February Update

Well, as you all know the big excitement for us this month was our big vacation, but a few other things worth mentioning did go on around here, too.

The Girls cheesin for the camera-note Sycely's chocolate milk mustache

We had local games for Special Olympics. We had 10 skaters compete this year. State games are in about two weeks. During local games one of my students was traveling to World Games in Boise to compete there. She placed 7th and did an awesome job, especially with her compulsories-all her extra hard work sure paid off! I'm taking one of my shared students to a competition in Wasilla next weekend as well.

We staged a photo session with all (well, MOST) of the "church babies" one Sunday after church. Boy was that a HOOT! It was completely impossible to get one photo where everyone was looking, smiling and looking perfect, but it sure was an experience. Like we've been hearing alot lately, "there's more than one way to grow a church!" It's a good thing they've recently expanded our nursery!

Lem's rounding out the month with the statewide Model United Nations conference this weekend. He's got a real strong group of AP and Honors students this year so we're expecting great things from them.

Ella is loving all the new foods she's gotten to try: rice cereal, squash, peas and bananas. Yesterday she tried some tiny banana chunks finger food style-that was a fun, but messy adventure. She's getting around pretty much wherever she wants these days. She didn't waste any time mastering the whole scooting/crawling thing. She can sit for extended periods of time without support now. She's weighing just over 15 pounds now and is cutting her first tooth- timely it perfectly to coincide with our trip, thank you very much.

Ella's 7 Month Pictures

Okay, so I guess that's all the news we have to share. It seems like we spent the first two weeks of the month getting ready to travel, the next 10 days traveling and the last week recovering from traveling. We're getting settled back into our routine and schedule now and things should be back to "normal" next week.

Return to Anchorage

After getting packed up and out of the hotel we stopped to kill some time at a nearby mall then headed off to the airport. We endured quite a harrowing journey home with several moments that make you think to yourself “I’ll NEVER do this again!” Somehow, by the grace of God, we made it through despite the obstacles which included a run (literally!) carrying Sycely and pushing the stroller as we tried desperately to make our connection in Seattle-the final boarding call was made as we deplaned from our first flight. Needless to say, the flights home were probably the biggest hiccup of the vacation-not bad, considering- and we were all extra grateful to slide into our own beds when we finally got home that night.

All in all, it was an amazing adventure. So many moments felt “once in a lifetime” and the magic of Disney certainly does have a way of consuming you, regardless of age. I give Disneyland outstanding reviews-it was super clean, very efficient and we encountered nothing but helpful, accommodating staff members. The princesses were amazing and beautiful and did a spectacular job interacting with the children. The rides were fun (I hardly got sick on any of them!) and not too scary for our little ones and I can say that it truly is one of the most family-friendly places we’ve ever been. San Diego was fun, though busy, trying to squeeze so many things into just a few days. We’re so grateful to have enjoyed so much of God’s creation seeing the animals and enjoying the natural wonder of the beach and the power of the ocean. We’re so thankful to have had the opportunity to visit with our families and to make all those once in a lifetime memories.

Disneyland Day 4/ Return to San Diego

We had breakfast at IHOP with my Mom and Scott before Lem and Sycely headed off for one last ride-the Toy Story ride- and to pick out a few more souvenirs. I got us packed up and let Ella take her nap and my Mom and Scott hit the road in an attempt to get home before too late. We checked out of the hotel, said good-bye to Disneyland and hit the highway back to San Diego. We stopped at the oulet mall on the way back to Anaehim (somehoe we’d gotten out of there with security device still attached to our merchandise-what a pain!) Lem was able to get some shopping in for himself this go round. Both girls napped on the rest of the trip back to San Diego. We found the hotel, got settled in and headed out to dinner at Olive Garden (finally!) We picked up a few things for our flight before heading back to the hotel for baths and bedtime.

Our sleeping beauty on the way back to San Diego

Disneyland Day 3

Our third day at Disneyland Lem stayed at the hotel with Ella for her morning nap while Far Nanny and Papa Scott, Sycely, and I rode It’s a Small World which along with the teacups (my mom, Sycely and I did this as a three generation memory) was a classic Disneyland favorite for me. Lem joined Sycely and I for a boat ride through Storybook land and then we headed back over to Toontown so we could meet Mickey and get some pictures with him. Sycely really wanted to take a second ride on Small World this time with Daddy so they did that while I fed Ella and got her settled for a nap in the stroller. Sycely was WAY obviously ready for a nap after Small World so we got her and Ella both down for naps while Lem ran out and got Mommy some Sonic- a not-so-healthy addiction I’ve developed. After the girls were done with their naps, we headed back over to the parks-Lem and Sycely rode the train and then did yet another round on Small World while Mom and I did some Disney shopping. Sycely rode the Disneyland carousel and we met back up with the boys for dinner and a trip to show Sycely the beautifully lit castle. We went and got everyone to bed feeling very tired and very ready for a full night’s rest.

Heading into It's a Small World

Disneyland Day 2

My mom and Scott stayed at the hotel for the first part of the morning so that Ella could get in a good nap while Lem, Sycely and I started our day with a visit to Pixie Hollow to meet Tinkerbell’s friend Rosetta. Lem and Sycely took a turn on the Alice and Wonderland ride and after that Lem got in line to wait to tour the Princess Fantasy Faire-yet another opportunity for Sycely to have some face time with her favorite royalty. While Lem spent the next hour standing in line Sycely and I took a detour back over to Toontown to tour Mickey’s house and visit the other places there we hadn’t seen yet. My mom and Scott arrived with Ella so she got a snack just in time to join us on our trek to see “more princesses” as requested by Sycely. As fate would have it, the three “On Duty Princesses” included Cinderella, Belle and Jasmine, all three of which we’d already met, but Sycely was enamored nonetheless and my mom got to enjoy the magical spark in her eye while she visited with them.

We grabbed some lunch while watching a Jedi training session and the girls sat with my mom and Scott while Lem and I rode Star Tours, a Star Wars based ride. Mom and Scott had some fun on some of the more grown up rides while we headed over to California Adventure so Sycely could do another go-round on the Monsters, Inc ride. Sycely was REALLY wanting to see Sleeping Beauty who she’d missed that morning and Snow White, the one Princess she hadn’t encountered yet. We kept our eyes peeled, and wouldn’t you know just as we were reaching the Maingate to leave Disneyland there they were! Sycely was happy as a clam. Ella had some dinner and started a nap while Lem and Sycely went on Monsters, Inc again. We ran into Sorcerer Mickey, Woody and Cinderella at a show followed by meet and greet Then we headed back to the Bug’s World area so we could finish up with the rides there. Ella went on her first ride and that wrapped up our day in the park. We had dinner with my Mom and Scott, got the girls to bed and Lem and I headed over to the park for some time on some of the grown up rides. Papa Scott had gotten us Fastpasses earlier in the day for the evening so we were all set to go for Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean and the Jungle Boat Ride. We also got our first glimpse of Sleeping Beauty’s castle at night-lit up amazingly gorgeous with colored lights. We took a trip through Downtown Disney to do some browsing and headed back for bed.

Ella on her first ride

Disneyland Day 1

Princess Sycely ready for her first day at Disneyland

The four of us, joined by Far Nanny and Papa Scott made the short walk across the street to Disneyland. What a totally overwhelming, spectacular sight! I can’t even imagine how being surrounded by all that “magic” must have felt for our little Princess. Our first stop was Sleeping Beauty’s Castle where you can walk through and “experience” the various parts of the story. Lem, Sycley and I rode the Snow White ride and Lem and Sycely followed that up with a flight on the Dumbo elephants. Sycely and I took a spin on the Pinocchio ride then we all headed over to Toontown where we encountered our first chacter-Minnie Mouse. It wasn’t long until we bumped into Goofy and Pluto as well. We finished up in Toontown and hoofed it over to Califronia Adventure where we had yet another surprise in the works for Sycely-we were having lunch with the Princesses!

Sleeping Beauty's castle

Lem and Sycely on the Dumbo ride

Lem, Sycely and Papa Scott heading to Toontown

Ariel’s Grotto is a super fancy, spare no expense, Princess haven of a restaurant. On the way in you’re greeted by Arial herself and you stop to take pictures then they lead you to your table. The menu features a three course meal including a delicious three tier anti-pasta platter, an entrée of your choosing and (my favorite) a huge tray of delectable desserts-including edible white chocolate Ariel and a big white chocolate conch shell. Once you’ve ordered a Page character comes around to talk with your table and tell you about the Princesses you’ll be meeting. The Page at our lunch was a wiry old many from Zurich who stopped to visit with us twice. Sycely was super friendly with him telling him all about how Cinderella is her favorite princess, that she lives in Alaska and is a big sister to her little sister Ella (who was napping with Nanny.) Soon the fanfare (literally) began and a second Page came out and welcomed us to the royal meal and sang a song about the wonder of dreams come true, etc. As this was wrapping up, Page from Zurich came and whispered to me that we’d been chosen as the Celebration Family of the day (whatever that was.) He told me we get to help introduce the first Princess. As I was barely processing what he was saying Singing Page was introducing the “Wheeles Family hailing from the great land of Alaska” and they were ushering the three of us up to the front to read from the Page’s scroll. We read the introduction for the first Princess and who should it be but CINDERELLA! She came in and came up front and spent several minutes just with Sycely, hugging, talking, twirling like any two old friends would do. It all made for fabulous video footage! After a few minutes of special visiting up front Sycely and Cinderella walked hand in hand back to our table for a few more sacred moments of memory making.

Introducing Cinderella...

I assumed they chose one family for each Princess, but apparently the big hoo-rah is only for the first Princess, so the next three each came in individually but with a little less hoopla than the first. Second came Sleeping Beauty, followed a few minutes later by Belle. Jasmine rounded out the bunch a few minutes later. Each Princess comes around to your table and spends a few minutes talking with you and there are of course LOTS of opportunities for picture taking. How they expect ANYONE- 3 or 43- can eat a meal in there, I have no idea. Our fairytale lunch was by far the most memorable and spectacular experience of our whole trip-given a little extra boost by whatever made them choose us as their Celebration Family.

After our lunch we headed back over to the Disneyland side and met up with Far Nanny and Papa Scott for the rest of the afternoon. We rode the Adventures of Pooh ride, met and took pictures with Pooh Bear and tried(unsuccessfully) to convince the girls they needed a break from all the excitement and were ready for naps. After throwing in the towel on napping, we packed up the towels for swimming. We headed down to the pool for dip in the water and sunshine. We got everyone dried off, redressed and ready for more Disneyland fun.

We headed back over to California Adventure for the Disney-Pixar parade-something Sycley was REALLY looking forward to. While we waited for it to start Lem and Sycely checked out the Bugs Life rides. The parade was an astounding demonstration of costuming, choreography, music and that good ol’ Disney “magic.” All our favorite Pixar friends were there- Nemo, Marlin and Dory, Woody and the gang from Toy Story 1 and 2, the crew from Monster Inc and SO many others. After the parade we went a round on the Monsters, Inc ride (one of my favorites) before the park closed then headed back to the hotel and got the girls fed and to bed. Lem and I left my mom with the baby monitor and headed over to the nearby Bubba Gump’s for some tasty dinner. Then, having walked about a thousand miles and being “Disneyed” out for the day we hit the sack.

The crew from Monsters, Inc.

Woody and the Toy Story gang

Flik and Atta from Bug's Life

San Diego Day 4/ Drive to Anaheim- Downtown Disney

Sycely and I made one last trip to the beach while Ella took her morning nap and Lem finished getting us packed up. We loaded up and said good-bye to our little Mission Beach house, Casa Sofia and took Aunti Eris to the airport so she could fly back to Arizona. Once we’d dropped off our cargo (Aunti Eris) we began our trek to Anaheim to begin the surprise portion of our vacation. I was SOOOOO excited the whole drive there- I couldn’t wait to surprise Sycely with our big announcement that we were going to Disneyland! We stopped at the Carlsbad Outlet mall on the way, did some fabulous shopping at the Carter’s Outlet-one of my faves- and some other places at the mall there.

Sooooo sleepy in the car on the drive to Anaheim

We still hadn’t exactly figured out how or when we were going to reveal our Disney surprise to Sycely. We weren’t sure when we’d be arriving at the hotel or how much she’d be able to see on the drive in. We managed to get all check in to our hotel without rousing too much suspicion and decided we’d venture on over to Downtown Disney for dinner at Rainforest Café. We told Sycely we were going to go to a special, fun restaurant for dinner that had some neat animals that did a show, etc. After the first 50 feet of our walk we decided we probably better let the cat out the bag. We figured the hundreds of Mickey Mouse et. al images on the Disneyland signs, bags, t-shirts and buses would probably be raising some questions so we stopped at the Maingate and spilled the beans- “We’re at Disneyland!” It wasn’t until our first hour inside the park in daylight that I think that statement really garnered any bearing. We had dinner at Rainforest Cafe and I thoroughly enjoyed just watching Sycely take it all in on the walk there (cue the Mommy tears.) By the time we got back to the hotel from dinner Far Nanny and Papa Scott had arrived. We visited with them a few minutes before getting the girls to bed. Our Disneyland adventure would start bright and early the next morning…

Disneyland Maingate-our first glimpse of the Magic Kingdom

Taking in all the sights of Downtown Disney

San Diego Day 3- San Diego Zoo and the Beach

We spent our third day in San Diego at the world famous San Diego Zoo. For the last 10 years of so I’ve been wanting to go there to see the Galapagos Tortoises, which of course, were no where to be found when we stopped by their exhibit-go figure! We did, on the other hand get to see some pretty cool other animals. We rode the double decker bus around the zoo and got to see much of the zoo that way-without the walk. Then we loaded the girls up and toured the rest of the zoo we didn’t see on the bus tour and trekked around to get a closer look at some of the animals we’d seen on the tour. One of Sycely's favorite things was visiting the petting zoo and hanging with some good ol' American livestock.

Petting some goats

Eris and I at the front gate

Eris and I riding on the zoo tour bus

Tired little Roo-one of Ella's many stroller naps

San Diego Zoo highlights included: pandas, tigers, monkeys, elephants, giraffes, koalas with babies on their backs, hippos and LOTS of wild peacocks.

After wrapping up at the zoo Lem, the girls and I packed up and headed across the street to the beach for a bit. The house we were staying at had TONS of beach toys, mats, boogie boards, even a kids’ picnic table and beach tent! Sycely packed up a basket of things to play with in the sand and we made the short journey across the street to Mission Beach. We spend the next hour or so playing in the sand, building sand castles and enjoying some San Diego sunshine.

Building sand castles-Sycley first trip to the big open ocean

Mommy's little beach bum

We headed home, ordered some pizza from a local place down the street and got everyone to bed early. Lem and I enjoyed another starlit walk on the beach once the girls were asleep. Aunti Eris went to visit with some friend in the area after we got home from our walk.