It had been awhile (2 yrs or so) since we'd had family pix taken. It was definitely time. I was pretty happy with them. They even got a not that horrible picture of me :-)
The color is a bit off because these are scans.
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
The holiday season is upon us
for real. Every year we say we're going to get the tree and outside lights up on Thanksgiving weekend. It never happens. Best laid plans and all that... it doesn't usually happen until a week or two before Christmas day. But, this year, we did it! Only two days after Thanksgiving and the tree is up, the house is pretty much decorated and we were off to our first Christmas activity at the Candlelight Pavilion.
We went last year and really enjoyed the show. Sadly, although we had a good time overall, it was not nearly as good as before. The food was only so-so, the service was AWFUL, and the show was ok. I was so surprised because I've been many, many times and never had bad service or food. Even with all these drawbacks, Georgie still enjoyed it. The highlight for her was the portion of the show where Santa and Mrs Claus invite all the kids up on the stage for the reading of the Christmas wishes. G's wish, oddly enough, was for a violin :-) I have no idea what brought on the desire for a violin but she's been alternating between that and a flute. Hmm.
Anywho, after the show, G got another opportunity to visit with Santa. Mrs Claus was there too! This makes five visits with Santa so far this year... and its not even December yet.
G was so excited about going up on the stage. She remembered from last year. She nearly sprang from her seat when they announced it was time.
Another visit with the big red guy. This time they had a cookie instead of a candy cane. G was stoked!
for real. Every year we say we're going to get the tree and outside lights up on Thanksgiving weekend. It never happens. Best laid plans and all that... it doesn't usually happen until a week or two before Christmas day. But, this year, we did it! Only two days after Thanksgiving and the tree is up, the house is pretty much decorated and we were off to our first Christmas activity at the Candlelight Pavilion.
We went last year and really enjoyed the show. Sadly, although we had a good time overall, it was not nearly as good as before. The food was only so-so, the service was AWFUL, and the show was ok. I was so surprised because I've been many, many times and never had bad service or food. Even with all these drawbacks, Georgie still enjoyed it. The highlight for her was the portion of the show where Santa and Mrs Claus invite all the kids up on the stage for the reading of the Christmas wishes. G's wish, oddly enough, was for a violin :-) I have no idea what brought on the desire for a violin but she's been alternating between that and a flute. Hmm.
Anywho, after the show, G got another opportunity to visit with Santa. Mrs Claus was there too! This makes five visits with Santa so far this year... and its not even December yet.
G was so excited about going up on the stage. She remembered from last year. She nearly sprang from her seat when they announced it was time.
Another visit with the big red guy. This time they had a cookie instead of a candy cane. G was stoked!
Sunday, November 25, 2012
A Disney Thanksgiving
We decided to have our Thanksgiving celebration on the Saturday after the big day so that everyone would be available. This left the actual turkey day up for grabs and I thought... heck! maybe we should give those Disney passes a bit more of a work out and head there for the day :-) As an added bonus, I was able to make lunch reservations for the buffet at the Disneyland Hotel grand ballroom.
My only concern with hitting DL on Tday was that I'd read that it would be REALLY crowded and that sometimes it actually sells out that day. But, we figured no matter how crowded it was we could still have a good time.
Our day started at 5:45am!!! We were out the door at 6:30 and in the parking lot of DL by 7:15. We figured the lines just to get through the gate would be long. Uh, nope. We arrived and found no lines at all! We spent the balance of the morning either walking onto or waiting just a few minutes for all the rides that G likes. We even had time for G to do some more coloring at Jingle Jangle Jamboree. By that time we were ready for lunch so we hopped on the monorail to the DL Hotel. I'm pretty sure that its been at least 20 years since I'd ridden the monorail.
Lunch was fantastic!!! We pretty much ate our fill of lox, shrimp, and crab claws before moving on to traditional turkey and fixings. After that we had far too many desserts. Yum! In between "courses" we talked, G colored and we visited with the characters they had set up around the outside of the room. It was really nice and relaxing.
After finally making it back to the park we had plenty of time to drive the Autopia cars a couple times and take our required spin on the carousel and the rest of the rides in Fantasyland before finding a pretty good viewing spot for the parade. The moment the last parade character went by we headed straight for the tram. It had been a very long day and G, although still a happy camper, was toast.
Getting a bid MAD with the Hatter
Notice the clock?? 8am on the button.
G's already seen Santa 4 times this year. I think she's just into it for the candy canes :-)
More reindeer masks were colored
I thought it was kind of cute that the goats in the petting zoo had on Christmas neckerchiefs
The pumpkin in Goofy's garden gets a lot of use by families this time of year
Finally we made it over to the DL Hotel.
The bears from Brother Bear.
Western Chip and Dale
Georgie later told me that seeing Pocahantas was her "favorite part"
How cute is Minnie in her western costume? Gotta love those boots!
G perusing a portion of the dessert table. The kid has a sweet tooth the likes I don't think are often encountered. Understanding that she could have just a bite or two of each thing she chose many to try
G loves her sweets!
All of us doing Pluto puppy paws
My favorite characters of the day were definitely Daisy and Donald. I just loved their costumes and with the background they set up it was ADORABLE!
G saw the sign and asked what "Tomorrowland" meant. I had a really difficult time explaining the concept.
G's favorite ride these days is probably the Autopia cars. She loves them!! She tells me over and over again about what a good driver she is. She actually does a pretty good job. We always make sure to follow behind Daddy so we can bump him a bit. Every time we'd do it G would absolutely howl and scream with laughter. Funniest thing I've ever heard.
I'm in charge of the gas pedal, G steers. Obviously I'm not much of a rule follower.
By this point in the evening, G was getting a little tired and little crazy...
crazy girl...
sweet girl!
As we were walking to the end of main street to watch the parade, I decided to get a shot of G in front of the partly lit up castle. This requires shooting into the dark. I didn't look at the picture until after I got home and then found this crazy little face.
It was a very different way for us to spend Thanksgiving but overall a great time!
We decided to have our Thanksgiving celebration on the Saturday after the big day so that everyone would be available. This left the actual turkey day up for grabs and I thought... heck! maybe we should give those Disney passes a bit more of a work out and head there for the day :-) As an added bonus, I was able to make lunch reservations for the buffet at the Disneyland Hotel grand ballroom.
My only concern with hitting DL on Tday was that I'd read that it would be REALLY crowded and that sometimes it actually sells out that day. But, we figured no matter how crowded it was we could still have a good time.
Our day started at 5:45am!!! We were out the door at 6:30 and in the parking lot of DL by 7:15. We figured the lines just to get through the gate would be long. Uh, nope. We arrived and found no lines at all! We spent the balance of the morning either walking onto or waiting just a few minutes for all the rides that G likes. We even had time for G to do some more coloring at Jingle Jangle Jamboree. By that time we were ready for lunch so we hopped on the monorail to the DL Hotel. I'm pretty sure that its been at least 20 years since I'd ridden the monorail.
Lunch was fantastic!!! We pretty much ate our fill of lox, shrimp, and crab claws before moving on to traditional turkey and fixings. After that we had far too many desserts. Yum! In between "courses" we talked, G colored and we visited with the characters they had set up around the outside of the room. It was really nice and relaxing.
After finally making it back to the park we had plenty of time to drive the Autopia cars a couple times and take our required spin on the carousel and the rest of the rides in Fantasyland before finding a pretty good viewing spot for the parade. The moment the last parade character went by we headed straight for the tram. It had been a very long day and G, although still a happy camper, was toast.
Getting a bid MAD with the Hatter
Notice the clock?? 8am on the button.
G's already seen Santa 4 times this year. I think she's just into it for the candy canes :-)
More reindeer masks were colored
I thought it was kind of cute that the goats in the petting zoo had on Christmas neckerchiefs
The pumpkin in Goofy's garden gets a lot of use by families this time of year
Finally we made it over to the DL Hotel.
The bears from Brother Bear.
Western Chip and Dale
Georgie later told me that seeing Pocahantas was her "favorite part"
How cute is Minnie in her western costume? Gotta love those boots!
G perusing a portion of the dessert table. The kid has a sweet tooth the likes I don't think are often encountered. Understanding that she could have just a bite or two of each thing she chose many to try
G loves her sweets!
All of us doing Pluto puppy paws
My favorite characters of the day were definitely Daisy and Donald. I just loved their costumes and with the background they set up it was ADORABLE!
G saw the sign and asked what "Tomorrowland" meant. I had a really difficult time explaining the concept.
G's favorite ride these days is probably the Autopia cars. She loves them!! She tells me over and over again about what a good driver she is. She actually does a pretty good job. We always make sure to follow behind Daddy so we can bump him a bit. Every time we'd do it G would absolutely howl and scream with laughter. Funniest thing I've ever heard.
I'm in charge of the gas pedal, G steers. Obviously I'm not much of a rule follower.
By this point in the evening, G was getting a little tired and little crazy...
crazy girl...
sweet girl!
As we were walking to the end of main street to watch the parade, I decided to get a shot of G in front of the partly lit up castle. This requires shooting into the dark. I didn't look at the picture until after I got home and then found this crazy little face.
It was a very different way for us to spend Thanksgiving but overall a great time!
Friday, November 23, 2012
Preschool Feast
At G's school. So cute! All the kids wore their Thanksgiving craft hats. G was so adorable in hers I could hardly stand it. The look of pride when she put her little turkey hat on her head was absolutely priceless. Then all the kids sang their little Tgiving songs for the crowd of camera wielding mamarazzi. G's favorite (which she's been practicing for a few weeks) was "Five Fat Turkeys Are We".
Fun morning!
At G's school. So cute! All the kids wore their Thanksgiving craft hats. G was so adorable in hers I could hardly stand it. The look of pride when she put her little turkey hat on her head was absolutely priceless. Then all the kids sang their little Tgiving songs for the crowd of camera wielding mamarazzi. G's favorite (which she's been practicing for a few weeks) was "Five Fat Turkeys Are We".
Fun morning!
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Happy Birthday Mom!
Only 77 years young :-) We had a nice brunch at Sierra Lakes Golf Club to celebrate. We were lucky that Casey and Maria were able to join us. Brunch is desperately loved by Georgie for exactly two reasons: shrimp and dessert. Both were in abundance. This, along with being with her grandma, made her very happy.
Happy Glad-You-Were-Born Day MOM! Wishing you many more healthy and happy years!
Bobby was there too but he didn't make it into any of the pictures. Ah well, next time :-)
Only 77 years young :-) We had a nice brunch at Sierra Lakes Golf Club to celebrate. We were lucky that Casey and Maria were able to join us. Brunch is desperately loved by Georgie for exactly two reasons: shrimp and dessert. Both were in abundance. This, along with being with her grandma, made her very happy.
Happy Glad-You-Were-Born Day MOM! Wishing you many more healthy and happy years!
Bobby was there too but he didn't make it into any of the pictures. Ah well, next time :-)
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
To Kill a Mockingbird
About a week ago, my mom called me to say that she had written down in her calendar that we were scheduled to see a show on Friday. We were both confused. Not only did I not have it in my calendar (which I'm pretty careful about) but it was on a Friday... so odd. We always schedule our theater outings for Sunday nights. Not only that but I had no tix. Hmmmm. Finally she called the theater and confirmed that, yes, we did have tix for the show. Slowly it came back to both of us... it was my mom who had gotten the tix and they were for ME as my birthday gift back in May. Ugh. I'm glad she'd written it down or we would have completely missed it and that would have really sucked.
So, after a very long day for me (7am we left to go to DL, returned home at 2:30, dinner, G's dance class) we went to the show. It was at the local community theater. We had great seats and the performance, as always, was really good.
I read the book many years ago and had also seen the movie several times. Because of this I was quite familiar with the story about a black man falsely accused of attacking a white woman in the deep south in 1935. But, as is common with these things, each time you experience the story you take something different from it. Of course, the man is eventually convicted even though all the evidence makes it clear that he was innocent. Its a sad story and so interesting in many ways. First, 1935 is the year my mother was born. Second, its hard to believe that it really wasn't that long ago that the attitudes represented were commonplace and acceptable. I know that there are still inequities and that things aren't perfect in the world of race relations but seriously, from To Kill a Mockingbird to President Obama in only 70 odd years? Amazing. I won't be around to see what the world is like in another 77 yrs obviously but, wow!
Thanks for a great evening Mom!
About a week ago, my mom called me to say that she had written down in her calendar that we were scheduled to see a show on Friday. We were both confused. Not only did I not have it in my calendar (which I'm pretty careful about) but it was on a Friday... so odd. We always schedule our theater outings for Sunday nights. Not only that but I had no tix. Hmmmm. Finally she called the theater and confirmed that, yes, we did have tix for the show. Slowly it came back to both of us... it was my mom who had gotten the tix and they were for ME as my birthday gift back in May. Ugh. I'm glad she'd written it down or we would have completely missed it and that would have really sucked.
So, after a very long day for me (7am we left to go to DL, returned home at 2:30, dinner, G's dance class) we went to the show. It was at the local community theater. We had great seats and the performance, as always, was really good.
I read the book many years ago and had also seen the movie several times. Because of this I was quite familiar with the story about a black man falsely accused of attacking a white woman in the deep south in 1935. But, as is common with these things, each time you experience the story you take something different from it. Of course, the man is eventually convicted even though all the evidence makes it clear that he was innocent. Its a sad story and so interesting in many ways. First, 1935 is the year my mother was born. Second, its hard to believe that it really wasn't that long ago that the attitudes represented were commonplace and acceptable. I know that there are still inequities and that things aren't perfect in the world of race relations but seriously, from To Kill a Mockingbird to President Obama in only 70 odd years? Amazing. I won't be around to see what the world is like in another 77 yrs obviously but, wow!
Thanks for a great evening Mom!
Monday, November 19, 2012
Merry Christmas!
HUH? Well, as of November 12th, it is Christmas at Disneyland ;-) Crazy I know but, at least by me, not unwelcome. DL is so pretty at Christmas time. Especially if there's a bit of a chill in the air. A person can almost convince themselves that California has a winter.
We were headed back to Haunted Mansion and ran into Jack Skellington! G still hasn't seen the movie but she loves him.
Ever since I picked this dress up for G on a sample sale like 6 mos ago I couldn't wait to take her to see Santa at DL! I know, my life is so exciting. Haha! They have the big man set up in the ranch area at something they're calling Jingle Jangle Jamboree. Since we were there on a friday the week before Thanksgiving it wasn't too surprising to me that there weren't many people there. I think at one point we may have been the only family at the Jamboree which included a few Santa/reindeer themed games, activities and characters. It was nice because it gave G plenty of time with Santa. He admired her dress, talked to her a bit about what she wanted for Christmas, etc. So cute!
Our official Santa pic
Doing the princess twirl.
The characters were really cute in their holiday wear.
They had coloring so needless to say we spent a considerable time doing that.
Mickey was looking very dapper in his holiday finery
I have no idea why Liver Lips was there. He's kind of creepy looking, don't you think?
Then Wendell... super creepy!
Decorating the $6 cookie
Georgie the pink-nosed reindeer!
Our traditional photo in front of the Partners statue. Even though the DL castle pales in comparison to its WDW counterpart it does look pretty with the rooftop "snow"
G held her skirt out for just about every single photo. She's such a goof. All the characters had a good time finding themselves on the pattern of the skirt.
Later in the day we saw Mickey again. He must have decided to slip into something more comfortable than the top hat
Character hunting G was happy to encounter White Rabbit. I think this was the first time we'd ever gotten him.
By this point, although we'd only been there about 4.5 hrs, we'd ridden many of G's favorite rides twice, seen tons of characters and heard more Christmas music than you can imagine. This was one of the big perks of going during the week on a day that forecasted rain. G wasn't ready to leave but I assured her we'd be back the following week for more fun!
HUH? Well, as of November 12th, it is Christmas at Disneyland ;-) Crazy I know but, at least by me, not unwelcome. DL is so pretty at Christmas time. Especially if there's a bit of a chill in the air. A person can almost convince themselves that California has a winter.
We were headed back to Haunted Mansion and ran into Jack Skellington! G still hasn't seen the movie but she loves him.
Ever since I picked this dress up for G on a sample sale like 6 mos ago I couldn't wait to take her to see Santa at DL! I know, my life is so exciting. Haha! They have the big man set up in the ranch area at something they're calling Jingle Jangle Jamboree. Since we were there on a friday the week before Thanksgiving it wasn't too surprising to me that there weren't many people there. I think at one point we may have been the only family at the Jamboree which included a few Santa/reindeer themed games, activities and characters. It was nice because it gave G plenty of time with Santa. He admired her dress, talked to her a bit about what she wanted for Christmas, etc. So cute!
Our official Santa pic
Doing the princess twirl.
The characters were really cute in their holiday wear.
They had coloring so needless to say we spent a considerable time doing that.
Mickey was looking very dapper in his holiday finery
I have no idea why Liver Lips was there. He's kind of creepy looking, don't you think?
Then Wendell... super creepy!
Decorating the $6 cookie
Georgie the pink-nosed reindeer!
Our traditional photo in front of the Partners statue. Even though the DL castle pales in comparison to its WDW counterpart it does look pretty with the rooftop "snow"
G held her skirt out for just about every single photo. She's such a goof. All the characters had a good time finding themselves on the pattern of the skirt.
Later in the day we saw Mickey again. He must have decided to slip into something more comfortable than the top hat
Character hunting G was happy to encounter White Rabbit. I think this was the first time we'd ever gotten him.
By this point, although we'd only been there about 4.5 hrs, we'd ridden many of G's favorite rides twice, seen tons of characters and heard more Christmas music than you can imagine. This was one of the big perks of going during the week on a day that forecasted rain. G wasn't ready to leave but I assured her we'd be back the following week for more fun!
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