Disneyland

so before all the graduation festivities, we made a trip down to celebrate the oldest grandchild in our family,
demi's,
sweet 16!

she got a 1967 Mustang that I don't have a single picture of.
but she was surprised.

then I talked my mom and BOTH sisters into going down to Disneyland with us.
you see I was very strategic about my trip.
we had to go before beckam turned 3 while he was still FREE, which meant before Jan.
but also before the baby, which meant before Oct.
and before the schools let out for summer, before it got too stinkin HOT and before I was too stinkin pregnant to enjoy it,
which meant we had to go in May and since I had already traveled 3/4 of the way there...it was PERFECT!
And they were all game.
It was an AWESOME day. The kids were perfect and had so much fun.
Everyone but Beckam and I could go on all the rides this year. Jaden's favorite: "Water" Mountain (aka Splash Mountain) and Pirates of the Caribbean.

Beckam was such a good sport and waited so patiently for the big kids to get off the rides we couldn't go on. He napped when he was tired and since Mimi was with us, ate every time he thought about being hungry.
I've had so much fun hanging out with my mom lately.
she's such a great sport and so much fun!
jaden LOVED being with all of these cousins. I did get chosen to ride ONE ride with him but only because he HAD to go with an adult.

spending the day with my sisters was such a treat!

this is the ONE I got chosen to ride on with him:disneyland is even better than when I was a kid. it's so streamlined now. the longest wait we had was 30 min. and we only did that 4 times, which is a lot these days but the crowd wasn't big enough for the fast track pass lines to be open.it was so sweet to see beckam's reaction when he saw Micky and Minnie in the parade.
the picture doesn't even capture how mesmerized he was and how magical the scene was.
this is the tired crowd after a long day.

Disneyland is so magical but I've come to realize that it may only be that way for those of us that experienced the magic as kids. it's even better to watch your kids enjoy it.
everyone was so tolerant of my anal-retentive nature in managing and organizing our day.
and we made it onto to everything we wanted.
I always want to buy the 2-day pass for disneyland but after a full day of it, I'm always glad I don't have to go back again the next day.
we returned home from that trip on a Tues. and then family started arriving on thurs. for the graduation celebration and stayed until sunday. interestingly, while laying in his bed sunday night, jaden told his dad he never wanted to go back to disneyland again "because it's so freaky." he changed his mind on monday. it was such a surprise because he never acted the least bit scared or apprehensive the whole day we were there and never said anything about a ride being scary. apparently, the two he really didn't like were indiana jones and the haunted house. of course, "pirates" always causes those mixed emotions--doesn't it?
love it/hate it kind of relationship.

P.S.
I love you disneyland and jaden and I have talked about coming once more this summer, just the two of us to check out your newest attractions opening this summer: the new nemo submarine ride, tom sawyer's island as a pirates lair, tarzan's tree house and to do the jedi training, which we didn't make it to. jaden's confident that he'd take on darth vader and darth mal. so maybe we'll see you again soon. just maybe.