The Subs are Back!

We decided to brave the crowds - Sunday's are usually empty - and experience the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage.  Apparently, others had the same idea and, oh yeah, it's summer. Never mind the 45 minutes it took to get from freeway to front gate.  I know...let it GO! (But, we used to park and walk and we could even hang out in the shops before the rides were operating-just held back by some ropes)

For the last two years or so, we have been passing a brightly painted wall which hid the 'imagineering' going on in the Tomorrowland lagoon. It was so disappointing when the submarines sailed for the last time somewhere in the 90's. True, the fish and coral needed some paint and there were more than a few strings from which the plastic fish had loosened themselves but it was a fun thing, a family thing.  

I remember my sister, at age 3 or 4, being riveted to the window the whole time saying, "Look at all the curious fishes".  It was sweet and I can remember how excited she was.  As time passed, the person accompanying me to Disneyland was someone with whom I would most likely share 

children and I began to see things in a different way.  I thought about how fun it would be to watch a child discovering things and therefore, experience my own re-discovery of so many things. That has definitely come true - to see things through the eyes of your children is one of the most joyful things in life.

Anyway, as noted last entry, the week prior had a reasonable line but we opted to leave. This time, we were greeted by a line that was getting longer by the minute.  Now, seeing a four hour line through the eyes of a child is not a joyful thing.  Dad decided to wait with Anna so Hallie and I could ride and run around until it was closer to the time of our voyage.  

Now it can be told, since Dad told everyone in line, that he was the one who made the choice to leave last week.  I didn't say a word or give an indication of 'I told you so'.  Thought about it...but I knew he'd be taking care of it himself.  By the time of our first check-in, he had shared with his line mates and probably had kicked himself a few times too. It wasn't a bad wait for them. The weather was cool, Anna was very pleasant and had a nice nap while waiting. Hallie and I checked back frequently, brought Dad a churro for sustenance and a short three hours later we wormed our way in to be loaded into the Neptune 707.

We boarded first, which gave us a little extra personal space and an additional surface for Anna to pound.  Aside from the bright blue interior, the ride had all the familiarity of the old subs.  And, with a new Aussie type narration and fresh things floating in the lagoon, we were under way.  The technology is bright an fun and it really wasn't too scary (Hallie had previewed it online so she knew what was coming).  Anna, too little to be scared, was 'oohing' and trying to catch the bubbles.  We all enjoyed it.

It was a great ride and when it only takes 30 minutes or less to wait, we'll ride it again!

Father's Day

See, some of you thought Dad just needed someone to buy him a new shirt.  Hopefully, now, you can see there was a method to the madness.  It was ART. OK well, not art exactly but, a fun experiment that has proven to be fascinating to us as the years have gone by.  The 'Father's Day shirt' is pulled out of the drawer one day each year for a few hours of fun and photos at DCA (Disney's California Adventure) to chronicle the growth of our sweetie pie.  Each year, my job is to find her a light blue shirt so she can age beautifully on film with her dad.  Pretty nice results, dontcha think? 

We had a great time and, of course, wished we were headed back to the Grand Californian instead of to the parking structure.  We spent most of our time in A Bug's Land  riding the 'Bug's Life' themed attractions but made it around to a few other attractions as well.  Hallie particularly enjoys the  Sorcerer' Workshop where she can visit the Beast's castle to find out what character she's most like and dive into the grotto where Ursula steals her voice and puts it in a Disney

 film. 

After lunch, we stepped over to Disneyland to find the personalized brick we bought for the walkway.  Since it was pretty empty we thought we'd check out the line for the newly re-opened submarines.  It was a little less than a two hour wait so we headed out by way of the B&W Mickey cartoons Hallie loves so much.  The weather was perfect, the girls were pleasant and we couldn't have asked for a lovelier day together.

Be sure to check back in a few years to see the Mother's Day pictures of Anna and me!

Pomp and Circumstance

On Friday, June 15th, bearing balloons and dressed in her finest, Hallie arrived at school for her last day of preschool.  It was graduation day!  After two months of practice, the families of the Children's Center students piled into the church hall to bear witness to the first of many school milestones their little ones will meet. Sharing in Hallie's achievement were Grandma, Grammie, Grampa, Aunt Charlotte and Auntie as well as friends Jeff and Alex (her 'other' family). This was not merely a cute ceremony - it was an EVENT - designed in a way that afforded every child his or her own moment to be seen, heard and shine a little in the individual spotlight. With about 30 children, it was no short affair.  

It began with two slide presentations (we won't get into WHY there was a second slide show) that chronicled the fun and learning the kids have experienced throughout their time at preschool.  Then, Hallie and her classmates marched in one by one and found their seats on the stage.  After the last child took his place, the audience was greeted by students and asked to join in saluting the American and Christian flags. Hallie and two of her classmates donned special hats and, accompanied by the rest of the graduating class, sang America the Beautiful.  She even had a line! (but-proud parent mantra- no one was more special than anyone else...) After Hallie asked everyone to be seated, we were led in prayer and formally welcomed.

The children sang a Christian song in honor of Hallie's teacher who passed away at the first of the year and who always chose a song with a

Christian theme for ceremonies past. They signed as they sang Step by Step and followed with We are the World*.  

The ceremonial diplomas were given and while returning to their seats, the children each stepped in front of the microphone to announce what they would be when they grew up. Only one child hesitated... yup, it was ours. 

Ordinarily, one would just assume that she was nervous or stage struck but let me provide a little background here so you can understand that neither was the case.  You see, during the course of those two months of rehearsal, Hallie shared her thoughts with us.  She was going to be a teacher or a dentist or a scientist.  We told her she could be whatever she'd like.  Well, about a week before graduation she came home and announced she wanted to be a nail painter. Now, all parents should encourage their children to be whatever they want to be and I didn't mean anything by it when I asked her 

'what happened to being a scientist?'  Other than asking her who was also choosing that, I let it go. Please don't be offended if you or your best friend are a 'nail painter'.  It's just that I don't paint my nails often and not since I became pregnant have I used the stuff so what does Hallie know about the occupation of manicurist - especially since she doesn't know the word? So, when it came down to it and she paused, albeit seconds, I thought 'Oh, that's my fault-my first (and by the way, recorded evidence of) scarring and crushing the dreams of my child.  I later asked her if she forgot what she wanted to be and when she said no. I asked if she tried to answer what Daddy and I wanted and held my breath.  She said 'no'. Hmmmmmm.  Then after a minute she told me that another student (who went before her) copied her.  I asked her if he had been saying scientist during all the practices, too. She said, 'No, he wanted to be a builder or something.  I was trying to remember one I didn't hear yet.'  Lucky for us, but what a mind on her!

The ceremony ended with remarks and the presentation of flowers to the parents.  Upon handing off their flowers to parents they were hard pressed to find, the graduates were handed balloons and sent to the courtyard.  
The balloons were let go with wishes and hopes and dreams for the future in kindergarten and beyond.

Ultimately it was the greatest testamentto how much those children are loved and cherished by their teachers and evidence of the truth that may be forgotten in future ceremonies - that no child is better or more significant than any other. No one child was going to be the star. Every child was the star. Each had a role to play and each had a chance to be heard. Each was a gift for us all to share.  It was innocent, sweet and endearing. It was one of those times that leaves you wondering when you stopped thinking you could be a robot (uh huh, someone said that) or a rock star when you grew up.  It was one of those times we will cherish and keep.  So yes, it was lengthy but, it was a beautiful thing.

* What kind of children of the 80's would we be if we didn't include the original? This was HUGE!  On the radio, it was a game to try and guess the artist, at school half the students were walking billboards with their USA for Africa shirts and on TV well, if you didn't have MTV (back when they actually played 'M') you felt like you were part of the problem.  Aside from being amazed that we can remember something over 20 years old, we laugh at the clothes and hair we witnessed in Jr High/High School and how good everyone looked before all the plastic surgeries.
(original We are the World)

9 month (and 54 month) portraits

They're finally here! As always, it's almost time for the next sitting but they're always cute (and VERY telling)!

Water Babies

Formal Portraits
COMING SOON

Where has the time gone? We're not sure but, here we are.... Anna - 91/2 months old already and Hallie - a precocious 4 1/2. Anna is almost walking on her own (for more than 3 or 4 steps at a time) and wants to feed herself with a spoon and use the computer.  Hallie has learned to swim with a kick board, is about to graduate from preschool and is headed to kindergarten in the fall. She changes her mind daily as to what she wants to do when she grows up and we love it! The best part.... they are happy, healthy and they like (or should we say LOVE) each other better than ever!

For the third year, the high school swim team held a fundraiser to offset their summer costs. So for a few dollars and eight afternoons, children (mostly those of district employees) were provided with one-on-one swimming lessons. Hallie was lucky enough to have the same teacher she had last year and she literally jumped right in! It's fun to see the progression of photos and movies from ages 2-4.  At 2, every time her teacher tried to get her to jump off the side she shook her head, negotiated and sat down on the side.  At 3 she would jump in a few times but clung to the teacher's neck for a good part of the time.  This year, at 4, Hallie was tall enough to walk in the shallow end and, though she regressed in the area of jumping, she would hold her breath, put her face under and stroke and kick while trailing the teacher.  She learned to kick off from the wall and with the help of a kick board, she can kick off the bottom and make it all the way across the pool!  We are going to have to spend more casual time in the pool this summer so she can explore and experiment on her own.

After a few days, we realized Anna was chomping at the bit to get in the water.  She even let practical strangers walk her over to the pool's edge!  Anything to get there and splash a bit. We broke down and put her in her suit, shed our shoes and waded with her on the steps.  You'd think that would be good enough for a baby who's never been in recreational water.  Nope.  We neglected to consider the 'big sister factor'.  If  we weren't holding her, she would have leaped out into the abyss to catch up with her idol.  She much preferred our leaving the steps and hanging her into the water from poolside.  So after swirling her around and dunking her proved to be less than satisfactory, and Hallie's lesson was done, the teacher scooped Anna into her arms and swirled her and splashed with her while walking and bobbing around the pool. 

Now, I'm not positive but, I think we have another water baby on our hands. 
She is signing the word bath a little now when she hears the word, as did Hallie at this age, and if the bathroom door is left open she is upright, tub side, banging on the edge and trying to climb over the edge.  She likes bubbles, having her hands washed (as long as we remember not to squish her stomach over the edge of the sink) and likes to be sprayed or squirted with water - even if it gets her in the face. This of course poses a challenge to us as we are making sure the four year old can get to the bathroom in time or to prepare for bed yet we need to close the door to keep out the littlest mermaid. I just wish these challenges didn't come so fast. I'm thrilled at how quickly (and, I might add, ahead of the curve) the girls develop, explore and meet their milestones but we can't seem to get a grip before they move on and throw down the next gauntlet. It's never gonna happen, is it? Didn't think so.