Disneyland Half-Marathon 2013

Not that we ran or walked it.  Nope, we were just there to cheer Grandma Rosemary on over Labor Day Weekend.  There she goes…

Then we hightailed it to Fantasyland via Main Street.

This is the closest the girls will get to Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, after last year's debacle concerning Snow White's Scary Adventures.

Timothy and Dumbo are more in alignment with their idea of fun.  

Here we go!  We got the pink elephant Paige wanted to ride in.

My pony girl!

There's my other pony girl.

This was Paige's first time on the tea cups.  Natch, we chose a pink one.

And possibly Brandon's first time on the teacups.

This was definitely Dan's first time on the ladybugs.  And from all reports, probably his last.  This is a man who jumped out of airplanes as an Army ranger and who served as an Alaska State Trooper.  Taken down by a spinning ladybug.

Jules napped during this portion of the show.

Dan prudently chose to sit this ride out and watch Jules while she napped in her stroller.

By pure luck, we were able to watch the parade from this area, which is normally reserved for private parties.

Sofia the First!

A little trip to see some fairies and then we ended our day at Disneyland.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!  I am thankful for:

- my wonderful husband

- my daughters

- my mom (how would we get through the day/week without you?)

- my big fun family

- my amazing friends

- my health

- my job

- good food, which I eat a lot of

- travel

- wine

- the people who work at the Point Mugu CDC and care for my children

- Alicia, our amazing babysitter

- California's weather and beauty

- Good books, magazines and blogs

- and so much more!

Portland 2013

If I had to sum up our time in Portland it would have to be the following: Children splashing in urban fountains, then gourmet ice cream.

We took a few short breaks from the fountains and went to the Portland International Rose Garden.

And the Japanese Garden.  We also popped into Hanna Anderson to buy Jules a swimsuit, which I had forgot to pack.  Here are the results:

Meanwhile, back at the fountain.

Why don't we have these in our town, Mommy? Good question!

The fountains continuously fill, pause, drain, and then refill.  This helps keep the water clean and it's fun.

Starting to fill...

Draining….

And full.  These fountains were truly the highlight of our time in Portland.  And there's more than just this one.  And when the kids are tired, you can plunk them in the double stroller, where they might both fall asleep so you can duck into the Deschutes Brewery a few blocks away and enjoy a late afternoon lunch and a little beer.