Easter break

With Lily off school for the week, we thought it'd be a good opportunity to make a trip of it. Of course, to throw a snag in things, we woke up to half a foot of snow. So into the van went the winter coats, boots and a shovel.

Bunny spotted in Saskatoon and area
Along with Nana, who we took to Connie's, we headed up to Grandma and Grandpa's for Easter weekend. Ryan and Leslie and Jared and Andrea were there, along with a couple cats. Finn spent most of the weekend saying, "No. Mom." to everyone he encountered because of course, they weren't Mom. Lily got to swim in the hot tub – twice. And the Easter bunny came and left eggs all over the house, along with baskets of candy popcorn and a small toy for each of them.

On Easter Sunday, the Hurlburts were having brunch so we went out for the afternoon – after Finn's first of three morning naps of the trip. My cousin, Colleen, brought her two youngest kids, Shelby and Sidney. Brian, Colleen's brother, and his wife Amanda brought their son, Rowan. It's always so nice when Finn and Lily have other kids to play with, especially second cousins of which we have a lot of now. And if it isn't obvious, Lily kinda really loves babies. (I can relate.)

Edmonton-bound
On Easter Monday, we packed up and got on the road to Edmonton. This is the stretch I fear the most as it's a long time for Finn to be strapped down. It was good until we were leaving Lloydminster and then he cried for over half an hour. Anyway, we got to Nigel and Jessica's just before 3:30 and thankfully we still had their key from last time (and actually we still have it for next time). So we unloaded the van (with the high chair, baby clothes and gifts for Ferguson) and waited anxiously for Jessica to arrive. Well worth the wait. Ferguson is so sweet and soft and cute. Lily couldn't wait to hold him and held his hand every chance she got. Finn even asked to hold him, "My turn?" They were just so enamored by the little guy. I held him for a long time that evening, the longest stretch for the rest of the visit as he was prone to crying spells that wound him up in his mama's arms most of the time.

On Tuesday after another morning nap for Finn, we spent the afternoon at the zoo. (Nigel and Jessica and nicely situated close to the zoo and the West Edmonton Mall.) It was nice and quiet since the kids there were in school. We saw monkeys and frogs and wolves and foxes. Even a tiger and a spotted seal. Lily fell asleep on the way back and was pretty miserable for the rest of the day – until we turned the situation around with an ice cream treat.

The next day was spent at the mall. We really only intended to stay the morning. We saw the Disney store, Anthropologie, H&M, the skating rink and went on the pirate ship. Then we had lunch – right beside Galaxyland. It was closed and we said it likely wouldn't open that day. And then they opened the gates. Right in front of us. This is where it goes to heck. Trying to get Finn to sleep in his stroller. Lily begging to go on some rides. Long story short, she and Chris went on rides for two hours and I shopped during Finn's shortest nap ever, then placated him by letting him run wild in the Disney store again. We were very glad when it was over. We won't be going back to the mall for a long time.

To the land of the dinosaurs
On Wednesday morning we packed up, got Finn out of Ferguson's bedroom because he locked himself inside (he unlocked it eventually), said our good-byes to little Fergie and Jessica, and hit the road for Drumheller, Alberta. It was the scenic route, courtesy of our GPS, but we couldn't complain. It's nice to get off the beaten path sometimes. Upon arriving in town, we immediately hit the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology. Well, Lily and Chris went through while Finn and I slept. When we woke up, we went in and Lily and Chris toured us around. And it was amazing. A really beautifully done museum. Much classier than when we were there in college. The kids thought it was pretty terrific, too. Even just driving through town was cool as Finn pointed out every dinosaur around.

After checking into our hotel, we hit up the local IGA for fruit, veggies and buns for supper and a few snacks for later. Finn helped himself to the bulk bun bin before we could catch him. At least his bun kept him busy for the rest of the excursion. After supper we hit the pool and waterslide. Chris tested just how fast the waterslide was by first going down with Finn and ultimately scarring him for life by completely submerging him upon hitting the water. Then it was back to "No. Mom."

The next day we packed up again, visited the world's largest dinosaur, then headed off on another scenic route through the valley where we could gaze upon the layered hills, go across a suspension bridge and check out some hoodoos.

Just like home
Any reason to go to Medicine Hat is good so that was our last stop. We had no plans so we got some ice cream, went to the park, watched the clouds roll by, went for Chinese food, swam and went watersliding before having chips and pop. (Pretty much our only junk food was on the last day, so we felt pretty successful and not disgusting after 7 days away.) After breakfast the next morning, we went swimming again. This time Finn was all over the waterslide so all of us were up and down over and over until I got dizzy from the spiral staircase. We bathed, washed hair, packed up, and grabbed the Muppets movie at Walmart and lunch for the road.

And within five minutes of returning, Carly came over. And stayed for supper. Nana popped in within ten minutes, too. It was all back to normal.

All our photos are here if you want to check 'em out.

A little getaway

It felt like it'd been a while since we left home and we needed to get away so we went to Medicine Hat for the Canada Day long weekend. Medicine Hat is a really beautiful city and having lived there for three years, Chris and I know it well. It's far enough, but not too far. Our other go-to city, Minot, North Dakota, was ravaged by up-to-the-rooftop flooding so that was out - even though they do have better waterslides and a zoo.

Just driving around the Hat is fun for us, seeing what's new, what's changed. Lily is in awe of the views from the hills or in the valleys, constanting citing how pretty everything looks. When you come from flat Regina, even a slight change in elevation is a treat!

There was lots of swimming and watersliding. Finn even liked the waterslide, pointing to go up with Daddy everytime he left to go up the winding spiral staircase. We hit a few school parks so Lily could try out some new monkey bars, her latest and greatest skill. While Chris and Lily swam, Finn and I took an early morning walk through the nearby cemetery where we saw an unshaken deer only a row away. We spent another early morning out at Echo Dale farm, then the rest of the morning and early afternoon picnicking, playing at the park, digging in the sand with some new friends, playing in the little lake and napping at the regional park part of Echo Dale. (So pretty and my favourite thing about Medicine Hat having spent many long summer days there with my friend, Dan, while we were in college.) We spent another morning at the Medalta pottery factory which was much cooler than we thought it would be. The afternoon was consumed by going to the theatre at the mall to see Cars 2 in 3-D. We ended our fun by getting the kids ice cream from Tino's, a popular local burger drive-through that looked like a little brick castle.

On Monday, we hit the road after breakfast. We stopped briefly in Swift Current to visit Auntie Sharon who just moved there a couple days earlier for perhaps her last 2-year term as a minister in one of their United churches. Then it was home to see if we had escaped hail damage from a wicked storm the night before. (We had, surprisingly.)

It was nice to come home.

Disneyland 2010! – Part 3, Sept. 27

I missed a couple things from parts 1 and 2, mostly about the fireworks. The renowned Disneyland fireworks were scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Chris and I watched them from the balcony on the Friday night, then again on Sunday but this time we thought Lily might like to see them, too. Of course, it was two hours past the time she went to bed so when Chris went to get her, she didn't even wake up until he got her outside. After less than two minutes groggily watching, she said, "I want to go to bed now."

She can't say we didn't let wake her.

Anyway, the park didn't open until 10 a.m. the next three days and with the temperature still so unbearably hot, that didn't give us much of a jump on the days. But we had our plans. Monday would take us first to New Orleans Square. First there was the Nightmare Before Christmas decked-out Haunted Mansion (which was scary for Finn when we were in total darkness and a little too fast-paced to coordinate ourselves), and then Pirates of the Caribbean (which was fantastic, just enough excitement with the ride and lots to look at). Best of all, we didn't have to wait in line at either.

Then over to Critter Country where Lily and Chris hit Splash Mountain while Nana, Finn and I took a drink break. Then over to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Things kind of went downhill from here... Because Big Thunder Mountain railroad was SO exciting, Lily was running full-tilt towards me to tell me just how awesome it was when maybe three feet from me she tripped and skidded, only coming to a complete stop when she smashed her forehead right into the bench Finn and I were sitting on. And she hit it HARD. This hard:

And this is only the beginning of the swelling...

Everyone was so concerned, too. Not that we weren't, but from the lady that took our lunch reservation at Cafe Orleans to the woman who sold us the water misting fan to the waitress who brought us a bag of ice and told us where we could find the nurse if necessary – or if Lily felt dizzy or sick, just tell any of the staff and they would promptly call 911. Everyone was amazingly and genuinely nice. That, along with the unmatched cleanliness and attention to detail of everything, was what made this place so great.

What a good look for pictures, huh? Well, turns out that there would only be a few pictures that day as Nana had been carrying my camera in her purse and her water bottle spilled inside, rendering my camera useless... We did have a great lunch, though – gumbo and Monte Cristo sandwiches. And right before lunch, we saw Tiana from Princess and the Frog doing a snazzy dance number with some jazzy counterparts.

And apparently my mind only really works well when I have pictures to refresh my memory... I believe we rode the Disneyland Railroad all the way around the park before running up to see Jack and Sally, seconds before they departed. The heat was just about to kill me, so this is when I had my first tantrum. We were waiting for the next Enchanted Tiki Room show and I'd had it. Wanted a magic transporter to get us back to the hotel promptly...but wasn't so clear-headed that I could calmly ask for that. We were soon let in and the wonderful air conditioning did its magic...but nothing will ever help me deal with heat. This is what I really looked like the whole trip, except for some mornings when it was still below 85˚F.

Ahh, cruel reality. I felt like I was being roasted. Despite the hat and sunglasses that never left my head, I tend to display my overheatedness like this. No one else looked like this, crazy heat people.

So yeah, back to the hotel for some chill time. We cooled off, got Finn to sleep and tried to convince Lily to sleep so she could stay up later and actually enjoy Disneyland in the evening...but this girl just doesn't rest. What do you know, she passes out on the way back to the park around 5 p.m. So we grab supper at the Stage Door Café and wander aimlessly wondering what we should do with a sleeping 5-year-old.

Fortunately she woke up shortly thereafter, so we found a spot on Main Street to watch the parade. We sure picked a good spot because once the parade started, who of all people was right in front of us??? Ahhh, the best guy in the world – Peter Pan. Oh, and Wendy.

I only saw the beginning of the parade because, despite it being a little cooler with the sun having gone down and such, I was still way too hot and ducked into the shops until it was over. 

With a livelier kid now, we decided to hit Mickey's Toon Town. It was the farthest away and with it being fairly late now, it was practically dead. Maybe forty people in the whole land. We wandered through Minnie's house and by Daisy's Diner. Into Goofy's place and on to Donald Duck's boat. Lily and her dad went on the mini roller coaster twice and then we found ourselves in Mickey's house. (Hard to tell because it was under construction.) It was huge. We just kept going and going, then we got to this theatre room with a movie screen and a massive queueing area. A woman told us it would just be a minute before she could let us in. To what, we weren't sure. But when we walk in, there was Mickey Mouse himself and he wanted to meet us and get his picture taken with us.

How nice, so that's how we ended our second Disney day.

Disneyland 2010! – Part 2, the weekend in Temecula, California

The temperature on the dash read 88˚F at 10 a.m.

For the second part of our vacation, we rented an SUV first thing on Saturday morning, loaded up all we'd need for an overnight trip and headed to Temecula, California, approximately an hour and twenty minutes from Disneyland, to visit my mom's brother, my Uncle Bruce, and his family.

Lily and Finn really enjoyed sitting close enough to touch each other.

The hills were beautiful. The traffic wasn't that bad, though the lanes were a tad overwhelming.

Auntie Kim, Jade, Uncle Bruce and Lindsay

 

It was a really, really nice visit. We hadn't seen them for a long time. Maybe ten years. Lindsay and Jade were just little girls. 

Lily was in her glory having two cousins (once removed!) who actually wanted to play with her. She and Jade played Wii briefly...Lily wandered away. But then it was time to swim and there is little else in this world that this girl loves more. And what a great way to keep cool in that heat.

 

 

Finn even went for his first swim. His lack of reaction deemed the experience successful. Actually the only time he cried during our entire trip was when he was making strange with Lindsay and Jade shortly after we first arrived and promptly began passing him around.

Awwwww.

Uncle Bruce and Nana are only a few months apart in age.

Shortly after supper, Nana and Kim hit the casino and I went to bed with the kids – at 7:30. I blame the sun.

The next day came early, as they all do. Of course, where we come from there aren't hot air balloons littering the horizon. How pretty. Actually, everything in Temecula was really nice. How easy it would be to eat (and drink) local with such great foods (and wine) grown in such close proximity. I think I ate avocados every single day in California...my fave.

After a big breakfast where Lily consumed her fair share of bacon, we got ready and decided to do a little shopping before heading back to Anaheim as there was a Disney store to be had. We scored some Minnie Mouse shoes and a reversible Ariel swimsuit for only $4.99! And Lily may have a new favourite auntie now because someone bought her this:

A beautiful Ariel dress. Now that we're home, she tries it one almost once a day.

Before we headed back to the house, we stopped at Yogurt Island for some very fancy frozen yogurts. Lily just had to save the hot pink spoons. Once back, Lily, Lindsay and Chris went for one last quick swim. Finn was pretty comfortable with everyone by then, so he and Auntie Kim hung out and watched the swimmers make waves in the pool.

It was about 3 p.m. when we got on the road with fresh pears, cantaloupe and bananas in tow. The thermometer on the vehicle was reading 109˚F – which is 42.7˚C if you're wondering... Thank god for air conditioning! (And thanks Kim and Bruce for having us!)

Disneyland 2010! – Part 1, Sept. 23

Wow! What a fun trip. I had no idea what it would be like, what it was really all about. No matter how much I read the guide books or researched online, I would never have guessed that it really could be so wonderful, so magical or so perfect. Until we saw it for ourselves. (A slideshow of all the photos is now here.)

After beginning our day at 4 a.m., we arrived in Orange County, California just after 1 p.m. on Sept. 23. When we got to our hotel around 2 p.m., they told us it wouldn't be ready until 4:00. So off we went for some ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery, then to check out Downtown Disney. And what a great thing that is. You feel like you're at Disneyland without having to use your tickets. It's got the World of Disney store, along with dozens of other stores, plus lots of restaurants.

Lily and Nana are the shoppers in the family, while Chris and I typically only shop when we need something (or have gift certificates or gift cards to use up, though after seeing this, that's hard to do, too). So, for Lily's first purchase – with the $25 Grandma and Grandpa sent her for spending money – was a Minnie Mouse ears hat. Nana also couldn't resist the urge to spend and got Lily a Minnie Mouse t-shirt and a Peter Pan playset. After a bit more walking and window shopping, we went back to the hotel to settle in.

Nana and Lily play Peter Pan while Finn cools himself in his diaper.

It was a great hotel room for the price. A family suite with two rooms, one with the bathroom, vanity and sink area (and dialysis supply station), two double beds and a t.v., and the other room with a queen bed, kitchen area with cupboards, microwave and fridge, kitchen table, couch that folds out and another t.v. For $180 a night right across the street from our main destination, I thought it was a steal.

Anyway, we grabbed some supper at a nearby restaurant and went back to the room, put the kids to bed, headed to Target to buy a cheap stroller and snacks, drinks, etc., then caught some ZZZs before our first day (of four) at the happiest place on earth.

The next morning, we grabbed some "refreshments" at the complimentary breakfast, then went to line up for the 9 a.m. opening. It's funny. They have this completely understated sign (above); no inkling of what's in store for us. You first walk through these tents and get your bags checked for glass, etc. And then, since we had e-tickets we bought online, we passed the ticket booths and went to stand in line for the gates to open. They open a half hour before the park opens, so we waited.

You get in and see this, the train station I believe, all original from 1955. And this was just an inkling of what was to come.

And so we entered.

The detail of every single building on Main Street was perfect. 99% of them were all shops (no false fronts) with merchandise, candy, snacks and tonnes of specialty items like the magic store or the photo shop or the baby centre. It was pristine, clean and authentic. There were people waving and welcoming us. It was the best retro design I've ever seen collectively. The typography on every building was perfectly kerned. I have never seen such keen attention to detail anywhere – and likely never will again.

I thought Lily might burst. All that waiting, waiting, waiting. 

But it was so worth it. Upon the official opening, we proceeded through Sleeping Beauty's castle to spend the entire day in Fantasyland. Our first ride was one of the longer waits we had to endure, maybe 10 or 15 minutes. Peter Pan's Flight was really lovely. We hopped onto a pirate ship and sailed through the children's nursery, flew through the stars, by Peter Pan and the children, by the pirates.


Then the tea cup ride. Actually the Mad Hatter tea party tea cup ride. Next was the Matterhorn Bobsleds roller coaster. Lily loved it, but was disappointed she didn't get wet! We hit It's a Small World which was so, so awesome; Finn woke up from his nap in the middle and was just mystified as to why all these little people were dancing and singing all around us... Bought an autograph book, then went back towards the castle.

Went through Sleeping Beauty's castle. It was dark with lots of very neat effects. You look through these windows and see scenes from the movie; they're 3-dimensional with animation thrown in for effect – like the dragon's flames. Then headed back towards the castle where we met Mulan. Well, Chris, Finn and I met Mulan.




While I fed Finn, Chris and Lily hit the Snow White ride and the Pinocchio ride. When they came back, we saw Princess Aurora trying to hurry away from her castle. Lily and Chris caught her, had her sign the autograph book, then I took their picture with her. Nice.

After King Arthur's carousel and the Dumbo ride (below), we headed back to the hotel for some lunch, then rest and swimming. Headed back a few hours later. Wandered over to Innoventions for an hour or so, caught the end of the parade, Celebrate! A Dance Party (where we saw Alice, the Mad Hatter and Stitch busting some moves), then had supper at the Plaza Inn before retiring for the night because it would be another big day the next day...this time driving an hour and a half to Temecula, California. 

To be continued...