Disneyland!

I can hardly think about our Disneyland trip without getting giddy with happiness.  We had SO MUCH FUN.  Last Wednesday we drove down to Irvine and spent the night with my Uncle David and his wonderful family.  Lucy went to sleep talking about all the Princesses she was excited to meet and what she would say to them ("I'm Lucy. I'm two. I love you.") We woke up and Lucy wore her Aurora dress,  Princess bows I made her, princess shoes, Aurora socks and a princess jacket.  We left for the happiest place on earth and I was as excited as Lucy.

A little background: I have always loved Dinseyland-even more so because we didn't go that often ( I've been probably four times). We almost went a year ago when Lucy was one and I selfishly thought she would just hold me back. How could I go on Space Mountain a hundred times with a baby?  Well, Lucy is at the perfect age for Dinseyland now and this experience was all about her.  Since Danny got cancer I have been pretty protective of Lucy-I just wanted life to seem more normal for her-even though it was far from it. I did this by showering her with the attention I could spare and as many princess gifts as I could afford (and then some). I just think she deserves something extra for the hard months we've had.  This trip was soothing for me because it made me feel like I'd done okay. Lucy was so happy, she was in heaven and thats all I really want. It felt great to be there as a family (even if Danny was wheeling along beside us:) Anyway, that is why I couldn't stop crying as we walked down Main Street and got out first glimpse of Sleeping Beauty's castle.

We saw Mickey as soon as we got in.  Lucy was very excited and gave him a big hug. Then we went straight to Dumbo.  Lucy is usually very adventurous, but lately she gets worried she'll "fall and get a big owie" so she won't ride her bike or run too fast etc. She yells at everyone to "be careful". Anyway I was worried she wouldn't like the rides but she loved them.

We got Danny an electric wheelchair for the day, knowing we would be there all day and running around the park and it was a great decision. Danny was tired by the end of the afternoon anyway and it got us on rides SO FAST!  We went in the exit on all the big rides and went straight to the front. You wait for a minute and you're on. Awesome.  It is one of the few ways we can cash in on cancer-I didn't feel bad passing those people at all (although we got a couple looks-what is that cute young man doing in a wheelchair? I'm sure they thought we were cheaters. ) My uncle, aunt and cousins joined us at Disneyland and everyone wanted to take Danny around on rides:) My favorite rides are Space Mountain (rode twice and it was so much fun) and Indiana Jones (rode twice, got stuck once right as the boulder was coming down on us-so scary sitting there in the dark with the truck bucking over and over). My parents are really fun to go on rides with. My dad pretends to be terrified and does a special yell I find hilarious and my mom often is terrified and does a yell that is equally funny.

The best part of the day was the Princess Fair. You stand in line forever to meet and take pics with three of the princesses. We were able to meet Tiana, Ariel and Belle. Lucy was star struck. She was totally shy with Tiana-I couldn't get her hands out of her mouth. She was slightly standoffish with Ariel but liked talking about Flounder.  She LOVED Belle. Those girls are so sweet and good at drawing kids out. Belle was kneeling on her level so she was easy to talk to. They talked about Lucy's Aurora dress, and all about Lucy-it was so sweet. When Belle asked for a hug Lucy just squeezed her. When we left Lucy was ecstatic. We still talk about it daily.


I was excited about the parade. As a kid we always skipped the parade and did the big rides with very little line while the suckers watched the parade. This year I spent an hour saving a spot and waiting for it! It was well worth it. We ended up right in front of a float. Lucy gave high-5s to every character and dancer that came our way. The highlight was Minnie blowing her a kiss and Lucy returning it. I could have died with happiness at that moment. There is nothing like watching your child when she is filled with happiness. We went home exhausted and happy.

(Stay tuned for our Zions trip. Short track speed skating is on. You understand.)