THE MARINI'S: Disney time!

I would thank Lodi Unified School district for being so financially screwed up because thanks to them I took a pay cut this year and I now have furlough days. My first furlough day was Friday and what better way to celebrate a pay cut then by going on a vacation. Disneyland….here we come!

***Side note---this was the first time we had left Teddy for an extended amount of time. Before we left, I typed up two pages of information for my in-laws. I can GUARANTEE you that when the boys were babies and we left for vacation, the only information I left was the doctor’s name and number and a written permission letter for them to get medical care if needed. I’d say overall the two pages typed Teddy’s Helpful Hints were a bit much, but I certainly felt better.

Because I have so much to report on from our vacation, I will do this post in bullet points, because I love a good bulleted, just get to the good parts, list.

• As much as I LOVE the holiday season, I love it more at Disneyland. I love the huge tree at the end of Main Street. I love that they play Christmas music you can hear no matter where you are in the park. Everyone walking around in Santa Mickey ears, singing along to the music…it just screams Christmas. My only problem with this whole “love the holiday season” was that it was 80 degrees. It is REALLY hard to think of chestnuts roasting on a open fire when your in a tank top and wearing flip flops. Not cool. I appreciated Disney’s efforts with the “snow” on Main Street after the fireworks, but I’m still in summer night clothes and eating an ice cream cone.

• Matthew turned seven a few days before the trip. Turning seven at Disneyland means solo rider pass on most young kid rides. So he dropped us like a bad habit anytime he could. Instead of two and two, it was one (Matt), two (Mom and Ryan), and one (Dad). The only time I got super nervous was when he was on Dumbo and I know I ruined a couple of people’s pleasant flights as I was yelling “HOLD ON!!!” and “SCOOT IN---YOUR TOO CLOSE TO THE OPENING!!!”

• Our camera was apparently not charged. I have issues with this because I then had to result to taking pictures with my phone the entire trip. I then looked like that person that I have previously made fun of a lot, for them wasting their time taking a picture from a phone that won’t even turn out. All of the pictures posted today were taken from my camera phone…deal with it!

• Ryan hit 40 inches. This is good news for him and better news for us! The first ride we took him on was Soaring over California. I have been impatiently waiting to take him on this for a couple of years now and I was so excited when the four of us lined up together. The first twenty seconds of the ride were our “Uh-oh”, because Ryan turned his head and looked down and away from the hundred foot screen. Because we're idiots, we forgot to think as a three year old and imagine what was going through his mind. He told us later….he was afraid he was going to fall off!!! Which now, thinking back, is heartbreaking to hear because the boy must have been terrified. He then rebounded and told us his favorite parts and then he agreed to ride on it the next day again. The other ride we took him onto “celebrate” his 40 inch big boy status was Thunder Mountain. We really had no business doing this to him. We told him it was fast train ride—Parents of the Year, right? The entire time we were in line I kept saying, “Is this a good idea? Is this a good idea?” He of course got no help from his brother because Matthew was continuing his solo riding status and wanted nothing to do with sitting with Rich and Ryan to ease the fear. After it was over he was very quiet and then asked to call his cousins, Mason and Mikayla, to tell them how brave he was.

• Friday ended up being the first day that the park went completely Christmas with all the decorations and so on. It was also the busiest day I have ever experienced. There were times we didn’t move because there was simply no where to go. We were stand still in the middle of the street and it was crazy. I hated it. Had I known it would have been that busy, we maybe could have done something else in LA that day. INSANE BUSY!

• My favorite times in the park are usually the first hour when it opens and the last hour before it closes. Yes, it is the time with the least amount of people, but it is also the most peaceful. I love the mornings because everyone is happy, well rested and taking their time going from place to place. The last hour of the night is fantastic because that’s when the strong are still at it and there are no long lines and screaming kids. It is priceless. The last night we were there we rode a ton of rides in that last hour. In fact we were in line for Small World at 11:55pm and by the time we actually got on the ride it was 12:10am. The coolest part was walking from the back of the park to the front of the park with only a few people around and the park was silent.

• The great thing about modern technology is now waiting in line for 45 minutes goes by quicker if you have something to play with…like a phone or an ipod. This will come as not shock to anyone who knows me that my phone was on and in my face during most wait times. And since I since I didn’t want my children to feel left out or ignored, we charger the ipod for them to play games while in line too. We looked like one big happy family with our heads down not speaking to each other. Did we get stares? Sure. Were they filled with disgusted looks? Maybe. But were our kids screaming and crying and complaining about the lines….NOPE!!!! The only heated times were the ones that Matthew and Ryan were begging their father to give back the ipod because his time was WAY past fair and he was hogging the game at times.

• After four fun filled days, I was glad to head home. I have listened to Toy Story 3 four times now as it seemed to play on a loop in the back seat of the car. I tear up at the exact time every time it’s on and really compose myself enough to not burst out into full on crying. On the way home I drove for a while so Rich could rest. I enjoy driving while the kids have the movie going and Rich is asleep because I get control back over my radio and I can play whatever I want. Yesterday I chose Garth Brooks first album because we will be seeing him in concert next week. I needed to freshen up on the old stuff and I thought what a perfect time to do so. The pained look in Rich’s eye was I’m sure just a preview of what he is going to look like at the concert. I then took pity on him and switched over to my mixed CD that had a collection of songs that I find very enjoyable. Some of them include Whitesnake, Bee Gees, Guns N’ Roses, Wham, Dixie Chicks, Bon Jovi, and other classics from the 80’s and 90’s. When Rich offered to drive, I knew he had hit his limit of my song selection and wanted me back in the passenger seat reading my book quietly. I told him that I was fine, in a groove and then I proceeded to turn up the volume and sing louder. I then pointed out to him that most of my selection was really from his "era" and he should embrace the fact that I have a variety of music. Whoever says they don't like "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go" is just flat out lying....LYING! I find it enjoyable.

Here are the pictures from the trip. Again, I didn't have my camera so the pictures aren't that clear.
No trip is complete without a Toy Story Mania picture.