La La Land

Getting back to our vacation...  After our visit to San Diego, we headed up to Pasadena for a visit with Nana and a trip to Disneyland.  We spent a couple of days helping Nana prepare to move and just hanging out, visiting Steve's old favorite restaurants, our new favorite taco stand, and hitting the hotel pool.  It was hot, as is usual for the San Gabriel Valley, but very welcome to our SF-chilled bones.  

One night we all overate at dinner and were feeling it as we walked back to the hotel... read Grace's parts with dramatic flair:

Grace:  Don't walk so fast!  My tummy hurts.  It might break!
Steve:  Oh no.  Your tummy really hurts?
Grace:  It might crack open like an egg!
Steve, to me:  So, her tummy hurts and might crack open like an egg...
Grace:  That's what I was taaaalking about!

At Nana's.  Grace was really mad that the girl wouldn't share her book.

We had told Grace that she could pick either Disneyland or Legoland for her birthday.  For a while she was stuck on Legoland, but in the end I think Snow White and the parade won out.  In fact, when she told me she had chosen Disneyland, she said that she just wanted to see the parade and didn't need to go on any rides because she had been on them before.

Grace is definitely at the perfect age for so much of the park (though we are looking forward to her getting a few more inches so we can all ride the big roller coasters together).  She was beside herself with anticipation about seeing Snow White and Minnie Mouse.  We started out in Fantasyland with her beloved Snow White ride.  At the end, she announced "and then she went with the doctor prince to help people!"  So, our re-interpretation of the story (that SW is the smartest and nicest and that's why the queen is jealous, and that she and the prince went to help people at the end - Steve added the "doctor" part to the prince) stuck.  Counter-indoctrination - yessss!  

We visited ToonTown for the first time ever, and Grace got to have her picture with Minnie and Mickey.  I honestly don't know why she loves the characters so much - we don't make a big deal of them at home, but she was just delighted, which is adorable to see.  I thought she would be nervous about going up to Mickey and all the other kids were going with their parents. But she marched right up and said "Hi," and posed for her picture.  We took her on her first roller coaster, which she LOVED and rode twice with her arms in the air the whole time as she laughed.  

My biggest worry of the day was that she wouldn't nap and would be a wreck by parade time.  At the last minute we decided to bring the Ergo Carrier.  Uh, brilliant!  She miraculously fell asleep in it within minutes of me putting her on my back!  Steve and I enjoyed a break from the heat and an actual sit down lunch, though I did have to rock awkwardly in my chair for fear that she would wake up.  

All day Grace kept asking when we would see Snow White and I kept saying "in the parade."  There was no way we were going to wait in line for 70 minutes to maybe see her at the princess faire so Steve kept telling me that she better really be in that parade.  Well, the parade didn't disappoint!  There was music and dancing and characters galore, including Snow White (tg).  Grace was beyond thrilled, and it was awesome to see how much she loved it.  I still tear up if I think about the expression on her face.  Oh, to be three!

We capped off the day with ice cream for dinner and few more rides, including a space mountain switch off.  We left just before the park closed and shamelessly high-fived for Grace's not melting down, our ride count, and the Ergo Carrier coup of 2012.  Yes, as a parent of a three year old, the highlight of Disney is strategic success and the child's nap.  I'll take it.  

 

There was one sobering moment of the day.  As we were in line for Small World, we noticed a group of boats being loaded with kids on stretchers with IVs and in fancy wheel chairs.  These kids were clearly incredibly sick.  It was wonderful to see these kids getting to do something so "normal" (never mind the debatability of whether Disney is normal or an elite privilege), but also heartbreaking to wonder whether they could sense what was going on and how painful it must be as a parent to want your kid to experience this normal thing not to mention take away their pain.  I wasn't the only one in line totally choked up. It also put the few extra minutes in line in perspective and reminded me to be happy to have a kid to chase when she gets excited.

Anyway, after D-land we spent another day in Pasadena, and I really wish I'd gotten some snaps of the cool art deco hotel and the views of downtown Pasadena.  I love the glimpses of old California you get in that area.  I also wish I'd gotten some poolside pictures.  Grace discovered hot tubs on the trip, or as she calls them "hot pools".  

Watering the plants at Nana's

The last of our SoCal adventuring was a quick stop in Santa Barbara on our way north.  We met up with some SF friends who were visiting family for the weekend.  And we went to the coolest restaurant.  It was beachfront with a huge grassy area and sandpit.  Seating was at outdoor picnic tables.  It was packed with kids and was totally okay for Grace and Lizzie to run around like crazy.  But, the food was also reallllly good.  I still haven't really seen Santa Barbara but it was a really fun stop!