Craft Time

Hannah LOVES to do crafts. So last week when we were at Joanne's, we picked up a craft for the girls to do. The weekend came and went and we were busy, so today we got around to having craft time. Hannah chose a package of little flowers and butterflies that you paint with paint stain and then they can be hung in a window, etc. They each picked a butterfly and a flower and had fun doing it. Hannah was so patient and took her time in making hers look really nice. They need to dry overnight and then we can hang them in their bedroom windows.

Another Trip to Disneyland

Please excuse me while I post about another trip to Disneyland. :)

This afternoon we went with our friends from church again. This time, Keith, the Dad was able to accompany us and we were able to show him how much fun having annual passes can be! It was another wonderful day of fun and fellowship and a lot of laughs. Once again, it wasn't too bad, crowd wise for a Saturday, so we were able to get on a lot of 'good rides'.

We started off at Disneyland. Once again hitting some favorite rides and attractions. While we were wandering Frontierland, I spotted a familiar face sitting on a nearby bench chatting to friend. It was Miss Barrett, Hannah's teacher!!! We knew she was also an annual passholder (another reason I really like the lady, in addition to her being an awesome teacher of course!) and it was fun to run into her while Hannah is off track. She was so excited to have run into us. She hugged Hannah and even had her friend take a picture of the two of them as well! :) We made our way over to California Adventure, hitting one of Hannah's most favorite rides, Grizzly River Run. It's a rafting-like ride that you get wet on, or depending on wear you sit in the raft, you can get soaked, which is what happened to all of our party that went on the ride! Us Moms sat this ride out because we didn't want to get wet. After riding the ride back to back and getting pretty wet each time, this is how Hannah looked. It's a good thing we had sweatshirts for the kids to change into, their shirts were were so wet, we could ring them out. The Dads got soaked too! Another of Hannah's favorite things to do at California Adventure is the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail. So we spent a little time in there, letting the kids rock climb, do the slides, and of course walking the rope bridges. Within the RCCT, there is a cave where you can go in and discover what animal you are most like (it's taken from the movie Brother Bear). Hannah ended up being a Salmon. I'd say the characteristics fit her pretty well. :)We walked through Paradise Pier and rode some of the rides there, all with minimal wait times, which was really nice. What better way to finish the day then with some ice cream from Burrr-Bank!

A Trip to the Library

This morning we went to the Downtown Library. I spent a lot of time at this particular library growing up whether it was the summer reading programs, checking out books to bring home, and the older I got, doing research for papers, etc. Today was the first time I'd taken the girls there. Usually we go to the little library in the city where Hannah goes to school and we pass by several times a day. I thought going to the big library would be something new and different for the girls.The library has a children's room and it's exactly as I remember it from years ago, even smells the same. LOL. As a new library card holder for this library, I could only check out two books this time. So each of the girls picked a book and we brought them home. Hannah chose a chapter book and has already read seven chapters just today! She's excited to get the book finished and go back for another.

California Adventure with Friends

Disneyland twice within 48 hours?? Life is great! LOL.

This afternoon we went to California Adventure with a family from church that we've become friends with. Last week they bought annual passes and we are really looking forward to many more trips with them, especially after the great time we had today!

The family has a little girl who just turned 5, and two boys, ages 11 and 14. Both our girls adore the boys, Eli and Zach. Hannah has even come home from spending time with them wishing she had an older brother. LOL.

I was very proud of Hannah getting up and joining in on the call to get up and dance with the High School Musical street show. She's not one to get up and do things like that, but seeing how she knows the songs word for word and has learned some of the dance steps, she decided to be brave today.The lines were pretty short for a lot of the 'good rides' today. The kids rode Grizzley River Run twice. The second time around, Hannah sat on the edge and came off soaked...and was laughing about it. We had just finished dinner as the Block Party Bash parade was going through the gates backstage. The kids enjoyed watching the parade from where we were sitting.

Trip to Disneyland

What better way to start off Hannah's vacation than with a trip to Disneyland. After picking up Hannah and a trip through the McDonald's drive thru, we were on our way.

Today kicked off Halloween Time the Fall season at The Disneyland Resort with everything decorated so pretty with fall colors and leaves and pumpkins, special shows, and special fall foods and treats. All the decorations made for some really great backdrops for pictures. I was extremely happy that both the girls cooperated with so many picture taking opportunities today. We're now entering my most favorite time of the year at Disneyland...the holidays. Arriving to the parks shortly after noon, we made it in time to see the new High School Musical 2 street parade at California Adventure. It was really good and look forward to seeing it again!After the parade, we spent some time roaming about Candy Corn Acres, a new thing this year. There were candy corn carrots, candy corn corn, candy corn grape clusters...There was candy corn everywhere! From there, we headed over to where the 'real' magic is, Disneyland, where we spent the remainder of the day. We strolled back to Woody's Halloween Roundup and spent some time taking pictures and the girls coloring and decorating a little pumpkin, and enjoying the music of a Cast Member playing the fiddle and singing 'Fall' songs. Since turning 7, Hannah has now reached the 'magical age' whereas she can go on rides by herself. She's very excited about this and today she tried driving her very own Autopia car all by herself. She had a little trouble keeping the gas pedal pushed down all the way and her car stalled out on her a couple of times, which unnerved her. When she got off, she was a little upset and might wait a while longer before driving on her own again.It was a beautiful day for going to Disneyland. The weather was beautiful and enjoyable, and the crowds, well, there were none. Popular rides had wait times as little as 10 minutes! Which would have made for an even more perfect day had I had kids that meet the requirements AND were willing to go on them!! We managed to hit some favorite rides, and do some of our favorite things. A fun window to look through, the candy making window located in the shop back in Pooh Corner. This afternoon, the ladies were dipping apples! YUM! We had a really good day. The girls were cooperative and stood in lines well, and Hannah was extremely helpful on several occasion! We're looking forward to a few more trips while she's off track!

Happy to be Off Track

Some of the words from the chorus from the song, "What Time is It?" from High School Musical 2's hit song, fits just fine with today's event:

What time is it?
Summertime!
It's our vacation.
What time is it?
Party time!
While it may no longer be summertime here in Southern California (thank goodness!), it is Hannah's vacation time! As of 11:15 this morning, she is off track from school for the next four weeks!

Some things Hannah has said she'd like to do while on vacation include: spending the night with Gramma and Papa, spending some time at Gramie's, Disneyland, the pumpkin patch, The La Brea Tar Pits, trips to the library, San Diego Zoo and the Wild Animal Park (we have passes), a sleep over with McKenzie and Haylee, reading to Rachel's preschool class, and a few more I've seem to have forgotten at the moment.