California

A happy family BEFORE Joel and Tess decided to spin it as fast as possible!
So we took our very first vacation! Yep, after 9 1/2 years of marriage we took our first "real" vacation. "Real" meaning not traveling to visit family, for a wedding or for work. With all the frequent flier miles Joel had racked up traveling the world the last eight years, (for example, he was in Hawaii last week and going to Venice this week!) we decided to use them to go to California! We had a wonderful time staying in the Anaheim area, (where Joel's mom grew up) spending some great time with family, spending time at the beach, sightseeing in LA, and of course Disney! A friend of Joel's family works for Disney and very generously gave us free tickets to Disneyland for two days! The first day we were there, we were randomly picked to attend a 1/2 hour party after the park closed and then stay for an hour in the park with 2,000 other guests after everyone else went home! Apparently on it's busiest day they can have upwards of 77,000 people visiting the park. So that night the park was virtually empty for us! Amazing!
Here is a quick list of some of the moments that I don't want to forget.

• Tess studying (I mean REALLY studying for over a 1/2 hour) the plane pamphlet on safety and what to do if the plane crashes. We didn't really talk about it--she just kept looking at it. When we went to land in CA she put her head between her knees. I asked "What are you doing?" She explained to me she was doing what the pamphlet said!
  
• Tess singing along with "Yo ho, yo ho, a pirates life for me..." on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride
• After Donald giving Tess a kiss, she ran over to us and said, "Donald is a great kisser!"
• Gracie dancing like crazy and signing "More! More!" at the singing birds in the Tiki Tiki Room
• Tess in awe of meeting and dancing with all the princesses--especially at story time with Cinderella.
  
• While playing on Tom Sawyer island, Tess ending every sentence with a pirate-like, "Arrrg!" For example, "I'm getting tired of walking up all these steps, ARRRRRG!" or "I've got to go to the bathroom, ARRRRG!"
• While riding through a tunnel of lights on the Storybook Canal Boats at night, Tess looking at me and saying so sweetly, "These lights make me feel soooo happy."
• Tess not taking her Mickey Mouse ears off all week.
• Minnie Mouse going "off-duty" but instead making a detour to head straight to Gracie in the stroller and play with her for a few minutes.
  
• Sheer excitement from both girls on the Dumbo ride which was so magical at night.
• Tess squealing and Gracie pointing at everything during the Parade of Dreams (see video below)
• More dancing and clapping by both girls at the Playhouse Disney Live show.
  
• A VERY exhausted Tess yawning and moving very slowly, but DETERMINED to do the Cha-Cha Slide dance at the party after hours at Disneyland.
• Tess getting the characters to sign post cards which we sent back home for her to receive in the mail.
  
• Both girls grooving to a beach band playing surf music outside the Surf Museum at Huntington Beach--Tess doing the swimmer dance (arms swimming, then holding nose, and wiggling down to the ground.)
  

Here is our Cinderella listening to Princess Cinderella tell a story.Dancing at the Princess Fantasy Faire.

We gave Tess a disposable camera to take whatever pictures she wanted. It was fun to see things through her eyes.
Here is a picture Tess took of Joel and I. I debated posting this picture or the really hilarious one of Joel and I with our heads cut off! (Boy, it was weird posting it the old fashion way--get the film developed, scan the picture and THEN upload it.)
Gracie getting ready to ride the 3-D Toy Story ride at Disney's California Adventure Park.

The ears....
that stayed on all week.
A picture of a really exhausted little girl. She was asleep in the car, (and we were only about 1 mile from Disneyland!) and kept sleeping while Joel carried her and put her in the bed. Oh, the joy of having totally tired out children. (Remember, my children usually don't need much sleep!)
Seeing the ocean for the first time at Hunting Beach, a.k.a. Surf City, USA.
Sunset at the beach.
Finally, a short video of the girls reaction at the parade. This was one of the moments that as a parent just brings tears to your eyes to see your child THAT happy. It just shows how magical everything was to them. (You can see Gracie saying, "Puh-puh-puh" for puppy and pointing because Goofy is right behind me. At the very end of the video, Tess is saying that Goofy came right up to her and waved at her.)