Trip to Disneyland, courtesy of BSM Media and Disney! Yay for blogging perks! Day 1--the boys wore their Finding Nemo outfits (yay for eBay! yay for the Disney Store sales!) for fun and, of course, looked adorable. What would you expect? Merritt was supposed to be Squirt, but Troy was convinced he was Crush. So was everyone else in the park. Oh, and me? Those are Minnie ears. I don't typically wear gargantuan red polka-dot hairbows. I know, you're shocked.
Troy was in his element pretending to be Nemo himself. But I'm afraid by the end of the day he had a head as big as the planet, so sure was he that he was just cuteness epitomized. Sigh. We need to work on that. I personally think the guy there is pretty cute, too, but, you know, he doesn't have perfect strangers coming up asking to take a picture of him every hour like the two young'uns did. If that DID happen--and if they were GIRLS (!!!!)--I'd have to deck 'em. Can't you just see it?
Meeting Donald Duck. Troy could not believe he was so big. The Duck tends to look a little smaller on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse in the morning.
CHEESE!
In Belle's library. Swoon. (Or is it the Beast's library? I guess he did give it to her. Right?)
It was hilarious how much he loved wearing that hood. If we thought he was getting hot--when you know, his hair was plastered to his head with SWEAT--and tried to push the hood off, he'd cry and struggle to get it back on. The crazy kiddo.
Do you see her? She's there. Cinderella. In real life. He couldn't even talk, so captivated was he.
And then, THEN, we saw him. Handy Manny. Again, Troy is struck speechless. But Merritt? "Hey, how's it goin? Let me pinch your arm and crawl in your lap, kay?"
There's nothing quite like the wonder of a two year old seeing the characters he loves...
...or of an almost-one-year-old who could hardly be pulled away from the window showcasing his beloved Little Einsteins.
But, hey, the fun's gotta end some time.
Crush... is crashed.
Carosel---Troy would ride one of these for two days straight if he could. Actually, he'd LIVE on one if he could.
"You can put your hands right there, Mommy. Don't hold on to me. You hold the dolphin." Mmhmm. Whatever you say.
Day 2. Merritt still is obsessed with his Squirt/Crush jacket, but Troy traded Nemo for a Cars/Lightning McQueen ensemble, complete with Cars shirt, pants, shoes and hat. Would the masculine form of "fashionistas" be "fashionistos"?
At the Family Media and Blogger's reception. We felt all nifty and uber-special, going to the special "By Invitation Only" reception area. We munched on all sorts of Mickey-themed treats while characters milled around talking with the children and their bloggin' parents talked about feeds, comments and Twitter. The kids had craft tables covered with coloring pages and stickers. SUCH FUN.
Cookie decorating!
A work of art. Any takers?
Unsure what to think of that big blue thing...
You have to know my heart was beating rapidly as I met Aladdin and Jasmine. If you only knew how many times I danced around my room at age six singing "A Whole New World."
Waiting in the hour-long line for Dumbo--the most popular kids' ride in Fanstasy Land. Glad someone was happy about it.
Merritt adored this little toy we recieved in our blogger's goodie bag. He wouldn't let go of it all day long.
Finally! On the ride!
And, boy, was it worth it!
Waiting. Again. But this time for the Playhouse Disney Show. Some of us weren't exactly thrilled about this wait. It was hot. The kids were getting very tired. 'Nuff said.
Look! I just can't belive how many of the characters I've seen on tv are REAL!! I mean, just look at that! Mickey's friends--life-sized. REAL, I tell you. Wait, what? They're... what? Don't tell me. I don't want to know.
Because just look at the wonder--"Is it possible?"
And there they are--they boys' beloved, wonderful, classical-music-playing friends. Leo, Quincy, Annie and June. Oh, and Rocket. Because he's the real star.
And once again, the wait was more than worth it.
Getting ready to watch the parade in a(nother) blogger's reception area. Front and center viewing station. Bad pic of both of us, but see that lady in white with the dark hair? I was sure she was a blogger and I knew her from someplace. But I didn't ask. I was scared. I know. But I was.
I got butterflies just hearing the music start.
I wonder if he got butterflies, too?
My favorite part of the whole two days. Well, except for when the boys saw the Playhouse Disney Show. But, you know I loved that because I'm a mom. But THIS--I loved this just because I'm really just a grown-up little girl.
Swoon. I love them. I really, really do. Did I ever tell you that John started calling me his Belle when we were first together? Well, he did. And, of course, I swooned then, too.
Ah, beauty. Love.
And then.... the end of a long two days.
Tired kiddos. Tired parents. But, as always, worth it. Because it's Disneyland. The Happiest Place on Earth.
