Grumpy, Goofy, Our Goobers, and Groggy

Chris had a business trip in Anaheim, so he was away for a few days. Then while he was still there, the kids and I joined him. What's in Anaheim? Oh, lots of things. But I guess for most, Disneyland comes to mind. This was also to celebrate Chris and Mikelle's August birthdays.

PRO: Being able to join him.

CON: Coming off 4 days of Single Momhood prior to joining him.

PRO: A short flight over to meet him as opposed to a 6 hour drive.

CON: Flying alone with 3 kids, one of them being a squirmy toddler and an inflexible 8 year old.

PRO: Going to Disneyland almost straight from the airport.

CON: Going to Disneyland almost straight from the airport.

PRO: Kids got to miss school to go to Disneyland.

CON: Kids got to miss school to go to Disneyland.

PRO: The excitement of the new Cars Land at California Adventure.

CON: The excitement of the new Cars Land at California Adventure.

Needless to say, there were a lot of Snow White's Dwarfs' personalities on this trip: Grumpy, Dopey, Bitchy (yes, the dwarf who isn't as well known due to the need to keep the story appropriate for families), Happy, Sleepy, and then Grumpy again. Chris also was excited to see us and excited to go to Disneyland, so I think he was let down a little bit of the "reality" that came with it. 

Reality: Mikelle is 12. Enough said.

Reality: Christian with his ADHD, Anxiety and Inflexibility issues. He has always had a hard time with the toddler making things more difficult for him (don't get me started on the tray table situation on the flight)

Reality: As I already said, Alexander is 20 months. He's very active. He's very curious. He's very squirmy.

Reality: Mom is tired and stressed and a mixture all those Dwarfs mentioned above upon her arrival, due to these realities.

Plus, I was under the impression that it was California law to list all the calories on the menus. However, contrary to what I've been told, it's not that way except for chain restaurants. Therefore, Disneyland didn't have any of those perks to help with ordering. And when you asked them for Nutritional Information? They didn't have it. Therefore, some eating was a lot of "guesses" and Hail Marys. It was frustrating. 

However...YAY! We got to go on the Indiana Jones ride! When Mikelle went on it as a 9 year old, she DID NOT like it.  Now she did. It will always be one of my favorite rides. We also got to go on Splash Mountain (kids went twice!) Pirates of the Caribbean is always fun, even with the weird new additions. Some of the Jack Sparrow additions are fun, but I can do without the politically correct modifications of what used to be the men chasing the women. Now they have the women holding food to make it look like the men are chasing them for food and not the other "goods".

Sad thing is I used to LOVE Thunder Mountain. But on our 2009 Disneyland trip, I discovered that now it makes me sick and headachy. Aging ruins all the fun things. Therefore, Chris and the kids went on Thunder Mountain.  The kids and I didn't make it to Fantasy Land, but Chris and Alexander did. And I had to enjoy the Star Tours Star Wars gift shop as much as possible because I cannot go on Star Tours. Even back when I first went on it almost 20 years ago, it makes me so nauseous. It's sad, because I love Star Wars and I would love to see what cool new stuff they added.

However, when Chris and the kids went on it, we discovered Mikelle was a REBEL SPY! 

Who knew?!

No wonder she was so cranky the next day. Her cover was blown!

With Red in Cars Land!

 Actually, I'm trying to remember why she was so cranky. I think it had something to do with her I-pod and the fact that we as parents make rules she doesn't agree with.  

But she got over it, and we had fun at California Adventure.

Christian had some difficulties later that day. He had only $6 left of his spending money. He was really upset and having a bit of a meltdown when innocently, these 1930s era Amelia Earhart and a Cop came over. I don't think they realized what they were walking into! However, they stuck around for a bit and helped Christian feel better. The Cop had the 1930s NYC accent down pat too!

They gave him a special Telegram from Mickey Mouse! Stop!

Mikelle also got a special "Citation" from the police officer, but I cannot find it right now. She did try to sell it for money though. I'm not kidding. Therefore, I took it and now I can't figure out where I stashed it.

And here we all are, earlier that day.

Stitch!

And Dad with our Zonking X-Man in Bugs Land!

Art related, I just LOVED this mosaic wall in the Hollywood area of California Adventure.

On that same note (Art), I thought it would be fun if we went The Animation Academy and get a little lesson there in the Hollywood section where we were taught how to draw a Disney Character. This time they were teaching Minnie Mouse. I thought it would be fun, and Chris thought it would be fun. Mikelle? My artist Mikelle? Not so much. She was upset while we were waiting and said she "doesn't like art anymore". I know she does. She's just being 12. And Christian? He let himself get too frustrated with wanting it to be perfect. I am sad that he couldn't just have fun and "go with it". But I've had students like that. I assured him he was doing fine. He couldn't understand why I wanted to keep his drawing. Because it wasn't finished, he didn't understand why I value it so much. :-(

Mikelle's Minnie

Alexander's Minnie and Chris's Minnie

Christian's Minnie. (I made it vertical and saved it that way, but it keeps coming up sideways).

My Minnie

On that note, that's about it for now. If I find a way to view some other pictures, I'll follow this post up with them. The 6 hour drive home was nicer than the short flight over because we were in a rental minivan and the kids were not so close to each other like the flight. Plus, I can never sleep in vehicles, but this time I must have been so exhausted because for about two hours, I was GONE! :-)