After Women's Conference, I drove with Terri & family to So Cal. They were in need of a "happiest place on earth" kind of getaway & G'pa Paul & I were invited to join them, he was going to meet us there from San Jose. I got to ride in the back with the kiddos...they are good travelers.
Next stop - the Beach! Ben wanted to take the kids to the beach so I recommend Venice Beach to give Ben a southern California "cultural experience." It was a beautiful day!
Olivia loved EVERYTHING about the beach...Jude? Not so much...
She especially loved digging in the sand, building sand castles, & burying me in it!
Jude wasn't sure about the feel of the sand & sea on his feet, but he was okay as long as someone held him or he was on the blanket...
We found some ice cream & LOTS of crazies! I think it was a little out of Terri's comfort zone with her kids in tow, but we had a great time!
Venice Beach provides some great people watching! Some of the most colorful people you might come across...there are street artists, you could pause for a massage, listen to some music, or jump in on some disco skaters jammin' to their tunes!
AWESOME! I'm not sure who's crazier...the guy walking around with these snakes or the people he convinces to pose for pictures with it?
Venice Beach is also known as Muscle Beach because it promotes health & fitness with all the sport courts they have along the beach for you to enjoy physical activities. There are tennis courts, basketball courts, handball courts, volleyball courts, the bike trail, the skate park, the gymnastics equipment, AND a fully equipped outdoor gym for all the body beautifuls to work out. It is not uncommon to see celebrities along the beach or run into someone filming something. As we walked by the gym there was a crowd gathered around to take photos with this celebrity, Danny Trejo. Ben is familiar with his work & was surprised to see what a friendly & nice person he really is (he usually plays a bad guy in films).
Of course the real reason we went to So Cal was to spend some time at the "happiest place on earth." Olivia was excited when she woke up in our hotel room to find that G'pa had joined us, but she was even more excited to learn that we were going to Disneyland! (Terri didn't tell her ahead of time so she was pretty excited when she understood where we were.) I love seeing Disneyland through the eyes of my grandchildren!
We saw TONS of characters! Terri got Olivia an autograph book so she could collect their signatures - it was adorable how excited Olivia was about that, she really got into it! Alice & the Mad Hatter were the 1st ones we saw...Rapunzel & Flynn were one of the last ones we saw on day two & probably the longest line we waited in to meet & greet...
Most of the time one of us stood in line to hold our place while the rest took the kids on all the rides. It was a great system that allowed us to see a lot of Liv's favorites...
Cinderella is usually accompanied by her Fairy Godmother. I was super excited to see them from across the castle & the line didn't seem to be that long so we ran over there & sure enough, we were allowed to be the last ones in line for the day. The characters are always focused on the kids & don't pay much attention to the adults around - rightly so. As they were saying goodbye to Liv, I whispered into the Fairy Godmother's ear. That's when she looked at me & realized who I was...yes, that's right...I know the Fairy Godmother! (We have been friends since the mid 70's when we were on USA Cheerleading Staff together.) It was a sweet little reunion.
Of course we rode tons of rides, too! The kids were all smiles...even Jude loved all the rides (unless they were in the dark or noisey).
Even the BIG kids rode a few rides on their own...Tower of Terror, yikes!
Day 2 - The kids slept great & were ready for more fun! It was a little cooler & kinda drizzly-damp, but it didn't put a damper on any of the excitement!
We rode a lot more rides & even saw some different characters...
Mulan was terrific! She even noticed Jude & gave him some love...he ate it up!
He got some love from Tigger & Pooh as well...he was really charmin' them with his sweet smile.
Jude had a great time trying to pull out the Sword in the Stone...
We had a little meltdown drama with Tinkerbell that had a happy ending...we waited in a VERY long line for Pixie Hollow & just as we got to the front...literally THE NEXT UP...Tinkerbell was "called back to Neverland" & we were not going to get to see her! I'm not sure who felt worse, me for waiting all that time in line to be denied or the 3 year old who did not understand that she couldn't see Tinkerbell. Liv cried real tears when the staff told us that Tinkerbell had to leave & they felt so bad they told us to come back after lunch & they would let us back in the front of the line. (They even gave us a secret code word so the staff would know that it was okay for us to take cuts in line!) Sure enough...like Tinkerbell's pixie dust magic...it worked!
...but that wasn't the only magical thing that happened! As we were leaving Pixie Hollow, Cinderella & the Fairy Godmother walked by & when they saw us they invited Olivia to take a walk with Cinderella to the other side of the castle...so we got a special walk with royalty!
As if that wasn't magical enough? Look back up at the picture above & notice the lady in the wheelchair? When she saw Cinderella, she was beside herself with excitement! Mentally & physically handicapped, the only thing we could understand through her excited babble was "Cinnalela! Cinnalela!" as she stood & embraced the princess with a death-grip that would have made anyone uncomfortable. Cinderella graciously hugged her back & told her how nice it was to meet her. It was such a tender moment that had us all a little teary-eyed at the pure joy on the lady's face. The lady just kept squealing with delight as she waved goodbye & the royal walk continued through the castle & onto the other side. When they got there, Cinderella had Liv dance & twirl around with her, we said our goodbyes & took some more pics with her new BFF!
Cinderella has always been MY favorite princess...after this experience...she will be forever in my heart, along with her Fairy Godmother...such a special treat!
It was a magical experience for me & so glad to share it with the Horners - thanks for including us...it was a good dose of happy. As Buzz would say, "to infinity & beyond!"
2 comments:
Thanks for coming! We had so much fun and really appreciate both of you being there, not to mention all the help. We love you!
I don't know who enjoyed this post more - me or Caitlyn, who is sitting on my lap. She had the same reaction as Terri's little girl in seeing Cinderella! (and all the other characters) :) You guys sure know how to have a good time!
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