Day Two of Theme Park Marathon

Warning: Photo heavy content to follow (it's Disneyland, so you can't blame us)

We just got back from day two of our theme park marathon. We spent yesterday at Disneyland and today at Universal Studios. I'll start with yesterday, our first in Anaheim.

Here we are just inside the gates of the park. At the risk of sounding cheeseball, I forgot how neat a feeling it is to walk into Disneyland. The kids were, of course, excited. Although, Finny was a little dismayed, she told me later, to see a lot of "shops and no rides". Main Street USA was a touch too commercial for her, I guess.



We took the double-decker bus down to the end of the street to Tomorrowland, where we got on the first ride we saw. TIP: go to Disneyland in November on a weekday...we walked onto virtually every ride.





With the kids initiated into ridedom, we upped the ante (that first ride was pretty tame, right?). We went on the new Toy Story ride, which was fun (and normally an hour wait, at least...now that isn't fun). Then...Space Mountain. My version of teaching babies to swim by throwing them into the deep end of the pool. I went with Molly and then Eric was going to go with Finny. Molly was a trooper. She was terrified, but brave. I congratulated her by letting her know that she had conquered the scariest ride of the day. Her first grown up ride. She was proud and so was I.

Then Finny and Eric left for their turn. When they returned, sort of glum, I thought maybe Finny had chickened out. Nope. Eric had. Or at least, they turned him away because he didn't fit in the ride. That's right. The strange thing is that we went on that same ride together when we were about 19 and I don't remember any problem. Either Eric grew, or that ride shrank. Neither seems probable, so I'm stumped.

Finny was feeling like she got saddled with a bum companion, so I went on again with her. She was so excited. She was talking a blue streak the whole way to the top of the first dark hill. Then there was silence, followed by a true blood-curdling scream. She was terrified. Like, for real. She was shouting "when is this done?!?!?!??!" into my ear for the whole second half of the ride. At the end, I gave her the same pep talk as I'd given Molly. She was more relieved that proud, I think.

Lucas meet his first grown-up ride around the corner at the Matterhorn. I was shocked to see that he was allowed on the ride and I think he was too. We all climbed on together. At the end, he said it was scared but it was okay because he just squeezed his eyes shut the whole time. He got the pep talk, too.

Here he is with the Matterhorn behind him, giving the thumbs up sign:



Then, since he'd been such a brave boy, next choice was his. The carousel. He totally dug it. As an aside, I almost got a hilarious picture of Eric talking on his iPhone while riding a horse on the merry-go-round. Darn it. It would have been good. It is hard to ridicule him if I don't have photographic evidence. Just trust me, it was funny.



Girls on the merry-go-round:



We then went on a long series of kid's rides. You know, Snow White's Scary Adventure, Peter Pan's Flight, Pinocchio's Daring Journey, Alice in Wonderland etc, etc, etc. I thought it was funny that the kids had come off some very adult rides that are meant to scare big people, but it was these "kids" rides that wigged them out a bit. They were kinda scary, actually. Or at least weird. I mean, Pinocchio is a strange story anyway, but the Snow White ride ended in a terrifying tableau, then the doors to daylight opened with a book page that said, "They all lived happily ever after". It's like they ran out of track or something. The last scene got cut from the budget. Eric and I actually laughed out loud. Walking onto these rides was fun, but I would not want to wait for 45 minutes for them.

I was also a touch disturbed by the new Bibbity Bobbity Boo Boutique that had every indulged little girl in the park decked out in hairspray, princess dresses and sparkles. It was intense. And impractical for rides. Do five year olds need spas? I say no. So does Finny. She also mentioned that the dresses would get dirty. Good point.

We had some PB & J sandwiches we'd brought for lunch then took the railway to the other side of the park. We did the Haunted House, which Lukey bawled through but the rest of us loved. Then off to Splash Mountain. Eric went on with the girls and I hung out with Lukey at the exit for the ride. He had the line up in stitches because there was a Pooh and Tigger taking pictures with kids. He was following them around saying, "I love them. I wanna hug those guys" over and over.

So when the girls got off the ride, he did. Look how happy he is here:



Then he made us all hug Tigger.



Finny had been so keen on Splash Mountain that she made me ride it again. I am glad she did, because it was my favourite ride of the day. It was a great combo between scenic and great attention to detail with a healthy dose of screech inducing hills and drops. The last drop was thrilling. Finny was most excited about the fact that there were no seat belts on the ride. I was pretty surprised, too. Here is the keener boarding her log:



We ran into Goofy.


Lukey saw a couple of fire trucks. He really likes fire trucks. We have to stop every time.



We went over to Tom Sawyer's Island. As the kids tore around the place, climbing in and out of caves and pirate lairs, ripping across rope bridges and scaling the rock formations, it occurred to me that they were as happy with the treehouse on the island as they were with the multi-million dollar rides. I had a thought. Kids take fun for granted. They love it when it comes and enjoy it until it's gone. They don't know that their first trip to Disneyland is a fleeting and precious family experience. Only Eric and I get that. The magic is mostly ours, not theirs.

They're just living in the moment, which is pretty awesome. Eric and I can think about being here with our families when we were kids. We can remember being here together in our late teens. Now we are here with our KIDS and hopefully one day, with our grandchildren. That's some heavy stuff. They're just playing in a treehouse. Good for them.



They found treasure on the island. So did I.



After the simplicity of Tom Sawyer, we headed over to Indiana Jones. Pretty much the opposite of simple. Both girls covered their eyes THE WHOLE time. Then the jungle cruise, which was hilarious. The guide had some funny lines. Molly laughed at the last part: "I want to thank my legs for supporting me, my arms for always being by my side, and my fingers and toes because I can always count on them". We've said it a few times since.

Then the parade, which the kids adored. There was dancing, frolicking and singing. This is the girls on the Conga line.



Then, the long walk back to the hotel. Eric pushed all three kids at Mach speed. They were tired but happy. Their parents were too.

E- Jolly Rogering

We finished day 2 just like day 1....in the van at Walmart. I know it
sound horrible but the the van is surpisingly comfortable, quiet and
private with all the curtains up. After breakfast we hit the road
again and reached LA in the middle of the afternoon heat. It must have
been about 30 degrees as we drove along Sunset Boulevard through
Hollywood and Beverley Hills. However, by the time we got within a
kilometre of the coast the temperature dropped by close to 15 degrees
and a thick fog reduced visisbilty to next to nothing. Although it put
a quick end to any ideas we had of going in the water, we did manage
to entertain ourselves on Santa Monica peer and beach for a couple of
hours.

We finished the day by driving right past the Anaheim Walmart and
getting a hotel across the street from Disneyland. We have some big
adventure days ahead of us and need a well rested crew....not to
mention some showers were in order. Before calling it a night, the
kids and I went for a swim in the Jolly Roger pool and all had a
pretty good Mexican dinner at a little hole in the wall across from
the park.

E-Home in Medford Walmart

We didnt exactly ease the kids into the trip.....instead we drove over
a thousand kilometres. Happily the girls were pretty good and Lucas,
who we were most worried about, was fantastic. We powered through to
get to Portland's Costco before close. With 5 minutes to spare, we had
time to buy a membership and our Southern California Citypasses. With
Costco's discount and not paying any sales tax in Oregon, we saved
almost $200 for the family.

Before leaving my Mom mentioned that on her trip through the States a
couple of years ago they often spent the night at Walmarts along with
dozens of other travellers. We looked into the phenomenon a bit and
decided it might be a good option on big driving days where we just
needed a place to pull over.

Sure enough when we got to the Medford Walmart, we joined about 20
other vehicles doing the same thing in the parking lot. It felt safe
and was quiet......at least unti the Butler kids got all wound up when
we popped the roof for them. We slept soundly until the leaf blowers
started at 9am.

It's now early afternoon and we have stopped at Taco Bell for lunch. I
don't know what was more surprising......how much Les liked the Fresco
chicken taco (she was going on like she found a quaint, authentic
Mexican joint) or how hot it was. Here are the kids reacting to the
change in climate like they always do, by stripping down.

E- 200,001 miles

So far so good. We have made it to Everett and the van is running
great. Despite the cramps I have yet to uncross my fingers. Although
I am a bit nervous about taking a vehicle that we have only driven a
couple of times on a trip of this magnitude, at least I know it has a
lot of "experience".

Live blog update

We have finally gotten ourselves on the road, after a whole morning of
running around, changing cars, repacking and organizing. We put air in
the tires and got some snacks and FINALLY we are moving. The best part
so far? Just pulling up to highway 99, still on highway 17 (coming
from Tsawassen), Finny came out with: "Are we in California yet?"...we
weren't even on the HIGHWAY!!!!!!!
$&:@;($!!!!!

Best. Picture. Ever.

The pink backpack strap, the serious facial expression, the jaunty angle of the Elmo hat. I mean, what can I say...? It's a secure man who can converse with his daughter's kindergarten teacher looking like that.


Molly and her best friend Maya:
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Finny and her buddy Sam:


Thanks for the pictures, Mielle!

Meet you in the boardroom in five minutes...

Right now I am in "my office" (my bedroom...), trying to get some work done before we go away for a bit of a holiday. Things are crazy because I have a couple of writing deadlines I need to hit, plus packing to go, plus Halloween madness, plus...plus...plus...

I feel like I am often sneaking away for some peace and quiet, putting the kids off a bit with promises of, "just a minute" and "give me five minutes" or "I'm heading out for a little meeting, see you in a bit"...

Just now I heard a knock on my bedroom...sorry, I mean office...door. It was Lukey. He wanted in. He said he needed to see me. I told him I was working I'd "be down in a little bit"...a common refrain.

There was a pause on the other side of the door. Then, in an official voice, he said, "I need a meeting. I have to have a meeting with you". Ha! Of course I let him in. Sneaky little turkey.

Update: He brought in a stool, laid a blanket on top, stepped on and declared it was a "meeting about stores and forts...!" No idea what that means. I don't think I got the agenda for this meeting.

What's the magic word...? (It isn't what you think...)

It's been one of those long afternoons. The kids are on each others' nerves, but somehow, no matter how many times I split them up, they keep ending up in the same room, usually in a dog pile. It's the noise that gets me in the witching hour. One decibel over a certain threshold and I lose it. (Don't even ask me how I felt yesterday when I suspected a secret poop had taken place courtesy of Lucas. I opened the door to reveal the nasty truth...at the same time as the door spread the offending [soft] turd across the ENTIRE floor...grrr)

We are all kicking around our little townhouse, all a bit on edge. I hear Lukey in the fridge and something crashes out onto the floor. My teeth clench. I don't think I can hear him close the door. What the...? He trots in the room with a yogurt and starts to open it on the carpet. C'MON! I grab it out of his hands and walk back to the kitchen where all the stuff that fell out of the fridge is on the floor, with the fridge open. I launch into lecture mode: "Lucas, you cannot...blah, blah, blah...plus, you didn't even ask if you could have yogurt and we're about to have dinner." He looks at me (with some disdain) and says, "Can I have a yogurt?" Blood pressure rises. I spit out, "You are missing the most important word in that question, Lucas!"

"Oh, okay. Can I have a yogurt...package?"

I laughed. Things have been pretty good since then.

A lemon or "the best ever"?

Working in the "pool", where I can be asked to work outside my regular shift in exchange for days off at another time, has its good and bad points. The uncertainty of when and where I am working is the worst part. Getting to work with lots of different crews and at different halls is one of the better parts. Having an extra week added on to the end of my holidays is the best. However, it means right now I am working a lot, 11 shifts in the last 12 days.

With Les putting in extra hours to meet deadlines, life has been as busy as ever. Of course it hasn't stopped us trying to fit even more into the crammed schedule. Mike, Kate, Steve and Kathy came down for a night playing our newest video game, Rockband Beatles. Les and I had a night out for dinner at Primos before seeing "Black Comedy" at the Stanley. Then, to make life a little more complicated, I decided to pursue buying a van I had been looking at just outside of Seattle. Using a Craigslist monitor that alerted me every time a VW Weekender came available anywhere within one thousand miles, I came across a van I liked at the right price. However, with almost 200,000 miles driven, it was important to try to figure out whether there were any major issues with the van. Thankfully, Bryan McKnight volunteered to come down with me and was extremely helpful in making my decision, getting a good deal and figuring out how to handle all the details of the sale properly.

Even with the deal done though, there were lots of issues to deal with bringing the van back to Canada. There was US and Canadian customs issues, inspections, taxes, duties and insurance. I managed to get through all of this fairly painlessly but needed to get day time running lights installed. Balking at the $250 to do it in the shop, I got a tutorial on the free, thirty second version.

The van is now home and the kids love it. When I showed them the pop top roof and the pull out bed, they shrieked with excitement. "That's the coolest car ever." I'm not sure about that, but if it survives our trip down to San Diego and back without any problems, I will be very happy as well.

These pictures are from our trip to UBC for Finny's first birthday party by herself. We dropped her off at the gymnastics studio and went to the aquatic centre and student union building.

Later on, when Finny was back with us, we went for a swim and to the gym. Finny, who hasn't shown any great inclination to sport, showed her first sign of putting her mind to it. For some reason she decided she wanted to shoot the mini ball we had at the hoop. She shot over and over again until I eventually told her we needed to go. Even though she was heaving the ball, mostly nowhere near the rim, she was determined to keep shooting as long as she could. She is a determined little girl!

That's me...sitting over there.

Today was Molly's 7th birthday party. We took 9 kids to see "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs". Eight girls and one boy came over to our house before the movie for cake and after school snacks.



Then we all took the Canada Line to Oakridge for the movie.



You know, as an aside, I have been hearing a lot about the efforts in place to increase ridership on the Canada Line...um, guys...? Stop pushing it...I think it's caught on. The thing was packed. Like Tokyo rush hour kinda busy.

Try herding nine kids hopped up on cake icing into a space crammed with cranky commuters. It was a stark visual representation of the difference between kids and grown ups:

KIDS: Squeal with delight at the slightest nudge of the train. There was much swaying, leaning and stumbling with the movement of the train car. All accompanied by giggling. Everyone was hugging and holding on to one another with mock desperate fear...hands were held and waists encircled. Best friends were supporting best friends. At one point, I was touching EIGHT kids at the same time.

GROWN UPS: Scowling at kids (to be fair, there were also some very nice commuters, obviously amused by the dramatics of the kids...).

Given the choice, I would opt for kid-ness. Giggling beats scowling anytime.



Anyway, the kids took up almost a whole row in the movie theatre. I sat for the most of the movie in the row behind. When the lights went down, all I could hear was whispering and chomping popcorn. Then the movie started and the laughing began. It was a very funny movie, so there was lots of laughter. But that wasn't what I noticed. No, what I heard was something else. Every time I laughed out loud at something sort of quirky, there was another little laugher. It was Molly, sitting a row ahead and five or six seats over. It happened so many times and for a few of them, it was only me and her who laughed. It was this lovely, carefree sound. She has a loud laugh, clearly audible over her friends. It struck me that we were echoing each other. In the dark, her profile looked familiar...it looked a lot like mine. She was ME, but sitting some distance away.



Maybe it is that she is seven now. She is more herself as she develops, but also more recognizable to me because she is at an age now that I clearly remember myself. She is different from me in myriad ways. She's gentler, sweeter natured, dreamier, to name a few. Her heart is a swollen version of my own. I envy it sometimes, but I also fear it's vulnerability. The differences are obvious, but the similarities are clear as well. That laugh in the dark at the movies, when no one else was laughing. No one except me.

Library Love

The girls have worked out an interesting way to express sibling affection: mutual library gratification. Molly started the trend by bringing home books for Lucas, but now library days at school are almost competitive in their demonstrations of generosity. Finny can get out three books at a time and she gets one for herself (Scaredy Squirrel, or one of the dozen books she has put herself on the wait list for), one for Lucas (pretty much anything with a wheeled vehicle on the cover), one for Molly (Junie B. Jones, Judy Moody...something she can listen to me or Molly read outloud). Molly can get out tons of books and she showers her brother and sister in literary love. She trolls through the boy books seeking out paperbacks about garbage trucks or diggers, hunts through the "little kid" books for Finny faves, and finally, scouts out a few for herself.

I love this. I LOVE THIS. Plus, it's clever of them: they arrive home with their book bags full and we spend hours reading right after school on the kitchen floor. We don't even make it to a chair. They have figured out the way to their mother's heart...library love.

Helping Guy move, Molly's first basketball practice, Beatles Rockband
night and Jaquie Hall's 60th.