world of color

world of color is a laser light and water show at california adventure
me trying to tell you about it
or even show you pictures
won't do it any justice

it is an AMAZING show
and was our favorite of the night entertainment at the disneyland parks

i had done a little bit of reading on what to expect
so we made sure to get a fastpass



the nights that we were at the parks
there was only one show at 9:15
otherwise we would have opted for the later show
i have heard it is less busy
there are 3 different viewing locations
red, yellow, and blue
i was really glad that we ended up with blue
because that meant we could sit up on the bridge
and that gave us a great perspective

while stacey checked into his conference

i went and waited to get us spots.

they had a holding area for those with fastpasses

and then around 8:00 they let us out into the taped/roped off areas

everyone made a mad dash for their spot

and the place filled up VERY quickly!

i couldn't believe the number of people

and i can't imagine trying to get a spot that kids can see from

without a fastpass

thankfully ...

i didn't have kids

AND

i had a perfect spot

that gave me the ability to just sit and take it all in

 

i LOVE when the sun goes down at disney

and the lights come on

and this was no exception

it was gorgeous!

 

 

around 9:15 the show got started
and it was beautiful!

some of our favorite disney songs
were synced with the lasers, lights, and water
and periodically they used a screen of water
to project clips from the movies as well

i will let the pictures do the rest of the talking
just know that we loved it
and highly recommend it
but we also HIGHLY recommend using a fastpass to see it ;)

 

 

 

 

special visitors

at the end of last week
we got some very special visitors ...



my sister, her husband, ryan, and their little guy, owen
came to visit us from chicago!

stacey spent 2 days golfing with ryan, my dad, and my brother
while bekah and i hung out with the boys
ate some which wich
YUM!
played at the park
and
went to the beach/splash pad!

  

 

  

 

 

i'm glad that summer showed up
because we had beautiful weather
and it gave us the perfect opportunity to spend some time together

thanks for visiting, guys
AND
come back soon!!

happy * fathers * day

happy fathers day, stacey!!



you are an amazing dad
and
i couldn't imagine being on this parenting journey
with anyone else

 

our boys are so lucky to have you ...

 

and so am i!

i love you!!

starting off at the land

our second day of our trip
brought our first visit to the disneyland parks

we have spent countless hours at disney world (i will refer to it as wdw)
so we were really looking forward to experiencing disneyland (dl)

going with a plan similar to one in which we would follow at wdw
we started our morning early at space mountain



we were basically able to walk right on
we waited just long enough to get a few pictures to send to drew

one of the biggest differences we noticed between the 2 space mountains
is that at DL, we were able to sit side by side

you'll notice stacey is excited about going on
but about 1/2 way into it,
he realized his motion sickness patch hadn't QUITE kicked in
and well ...
i think this pictures says it all

one of us does well with rides ...
the other needs a little help
and that help hadn't QUITE arrived yet ;)

we decided to give his stomach a little break
do a little exploring

 

and go in search of good coffee

LOVE that starbucks AND ghirardelli can both be found at california adventure

we picked up our first ghirardelli white mocha of the trip
and
decided to enjoy it while waiting for toy story mania

thankfully the wait times weren't even close to what you'd wait in the standby line at wdw
BUT
we were a bit disappointed that there wasn't a fastpass option
AND
even waiting 30 minutes was long when we had 2 big parks that we couldn't wait to see

i'm pretty sure stacey beat me each time we rode ...
but i always beat him on buzz lightyear ...
and i knew we'd be riding that later ...
so i had to let him feel like he was good at something

after toy story mania we explorered paradise pier
and killed some time watching mickey's fun wheel

before using our coveted radiator springs racer fastpasses

AND
going in search of snack #1 for the day

the first thing on my list was something that i had been craving since our spring break trip
a stuffed jalapeno cheese pretzel

just as before
it was FABULOUS

and a great start to our afternoon!!

we hit up another of our wdw favorites



we had picked up fastpasses earlier
but were surprised to find out that we didn't even need them.
we got on the ride ....
we got to sit in our favorite row (the top) ...
and were done in less than 10 minutes!

what's even crazier is that
over the course of our week at DL
we rarely saw the line for soarin' get over 15 minutes
if you have ever visited soarin' at epcot
you know that is unheard of -
AND a very pleasant surprise!!

after the weather MN had been having
we were wanting to soak in every bit of sun that we could
so it was perfect!!

it was a BEAUTIFUL southern california day
and we were LOVING just walking around the park
and
taking in the details that we so easily miss
when we have 3 'little' guys by our sides

 

 

we wrapped up our afternoon with dinner at another of our wdw favorites 

and then i went to get our spots for world of color -
which is a FABULOUS water and light show put on at california adventure.
it was the PERFECT ending to our first day
and SO fabulous ...
that it deserves a post of it's own ...

my moondogs

drew and ben are also having a fun season

they started out losing a few games
then got on a GREAT winning streak
where we actually held first place for about a day
before falling into another slump

either way -
for taking 2 years off,
drew has been doing well!

  

AND
ben has been having a good season as well



he has been doing a lot of bunting

and it has been fun to watch all of the stealing that they are doing at this age

nice job moondogs,
i'm loving watching you play!!

 

last day * 2013

the boys last day was june 6th



drew and the rest of the 6th graders
spent the entire day at valleyfair
hard not to have an absolute perfect last day when you're there!
and alex and ben spent their last day
finishing up stuff in the classroom
signing yearbooks
and having fun treats

 

they started their day with a glen everheart sing a long
which ellie and i joined them for

and ended their day with an awards ceremony

all 3 boys had a great year
once again we were SO blessed with GREAT teachers

 

and it was hard to say goodbye

BUT ...
summer is here
we are all SO excited
AND ...
we are trying to enjoy the time while we can
because before we know it
our SEVENTH grader, FIFTH grader, and SECOND grader
will be headed out the door for another year

not sure what's worse ...
knowing that i have a SEVENTH grader?
knowing that it is ben's last year of elementary school?
or thinking about the fact that my BABY is in SECOND grade!!
yikes!