"I feel like I just got here from Heaven."

This was Cody's most memorable quote from his birthday, which was, yes, yesterday.  Cut a busy mama some slack.   I didn't get this posted on the day, but I wrapped birthday presents, in addition to Christmas presents, baked a birthday cake, in addition to Christmas goodies for our neighbors, etc, etc, etc.  Whose idea was it to have Cody on December 21st, anyway???  I don't know, but he made a great day out of it, as usual.

He, Nathan and Daddy bundled up tight to go to the Idaho Potato Bowl.  Not because they cared anything about the teams playing, but because someone offered them free tickets that came with lunch and all the hot chocolate they could drink.

 
They learned that it was really uncomfortably cold, and came home at half time.  Not even all the hot chocolate they could drink made up for standing in the freezing weather to watch two teams they didn't care about.

Then it was your basic birthday day.  You know, dinner consisting of spaghetti, meatballs, corn and potstickers (my kids are serious potsticker addicts!), chocolate cake with blue frosting and sprinkles, and presents. 

I feel the same way Cody does.  Doesn't it seem like he just barely got here from Heaven?  Doesn't it seem like he was just barely this bright eyed little creature...?

He was a baby!  And now guess what happened today.  This:

HE LOST A FRONT tooth, which we all know matters a heck of a lot more than those silly bottom teeth.  FRONT TEETH IS THE BEGINNING OF THE END.  No more baby.  He's just a giant, awesome 7 year old who can now whistle all I want for Christmas is my one front tooth!  Happy Birthday, Cody Boy!

What a day.

Really, if we're being honest, what a week.  It's been Young Women's (meetings!  GIANT party at my house!  Organizing Christmas for THREE refugee families!), Cub Scouts (Nathan got his Bear and a bajillion silver and gold arrows),  doctor appointments (Spencer has croup), teaching preschool at my house (L is for Light.  During a POWER OUTAGE!), a massive teething event (Spencer is getting ALL of his teeth.  Like NOW.), birthday parties, etc, etc, etc without even stopping for breath.  I have a feeling that as our kids get older, weeks like this are more likely to become the norm. 

So today was the perfect microcausm for what our life has become.  First, we hit this basketball game:

The boy did great.  Excellent dribbling, rebounding machine, super aggressive on defense (so much so that he bloodied his mouth diving for a ball that was going out of bounds!), and he even made a few shots. 

I love that this whole picture is blurry except Cody's giant smile.  What a kid.  He was taken straight from this basketball game to a birthday party, while I hauled everyone else to another gym across town for this game:

Last game of the season, and Nathan's coach said he was the best rebounder of the day.  Which meant he got to choose his ceremonial socks first (I guess they all got cool socks instead of trophies this year), and Nathan got to choose the most coveted color: pink.  No joke.  

Daddy was able to make it for most of this game, so I finally got a little relief from wrestling my 30 pound bag of baby, who is      m   i   s   e   r   a   b   l   e.   Oh my gosh, he was SO miserable today.  Horrible night's sleep, dragged all over basketball courts all day, can't get down and walk, teething, croupy, just a hot hot miserable mess. 

So did he get a great nap today?  Uh, no, no, no he didn't.  Just went from one game to another to ... a dance recital!  I had to leave Nate's game a little early so that I could get one small girl ready for her first dance recital!  Oh my gosh you guys, SO CUTE!

Backstage before the rehearsal.  (PS some mothers are such over achievers with dance hair.  It was hard enough for me to get it in a TIGHT ponytail, in just the right spot on her head, ALL slicked back, NO wispies, and that lady is doing all of that stuff?  Gimme a break!) 

She's the cutest little dancer! So serious and precise in her movements.  Make it big screen to immerse yourself in the performance.  :) 

She was so proud of herself afterwards, and tickled pink that she got a flower!

So yes, today is a microcausm of my life.

Events for everyone, right after the other,
Boy I am one busy mother.
Hurry, hurry, run run run,
But in the end, it's lots of fun! 

Guys.  That poem just CAME TO ME.  So yeah, even at the end of this crazy day (crazy week) when I couldn't even imagine looking a pot or a pan in the eye (we went out to eat), I guess that means I have at least a few brain cells left, because I can still write a such a wicked good poem.

The end.  I'm going to bed.
There are no more thoughts in my head.

Seriously, I can't stop myself.  My poetry genius cannot be shackled by the constraints of mortal exhaustion!

These moments are hard to come by anymore...

But that makes them all the sweeter.

Bring on Christmas!

We rang in the Christmas season in fine style!  The day after Thanksgiving found us blasting the Christmas tunes and making gingerbread houses.  (I LOVE that Grandma planned this activity!  This is the sort of thing that my kids love to do and I love them to do it, but it seems hard for me to get around to making it all happen.  Good job, Grandma.)

 

Grandpa helped Daddy set up the tree (who needs a ladder??), and Grandma helped the kids decorate it. 

 And Grandma and Spenny shared lots and lots and lots and lots of nice kisses. 

 

 It was a perfect weekend.  A wonderful crafty, messy activity orchestrated by Grandma, Ryan and I got out for a little date, lots of little "To-Do's" done by Grandpa,  and plenty of Christmas cheer!

Come Ye Thankful People

I believe Cody was right when immediately after dinner, he said, "Uuuugh. My tummy is hard to carry."

Yep.  That's a true American Thanksgiving!

He shoots...

Please enjoy this little slow motion clip that our friend took of Cody during his basketball game...  (and use the full screen button.  Make Cody's glorious moment nice and big!  Plus, there's so many kids all glommed up around the ball, if you don't make it big, you might have a hard time distinguishing Cody from the mass of first graders piled up around him.)




He shoots... he scores!



 Or, if you prefer, here's the version where Ryan played Greg Wrubell. Cougar fans? Anything? Ah, anyway, it's just a version where Ryan commentates the action.





He was so cute.  Today was the first game of his that I was able to go to (as opposed to Daddy.)  He turned into a little ball hog because he wanted me to see him make a basket SO badly!  And every time he didn't (and let's be real, there were plenty of those times), he'd look over at me with a little sad "I'm sorry I let you down" look.  So it made his joy all the greater when he made one-nope, make that THREE shots in his game!  :) 

A Decade

One short decade ago, Nathan Richard Weed entered the world and I tell you, the world hasn't been quite the same since.  In the best way, of course.  The world wasn't as good as it could have been without Nathan.

He had a crazy good little birthday today, including the wildest weather-snow, hail, rain and sun.  So he started the day by playing in the dusting of snow.  Just enough to make a little snow man!

Then we dashed off to basketball.  Apparently, the coaches told the refs that it was his birthday, because they introduced him as "Number 10, the birthday boy, Nathan W!"  Then the entire gym, including the other team and all the parents, sang happy birthday to him.  Made him feel pretty special.

He requested his usual dinner-apple pancake, but with an unusual side dish-potstickers.  Oooookkkaaaaay... it's your birthday, man.  We'll eat whatever you want to eat. 

This is a pretty sweet kid.  I think it's kind of a rare child who gives more than he takes, but that's how I feel about Nathan at our house.  He is always so helpful, so responsible.  He makes up for most of my lame parenting, bless his heart.  :)

Happy Birthday, Nathan!  It's been one wild decade, and I suppose the next one will be even wilder, but I think we'll make it together.  Love you, bud.

Now I Know

I have often wondered what Nathan will be when he grows up.  I think he has some grand destiny in store for him.  Will he cure cancer, or create a colony on Mars or I don't know.  But I feel that he's got the brain power to do something amazing.

So today Nathan said that when he grows up, he has two goals.

First, he plans to make sure that no endangered animals get killed and that no new animals become endangered. 

And second, he wants to give the Native Americans their land back.

So it looks like my brilliant son will be an environmental warrior and a great land redistributer (sorry to any of you all of you who may live on land once occupied by Native Americans.) 

Menacing

Guys, I totally just got menaced by my 1 year old.

I was feeding him mandarin oranges for the first time.  I thought he'd like 'em.  He likes pickles and other slightly tart things, I thought he'd dig it.  I gave him a few and walked away.  When I returned, they were gone, so I figured he ate them and liked them.  So I gave him another.  Which he grabbed in his fat paw, and looking me dead in eye, squeezed it violently, then dropped it off his tray.  That's when I saw the graveyard of mandarins on the floor, all with their life juices squeezed out.

Yikes.

I got the message, man, you don't like oranges, just ease off a little, huh??

Happy Halloween, 2013!

 Baby bat.  Too cute, right?  This was actually a costume that my mom made for my little brother when he was around this age.  This is what bats from the 80's looked like!  :)  He tolerated this whole Halloween thing pretty well, keeping his hat and cape on all night. 

 Are we awarding a prize for the winner of Halloween?  Because if so, Miss Girl takes the cake, the candy, and the prize.  We were stopped by more people than I can even remotely count, saying how she should be in a play or a movie, how beautiful, how beautiful she is and how amazing her costume is and (fill in the blank with glowing superlative comment here.)   She accepted all of this adoration with gratitude and grace, but what she did not handle with grace was barking dogs.  She cried every time a trick or treat doorbell ring started a dog barking behind the door.  Terrors lurk around every corner and you never know what horrors you may have to deal with in order to get candy! 

 Cody seemed to notice that Leah was winning Halloween, as half way through the night, he said, "Hey, how come everyone is only talking about Leah's costume???"  Sorry, boy.  I know you have become accustomed to a certain amount of adoration, but girl costumes tend to beat boy costumes in their wow factor.  Nothing personal.  Though he did make a very committed ninja warrior whose legendary skills were the stuff of legend.  (Kung Fu Panda, anyone??)

No, you're not seeing double.  It's the other half of the "Ninja Twins," as the boys dubbed themselves this year.  It's actually very gracious of Nathan, since pretty much every year, when Nathan decides what he wants to be, suddenly, that's exactly what Cody has always dreamed of being!!  Other years, Nathan has decided to switch costumes, and has allowed Cody to be the thing he originally wanted to be.  This year, Nathan decided it was okay that they be the same super stealthy and fierce ninja.

 And one more... we can't forget the Mister of the house, who is starting to make it a tradition to dress up for Halloween at his work.  Ryan makes a pretty convincing 70's dude, doesn't he?  You better believe he can bust some sweet disco in this getup...

Days like this are so busy.  Filled with parades and parties and hair curling and Halloween dinners, etc, etc, etc.  But it's on days like this, when at the end of this day, I can look back at a picture like this and see all my little guys, all happy and all together, that it fills my heart to be a mother.  And I get to be a mother to these guys.  These, my favorite little guys in all the world.  I am so lucky to be a mom and lucky to experience wonderful days like these.

So Happy Halloween, 2013!

Trip to Cali, part 4: Mickey's Halloween Party

Friday, we hit up the best Halloween party that we have ever been to or will ever go to.

But first, all the granddaughters got to go to the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique, where a fairy godmother in training worked her magic on their hair and nails.

Leah enjoyed this treatment, but selected the most outlandish hairstyle!!!  I mean, she had the option to go with a gorgeous Cinderella bun, that comes complete with a crown, and what did she choose?  A pink bird's nest upon her head.

What a hot, hot, mess.  :)  But bless her heart, she liked it.

Uh, yes, now you can see some of the... tamer options for hairstyles.  Hot pink bird's nest.  I'm still shaking my head about it.

All the granddaughters with their fairy grandparents.

All the hooligans who attended this Halloween party together... quite a group, right?

It is at this point that a terrible misfortune befell me.  My mom's camera ran out of batteries.  So I borrowed someone else's.  Almost immediately, theirs ran out of memory.  Cursed, I tell you!  A Halloween curse!  Which is really too bad because a picture of my kids trick or treating in Disneyland would have been priceless!  But I did manage to get one final picture-of the birthday boy!

Yeah, for Nathan's first birthday, we had a little birthday party.  Which looking back on it is hilarious because first birthday parties are for first time parents, man.  No one cares about a one year old's birthday party.  So Cody and Leah each got a cupcake.  That's it.  And Spencer, well, for his first birthday, we took him to Disneyland!!  Who says 4th children never get anything special??  Spencer had the best birthday that he will ever have (in DISNEYLAND!), and he will never remember it! Sadly, they're all downhill from here.  Too bad.  And to be honest, he pooped out before the end, going home with Grandma and Grandpa and Leah right after the (awesome) fireworks, while Ryan and I stayed with the big boys and partied 'til midnight! 

It really was a super great time.  We're still talking about it almost daily.  On the way to the airport, we stopped by the California Science Museum, which was ah-mazing.  I have one cell phone picture of the awesome space shuttle Endeavor...

The whole museum was amazing.  The shuttle was super amazing.  And the whole trip was super, super SUPER DUPER AMAZING!!!  I really feel like this trip was a sweepstakes I won.  Like one of those dream vacations that no one you actually know ever wins, but I feel like I did.

So, Grandma and Grandpa-Thank you, thank you, thank you!  It was the trip of a lifetime!

Trip to Cali, part 3: Legoland

Thursday we took a little break from all things Disney and did all things Lego.

Cody was like, "Hah!  I faced the real thing yesterday!"

Uh, Legoland is just... okay.  But this was probably the coolest thing there- a life size X wing.   A bajillion pounds of legos and a bajillion hours of work went into that thing.  Something like that, anyway...

Well, the scale replicas of buildings were cool, too.  If you're going there for rides, Legoland is a big bust!  But if you want to see stuff made out of Legos, then it's okay.  :)  There you go, there's my review of Legoland.

Trip to Cali, part 2: Disneyland!

Wednesday, we hit Disneyland. And of course you know, I mean we really hit Disneyland, showing up to wait at the gates about 40 minutes before they opened.  We were literally the second people in line.

I bet you're thinking we're crazy.  You're right, I'm sure, but let me tell you a little modern parable about being early and being nice.

So we were waiting in line at Disneyland.  Very early.  And believe it or not, MANY other people go well before the park opens, so they can get a jump on the crowds.   Adults understand how this can be advantageous.  Kids, on the other hand, tend to think it's pretty lame to get up really early in order to STAND in a line in front of Disneyland, the happiest place on earth, and not be allowed to go in.  Long story short-there were many kids in lines all around us, pretty much all of whom were whining and complaining.  My children, I am proud to report, were not.  They were playing with each other, skipping and twirling (I'll leave it to you to guess which one was doing that), playing with baby, and just generally dealing with their waiting time in a pleasant way.  About 10 minutes before the park opened, a Disneyland worker came out of the gates and came to chat with us.  Where were we from, how has our stay been so far, etc.  We made a little small talk with the lady, until she asked, "Would you like to open the park with us today?"

Say what there now?  She said we could come into the park before anyone else, get our pictures taken with no crowds around us, and that we could count down with the Disney workers until the official opening of the park.  "Wow, uh, yes!  We would love to!  Thank you!"  I can't remember if Nathan asked why or exactly how this came about, but she just said, "I picked you because I liked you."  I HAVE to think that 4 pleasant children in a sea of whiny ones had to stand out.  So there you go.  That's the parable.  Be early and be nice and you might set foot into Disneyland before anyone else.  :)

In Disneyland.  Before anyone else.

And Disneyland is really fun, but also a little hectic.  You're always on the run to the next ride, trying to make sure you don't loose any kids.  Looking back, I can't believe how few pictures I took. 

I wish I'd done better.  But I'll tell you one event wherein I snapped more pictures than probably the rest of our vacation combined-The Jedi Training Academy.

Our boys were interested in this performance, so we went and caught a session.  It was cute.  About 20 kids get picked out of the audience to come up on stage and actually learn the ways of the Jedi.  None of my kids got picked, the show was still cute, life goes on.   But life didn't quite go on for Cody.  He wanted to do it so bad.  SO so bad.  He wanted to go back to all the rest of the showings for the day in the hopes that he might get picked.  I explained that we could spend all the rest of our time there at Disneyland watching the show and he still might not get picked.  But oh, how he desired.  I kind of put him off, saying that we'll see if we're around when another show time started.

Well, as fate would have it, we were around for another show time.  Knowing how desperately he wanted it, I stayed with Cody at the show while everyone else went on some more rides.  The padawan picking commenced.  Cody, along with 60 other kids, was raising his hand and jumping, hoping to get picked.  I knew how bad he wanted it, and I could see the thinly veiled desperation in his eyes.  I prayed.  Oh, I prayed!  Please Heavenly Father, please please please, if it's all the same to you, this really matters to Cody and could you please, please please let Cody get picked.  The picking continued and Cody wasn't picked.  Until... the very last.  Yes, Cody was the last little guy picked, and how my heart rejoiced.  I could not stop smiling the whole time.  He loved it. 

First, Cody learned the ways of the force from his Jedi masters, practicing and drilling until he knew how to handle the weapon of the Jedi, the light saber.

Suddenly, there was a disturbance in the force!

I guess that's not too surprising because it turns out that Darth Vader, Darth Maul and a couple of storm troopers were under the training facility the whole time!  The floor literally rose up to reveal Vader and Maul, coming out of the ground with smoke and lights.  All very exciting.

Darth Vader made a proposal to all the young padawans, "Join me and discover your true power!"

"Never!" they cried in unison, and then the fighting began.  Each padawan had to put their training to the test, while battling either Darth Vader or Darth Maul.

Cody got Darth Maul.

What the HECK, he was fierce.  And he must have been 4 parts martial arts expert to one part actor, because he spent most of his time spinning and flipping and wielding his light saber in a very convincing fashion.

After a few final words from his Jedi master, the fight began.  It was an epic, if brief, fight.  Cody took that old boy to school.  And so, he was able to graduate with the rest of his padawan class.

So proud of my little padawan.  It was magical.  It was the boy equivalent of meeting all the princesses (which, no, we didn't do because wait in a 60 minute line??? I don't think so.  We just peeked at them and said, "Leah!  Look!  There's Snow White!"  Good enough for us.)

When I asked Cody about it afterwards, he said that while they were picking the kids, his "heart was hurting."  I thought he meant, like, he was so worried he wouldn't get picked, and since he was the very last one picked, that his heart was hurting with disappointment.  No, he said, because he was jumping and trying so hard to get picked that his heart was hurting and he wanted to stop jumping and quit, but he told himself, "No, I have to keep jumping!  I have to keep trying!"  So he did and his efforts paid off.  Another modern parable.  :)  

Our day at Disneyland was so much fun.  Following the tradition, I'll now interview everyone about favorites and memories and such.


What was your favorite ride at Disneyland?

Daddy:  Splash Mountain

Mama:   Also, Splash Mountain
Nathan:  The Matterhorn

Cody:  Indiana Jones

Leah: Splash Mountain!

What was your least favorite?

Daddy:  It's a Small World.

Mama:  Sadly, Small World.  It's a snore.  And it's loooooooooong.  Not even its iconic status could rescue this for me.

Nathan:  Space Mountain

Cody:  Winnie the Pooh

Leah:  I liked everything, but the scariest one was the Haunted Mansion.


What was something that surprised you at Disneyland?

Daddy:  The price of a slice of pizza (about $30 for 4 slices!)
Mama:  Hmmm, the Dole Whips were surprisingly delicious, I was surprised when like a 70 year old man COMPLETELY cut in front of me in line to get dinner, I was surprised at how brave Leah was about all the rides, I was surprised at the extraordinary length of time we spent waiting in line at the lost and found because Nathan lost his library book (who even brings a library book to Disneyland??? STILL killing me.)  I was surprised that I wasted everyone at the Buzz Lightyear Blasters, or maybe I'm not surprised at all, maybe I'm just looking for a place to say that... ;)

Nathan:  I was surprised that Nemo had parts that were different from the movie for the ride.

Cody:  That I got to go up to Jedi training and that Darth Maul's light saber actually made the noises.

Leah:That we got to ride the Cinderella boat and go in that whale's  mouth.  (Storybook Canal Boats)


What show did you like best?

Daddy:  Captain Eo and the Jedi Show, a tie.

Mama:  I had to love Jedi Training because of how happy it made my Cody.

Nathan:  Captain Eo

Cody:  Jedi Training!!!

Leah: The parade because of all the girls that waved at me and danced at us.  (Leah got quite a bit of attention from the parade performers, and after the parade was over, Leah danced and twirled for the next hour.)


What's another happy memory you have about Disneyland?

Daddy:  When our boys asked (in disbelief) if Michael Jackson was a boy, because they were pretty convinced that he was a girl. 

Mama:  This was so sweet-when we went on the Storybook Canal Boats, we sailed past Snow White's cottage, and they've got a little sound track of Snow White singing "Whistle While You Work," and when Leah heard that, she gasped and with wide eyes whispered, "She's really in there!!"  That was magic.

Nathan:  I got to go on 3 or 4 rides with my cousins.

Cody:  How we got to go inside before everyone else.

Leah: How I got to go on Star Tours with Grandma and Mama and Grandma was the spy!




Oh my goodness, we went home exhausted after another full and happy and magical Disney day!

We interrupt for an important announcement

I must interrupt the vacay recap to tell you that a big thing has happened-  Spencer can walk!




Found His Sea Legs from Bethany Weed on Vimeo.




If you've been around Spencer at all in the last 3 or 4 months, you know that walking has been his heart's deepest dream for quite some time now!  And while he's been taking little steps here and there, today at church, he just took off. 

He's so happy to finally be one of the guys!

Trip to Cali, part 1: The Beach and DCA

Well, friends, it's time to play a little good news/bad news/good news...

The good news is that we went on a great trip to California.

The bad news is that I forgot my camera.

The good news is that my mom allowed me to commandeer hers. 

So really it all just ends up being good news except that there was something that I really wanted to take a picture of before I got my mom's camera.  And that was the adorable sight that it was to see  my three oldest children pulling their own suitcases and carrying their own little backpacks onto the plane.  It was both cute and wonderful because finally they can be helpful little travelers!

Our first night, we hung with the California Weeds, however this is also before I had my camera-Trevor?  Liz?  Any pictures of this?

Sunday, we went to church and played various family games, again, not so much with the pictures.

Monday, we headed to the beach.

I would like to say that a great time was had by all, but the truth is that Spenny pretty much hated it.  He hated the water, hated the wind and hated the sun.  Soooooooo, pretty much he hated the beach.  Oh, I caught him in a happy moment for that picture (because he's always happy when he's walking), but in reality, this wasn't his favorite activity.  I ended up taking him in the stroller and walking the boardwalk, which was at least shaded, away from the water and mostly protected from the wind.  Poor cave creature baby.  Nathan attempted boogie boarding, and was rewarded for his efforts with a noseful of salt water, so he stuck to the beach after that.  But other than that, I believe everyone had a great time.  :)

Tuesday: DCA.  Disney California Adventure, for those of you not into Disney acronyms... and it was go time.  DCA opened that day at 8:00.  We were at the front of the line at 7:20.  YIKES, right??  Yikes.  That's getting up, getting ready and getting out of the house QUICK and early.  But, all of our research suggested that if we didn't, we wouldn't get to ride the headliner at DCA-Roaring Springs Racers.  So we committed.  We went ALL in.  And everyone did great!

 I actually really do think Cars Land deserves the hype.  It's pretty amazing, and that Radiator Springs ride is awesome.  Like I said, we were 40 minutes early to the park and still waited about 15 minutes to get on the ride.  There was a steady stream of people getting on that ride for probably... 40 minutes?  Crazy.

Everything in Cars Land is adorable, really.

Another big favorite with us was Mickey's Swinging Gondola-everyone loved it, even Spenny, although he's not looking too sure in that particular picture. 

Poor sweet Spenny had never spent so much time in his stroller.  Nor had he taken so many naps outside his crib.  (Can I get the props I deserve for holding that chunk while he napped??!  #backstillbroken.)

Other things we loved that I didn't get a picture of: Loved Soarin' Over California!  Loved Toy Story Mania (big mama crushed everyone's score even though I was holding baby and shooting one handed, oops, did I just say that), loved all the attractions on the Pier, just the little things, like the Silly Swings and the Jumpin' Jellyfish-no lines, quick and fun! Loved It's Tough to Be a Bug, loved Aladdin, and World of Color was awesome.

Hey, I just realized, this post shouldn't just contain my reviews of our time.  This was a vacation of the family and for the family, so I suppose I should ask everyone.  So, okay, here's the post DCA interview with the rest of the fam:


What was your favorite ride in Disney California Adventure?

 Daddy: Radiator Springs Racers, no question about it.
Mama: Yikes.  Tie between Soarin' Over California and Toy Story Mania.  And since I am the moderator of this interview, I get to put both.  And I really liked the Racers too. 
Nathan: Toy Story Mania
Cody: Radiator Springs Racers
Leah:   The Mermaid Ride.


What was the worst ride?

Daddy: Luigi's Flying Tires
Mama: Monsters Inc.  The set up for the ride was cute, but the ride itself was lame and we waited a long time to get on.
Nathan:  California Screamin.  Eulgh.
Cody: Little Mermaid
Leah:  I didn't like the Flying Tires very much


What was the most surprising thing that happened?  

Daddy: The crowd size when the park opened at the entrance to Cars Land, and getting run off the road with our stroller by people rushing to get there.
Mama: When we got off the Silly Swings and boom!  The parade was right there.  And it was delightful!
Nathan: How Mr. Potato Head talked to me.  (This is true.  While we waited in line for Toy Story Mania, the barker, Mr. Potato head said to Nathan, "Hey you!  You in the red!  (Nathan was wearing red.)  Who's your favorite toy?  To which Nathan quickly responded, "You are!"  Mr. Potato Head replied, "Awwww, you're my favorite, too!"  It was pretty magical!
Cody:  The loop d' loop on California Screamin'. 
Leah: When Jasmine and Aladdin flew on the carpet. 


What show did you remember best?

Daddy: I really remember the heat of the fire from World of Color (yes, we were close enough to feel the heat!), and the wall of water they used as a screen for the movies.
Mama:  Let's count "It's Tough to Be A Bug" as a show.  That was darling! 
Nathan: World of Color.  It was cool how the water shot so high up in the air.
Cody: World of Color-I liked all the fire. 
Leah: Aladdin-I liked the girl because she's pretty.


What is a good memory you have about DCA?

Daddy: Soarin' over California with my oldest boy!
Mama:  Just tucking my arms around various kiddles on rides.  It's just fun to experience new things together while you've got your arms wrapped around the kids you love. 
Nathan: I really like the Genie from Aladdin.  He was funny and made a lot of comments that people in the Arabian days wouldn't actually know. 
Cody: I remember me and Daddy doing the Tower of Terror.
Leah:  When we fell down that waterfall and got wet and I got one drip in my eye (Grizzly River Run). 

Oh, and I should add one memorable quote from DCA-we rode the Jumpin Jellyfish ride, which lightly drops.  Leah, giggling, said, "Mama!  When it falls, I get butterflies in my body and I pee a little!"

All in all, a full and fun and exhausting day at DCA!