DISNEYLAND

Ahhh, where to start.

all packed in new bags with Disneyland luggage tags!

We have never been to Disneyland as a family.  I know people who go every year, so some don't understand what a big deal it was for us to go.  David hadn't been since he was 2, so really this was his first time too.  We decided to make the most of it, fly there, stay at the Disneyland Hotel, not rent a car, and do a full Disney immersion for 5 nights.  The kids have been looking forward to it for months and happily saved up their allowance for those special things from the Disney stores.

Our magical adventure started with a sick Gracie, of course.  She missed the 2 days of school before our trip.  I was dying, hoping that she'd rally and be ok, remembering all too well, the day we spent at Santa's Village last summer with Grace in heap in a stroller the whole day.

As we checked into the Disneyland Hotel, immediately, I had a few Wallyworld moments.  Where was the monorail that used to stop RIGHT in front?  And, why, pray tell, do we have to walk to the back of the hotel complex around a mostly closed swimming area to get to our room?  I came for the full Disney experience and I was feeling like Clark Griswold when he pulled up to a shut-down Wallyworld.
Luckily, most everything else was still open and running smoothly so I didn't have to visit the local sporting goods store.

We started the first morning with well children (thank goodness!) and a character breakfast.  This was so over-the-top cute.  They literally serve everything you can think of that a kid would want to eat for breakfast and lots of super gourmet things for the parents.  Here's what the girls had:

Harriet - mac'n'cheese, bacon, chicken nuggets, chocolate cupcake

Grace - pizza, chicken nuggets, french toast, watermelon, chocolate cupcake

Pluto, Goofy, Chip and Dale, Baloo, and Cinderella greeted us and came by our table many times to say hello, sign our table, and make sure we were having a great time.  Good thing they had a princess - I have been promising Harriet breakfast with a princess for a while now.  It was also really nice that they warmed up Hattie to the characters.  She was so afraid at first, but by the time we left, she was ready to hug them all and we got great pics in the park.

We had planned our trip with our friends Alex and Sara who live here in Albuquerque (David and Alex were grad-school office-mates at the U and now work together.)  Their 2 kids, Christian and Maren are the same ages as ours +/- a few months.

on our way into the park on the monorail for the first time!

Grace and Christian get along FAMOUSLY and love all the same things, namely, Legos, Star Wars, and being nerdy and goofy.  They were quite the pair.  By the end of the trip, Christian was talking about dating?  We're not sure what was going through his head, but this may have been their first date.  Good thing it was chaperoned!

Harriet and Maren aren't quite as tight, but had a fun time princess watching and going on the little rides like Winnie the Pooh and Small World.  It was absolutely fantastic to have other adults to hang out with and have extra hands to break up into different groups to go on different rides.  Having friends around to lighten the mood and provide entertainment and distraction definitely cuts down on the family squabbles and quarrels too (both for kids and adults :) )

the two princesses being carried into the castles by their knights-in-shining armor (daddies for now)

Minus a few choice meltdowns, most every minute from dawn to midnight was filled with delightful activities and fun.  Here are the highlights:

soaking wet at the end of Splash Mountain

Grace loved:  SPLASH MOUNTAIN (did she go 6 times?), the Finding Nemo Submarines, and California Screamin', oh, and the Buzz Lightyear Blasters.  She was the total dare-devil of the group.  She loved all of the roller coasters, water rides, and anything that was thrilling.  I seriously couldn't believe that she loved the huge California Screamin' roller coaster and actually made Alex take her again immediately after I got off with her because I couldn't stomach it again so soon.

California Screamin' at night - this thing is huge!

However, her scaredy-cat-self came out with anything slightly spooky.   She closed her eyes and put her fingers in her ears all the way through Indiana Jones and literally cried on the way INTO the Tower of Terror before she even got on the ride with Sara and me.  Mean mommies - we made her go anyway.  She asked why we didn't tell her it would be scary.  I said "what did you expect - it's called the Tower of TERROR, not the Tower of Bubbles!"  She agreed, she should have caught that part.

Harriet loved:  Winnie the Pooh, It's a Small World, and Dumbo the Flying Elephant, oh and Finding Nemo too.  She was timid to go on the fast rides, but she did try all of the big rides that her height would allow.  (we saw the cutest t-shirt with a picture of Yoda being rejected by a ride height requirement "judge me by my size, do you?")

Harriet was also not a fan of getting wet and cold or of anything too scary.  I find it interesting how many of the Princess stories are all filled with quite horrifying things.  They don't candy coat the evil, that's for sure.  Disneyland seems to focus on those parts of the stories and play up the dark side, so Sleeping Beauty's Castle and Snow White really didn't have too much happily ever after.

We made the mistake of doing Space Mountain first thing out of the gate and scared all the kids to death.  Since Disney was all set up for Halloween, Space Mountain was really spooky on top of being super dark and fast.  It was just too much.  Then, they didn't trust us after that. 

I loved, well, pretty much everything.  I loved watching the kids get so excited and be so enchanted by each well-thought-out detail.  As you walk through the park, bubbles appear in the air out of nowhere all the time.  Every nook and cranny has something to catch your eye and is all immaculately manicured.  Coming "home" after a long 14 hour day to a clean room, with lights warmly glowing and Mickey Mouse chocolates on the bed was so refreshing.  It's so cute that a different Disney princess reads a good night story on the TV every night.  Hattie was all over that.  Grace tolerated it.  I love that everyone in Disneyland smiles and waves hello to you no matter where you are.  I love that I spent a lot of time smiling too.  I also really love the rides.  It's so weird that I get car-sick, sea-sick, and sometimes even air-sick, and have a pretty serious fear of heights, but I can totally dig a rollercoaster and I can even survive the tea-cups.  I was relieved, though, that the ferris wheel had some non-swinging baskets.

ferris wheel at night

The girls were really so good.  They traveled well, they budgeted their money.  They really didn't ask for much and thought carefully about everything they bought and came away completely happy.  Grace had a hay day in the "build your own" light-saber store and I thought she might move in to the Lego shop.

Harriet bought the cutest baby Minnie Mouse that she literally carried through the park for the entire trip.  I was actually surprised by Hattie.  I thought she'd buy more princess stuff, but she took pretty strongly to Minnie and came home all Minnie.

friendly light-saber duels at night

A few other highlights:

Jedi Training.  Oh. My. Gosh.  If you tried, you couldn't convince Grace that this was pretend.  She and Christian were both chosen (thankfully) out of the crowd to be one of the special kids to participate in the training.  They dressed in Jedi robes, learned how to handle a light saber, and got to personally fight Darth Vader at the end.   It was real and she was more focused than she is in her karate classes.  Dead on serious.

World of Color.  There really aren't words to describe it, and my pictures and video don't cut it.  You just have to see it.  It is AMAZING.  Harriet smiled wide during the entire show.  Sara said they spent $75 million on it?  Worth every penny.  Disney does not scrimp, that's for sure.

Captain EO.  So, I thought I had seen this when I first went to Disney, but they said it came out in 1986, a couple years later, so maybe I saw it as a teenager.  Let's just say that Michael Jackson + George Lucas + Disney is a pretty stellar combo.  I successfully resisted buying myself the $27 rainbow streak t-shirt after the show was over.

Another little bonus, Brian, Wendy, Clare, and Jeremiah, drove up from their new home in San Diego to  meet us for dinner on Saturday.  How cool is that, to meet the cousins at Disneyland for dinner?!

A final farewell to all the characters we met:

Mickey Mouse

Minnie Mouse

Tigger

Woody

Winnie-the-Pooh

Cinderella and Ariel

Donald Duck

Belle

anyone want a box of toys?  these toys are super expensive and very high-maintenance.  batteries not included:

 Re-entry to the real world has been a little rough.  Both kids are now used to sleeping with a parent.  They divided and conquered us the first night and stood their ground.  Harriet hasn't been to bed before 11 and we're still working on it.  Grace continues to wear her Mickey ears anywhere she is allowed, and Momma wonders where is that fairy who makes the beds and leaves us chocolates?  I think Daddy is just relieved to not be spending $100 per meal anymore.  All in all, we couldn't have planned it more perfectly and we are so happy we got to do it.  Thanks Mickey (and Daddy!)

whoever said Labor Day was the last day of summer was a quitter

I stole that title from a friend's facebook post.  I love it.  We, apparently, can't get enough of vacationing and travel.  So far, this September, we've had a couple of mini-vacations which will soon be followed by THE BIG DISNEY trip next week!  I am seriously so excited.  I'm excited for my kids AND for me.  I love Disneyland and I can't wait to share it with them and see how magical it is for them when they are still little enough to be mesmerized by everything.

But I digress.  Here's the Sept vacation report so far:

Daddy has done waaaaayyyy too much traveling this year for work.  We miss him lots when he goes, but the bonus side is that he gets to collect airplane miles and hotel points.  He had a couple of Marriott nights burning a hole in his pocket, so we took the kids up to Santa Fe over Labor Day weekend for a night away, a swim in the pool, a good meal out, and a fun arts festival in Old Town.  I thought we had moved away from the really old American History when we left Boston (inc. 1630), but we were in Santa Fe for it's 400th anniversary! (that's 1610 for the math avoiders.)  I had no idea Santa Fe is the site of the oldest church structure in the country.

cool desert-friendly fountain

Cathedral in Old Town.  Not the oldest church, but still cool.

Then, momma got a little break all to herself to visit Jessica at her house in Houston for the first time.  Well, it was almost a break all to myself - I DID have to sleep in the same room as Kate and Sean.  "Sleep" is a loose term used to describe resting on a bed during the dark hours until morning.  I really wish I could have taken my kids too, but the school district here is super strict about absences and since we are already taking Grace out next week for Disney, I couldn't justify it.

Jess and Nick's back patio

Jessica and Nick roll like rock stars.  They have a pretty great little life there in Houston with their 3 doggies, excuse me, horses.

Dante, Dozer, and Diesel.  the scale:  Diesel (far right), is about the same size as Velvet and Shadow.  I used to think I had big dogs...

The PUPPY and the baby.  Can't believe that dog will be about 2x that size soon.  Still, if I had room for him in my suitcase, I would have stolen him.  Sweet Dante.

my favorite mini-Michael Jackson fan

It was awesome to get to spend lots of time with these guys since I don't get the chance very often, especially to get to know Nick better.

We took the kiddos to the Houston Aquarium, where, much to my dismay was a live WHITE tiger.  I didn't know if I'd have the heart to tell Grace I saw a white tiger without her.  We stocked up on gift shop tiger stuff to soften the blow.

Jess and Nick also took us out on their boat for a grand afternoon.  Melissa and I got on the tube together and pretended we were teenagers again, laughing our guts out and hanging on for dear life as Nick tried to dump the sis-in-laws in the lake.   It was so much fun, I had no idea the next morning I wouldn't be able to feel my arms or move them for 2 more days.  Getting old sucks.  I wish I had a boat and a lake though.  Good times.

just a tad hot in the lifejackets.  sorry kids.

Yes, mo-Deb.  You were too there.  Stop hiding from pictures.

Jess hasn't changed one bit.  Still the wildest one we own.  Totally impressed with her mad tubing skills.

Thanks Jessica and Nick for showing us a great time and being such great hosts!

Let's just safely say that the reality of the school year and winter are going to hit me HARD. sometime.  Don't want to think about it.  Still playing in the sun.  It's still 90 in ABQ, so I'm safe for now.

and a pre-schooler

Miss Hattie Marie... or HARRIET as she now prefers to be called.  What?

Harriet has been missing school ever since she left her fantastic little school in MA.  We couldn't get her in here until fall and then it felt like she had to wait even longer when Grace started so early in August.  Harriet had her first day last Wednesday after Labor Day.  She did cry when I left her the first day, but has been gung ho ever since.

just before the tears...

Harriet's preschool is quite the production.  They require so much of their parents, it's hard to keep up.  But, I can tell she's going to have a really great year, so I can't complain.  What else do I have to do?  I mean really.

The only thing proving to be a stretch for me this year is actually the schedule coordinating.  I only have 2 kids, I have no idea how people do it with 4, or 5, or MORE.  Holy cow.  Grace's guitar and Hattie's school end at the exact same time (not planned that way) every Wednesday, just for example.  My week seems to be full of stuff like that.  Last week was anyway, I'm hoping to smooth it out as we go.  My job has become full time schedule calendar coordinator.

Harriet is the star student of the week this week.  She gets to take a big poster of pictures of herself doing things she likes to do and also take a bag of her favorite things to share with the class.  It sounds like so much fun, but I will never understand preschool teachers who think that a 4 year old can leave their FAVORITE belongings at school for the whole week.  (no, this isn't the first time we've been asked to do it!)  The very definition means that those things are carried around around all day, played with, slept with, and needed on an hourly basis.  We will not be leaving pink B and blue baby in the bag.  We are taking her "almost favorite" things.  Sheesh!  And, heaven tell me, WHAT would happen if they LOST one of said favorite things at the school???  Let's not even hope to think of it.

Other than school, Hattie is keeping herself busy by making giant messes, begging mommy to play, 

going to park days, and going to her dance class once a week.

Who knew "fall dance" started on August 1st.  I missed the first class, but now we're on track and doing well.  She is so stinking cute in her dance clothes.  I wish she'd be a little less reserved and really let herself go in class.  She's always so shy and timid with her movements.  Hopefully, she'll warm up and let loose sometime this year.

We're looking forward to having lots to report from this preschool year.  There's lots on the calendar... hopefully mommy will remember to do it all!

a second grader

I have no idea how I have a kid old enough to be a second grader, but there she is.  Miss Grace Elizabeth Chapman.

I remember second grade VERY well.  It's my earliest concrete memory of a large portion of a school year.   I went to second grade at Southside Elementary in Lander, WY.  My teacher was Miss Rogers.  She was an "old" single lady from Boston, MA with a very thick Boston accent who threatened to "rip our lips off" (sounded like "I'll rep yah leps oahf") if we talked in class.  She had us thoroughly convinced that she had a box of lips in her desk from former second grade rule offenders.  She loved cats and whales.  I learned a lot about whales that year which sparked a pretty solid interest in marine biology.  I also remember second grade because that was the year when Michael Jackson's Thriller album came out and won 8 Grammy awards.  I was hooked on Michael and I vividly remember watching him perform on TV at the Grammys.  It was the start of my committed relationship with music and MTV.

Well, I don't mean to talk so much about myself except that I can't help thinking about my second grade experiences as I watch Grace in hers.  Here, a full 27 years later, and Grace is also hooked on Michael Jackson, totally enthralled with music and rock stars, and liking school for what she can so far.  Unfortunately, this is the first year she hasn't been completely in love with school.  It's so sad knowing that she isn't absolutely excited to get on that bus every morning, but it has become a drudgery and an obligation more than something she wants to do with her day out of choice and excitement.  She does love library and PE day and has become the kid who goes to school and can't wait for recess.

Grace has had a rough start to the year.  I think it is finally sinking in that she is no longer at her beloved school in MA and has had to start life over without her completely supportive teachers and devoted friends (some remain utterly devoted, but just live too darn far away!)  She is hopelessly bored with math because it is SO easy for her right now.  She dreads having to prove one more time on a work sheet that she can, in fact, add, subtract, do greater/less than, read a graph, make a graph, and even do most fractions without the slightest effort.  Her spelling words are also so easy that she puts very little effort into the spelling activities out of spite.  Her papers sometimes look like papers I used to get from my least favorite students.  ugh.  We are having her tested for the gifted program so that she might be a little happier at school.  Unfortunately, they can't get her in for testing until October, so we're trying to teach her the finer points in doing your best and neatest work even if you hate that you have to do it at all and supplementing her where we can at home.

Outside of school, we are trying to cultivate our little Gracie garden into whatever she dreams of being.  She is still firmly set on being a rock star when she grows up and her guitar lessons are proving pretty successful.  No "Stairway to Heaven" yet, but she's got "Ode to Joy" and "Yankee Doodle" down pretty well.  She's even teaches herself each song on the piano as she learns it on the guitar.  We're working on "Clare de Lune" right now.  I'm also getting a bonus out of it because I go to all of her lessons with her and I help her practice by learning the chords and second parts so we can play together.  Maybe she and I will form a chick band someday.  Well, one of us would have to learn to sing... Hattie?

Grace is also doing really well in her karate classes.  She recently switched to the "adult" 7 and up class. They meet 2x a week for over 1.5 hours each time of grueling exercise and training.  I seriously don't know how she does it, and I'm even more surprised by how much she likes it.  Mr. Kao is intense and as serious as the military.  I really respect him though.  Last week, he told the older kids that he will never let them test for their black belts if they don't carry at least a B average in school.  He teaches the kids really great values.

I think the thing Grace is most passionate about these days though, is her bike.  That girl has really learned how to ride it well this summer and constantly pesters us to go out for rides.  I know David couldn't be prouder or happier that she has lost all fears and just goes for it.  She is most excited about her new bike gloves and wore them all day, every day for a week when she first got them.

I guess that's about wraps up the second grade report.  I guess I should write about Hattie too.