Weekday Adventure: Disneyland!

Today, we did the one attraction that we have been wanting to do since we moved to Southern California. We went to Disneyland! JD took the day off and we headed to Anaheim to celebrate Beatrice's birthday a few weeks early.

We got there about 30 minutes after the park opened. We should have gotten there an hour earlier. It was packed. The girls ate 50% of their snacks while we waited (and waited and waited and waited) to buy our tickets.

 

Speaking of tickets, see that bad boy up there? I lost it within 10 seconds of JD handing it to me. Somehow I dropped it at the ticket window and didn't realize it until we were in line to enter the park. Thankfully, I found it and my husband didn't lecture me too much on the importance of keeping up with expensive pieces of paper.

Once we got in, it was pretty overwhelming. Aside from being packed with people, there was so much to see, touch, and smell. It was sensory overload. Beatrice kept asking to get out of the stroller, but JD and I told her she had to stay put until we figured out where to start. We decided to go for the castle.

Beatrice is really into princesses. Cinderella used to be her favorite, but now Ariel is her number one girl. Guess who we saw as soon as we got to the castle...

I cried when Beatrice got to meet her. She was so happy and grown up the way she walked right up to her and started talking. They talked for 5 solid minutes about the benefits of being a human versus a mermaid (although Beatrice told her she prefers when she's a mermaid), about how Flounder can be a guppy sometimes, and other important princess topics. JD and I just stood back, snapping a million pictures (and crying), letting her have her moment. It was one of my favorite parenting moments to date.

Cinderella was right around the corner.

The rest of the day was spent riding rides, eating, and walking 100,000 miles. Speaking of rides, my kids were afraid of every single moving thing we put them on. I take that back. They enjoyed the carousel and train ride, but every other moving ride sent them clamoring into our laps in fits of terror. And being the awesome parents that we are, we just kept making them ride stuff.  

 

In our defense, we weren't taking them on any scary or dangerous rides. Just little kid rides through Pinnochio's storybook and such, but man those rides are weird. All of them felt like being in a psychedelic trip. I've never taken a psychedelic trip before, but I imagine it would be a lot like the Winnie the Pooh ride at Disneyland. The strange animated mannequins, flashing lights, and jerky movements of the cars freaked them out. And after we promised that the next ride wouldn't be scary at all, something else would totally freak them out. Disneyland wasn't the happiest place on earth for my kids.

Like I said, the train and the carousel were the only rides that did not produce tears from our children.

The other the thing Beatrice totally loved was the characters. She didn't know who half of them were, but if there was a furry figure, she wanted to hug them.

Disney wore us out. By the end of the day, this is what we looked like:

My feet ache, we spent way too much money, and we scared the crap out of our girls repeatedly, but it was such a happy day. I'm so glad we finally adventured at Disneyland!

 

 

How We're Doing

Today is my 1 year anniversary of living in California. In some ways, it has seemed like the longest year of my life. In other ways, it has flown by. Regardless of how long it has seemed, 1 year has passed away from our families and we survived. Here's how we're doing.

Homesickness

For the first 6 months, I cried almost every day. I was painfully homesick. I prayed for a way to go back to Tennessee where JD could keep his current job. I was pretty miserable. It wasn't until after my first trip back home that I started to feel at home here. Now, I still miss my family, but I really feel rooted in our new home and in our new community. It feels good to like where I live and finally feel at home here. Now if only our entire family would pack up and move to Los Angeles, things would be perfect. 

Friends

Almost immediately after moving here, I made friends. We started out meeting at playgrounds so our kids could play, but then we grew real friendships. We lend parenting advice, coffee creamer, and shoulders to cry on when needed. We get together so we can talk. We fill in for faraway family members at holiday dinners. We watch each other's kids. I can honestly say it is because of my friends that I have adjusted to California so well. Without them, this would be a big ol' lonely state.

Geography

There is not a lot to be desired about our town. It's small so I have to drive out of town to do any shopping other than Target and the grocery store. There are only a handful of restaurants here and they are hit or miss in the deliciousness department. And there is a lot of crime in the surrounding areas. But, we live walking distance from the clean beach, the fishing pier, and about 10 playgrounds/parks. For the girls, this area is really great and they are thrilled with all of the stuff they get to experience weekly. JD and I often joke about how different our L.A. experience would be if we didn't have children. We would live downtown, check out the nightlife, and eat at world class restaurants. But since we do have these precious girls, our L.A. experience is much more family friendly. 

Climate

It truly is paradise here. 9 months out of the year it never gets warmer than 70 degrees and is always breezy and sunny. The nights and mornings are chilly, the afternoons sunny. We love it.

What We Don't Love

The cost of living is ridiculous in California. JD makes a lot more than he did in Tennessee, but our rent is 3x what our mortgage was back east, gas is $1+ a gallon more here, and food costs are sky high. Thankfully we live walking distance to so much fun stuff because after we pay rent, buy gas, and eat, we have nothing left. Kidding, sort of. 

We really, really miss our church back home. We found a great church here, but it is 45 minutes away and it's just not the same as the church I attended since I was 12. Honestly, if we are regularly homesick about anything it is our church in Tennessee. Sigh.

Traffic is still the worst thing about living here. We hate it.

In a nutshell, we are doing pretty great. We really like California and feel pretty blessed to live here. I am kind of proud of us for moving across country and setting up house with our little family in a brand new place without any major meltdowns. 1 year down, wonder how many more to go....

Rite of Passage

I got my ears pierced when I was 4. I remember the whole thing vividly: going to Merle Norman with my mom, picking out the aquamarine studs that would be my first pair of earrings, trying not to cry, and feeling really grown up and brave.

When Beatrice was born, my mom and her husband gave her a tiny pair of diamond studs. "Now you have to get her ears pierced," they said. I didn't want to do it while she was a baby though. I wanted to make a special day of it when she was old enough to remember the experience. She has been asking to get them pierced for awhile now so while we were in Tennessee last weekend, I took her.

She went with her cousin, Addie, and it was a really sweet day for them. They were excited together, nervous together, and comforted each other after the shock (and pain) wore off. It was really special for us mamas too since our kids only get to see each other a couple of times a year. Now whenever each girl remembers getting her ears pierced or shops for earrings, they will always think of their cousin.

The jewelry store we went to had a rule that kids had to be 6 and older to get their ears pierced. We didn't know that before showing up, so my sister in law pleaded with them to make an exception. The owner came out and said that they would pierce my almost 3 year old's ears if she said she wanted them done and would sit still in the chair. Beatrice not only told him she wanted her ear pierced, but she also volunteered to go first! My big girl.

 

That last picture above is when they pulled the trigger on their guns and pierced my baby's earlobes with pointy, sharp steel. About 3 seconds later, she jumped off of that chair and buried her face in my neck, sobbing for 10 minutes. It was really sad. I cried too and instantly regretted bringing her. She told me she was so mad at me and she didn't want her ears pierced anymore. It was really pitiful and awful. Poor Addie had to go next after watching the whole thing. Bless her heart, she was so brave.

After several minutes of crying into their mamas' shoulders, the girls were ready to check out their new jewels.

Thank goodness the girls had each other.

The sales ladies were kinda freaked out by all of the crying so we paid and took the girls to get ice cream. All of the tears were dried up by the time we arrived at the treat shoppe. They sent cellphone photos to their daddies and admired their earrings in our mirrors. A few hours later, they were completely over the trauma and pain and were proudly showing off their new pierced ears to everyone.

Beatrice is doing a really great job at caring for her ears. I taught her how to twist the studs and she sits still while I douse them in the peroxide cleaning solution twice a day. I love the way they look on her little earlobes and she is really excited to add to her jewelry collection. Yay for pierced ears!

Welcome

The purpose of my 3 week trip to Tennessee was to be there for the birth of my brother and sister in law's first baby. It was incredible to be apart of the whole thing: the waiting, the gender reveal, the excitement of welcoming a new family member, and witnessing the birth of a family.

There is something really amazing about witnessing people you love become parents. I knew Seth and Jenny would be awesome at it, I have watched them love my babies for the past 3 years. But it is entirely different seeing new parents fall in love with their first baby. I never realized how emotional I would be watching it all unfold. I cried every time I was with them and their new baby girl, Ryan.

Here's a peak at their big day:

 

 

 

 

I am so grateful to have been there to welcome baby Ryan and watch my brother and sister in law become parents. Congrats, you guys!