Observations Of Disney

While at Disneyland a couple of weeks ago, I made some observations and conclusions that I feel compelled (that's right-compelled) to share.

1. Staying at a hotel that offers a HUGE free breakfast is a must. Disneyland food ain't cheap. Of course a hotel that offers a HUGE free breakfast ain't cheap either, BUT I enjoy the feeling that I am saving money, although in reality that may not be the case.



My personal favorite hotel is The Embassy Suites. Namely because of the aforementioned free breakfast, but ALSO because of the separate room situation. I don't share a room with the kids at home, and I enjoy not sharing a room with them on vacation, for numerous reasons that I will not divulge here.

2. Accept that Disney food is expensive and splurge anyway. Don't shy away from buying that ice cream cone, or pineapple float! Eat at a restaurant. Buy that $3.50 Diet Coke. It will make you feel better (I speak from experience).



3. If you stay from the time the park opens, until the time it closes (as we did), you have to accept that you will be so tired you may begin to wonder if you will ever feel normal again. But you must persevere and spend every waking moment at the happiest place on earth.



Now for a few observations:

4. There are no black people at Disneyland. Seriously. Well NO black people is maybe a bit of an extreme statement, but truly very few. As I waited for Eric, Megan and Jackson to finish riding California Screaming (about 20 minutes) I only saw ONE (1!) black person. Since being home we have asked our black friends about it (sadly not a large number), and although they said they did not like amusement parks, they didn't know of a reason for the lack of diversity at Disney. I'm hoping the 2 days we were there were just an anomaly.

(Do you think it is okay I am talking about this? You know since I am not African American?)

5. Tights with shorts are now back in fashion! Woot-woot. You may remember I am a fan of this look from the 90's! Eric and I both saw NUMEROUS individuals sporting tights and shorts.

Sorry. This picture was taken at night, but you get the idea.



6. And lastly, flip-flops have now been taken over by Tom's as the most popular shoe. At least at Disneyland. As Sade and I were waiting for Eric, Megan and Jackson to ride Space Mountain, I stealthily took all of these pictures of people walking by. Here are all of the Tom's shoes I spotted in a FIVE (5!) minute period:











I have to confess that I used to find them to be the ugliest shoes on the planet, but since I am powerless to a trend, Megan and I went to buy some on Saturday.



I think I will wear them with tights and shorts.

Four For Friday - Things I'm Bad At Edition

I am terrible at quite a lot of things. But for the sake of time, and my self-esteem, I will highlight only 4.

1. Unpacking after vacation. I do realize life would be easier if I unpacked the suitcases as soon as we arrived home from vacation. But I'm tired when I get home from vacation! So instead they sit there, silently mocking me, for sometimes days at a time.



2. Letting go. Sadie informed me a few weeks ago that she was grown up and WAY too old for sippy cups. She was right. But throwing them away wasn't easy. Eric had to do it. My cup cupboard is unbearably bare:



3. Cutting watermelon. This is something I am truly TERRIBLE at. I never attempt it, which is why I am probably bad at it. But a couple of weeks ago I was teaching pre-school. And the letter was 'W". And the snack was watermelon. And Eric was out of town. So I had to do it.

It was wasn't pretty:



I have absolutely no ability to make even cuts, and sadly more ended up in the garbage and on the floor, than we actually ate.



Oy vey!

4. Finally, I am really bad at making a list when going to the grocery store. Which is why I often end up with multiples of items that will be a challenge to eat before they expire. If you are a long-time reader of my blog you may just remember my obsession with buying sour cream. I always think I am out of it, when I am not! Well apparently I am also obsessed with buying Club Crackers. I don't mind obsessively buying items we actually eat regularly, but Club Crackers are not one of those items.



For the record I also have an inordinate amount of Stove Top Stuffing!

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

Roos-N-More

It is letter "z" week at pre-school! So to celebrate the kids had very special visitors from the Roos-N-More Zoo.

The little zookeeper herself:



The gopher snake visited first. Seeing is slither on the ground was horrifying:



But apparently not to Miss Sade, who agreed to wear the snake around her neck. She is a brave little soul:




It wrapped itself right around her tiny leg:



Next was some animal that looked like a raccoon. It may have been called a coatimundi, but I could very well be completely wrong about that:



It gave Sade a few kisses:



This is how she felt about them:



Next up was a baby kangaroo. Too cute for words:




Checking out the tiny pouch:



The kangaroo was followed by a Toucan. Seriously cool. Here the zookeeper is asking Sade if she wanted the Toucan to stand on her arm. She explained to her that it may pinch or scratch her:



Once again the brave little soul decided to take the risk:




Then we had a visit from a baby lemur. He (or she) was a crazy little thing and did not like to sit still:




He loved to give kisses too:




She liked these kisses better than the other ones:



The lemur taking a relaxing break on her head:





The last animal of the day was a baby monkey. It was the cutest darn thing I have seen in some time. I mean look at it!:



She willingly gave him (Spanky) a kiss. Who could blame her?:



He enjoyed nibbling on her hair:




And on her fingers:




Eric told Sadie that it looked like the monkey was smelling her armpit in this picture:



And then this was the monkeys reaction:



Sadie thought that was the funniest thing she ever heard in her life!




The zookeepers enjoying some zoo crackers before the end of school:



A BIG thank you Suzie for setting this whole thing up!!! It was the best.