::kimbasa::

Disneyland. ::sigh:: How I heart thee! So... Derrick and I have been having some MAJOR DL withdrawals...after all... it HAD been a whole 15 months since we'd gone last! ::sigh:: So. It all started out when I had this brilliant idea of leaving the boys behind and going w/ two of my BFF's on a girl's trip for my bday, but that wasn't working out so great... so I asked DLo if he was going to take me for my bday (it's free on your bday this year, you know- but you have to register online), and he basically told me "no way"... but about 2 weeks before my bday, he told me that we WERE going! Whohoo! What I didn't know...is that he had some surprises up his sleeve!!!

Thursday-

We woke up at our usual time to feed the lil-big man... I packed and about 10:15am, we hit the road. I was very excited for our roadtrip- which surprisingly, was not our first w/ Jude... nor our second... he's pretty much a roadtrip pro! Anywho. Before getting to our hotel, we had to first make a quick stop to drop off some lights or something for the church to some warehouse... I knew that DLo was going to give me 3 of my 5 surprises... Little did he know... I kinda had figured one of the surprises out... (b/c I'm THAT good). I had kinda figured out that we were staying at the Grand Californian!!! EEEP! But... let me just say- DLo was VERY good at trying to convince me that we were staying at the Crowne Plaza... he EVEN had the address typed out for me to Onstar once we left the warehouse. Sucka. I didn't lead on that I "knew"... I didn't want to ruin the surprise for him if it were true- and I didn't want to feel dumb if I was wrong! Anywho. I was right! DLo booked us a stay at the GC. If you've never ever stayed there- I highly recommend splurging one time and doing it! This was our 2nd stay there... we splurged once before in 2005 for DL's 50th celebration. Aaaaaanyway- While DLo was parking the car- Jude and I went up to the room... I found surprise #2-

and the cutest little bday cake towel thing awaiting me! So fun! Since it was already so late...We decided not to go to the park that evening... but.... Surprise #3 was that DLo got us Annual Passes!!! It ended up being a good deal- cheaper to buy the AP's and book the room then get a 3day hopper for each of us and book the room... whatev- works for me! :D We went down to Downtown Disney and got some takeout from Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen and then hit the sack!

Friday-
We got to the park about an hour after it opened (Jude was passed out in the stroller, which was SUPER sad...)

and got our Annual Passes...also got our $69 giftcard (b/c if you have tickets already on your bday, you can choose an alternative). There were a LOT of people there for a random Friday in Feb! I guess everyone wanted to celebrate my bday w/ me?! Hmmm.. We just kinda kept walking and walking...until we were by the Haunted Mansion. The line was surprisingly short- compared to every other line we passed, so we decided to ride! I was so excited to take Jude on his first ride...not so much that it was

HM...but, whatev! Jude was super cute... I was afraid that he'd start crying in the first little room that you go in- when the lights go out and everyone screams...but he was fascinated by all the peeps! Anywho. We got our grub on at Pizza Port and the headed over to the Buzz Lightyear ride (one of my favorites!!!). We were disappointed though, our picture TOTALLY didn't show up... first time that's ever happened to us- ::boo:: -from there we headed over to California Adventure. On our way to the new Toy Story ride...DLo stopped to shoot some hoops at a carnival game- and made the first shot- winning us an oversized frog! DLo was so excited- it was way way cute! (Also cute b/c I NEVER let him play those things!!!)

So then we rode Toy Story- way way WAY fun ride- those Disney Imagineers are so smart! Now...up until this point...the only nap Jude has gotten was the one right as we entered the park... he will NOT go down for a second nap... which is usually no biggie. I've always been amazed at what a sweet spirited child God blessed me with. Well. The boy that was at DLand w/ us...was NOT my boy.

(This picture was 2 seconds before a meltdown)
We didn't have much time before our dinner reservations at Steakhouse 55 @ the DL Hotel (Surprise #4) so, it didn't make sense to stand in line for another ride... when we came to DL last time- I was 5ish months preggers and was DYING to make a BuildaBear for our coming bundle....but DLo squashed my idea.... so... basically- I threw the "bday" card out there and DEMANDED to go to BaB in Downtown Disney to make Jude a bear... which ended up being a dog...

Now... I know he's only 9.5 months old...and that it's mostly fun for me...but... this child was a terror. It didn't matter if we held him, rocked him, twirled him, or what... he was NOT happy. I know every kid has his moments... and we were out and about a LOT more than usual....but typically, the boy is pretty chill... yeah. Not. So. Much. We hurried w/ our Bear/dog selection and went straight to dinner. Now. You know us Logans... we love our food... I just KNEW that once we were seated and I busted out w/ Jude's snack and gave him some of my steak, he would calm down. Nope. I have NEVER had to leave dinner early b/c of Jude. ::sigh:: "Happy Bday, Momma"... There was one point during the day that I looked at Derrick and said that I was going to ship the kid back to AZ.... and then another when I looked at Jude and said- "Don't you know what day it is?! Don't you know where we are?!?!"... haha- welcome to mommyhood, right?

Saturday-
The day was started of at CA (we waited until after Jude's 1st nap to leave- making sure he had at least one solid good nap!!!)- we headed over to ride the Toy Story ride again. On our way- DLo stopped to ride the Maliboomer by himself while Jude and I ~~baked in the sun~~ watched...

After TS... we went to the Playhouse Disney show- which I was excited to take Jude to- Jude was SO stinkin' cute. He loved watching the lil' Mickey and friends come out- he loved the lights and the singing.... it was precious! He clapped and smiled... oh- it melted my heart!

Lunch was at Rancho del Zocalo in DL... it was pretty yummy! We were supposed to go to the Blue Bayou (Surprise #5)...but decided not to. We did ride Pirates after lunch. Jude was so precious... he was busy entertaining everyone in line...and then...he passed right out on daddy's shoulder! (DLo LOVED it). He slept during most of the ride- Derrick said that during the first two drops, Jude clung on to his daddy's neck for dear life...all-the-while still asleep! He woke up somewhere during the cannon fights... possibly b/c I screamed "my butt is wet!" We went back to our room afterwards...and took a rest. Then we headed down to the pool.

Apparently, DLo got to witness an awesome experience of an angry dad tossing in some punks shoes into the pool. LOL. Which reminds me...I cannot believe I failed to mention that there was a cheerleading convention or something in Anaheim... and there were a butt TON of cheerleaders (all probably 11-14 year old) EVERYwhere! ::ugh:: We eventually went back to CA to ride Monsters and Toy Story...Jude fell asleep in the stroller, so DLo and I grabbed some dinner at Taste Pilots and walked around. It was a great day!

Sunday-
When you stay at the DL Hotels (and sometimes the "good neighbor" hotels)- you get early admission into the parks. We totally did NOT take advantage of this the previous 2 days. We were planning on leaving after Jude's feeding and then hittin' the beach so that I could take a picture of Jude's nakie bottom to get blown up for his bedroom (he'll thank me when he's older, I'm sure...)...but...Jude decided to wake up at 5am (which was 6am AZ time)... so DLo and I decided to go ahead and go to the park for early admission and hit some of the rides that usually have long lines! We got to the park about 7:30am... we went straight to the Finding Nemo ride. We pretty much walked right on....Jude LOVED watching through the window...he especially loved when we first took off and windows were filled w/ bubbles.

It was sweet.... after about 5 minutes of sitting in daddy's lap, Jude leaned over and requested to sit w/ mommy. I thought that was so sweet and gladly held my boy in my lap... after a minute or so, I noticed that he had his head tilted so that he could look up through the window. I thought to myself... he is SO stinkin' smart!!!.... and then I noticed... hmmm...he's not moving... So... I leaned over...and looked at his precious lil face....asleep! HAHA! He totally passed out literally 2 seconds after transitioning to my lap! Poor kid! Disney just wears him out! We took sleeping JW onto Small World....and then after he woke up, we hit the Dumbo ride. Jude had a lot of fun trying to move the little bar that makes Dumbo go up and down... he never quite moved it... but mommy helped!

Then we went on Peter Pan, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, and toured Sleeping Beauty's Castle (which is open again). After a delish breakfast at the Riverbelle Terrace...we finished our Disney adventure by going on the Buzz ride one last time- to get a picture.

Unfortunately- you cannot see Jude in the picture (in the one you can email yourself...not the one I took! lol)! HAHA! So sad! We packed up, fed Jude one last time, then hit the beach. Jude was NOT a fan. He didn't like the sound the waves made...and didn't like when the water came close to us. Being the "mommyoftheyear"... I told him to suckitup- and sat him down on the sad- sans diaper or other clothing- and shot a dozen pictures!

Let me tell you... it worked more smoothly in my mind... trying to get sand off your child's "woohoo" is not the most thrilling thing to do...especially knowing that he'll be in a carseat for 6ish hours. ::sigh:: But it all worked out! Jude did a fantastic job on the way home (and to Cali for that matter)... we are SO glad to be back and so blessed to be able to get away every once in a while! I can't wait to go back...maybe... w/o Jude next time! :D

Thanks so much, Derrick, for a wonderful birthday trip. It was an awesome way to ring in my 29th year of life...and I spent it w/ my 2 FAVORITE people on the planet! I love you!