I will blog about later...

What is wrong with people?

Yet again, no Disneyland pictures. I read this early this morning and it just hasn't left my mind so I'm taking a quick breaking and blogging about it. Some people are ridiculous and will do anything or sue anyone for anything to get rich. I was reading something about stupid law suits, and this one is a few years old, so it may be old news to some of you.

"Allen Heckard has been mistaken for Michael Jordan “nearly every day” for the past 15 years, and he’s not taking it anymore. Heckard has filed suit against Jordan and Nike founder Phil Knight for $832 million claiming that the mistaken identity makes it “very uncomfortable” for him.
The suit against Jordan is being filed for defamation and permanent injury, emotional pain and suffering. The suit against Knight is for defamation and permanent injury due to Knight’s promotion of Jordan.
Heckard also claims that he is mistaken for Jordan while playing basketball. He actually said in the suit people mistake him for Jordan on the court. Of course in an effort to confuse onlookers Heckard is sure to wear his blue Air Jordan shoes.
And how did he come up with the $832 million figure? Says Heckard, “Well, you figure with my age and you multiply that times seven and then I turn around and I figure that’s what it all boils down to.”

Seriously?

Honey

First, I just want to mention that the picture of Patch that Jared took is proof that he is a purebread show dog. That is how he stands (poses), not just him stretching.

Anyway, Halle has caught on to the fact that Jared and I always call each other honey. Yesterday I was making dinner and she was helping (or hindering?) me (as she always is come meal making time). I was making BLTs and was cooking bacon in the microwave and tortillas on the stove. I was just using my fingers to turn over the tortillas and to check on the bacon. Each time I would open the microwave or turn the tortilla over she would say, "You otay, honey?" This is a typical question she asks whenever we appear to be hurt. I think it's so cute, first, that she cares, and second that she calls us honey, oh, and third that she says otay like Alfalfa (what movie is that???). Kids catch on to the craziest things.

Seriously, Disneyland pictures coming soon!! Halle still says occasionally, "I want to go to Disneyland." Poor thing. Makes me feel guilty and I can't take her everyday.

This is Jared, Emily told me that I should write on the blog sometimes, so here I am. I just wanted to post this picture of Patch. Patch and I work well together don't you think?
Emily took this one below. I love games, so tell us which one you like the best. Thank you Koren for letting us use your camera.

Disneyland - Day 1

I know you have all been anxiously awaiting Disneyland pictures. Sorry - this isn't going to be it, but it will be pictures of us driving there. We left on a Thursday morning after packing and cleaning for a good 3 or 4 days. Luckily we have a wonderful house sitter that stays with our animals and waters our plants. So we left around 7:15 with a packed mini-van (oh yeah, if you didn't know, we bought a van in December). Once we leave the house for any vacation my mind wanders for hours to think what I forgot. So around 8:45 I sat straight up and frantically said, "Did anyone get the stroller??" No, people, we forgot the stroller for a 3 day vacation to Disneyland. See, Jared, that's why I'm so dependent on my lists!! Not saying it's his fault, just defending my lists that I make for two weeks and he makes fun of me for. Of course I didn't write stroller because I just thought it was something too obvious to forget. We started scrambling thinking what to do. There are plenty of Walmarts along the way, and we remembered there is a Target down the street from our hotel. But we decided to stick it out and see how it went without one, and if it didn't go well, then we would rent (which actually was only $12 for 3 days). We didn't buy or rent and it went really well not to lug around a stroller and park it, only to find that while we were in line they moved it somewhere far away. Anyway, so here are a couple of pictures of our drive there. All the time Halle said (every 5 minutes), "Time to go to Disneyland!" Which made me feel real guilty that 1. we had a good 11 hours until we even got to Anaheim, and 2. once we got there we were not going to Disneyland until the next day.

Halle read for the first, oh, 15 minutes.Then she colored for the next 15 minutes or so. After that it's all a blur, but mostly it involved, mommy do this, mommy do that, mommy hold my hand, mommy hold me. So I ended up replacing my dad and sitting next to Halle the whole rest of the trip (and coming back).Dad read Eragon and I think made it at least half way through the second book in the series.Mom read, did crosswords and sudoku, and slept in the back where she could lay down. She tried to give me a turn there, but Halle wouldn't allow it.To compensate for not going to Disneyland we allowed Halle to swim in the freezing pool. Luckily the kiddie pool was much warmer than the big pool, but still not warm enough for Jared and I. It actually wasn't really warm enough for Halle either, but she didn't care. After about 15 minutes I started caring though. It was quite cold outside, and Halle was just sitting with just her head out of water shivvering. Just kept insisting she didn't want to get out, but we finally made her. We walked to downtown Disney and went to the big store, which seemed to quelch Halle's Disneyland needs for that day. By that time it was way past bed time. So we headed for our terribly uncomfortable beds (which doesn't bode well after 12 hours walking around for 3 days). Next morning we headed for the park, so hopefully you'll more about that sooner rather than later.

On a side note. Last night Jared went upstairs to find Halle sitting on the landing with an open bottle of cream and cream all over herself. I came upstairs to Jared rubbing the cream in, and Halle said, "Mommy, what are you doing here?" Not as funny when you read it, but it was hilarious to us! Then Jared noticed something on Halle's face and asked her if she brushed her teeth. We went in the bathroom to find her toothbrush smothered in blue toothpaste. I cleaned that up and headed downstairs to feed the gliders. As I started down the stairs Halle said, "Mommy!" I asked, "What?" She said, "mommy and daddy sleep here!" and pointed to our bed. Anyway, it was just really cute.

Catching Up

I'm on my lunch break at work, so there won't be any pictures on this blog, but I wanted to catch up before we leave for Disneyland in a few days. I know I won't have any time to post before we go while I'm at home, and I want to be all caught up when we get back so that I can share a ton of pictures.
Easter:
We went to my mom's house Easter weekend. First we colored eggs. Halle enjoyed that so much and made a bit of a mess. She went through two dozen eggs in a matter of minutes, so then we just started recoloring those same eggs. We used the wax crayon where you color on it and then put it in the dye so you can see what you wrote. Halle didn't really get that and kept complaining that the crayon didn't work. Nils (my mom's German foreign exchange student) was also there and Halle actually sat near him. Amazing. After Halle's nap we went to the Clearfield City Pool with Lindsay and Katie (my cousin's youngest girls), Nils, and my mom and dad. Halle LOVES swimming and always asks to go to the pool. There is a big slide there which you would think might be terrifying to any two year old (Katie and Lindsay wouldn't even go on it), but Halle went on it so many times I lost count. Of course she was in someone's arms each time, but she had a blast, even though she would shivver and her lips would turn blue and purple while waiting in line. I also want to mention something so hilarious and cute that she does, for some reason she points with her thumb. She closes her hand into a fist, and then points with her thumb. It just never gets old how weird and funny that is. Anyway, then we headed home for some Kline chicken. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Kline chicken it is a secret family recipe that, if made just right, is terribly spicy. My mom and dad made it just right...my dad was sweating and I couldn't eat more than 3/4 of a piece. Nils LOVES spicy food and he didn't even seem to notice how spicy it was! Crazy. Halle went to bed and we played a good game of Cardinal Mexican Train (hey mom, could we get that for Christmas??). I think I won. Jared never wins that game, it frustrates him so much, but he actually beat my dad this time. Good job, babe. Then it was time for the Easter Bunny to come so off to bed we went. Halle loves hunting for Easter eggs. We have been hiding ours for the last two weeks in preparation and she always asks to play with the eggs. She got money, candy, and her favorite - marshmallows! Once all of her eggs were open she picked out all of the marshmallows and stuffed her face. Then we enjoyed a yummy breakfast and headed off to church.

After church we went to Jared's parents' house. Halle was looking forward to her cousin, Alyvia, being there. As we arrived we found out that Alyvia had just left to visit her other Aunt Emily. Halle was so sad, she tried to hide it and hid behind me and cried so hard. I felt so bad that I started crying too!! Luckily other Aunt Emily just moved into the town houses right by us and we met up at the park to play. Halle was thrilled to see Alyvia and they played and ran at the park together. They are so cute together, and Alyvia adores Halle.

Then the week happened and I can't really remember that. Went to work, came home, ate dinner.

Then this past weekend happened. Oh man was I sick. It was a combination of a cold and the flu, minus the throwing up (luckily). I took some drugs and we headed out to the store. While driving I signed 'a' and asked Halle what letter it was. She promptly told me. I was amazed, so I just kept going. She went through the entire alphabet as I signed it!!! She missed a few, but not many. I LOVE OUR NANNY, she teaches Halle so much so quickly! Halle can also sign all of the basic colors and is very close to writing her name. She writes all of the letters, but not in any really decipherable order. I'll have to take a picture as she writes each letter so you can see it. Last night she was looking through books and I asked her what a letter was and she also answered that one right, so not only does she know letters in sign language, but she also knows them in writing, and not just the letters in her name. I am so proud of her and how quickly she is learning.

Every night we read for a while and then we sing 5 (or usually 3) little monkeys jumping on the bed. Last night she sang the whole song by herself. Usually she just growls "no more monkeys jumping on the bed!" But she actually did the whole thing - two little monkeys jumping on the bed (while she is jumping), one fell off and bonked her head (as she falls on the bed), momma called the doctor and the doctor said, no more monkeys jumping on the bed (growling and wagging her finger back and forth).

She is also thrilled to see popcorn on our tree in our backyard. Last night we sang popcorn popping and had to go outside and see that they were really flowers. She thought it was really cool though.

So we're heading to Disneyland in a couple of days with my parents. I am so excited, and so is Halle. She got some new princess shoes (she really wanted Nemo, but there weren't any at Walmart). The girl wears a size 7 - is that normal for her age??? I am really excited that my parents are going because they have never seen Halle in this situation before. Jared's parents have seen her at Disneyland, Disney World, and in Florida on the beach, but my parents have never seen her in a place where she is so happy, excited, and talkative. Last time we went to Disney the second she realized where we were she just jumped up and down. So, hopefully you'll hear all about that sometime next week.

Emily says the darndest things

Background - we got Rameses' teeth cleaned in January and asked the vet about getting a new prescription of heartworm pills. He said not to worry about it until April when mosquitos are around.
Just minutes ago this conversation occurred.
Me: We really need to get Rameses heartworm pills. I'd like to give them to him on April 1. I've started seeing some spaghettis around.
Jared: [weird look]
Me: Did I just say spaghettis? I meant mosquitos.
Jared: [very weird look] Really? I haven't seen any spaghettis.
Me: [laying on the carpet rolling and crying in laughter] Spaghettis? I have no idea why I said that!
Jared: [looking at me strangely] Isn't there some sort of disease where you say random words in place of the right word?
Me: [still laughing] I've got to blog about this!

Right now Jared is outside working on the trim around the door to repaint it; I am laughing hysterically as I continue to think about this very strange conversation and he can hear me and is looking at me strangely. I say the darndest things.