Disneyland!

For several months now, Emily and Jason have planned to take Ezri to Disneyland for her 4th birthday. Ezri was very, very excited. They invited me and Christina to go as well.

Whenever we asked Ezri when we were going to Disneyland, she would say, "Tomorrow." I'm pretty sure that "tomorrow" means any day in the future for her. She was beside herself when it really was time to go!

We left Friday morning and drove eleven hours to Anaheim. The kids did very well, and slept a little bit.
Saturday was our first day in the park, as well as Ezri's actual birthday. Christina bought her a princess dress, which she absolutely loved (she thought she'd have to give it back and was very happy when we told her she could take it home with her). I treated her to lunch with all the princesses at Ariel's Grotto. Ariel greeted us as we came in, and then the other princesses (Snow White, Belle, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella) came around to everyone's table to talk and take pictures. Ezri was absolutely beside herself, especially when Sleeping Beauty (her favorite princess) came to talk to her. She giggled and grinned for about fifteen minutes after that visit!Besides the princess lunch, the Tea Cups were her favorite part of the park. She would have gone on them all day, if she'd been with adults who could have handled that much spinning. She also got to meet Mickey, and we saw Minnie from afar (she says that she wants to meet Minnie next time).
Riker's favorite ride was the carousel. He loved that nobody had to hold onto him and would laugh the whole time. He'd also spend time gazing up at the mechanism as if he were trying to figure out how the thing worked.
On the second day, we went to Disney's California Adventure, where they have an area just for little kids. It was a hot day, so we let the kids play in the water - shoes and all! They absolutely loved it!
After more time in the park on Monday, we left Anaheim at about 3pm and drove all night. The kids tried to sleep, but it was difficult for them. In fact, it was rough on all of us. We got fairly loopy and laughed a lot, but I wouldn't recommend it. We decided that next time, we would stay in Anaheim till the next day and just drive home then...

In all, it was a very fun trip, and Ezri talks about it every day. I asked her yesterday if we should go back. She thought for a moment, and then said. "No. Let's go tomorrow."

Thanks, Emily and Jason, for such a wonderful time!!

Snail Hunting

Okay, so Emma can tease me all she wants after my two-month hiatus from blogging. I could give a million excuses, but nobody wants to hear them, so on to blogging!

I had to post some pictures of good times with Joseph's kids. We went Snail Hunting (which is oh so much more fun than Snipe Hunting...).

This is Alex, looking for snails in the wall under the bushes. She reminds me a little of myself when I was young - out looking for worms and snails and bugs right alongside my brothers.

And then, because snails are the bane of my parents' entire yard, we took it to the next level...

Salt

And here is the aftermath... Hungry, anyone?

So, there you go. I'll probably hear it from the Society for Snail Safety, but at least I've upped my status to coolest aunt ever. Incidentally, Grandma let them use her salt shaker, so she's pretty darn cool, too...