Disneyland!

Nothing like waiting until the last minute.....2 weeks before we move back to Dallas and we finally made it to Disneyland! I think I'm still recovering today (we went yesterday) but it was well worth it!

I will admit, it is not the easiest task to tackle Disneyland w/ a 2 yr old - or at least if that 2 yr old is Carson. Bless his sweet little energetic, independent, go-go-go self, but Greg and I were both worn out (physically and mentally) by the end of the day. I read a few things online regarding tips for going to Disneyland w/ a toddler, which we got some good ideas but nothing really earth-shattering. I do need to take a moment to comment about a blog I read about taking a 2 yr old to Disneyland. I have no idea who this person is but she has a blog and writes about her family (much like the idea of this blog - except she's a much better writer). She talked about how most people dread taking a little one to places like Disneyland but the trip she and her husband took w/ their 2 yr old girl was great! She went on about all of the things she did to make it easier like taking snacks, your own water, parking, rides, etc....the last thing she mentioned was also having her brother, parents and aunt and uncle w/ them as well. Of course that makes it easier.....you have 7 adults to help out w/ one child. That would make any trip easy! Ok, thanks for letting me get that off my chest....whew!

Don't get me wrong, we had a good time and the great thing is, it ended on a GREAT note w/ watching the parade just before we left! Carson LOVED the parade - I think it was his favorite part of the entire day!

So, let's get on w/ all of the fun we did have!

First thing we rode was the carousel. Carson loved it and cried so hard when the ride was over.. :(

 

 

 

Next was the Dumbo ride! He liked that too! We went really high in the air and could see all around!

 

 

Doesn't Greg look so good in a little teacup?! :) I'm glad we have this picture....most of the pictures are of Carson and/or me and Carson. This is proof that Greg was actually there! haha

 

 

 

Carson tried breaking into W. Rabbit's house from Alice in Wonderland. That door is the perfect size for him!



 I think one of my favorite parts about Disneyland is all of the characters that are walking around! We saw Goofy and had to get in line for a picture. We weren't sure how Carson was going to react but he loved it! Greg took a short video of him walking up to meet Goofy - it was so cute, he couldn't get up there fast enough!

We even got to see Mary Poppins and Bert! As a child I watched this movie over and over and over again. Mom can vouch for me on that. :) I remember her saying to me once, if you rewind that movie and watch it again, it's going in the trash! haha!

The next few pictures are from It's a Small World. It was so pretty...and, it was nice and cool (and relaxing) as we floated along in a boat!

 

Towards the end of the day, we finally got some Mickey ears for Carson. These were a must-have before we left the park. I just think he's so cute in his little ears! He even worn them during breakfast this morning!

We also bought a Mickey Mouse for him to take home. As we were walking out of the store, he leaned down and gave him a kiss!

As we were wrapping up the day, the parade was starting. We actually had a pretty good place to stand too. Me and Carson stood up front and enjoyed the parade while Greg stood back and took some video. Carson was so funny - he waved at every character that went by and even yelled "Hiii" to Mary Poppins. With his ears on and a huge grin, Carson was soaking it all in! This was the perfect way to end our visit to Disneyland!!

Dad and Arthetta's Visit

I feel like I'm always apologizing for being so behind in my blogging....so here I go again....sorry this post is so late.

I was finally able to talk Dad and Arthetta into making a trip to visit us in California before we moved and what better timing than dad's 70th birthday weekend (Sept 8th)!!!

We were on the go from the second their plane touched down in LA until the moment they took off but it was so much fun showing them around!

We started off the weekend by driving up to Malibu for some lunch and a little beach time. Carson had a blast letting the waves roll over his feet and I think dad was starting to work up the courage to get into the cold water (stay tuned for more on that)!

 

 

On our way home from Malibu, we stopped at Venice Beach for a bit. Dad said he wanted to see some weird LA people....well, Venice is the place for that. You never know what you'll see - good news, dad got what he asked for - a lot of weird LA people!

 



On Saturday we went into Hollywood. For those that have never been, in front of the Grauman's Chinese Theater, people are dressed up in different characters - sometimes Pirates of the Caribbean, Marilyn Monroe, Spiderman, etc. The first person we saw when we turned the corner was Charlie Chaplin. Charlie is one of dad's idols - it was like watching a kid in candy store. Dad walked right up to him, looking up and down from head to toe! Of course he took a picture with him (which of course wasn't free....come on, we're in Hollywood ;)) and we were on our way. Just a few steps down the road and we saw another idol....this time Carson's idol....E-L-M-O!! I think Carson was in complete shock to see a life-size Elmo!

To celebrate dad's birthday that evening, Arthetta baked her famous chocolate cake w/ cherry filling and chocolate icing. Oh...my...goodness! For those that know me well, I LOVE chocolate...it was so good! Apparently I'm not the only chocolate lover in the family - the next morning I noticed some pieces of cake were missing. Dad and Arthetta claimed the eggs were too "salty" so they had to eat some cake instead. That's a good one, I'll have to keep that one in my back pocket next time I want to eat cake for breakfast. :)

The last full day they were here, we took a trip out to Catalina. You may recall from a previous post that we LOVED Catalina so it was easy to talk us into going back out to the island. After a great lunch, the boys wanted to go swimming. And dad finally got in the water!

 

As usual, Carson pooped out on us again. I guess riding in a golf cart just does it for him!

 And here's a picture overlooking the boats....beautiful!

I think this picture pretty much sums up how much fun we had in Catalina...

Along with all of our site-seeing, were still had plenty of time to hang out in the backyard and relax. Here's a great picture of Carson telling Grandpa something really important...

 

 

Lastly, this video cracks me up....and apparently Carson too! He could not get enough of this and when Grandpa thought he could rest for a few minutes, Carson thought otherwise!

 



Thanks again to Dad and Arthetta for making the trip. I know I put a lot of pressure on you to visit. That's what us sweet little daughters are good at. :)



The dancing continues!

I cannot get enough of Carson and all of the dancing he does. It makes my heart feel so good seeing him enjoy music and just being free!