California! Part 2

Disney Land? Yes please! Day number 3 was spent at Disney's California Adventure.



They're getting so old! Ironically this picture was taken while their dad was getting a stroller for the two girls. I told them that I refused to push it...I might ride in it, but I refused to push it.

Oddly, there weren't a lot of characters around. The only character that we got a picture with was Minnie Mouse. She's Syd's fav, though, of course, so that was good. I still can't help but think about the person inside of the costume. For those of you who don't know, Johnny's dad, Big Johnny, worked at Disney World when he was in high school and was some of the taller characters for awhile, so because of that I just want to know what the people inside look like! At least the Disney characters are much more high quality that some other characters around. Has anyone been to Time Square and seen Hello Kitty and Elmo? Super creepy. My children will never hug them.

Later that afternoon there was a really fun parade. Each float was based on a Disney Pixar movie and had some kind of water gun thing connected to it. This Toy Story float had cool gymnasts. You can see the one doing flips on the bar that's in the T-Rex's mouth.

My divas. Looking amazing in those 3-D glasses. The muppets were doing it long before Avatar and Step Up 3D.

So to end the night in Disney Land, there was this huge black light dance party with all these crazy professional dancers up high on platforms. Please notice Meriahna's Goofy hat that she purchased. She loves Goofy and loves being goofy, so it was a good fit. Please also notice that Sydney is holding a giant corn on the cob up in the air. Seriously. Only Sydney would find corn on the cob in Disney Land and then dance with it.

After the beach, the pool, and Disney, we were all a little sunned out. We decided on day four to go to this really big mall and do some back to school shopping. I took Meriahna to Gap Kids while everyone else went to find Austin some shoes. Mers and I had so much fun. It's like dressing a real live Barbie doll. We got some skinny jeans, which in a kid's size 8 look like they could actually fit a Barbie, and a whole bunch of fun skirts, dresses, and tops. While in the dressing room she kept saying, "I just love this. I just love trying on clothes!" We've created a monster.

And would it really be a vacation without a trip to the Rain Forest Cafe? I think not. This amazing balloon man/boy was going around the restaurant and making animals for all the kids. Meriahna asked for, yes, a fishing rod with a fish on it. I think it turned out pretty well.

Sydney asked for a monkey up in a tree and specifically asked for the colors yellow and blue. The whole balloon thing lasted about thirty minutes before she twisted it too much and popped it on the escalator. Definitely cool while it lasted.

For our last night, Mers and Syd and I had a sleep over. We watched Diary of a Wimpy Kid and bonded over Trader Joe's cheetos. I consider myself so blessed to be able to spend time with these kids. Getting to watch them grow up and be a part of that has been something so amazing that I will never be able to describe it. I hope with all my heart that my children are half as wonderful and beautiful both inside and out as these kiddos, and it's breaking my heart to leave them again.

love love love.