First day of school

Two days after we got back from Disney, on Isaac's 6th birthday, school started again.  Isaac was a little apprehensive about starting a new school (4th school in four years), but at orientation he realized that he was in the same class as one of his friends from kindergarten and one of the twins, so he was immediately comfortable.  We had been talking all summer about how cool it was that school was so close to the house, so Isaac was determined to walk to school.  Apparently, the entire neighborhood had the same idea, the streets leading up to the school looked like a parade.   I was amazed at how many of our neighbors had kids at Eldorado, but it's a K-8 with about 1000 students, so it makes sense.  It made the neighborhood feel like a close community, which was nice and reaffirmed our decision to move here.  I was a little emotional taking him to first grade (!!), but he was full of confidence, giving me a quick hug and sending me on my way once we found his class.  Bittersweet... :)

Caitlin went back to the Louisville Montessori for her PK-4 year, but was just as excited for the first day as if she was starting real school.  Bill and I dropped her off together, which made her feel extra special, and she was very happy to see her friends and be back in her favorite teacher, Ms. Jean's class.  

The summer flew by in a flash, and now we're back into the routine of school again, but the kids seem happy to be back, which is a great relief.

Vacation Part 3 - Disneyland

After recovering at the beach, we set off for Disneyland.  Caitlin was beyond excited to meet all of her princess heroines, and Isaac was determined to meet Thor.  I was just hoping to make it through this day not feeling old and crippled (having learned our lesson at LegoLand, we stopped at Target to get an umbrella stroller).  Being a Florida girl, I had never been to DisneyLand before, and was shocked to find that it was a miniature version of DisneyWorld that was entirely manageable in comparison.  We got a room at the DisneyLand hotel, so we just jumped on the monorail to the park almost upon opening.  Since it was a Monday, the lines weren't too bad, and we were able to get on Thunder Mountain with no line - two times in a row.  A great intro to the park!  Cate felt brave after her roller coaster experiences at LegoLand, but this was definitely on another level.  She got a little nervous because part of it was dark and loud and almost declined a second ride, but we had a little "girl-power" chat, and she agreed to be brave and ride with me.  We laughed and screamed together through the whole thing - she loved it. The rest of the morning flew by with lots of giggles on rides like the teacups, Mr. Toads, the Star Wars 4-D ride, It's a Small World, and the Buzz Lightyear adventure.

Isaac got to design his own Light Saber at Star Wars - I'll probably regret that purchase

After this, Bill and I split up.  The boys spent time at Innovations, trying on Iron Man's armor and meeting Thor.  Isaac got called up to volunteer with Thor and realized that his Hammer really is heavy (Bill said he was shy and starstruck - might be the first time ever).  After that they went to do some Jedi training, which reportedly was cool, and then rode Space Mountain.  Isaac was a little hesitant, but had a blast and couldn't stop talking about how cool it was.  (I wasn't there, so we're a little short on pictures from this part of the day :) )
At the same time, Caitlin and I went to the Bibbity-Bobbity-Boutique.  Aunt Kristin made her an appointment at the princess beauty salon as a birthday present, which is probably one of the cutest experiences I've ever been a part of.  Cate got totally Princess-ified (hair, nails and makeup!) in preparation for her meeting with the princesses.  I was almost in tears watching her, her reaction to the entire experience was priceless.   Of course, she picked the most outlandish option - with pink and purple extensions and extra glitter :) - and loved every second of it.

As soon as we were done - it was time for the Disney Parade.  Within minutes of walking out of the salon, we saw the floats start coming down the street.  As luck would have it, the first float was Frozen, and Caitlin was ecstatic to see Anna and Elsa who "waved right to me!".  The rest of the parade was equally amazing, and Caitlin loved the whole thing, screaming with excitement as each of her heroes passed by, and dancing and singing to the music.  Too cute.

After the parade, it was finally time.  We headed into the Sleeping Beauty Castle to meet the princesses.  At this point, Cate was so excited, she was almost floating.  She was so sweet and awestruck by the princesses, that I almost didn't recognize her!  She kept whispering to me "Mommy, do you see her? That's the REAL -- (Arielle, Snow White, etc)", to which I just smiled and said, "yup!".  

After the exciting afternoon apart, we all met up for dinner (and Mickey-shaped beignets) and compared experiences.  Bill and I were exhausted, but felt great about our decision to take them on this trip.  This really was the PERFECT time to take them -- they are still young enough to be completely swept up by the magic of Disney, but old enough to go on the fun rides and remember this experience.   

After dinner, we headed back to the hotel to hit the concierge floor for the fireworks show.  It was a great view, and they piped in the sound from the show (music, announcements etc), but we were able to avoid the crowds and got to go back and clean up first.  This was the perfect way to ensure they got to see the fireworks at 9, but did so in their PJs within steps from their beds.

After a full day, we all went to sleep quickly.  Another night sharing one big room - but we were all asleep so quickly, no one even noticed!

We only bought park passes for one day, because we were heading back to Colorado on Tuesday afternoon.  So, the next morning, we woke up and wandered around downtown Disney (including the Lego Store -apparently they hadn't had enough) before heading to Goofy's Kitchen for a character breakfast.

Check out the kids' faces - definitely worth the exorbitant price for a bad buffet :)  The kids were very excited to meet lots more characters up close and personal, including Princesses Jasmine and Aurora and Chip'n'Dale and Pluto, who sang happy birthday to the kids.

After breakfast, we spent an hour at the pool.  Bill took the kids on the famous two-story water slide the first time, and they spent the next hour going down over-and-over on their own.  Great way to exhaust them before heading to the airport for our flight home.  Overall an AMAZING trip - we definitely went home exhausted and lighter in the wallet, but no doubt worth every penny.

Vacation - Part 2 The Beach

After a couple of days exhausting ourselves at LegoLand, we scheduled a beach-break. We stayed with Bill's cousin and uncle in Irvine for some good family catch-up time, and spent a day at the beach, which the kids LOVED.  Since Bill and I are such beach-obsessed people, it makes me happy that the kids love it too.  We grabbed some beach toys from the local grocery store and the kids were busy for hours building sand castles and digging holes.  The ocean was a little rough (and cold!) so they didn't go in too far, but they had a blast screaming/laughing and running from the waves.  Alex ultimately convinced Isaac to go in all the way holding on to him (in his full wet suit!), but they didn't last very long.  We all had a great time, and enjoyed recovering with our own bedrooms and nap times!  Great prep for Disney :)

We also got to see Bill's Aunt Barbie and Uncle Murray, who brought the kids adorable gifts, including train whistles which they blew A LOT :)

Vacation - Part 1 LegoLand

To assuage my guilt for our 8-day kid-free vacation to Cabo, we booked a 6-day family trip to California (notice I didn't say vacation) that was totally kid-focused.  Because we took so many pics, I'm splitting it up into 3 different posts.  First, we flew into San Diego and spent the night at a Park Hyatt right near LegoLand so we could get there when it opened the following morning.  We had lunch on La Hoya beach and then spent the afternoon at the pool before lounging in the swanky bathrobes and ordering room service on the balcony for dinner.  The kids looked so cute in the (way-too-big) bathrobes, that I couldn't resist taking some family pics.   They chased each other around the suite hysterical laughing and tripping each other by stepping on the robes, which was hilarious, until Cate face-planted into the carpet.  She was fine - but had a bit of a Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer thing going on for the rest of the trip...

Spaghetti slurping contest - Cate won for speed, Isaac won for messy face :)

The kids were awake super-early and excited to hit LegoLand.  We checked into the LegoLand hotel (when in Rome...) and hit the park almost as soon as it opened.  It really is an amazing sight to see - everything you can imagine is built with Legos.  Isaac was in awe, and Cate was a great sport, especially once she got to meet WildStyle.  Cate rode her first roller coaster, and the kids went on the log flume with Bill and they ALL got soaked.  Once wet, it made sense for them to spent some time in the water play area, which was also very cool. We went hard core for the whole day - during most of which we were walking fast and carrying the kids on shoulders and/or piggy back.  Needless to say, we were exhausted and sore!  

if you look closely you can see Bill and the kids in the back row - right before they got soaked!

After lunch, we went back to check out the LegoMovie movie set (which was REALLY cool), and to see a LegoFriends musical event, and to ride some more rides.  Caitlin was starstruck when she got to pose with all the Friends after dancing to their jams.

Here's the pic from Cate's first roller coaster - Cate was holding on tight, but definitely smiling - so cute!

Isaac, Cate and I went on one of those rides where it takes you up to the top and drops you down.  They were brave, I screamed - they thought it was hysterical that mommy was scared :)

When we finally finished our day, we went back to the hotel, which was even cooler than the park with legos everywhere and the theme taken to extreme levels.  We got onto the elevator, which seemed totally normal, but when the doors closed, the kids were hysterical and surprised at the sudden party -- the music turned from elevator music ("Girl from Ipanama")  to "Everything is Awesome," with a strobe light dropping out of nowhere, and then when it was time for the doors to open, the lights returned to normal and the elevator music returned - like nothing happened.  Bill had read about it, so I had the camera ready to capture the kids' reaction - too cute.

After the elevator, they found the Whoopie Cushion buried in the floor, which amused them to no end.  

The whole room was decked out in "adventure" theme with lego figures everywhere.  The kids had their own nook with bunk beds, and after a scavenger hunt around the hotel, they figured out the code to open the room safe to find lego kits and paraphernalia.  You'd think they won the lottery :).     

We were all exhausted from a full day, and the kids fell asleep in about 10 seconds.  Afterward, Bill and I drank wine out of paper Lego cups in silence (did I mention we were all in one room?), we joined them in deep sleep.  And then we woke up and did it all over again - day 2 was even better :)