Day 2: California Adventure

We stayed in a hotel after our day at Disney and we were up early and in California Adventure by 9 as it opened.   

The big focus of the day was Radiator Springs and the Cars ride.  Matt jumped in line for the fast pass for the ride and the kids and I got in line for the actual ride.  We waited almost an hour, which I hear is pretty good.  It was actually pretty fun in line seeing all the scenery and the anticipation of actually getting to ride the race cars. 

Zack just made 40"!

Good times!

The kids were excited to be in Radiator Springs and see everything form the movie.

Zack checking out the Christmas decorations.

Monster's University

Since we had the fast pass we got to go on the ride again and this time we got to ride in "Lightning Mc Queen"

The, we got to meet him!

And Mater!

So many fun family memories.

Couldn't be happier!

We actually went on other rides too.  

We took the kids on The Tower of Terror- 13 foot drop...As an after thought, Matt and realized that just because the kids are allowed to go on certain rides doesn't mean they should.  It is hard to see but we are in the middle row and Zack looks completely shocked after having been dropped a few stories.  Matt is loving it, Abby is clinging to him and I am making sure Zack's heart is still in his chest.  I wasn't sure he was ok with it but after he just said, "I was so brave!"  he also had more bumble bees:).

We had a great time in the carnival type rides and Abby loved the swings among the many other rides.

The kids crashed as we were leaving the park again even though we actively tried to keep them up and take them to the Rainforest Cafe.  No such luck...we had to cancel our reservations and eat take out in our hotel room.  

The nest morning we relaxed, played in the pool, and eventually headed home after a great Disney weekenf

First trip to DisneyLand!

We have been thinking about this trip since last November, before the kids were really into anything Disney at all.  A lot has changed in a year and we are really glad that we waited so they could go on the majority of the rides and we could really enjoy it as family.  This trip was so fun and the kids both had a powered through the day like champs! 

We left at about 7, checked into our hotel about 9 and were in the park by 10ish.  The kids were very excited!

 

We were too!

I have memories of Disney as a child and enjoyed the park when I was young but have never been drawn to it as an adult.  Going with the kids, however, made me see it in an entirely new way.  

We started off going on Pirates of the Caribbean.  Zack was less than impressed!  Still his least favorite ride:(. After that we couldn't even get him in the Haunted Mansion.  Luckily, it was uphill from there!

Next, we opted for some lighter rides like the carousel.

Seriously,how can this grin not make you smile!

 Zack hit the 40" mark, which allowed us to go on many of his first real roller coasters.  Splash Mountain was a great segue!  You may be able to tell I was a little protective.  For the record, it seemed to be totally cool to take pictures of the screens, so we did!

For November it was a warmer than expected.  It was about 80 both days so we took a popsicle break and snuck in a Goofy snuggle mid day.  Thankfully we didn't wait more than 15-20 minutes for rides and we got to go on everything we wanted including the parades and all the lights.

It is so hard to capture this day in any other way to say than it was truly magical for the kids which made us love it.  Zack's favorite of the day was "It's a Small World".  He kept asking how they built everything and was mesmerized by all the stuff.  They were already playing Christmas music....

 

The rest of us LOVED Space Mountain.  Seriously, this is the best ride!  We had a fast pass and then it broke down but we made it back and thankfully got to ride it.  It is a a fast, curvy coaster in the dark. We were a little nervous about the kids and how they would handle it...can you tell by my grip!?  Thankfully, everyone enjoyed it.  The kids both talked about their "crumply" stomachs.  When we said they were butterflies Zack said he had bumble bees!

We stayed in the park from 10- 7 and tried to get dinner in Downtown Disney but the second we left the park the kids crashed... thankfully quietly without and struggles! Matt and I got sandwiches instead and the kids slept in the stroller.  We took the shuttle home and they stayed zonked out after a full and memorable day!

NYC in a Weekend

The morning after Halloween, I hopped on a plane to New York to meet an co-present with Steph, who got a paper accepted to a conference right outside of the city.  After a few flight delays and lots of hours of traveling we made out way into the city, checked into our room right in Time Square and then headed out for dinner and drinks.    It was so much fun to spend the weekend catching up on family, work, and life and just having fun together! 

We didn't get much sleep and headed out  to the conference early on Saturday in our rental car.  The scenery was really pretty and different than Hawaii and San Diego- fall leaves and gorgeous colors.  It has been a long time since I have seen fall leaves in full effect!  The weather was perfect for some fall clothes but not too cold:).

After a lovely day being nerds at the conference, we went out on the town.  We walked and got caught in a mob a people, had drinks in a rooftop bar, had a nice dinner and saw a great comedy show in Greenwich.  I taught Steph about the subway system and don't think she'll ever listen to me again after we had to explain why she went under the gate to the cops...total misunderstanding for the record!

We got to sleep in the next morning and made it out for bagels and a glimpse of the marathoners and then headed out to the airport. 

It was a quick trip but so worth it to spend the weekend with my "sister"  or so everyone we pass thinks.  We missed you Jenn!

Halloween Night

We had so many pre Halloween activities that I forgot about the actual Halloween night.  The kids wore PJs to school and then came home to get dressed in their costumes.  The neighborhood kids were out by about 6 and they all met at the end of one of the cul-de-sacs.  We made out way around all the houses and many of the parents jumped ahead to their house to pass out candy for the mob.  Eventually we ventured off the street in search of more candy.  Abby and Zack kept up with the big kids on foot.  It was nice not to have the stroller and they just meshed with the crowd.  

The kids trick or treating at our house.  We stayed out for a fe hours and the kids got a ton of candy!!  Too much.  Their pumpkin buckets were so gull and heavy they could barely hold them.  If there was anything besides candy inside they would have ditched them early on.

The neighborhood definitely enjoys Halloween and it is so fun to celebrate.  This time last year we were hoping that this would be our house.  It is hard to believe that it has been less than a year since we moved in.

Just Zack- 3 1/2

This adorable, goofy, and oh so fun boy is 3 1/2 ish.  I have been adding a few of my favorite pics of him over the last month or so to this draft to showcase his recent musings.

He is very into being 3 1/2.  He eats 31/2 carrots or whatever veggie it is because that's "his number".

He is a good eater and we rarely have to remind him to eat his veggies but loves orange chicken and pizza.  He still can play with legos and keep himself occupied for quite a while.  He enjoys his alone time every once in a while.  

He is 40 inches... Thankfully, he just made it on most of the rides at Disneyland.  He is gaining on Abby now has bigger hands and feet than she does.

He has added a few new faces to his repertoire.

He is still madly obsessed with cars, especially lightning McQueen and therefore he also loves anything red.  Chick hicks, the bad car, is green, so he no longer likes anything green.  Abby supports him in this and now green is a bad color all around.

Zack keeps pretty good tabs on his cars and planes but every once in a while one will go missing and the whole family is on high alert searching high and low until they are found.

He is learning so much in school and counts to 20, knows his colors and shapes. More importantly, he has a great group of friends that he enjoys playing with and we love hearing about Josh, Matthew, and Jonah. They have been in class since last year together and hopefully they will stay in the same class throughout preschool.

He loves to race his cars and make ramps and always takes a few cars with him.

He is quite the superhero and loves batman and spiderman.

Preschool pictures.

Here are a few more pictures of my favorite boy!  He is so happy and easy going but certainly does not like to be scolded and told he is doing something wrong and has a very good "sad face".  If he gets told no, he will often say, "I don' t like when you say that to me"complete with a pout.  Very hard to keep a straight face. He really dislikes being on time and it makes him very sad...I'm ok with this because it is usually a good deterrent.   This kids is something else but we could not imagine our family without him.