End of Soccer Season...

Slideshow of Tommy's Soccer here

Disney's California Adventure

More Disney pics here

Disneyland! Our first with our boys, my 34th birthday!

This was my very special 34th birthday! I'll tell you, John totally pulled off a fabulous Disneyland trip with the boys. After much debate about whether or not we should chance the trip, we decided that it was worth the risks involved in taking two young boys on such a high octane, sugar-fueled adventure. It was supposed to be a surprise. I just could not wait, though, and after showing Tommy video and pictures of Disney all week, I finally broke down the night before and asked him what he thought of all the bags that were packed. Why would we be packing? Where would we be going? Finally, John asked Tommy, "If you could go anywhere in the country, where would you go?" Tommy thought a moment, then quickly replied, "a pool." "No, Thomas, any PLACE in the country." "Oh, maybe Whistler, to the pool?" A pool? We spent all that money to plan this grand adventure and his wildest wish is....a pool???!!!
The look on his face when we finally told him was priceless, though, and he was so excited. Although Coop had no idea what we were talking about, he joined in the fun as we told him all about he airport, the plans and showed him pictures of where we would be going.

The flights went so smoothly, apart from the minor delay we experience when our plane developed a fuel leak just as we started to board. In Seattle, John treated me to our regular traditional birthday dinner of Anthony's, this time with a view of the tarmac instead of Bellingham Bay! It was such a treat to spend our usual birthday meal turned extra special in that we were on our big adventure, we were all together, celebrating with my three most special people in this world. The kids did such a good job on the trip down, but John and I were more than thrilled not to be taking a cross country flight this time around. It was so much easier to take the short flights down without the pain and anguish of such a long flight with little rascals. By the time we got to our hotel, we were done under, and thankfully our hotel was very comfortable and convenient for us.

Our days at Disneyland were fabulous! It was thrilling to again be back, so many years later, but this time with our two boys. It was so fun to show them the wonders of the park. I took Tommy on Splash Mountain, and he was thrilled at points, scared and clutching my legs at the dark parts. He didn't go back on that one. John took Tommy on my favorite, Tower of Terror, and he flat out refused to ride that one again...in his life...ever. Both boys also balked at going on Pirates of the Caribbean, another favorite, but Tommy agreed to at least give me a chance to ride it with him, and it grew on him, so much that we were able to ride it each day we were there. Cooper, though, refused to ride it again, having clung to John's chest with his face pressed tight, crying throughout. "Too schair-we." "Pirates of Caribbean too schair-we." While John and Tommy rode Pirates, Coop and I trailed along checking out Tarzan's Jungle and tree fort. Cooper took one ride on Toad and decided to cry throughout that one as well, but both boys love It's a Small World, and asked to go on it each day. We didn't do Peter Pan and the smaller Tea Cups and other little rides due to the length of the lines, but pulled off the terrible Auto-Topia ride, much to our disappointment. We didn't do Space Mountain or Matterhorn, as the kids didn't have any clue that they were even there and the lines were obnoxiously long. We spent a lot of time out at California Adventure where the crowds were a thinner and there was more space to run around and explore. Tommy was actually very patient waiting for the opening of Indiana Jones on our last day at the park. It was worth the wait, although I think he enjoyed riding Thunder Canyon just as much or more than the jeeps of Indiana. Most of the time we had a leisurely time exploring and riding, checking out the various characters when they would pop up and riding the rides that we wanted to. One highlight was High School Musical 3 Street Parade. We watched the tail end of it one afternoon, then caught the whole show on another day. This time Tommy was pointed out in the crowd and pulled up to dance. The smile on is face was priceless, and although the video camera was too slow at starting to catch much once I'd gotten it out and started up, John managed to capture some of it on his camera. Very, very cute. By the end of the week, we were ready to be done. The kids were ready to head home. Funny thing, Cooper was asking to go home and asking for Grandma the first night we were there! What an adventure we had, though. I'm so thankful that we pushed aside our concerns and took the chance on Disney. It was worth it! A great week, and a great 34th Birthday!