Eastons in front of the Wishing Well

Drew standin on the edge of a fountain

Madison and McClain

Madison and Minnie

Grandma and Ella

It has been quite a while since I blogged, and Mike is on my case to post something. In fact he said, "I'm bringing up your blog and I want you to put something on it." He is the Blog Nazi!

Anyway, we just came back from a very brief trip to Disneyland. Debbie's children had a Fall Break, and they were out of school all of last week. They flew in from Denver for a few days, and we drove down to meet them. The weather was beautiful. In the 70's and 80's, and the last day we were there it was in the low 90's! The only drawback of the entire adventure was that I got the 24 hour flu, and was pretty much out of the picture for one whole day.

Despite my illness, we had a great time. Debbie and Michael's children are the perfect age for Disneyland. Madison (9) and McClain (6) are tall enough to go on all of the rides. Drew was almost tall enough, and he is very fearless. The second day, he wore "taller" shoes, and jelled his hair up, but he still was about an inch too short for some of the wilder rides. He was tall enough to go on the "Tower of Terror" with grandpa and his dad, and McClain sat that one out even though he was tall enough to ride. Some of the rides require not only the height, but the stomach and the nerves for riding!

Madison loved everything, and Ella enjoyed the Minnie Mouse House and Winnie the Pooh ride. Madison and Ella actually had a chance to have their picture taken with Minnie Mouse as she strolled through the park. Madison ran right up and stood with Minnie, but the sight of a full grown Minnie Mouse really freaked Ella out, and she DID NOT want to stand by her and have her picture taken.

I think my favorite ride was in California Adventure. Actually, due to my illness, it was the only ride in that section that I got to ride on. It is called "Soarin," and you actually feel like you are flying in a hot air balloon or glider over many of the most scenic spots in California. You fly over an orange grove, and they spray a scent into the air that actually smells like oranges! It's pretty incredible.

The final day, we could only stay half of the day because the Eastons were flying home, and Mike and I had to drive back to Northern California. We went to Downtown Disney, and the kids spent the money they had been saving from their allowances, birthdays, and doing extra jobs. Madison bought a cute shirt, necklace and hat. McClain bought 3 Lego sets, and Drew bought a Starwars gun. They were pretty careful shoppers since it was their own money they were spending. At one point McClain was sitting in the Disney store with all of his money on the floor carefully weighing his options. A Disney employee came by and said, "I guess he's buying lunch today!"

Not to be out done, Ella wanted a dog, a purse, makeup and gold flip flops. She finally setteled on a little Minne Mouse set in it's own carrying case. As soon as she saw it she said to Debbie, "I buy it!" It seemed to satisfy the need for a dolly and a purse, and it was just the right price, so she proudly carried it to the counter and Debbie paid for it.

Even though my time was cut short on the trip, we had a great time, and it was fun to be with everyone at "The Happiest Place On Earth."