Day 3: California Adventure

With a successful day at Legoland under our belts, we headed back to Disneyland to visit their sister theme park, California Adventure. For those of you who have been to Disney in Orlando, I am amazed. With so many different theme parks to choose from, how do you decide and how do you cram it all in? We only had two options so that made it easy. I'm not really sure of the theme behind California Adventure--maybe they all had something to do with the state of California? At any rate, learning from my past mistakes, we got up and got there when it opened. Great call because for the first hour or so we rode pretty much everything without a wait. There was this one ride, Radiator Springs Racers, and the line just to get a Fastpass to ride the ride was an hour and a half. This is not even to ride the ride. We made the call to skip that ride all together, even though it was clearly one of the most popular ones in the park. Finn never knew it was a option. So, win-win for all of us. 

I have no problem riding rides, in fact I kind of enjoy them, except for two types: the spinning ones that go around in a circle over and over and the ones with the free fall drops. I cannot stomach them. So, somehow I ended up on the Tower of Terror, which I thought was like the haunted mansion in that you are taken through a haunted hotel with scary stuff to see. So imagine my surprise when someone in our "elevator" told me to make sure to lookout when the door opens so you can see the entire park before you drop. Pardon me? Drop? And drop we did, over and over again until I was certain my stomach was somewhere down under my feet. I couldn't even worry about Finn because I was too busy screaming my head off. Afterwards, he declared it his favorite ride ever. I had to make a run to the bathroom. If you ask him, he will tell you the tower of terror was his favorite ride but mommy didn't like it because she screamed the whole time. 

We had a great day and got to ride most of all of the big rides. We left mid-afternoon which helped us avoid a meltdown (for Finn too).

Going up in the ferris wheel

Coming down in the ferris wheel

This is as close as he wanted to get to Lightening McQueen. He took one look at the line to get a picture up close and said "I ain't got time for that." Well, not exactly--I've just

been on Pinterest too much lately :)

Carousel with daddy

Getting ready for Tow-Mater

Radiator Springs in Cars Land

Day 2: Legoland

After our less than stellar first day at Disneyland, we decided we needed a break. We figured we would go back on a weekday to see if it made any difference in the crowds (it did). Legoland is about an hour south of Anaheim, on the way to San Diego. Since Finn is in a really big Lego phase, we thought he would really enjoy it. Part of the park is a waterpark, which was closed because of cool weather, but the rest of it was rides, games, and LEGOS! The park itself isn't nearly as big as Disney which made it just the right size. It wasn't too crowded, so we were able to ride nearly all of the rides with little to no wait. Which was just what we needed. Plus, all of the rides were geared to younger children so there wasn't anything that Finn wasn't able to ride. We had a blast. The park had just enough rides, with some Lego playstations thrown in, plus several Lego themed displays, our favorite being the Star Wars miniland, where all of the pivotal battle scenes in Star Wars were recreated with Legos. It was pretty amazing to see and think that some grown people actually get paid to do this. All in all, it was a great day. I wouldn't recommended going all the way to California just for Legoland because it wasn't really big enough for that, but if you are in the area, I would definitely recommend going. Finn loved it.

That smiley face says it all

Just one of the Star wars scenes in miniland

Finn and Lego Yoda

Lego City: New York (these buildings were made entirely of Legos and were taller than me)

Lego Batman, a big hit

The US Capitol . . . in Legos

Cruising the streets of Legoland in his very own ride

In front of his favorite roller coaster, which we rode more than 5 times

Finn and Daddy on the pedal cars

Showing off his "driver's license"

Disneyland: Days 1 and 4

We started our adventure by flying from Charleston to LAX. It was a long trip, but armed with an iPad loaded with movies and plenty of snacks, Finn was a happy camper. We got in late and finally got to our hotel around midnight (3 am local time). We were wiped out. We decided to sleep in and get a late breakfast and head over to Disney late the following morning.*For those of you who have been to a Disney theme park in the past decade and/or read a book/downloaded an app about how best to plan your Disney trip know that arriving at Disney at any time less than a minute before the park opens knows that we broke Disney cardinal rule #1: Get there early!

Let me start by saying that we ended up having a great time. But it didn't really start out that way. I'm not really a "Disney" person. I mean, I like it just fine, love the movies, especially the Pixar ones, I enjoy riding rides and roller coasters, but I do NOT love crowds, and waiting in lines, bad food that costs a fortune and impossibly whiny kids, all of which I found in abundance at Disneyland. Plus, I don't have a little girl so all of the princess stuff really wasn't a big draw for us. So, no offense to those Disneyphiles out there, I can appreciate it but it's not really my thing. Different strokes for different folks. It was, however, Finn's thing. He was so excited mainly because so many of his friends at school had gone this year so he was excited about seeing what all the fuss was about. He's pretty fearless so I wasn't worried about him riding any rides. 

I have to admit that I dropped the mom ball in a big way. I did ZERO planning and researching on the park itself before we went. I know. Those of you who are experienced Disney'ers are laughing your face off right about now. But, I thought, it's a theme park, how complicated can it be? You get a map and you ride rides? Plus, it had been 25++ years since I have been. Big mistake. Huge. My friend Courtney did tell me about some book and corresponding app that had touring plans that I should follow, which I did download but never quite opened until we got there. 

So, now to the park. We got through the gates easy enough (clearly, because everyone was already IN the park) and it was like sensory overload. So many people, so many cameras, so many pins and buttons. Finn wanted to ride the Star Wars star tour ride so we headed there first. Also important to point out that I forgot to get a map of the park. So, if you are keeping tabs: we are late, have no plan and no map. We made our way to the ride only to find there was a 1:15 wait. So, onto the next one. In between, we figured out the whole fastpass deal, which I probably would have know had a read anything about Disneyland. So we decided to just bite the bullet and get in line to ride our first ride. 50 minutes + all of my snacks later, we finally got to ride the Finding Nemo ride. Then, it was past time for lunch so we did that and waited another half hour to ride the Buzz Lightyear ride before making our way to the Star Tours ride. Which was great, by the way. We then went to watch the Jedi Training camp which was hilarious. We tried to get Finn to go up there and participate as a jedi but he didn't want to, insisting that he would rather watch. After the show, we were done. Mentally and physically. Three rides and one show in nearly six hours? Are you kidding me? Finn said he had so much fun but Mark and I both were slightly disappointed. 

I vowed not to let Disneyland get the better of me and went back to the hotel and researched my little heart out. We determined that we needed a break and decided to go to Legoland the following day. Oh, did I mention we had three day passes? That meant two more days of Disney magic! My dad said that Disney is a right of passage, for both the kid and the parent, but for entirely different reasons. I totally get that now. On a positive not, it was such a joy to watch Finn in the park. He loved every ride and was thrilled about everything (except the waiting in line). We decided that it should be called "WaitDisneyland." I just couldn't get over the lines. And it wasn't even that busy, according to the park. For some reason, waiting in line for nearly an hour to ride a 5 minute ride doesn't seem worth it. I don't remember that part as a kid, which is probably the main difference going as a kid versus going as a parent. I was determined to do better, for his sake, I really wanted it to be a trip that he remembered. Here are the very few pictures of our two days in Disneyland.

Our one and only picture of the head mouse. Surprisingly, Finn was not into the characters. He didn't want to see them up close and certainly didn't want his picture taken with any of them. So, I don't have any of those quintessential Disney photos to share

Loving on his daddy

Watching the Jedi Knight Training Academy. 

Inside the Star Wars ride

Leaving the park on Day 1

Like I said, he was excited about everything, even the popcorn!

Waiting in line at Buzz Lightyear

Disneyland Day 4: Disneyland or Bust

Day 2 we went to Legoland and Day 3 we went to the other Disney park, California Adventure. We had one day where we were able to go into the park at 9 am, an hour before it "officially" opened. I say officially because there were hundreds of other people there with us. I was determined to make up for lost time and make this a good day. We hit the ground running: Space Mountain, Star Wars (again), Peter Pan, Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Little Mermaid, and the other two roller coasters that I'm blanking on the names of and maybe another ride thrown in for good measure. We left the park a little after 11:30 am. Close to 10 rides with little to no wait, in 2.5 hours. That's the way to do Disneyland, in my book! We ended up on a high note. Obviously, I didn't take many pictures. We were too busy hoofing it around the park. As a parent, it was a great joy to watch Finn experience Disneyland for the first (possibly only) time. His enthusiasm and excitement were contagious and seeing his smile, hearing his laughter and shrieks of joy during the rides definitely made everything worth it.  Maybe it makes me a bad parent, but if the line was longer than 20 minutes, we didn't ride it. So, we skipped a lot, including some of the perennial favorites like Dumbo, Mickey's house, and It's a Small World. Plus, we skipped the fireworks spectacular. I know, worst mom of the year, right here. But in my defense, we were so exhausted by the end of the day that waiting until nearly 9:00 pm to watch fireworks only to have to fight our way home with thousands of other people just didn't seem worth it. Plus, we have a great fireworks display right here on Sullivans on July 4th. Besides, he never knew the difference and we were all happier having a few extra hours of sleep. 

As we were leaving the park, Finn put his hand in Mark's and said, "dad, when can we come back to Disneyland?" To which Mark replied, "when you bring your own little boy."

Wild West Adventure

Well folks, we are fresh of the plane for a record 2-week trip/vacation to the west coast. I hesitate to call it a vacation even though Mark had to take "vacation days' to make the trip. Vacation is a strong word--one that makes me think of sandy shores, tropical breezes, frozen drinks and sleeping in. This was not that . . . BUT it was a great family trip. Really and truly, we had a wonderful time and I will break it down day by day, mainly as a way to organize my thoughts, memories and pictures. Finn asked why mommy takes so many pictures and Mark told him that boys make memories and girls take pictures. Well, I have some of both and I can't wait to share them with you. We were gone for 15 days, with stops in LA, Disneyland, Legoland, Universal Studios, Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, Sedona, and Phoenix, AZ. Whew! It may take me some time to get organized so stay tuned. 

In case you are wondering, Finn was a rockstar traveler. I mean except for the normal fits and meltdowns (Finn had some too). He did great with the time change (3 hours!) and matched us step for step, as we decided to leave the stroller behind. I was pleasantly surprised with how well he adjusted to life on the road. Of course, no matter where you take them, why do they always remember the hotel swimming pool as being the best part about the trip?

Anyway, a great experience. Mark deserves all of the credit for booking this trip--he planned it all, hotels, rental car, park passes, tours, helicopter rides, everything. If this whole doctor thing doesn't work out for him, I think he could definitely make it as a travel agent extraordinaire. My dad came and spent two weeks as our unofficial house/dog sitter. He stayed with Lily and Charlie so that we wouldn't have to board them. They thank him from the bottom of their paws. He also did some yardwork, replaced our hot water heater and did odd jobs around the house. Dad, we miss you already! 

Ready for take off! California here we come . . .

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There is nothing fun about this post so I'll just give it to you straight up, with no chaser. Some of you may remember that Finn and I went down to Miami to celebrate my grandmother's (Gerry) 90th birthday. We call her Gerry because she refused to let us call her grandmother because she thought that made her sound old! What an accomplishment--90 years and still as feisty as ever. We loved seeing her and she loved seeing Finn and of course, being the center of attention. That was three years ago. We have seen her a few times since then but not as often as I should have (or would have liked to). 

The birthday girl (3 years ago)

Early in January of this year my mom went down to Miami to spend her 93rd birthday with her. She made a shocking discovery. I'll give you the reader's digest version here, but my grandmother wasn't being (and hadn't been) cared for properly and her health had drastically deteriorated. A lot has happened in the past month. Maybe one day I'll share it with you, but right now right here is not the time or place. I flew down to spend a weekend with her and felt a range of emotions upon my arrival. Heartbreak because what I saw didn't match the woman I know, love and remember. Anger over what had happened and gratitude that I was able to spend a weekend with her without any distractions--just me, my mom and my grandmother, and the nurse. It was a hard weekend but a good one. Her face lit up when I walked through the door Friday night and she said, "oh, Robin, I've been waiting for you." 

I held her hand, sat in the bed with her, told her stories about the past--of our shared memories, of Finn and what she's missed. We went through boxes of old pictures and I showed her new ones of Finn and our family and our life. She was awake for some of it and asleep through most of it. But every now and then she would look at me and smile as if she was noticing me for the first time. 

This is how I choose to remember her

As of the end of February, she is doing better. They are hoping to get her well enough to be able to move her to Atlanta to be closer to family, help and support. I fully expect her to make it back to Atlanta so that I can take Finn down to see her. She is feisty and very hard-headed so in this case it will really work to her advantage. I am looking forward to seeing her again soon and I will keep you updated on her progress.