Disneyland Pics

The words that make you a child again....


This lovely picture of Justin came about in line at Space Mountain. He didn't want to embrace the wonderfulness of wearing his complimentary 50th anniversary micky mouse ears, so in a ploy thought up by Justin #2 and, I believe, Michael and Jesse, we managed to get the ears on him, and take a picture. How was this accomplished? Well, it all went down in about three seconds when I handed him my backpack so I could lean down and "tie my shoe." With his hands now full, Justin #2 could place the ears on his head, Jesse took the picture, and the ears were gone by the time I stood back up. Sorry, Justin, it's not a very flattering picture. ;)



















Above: Mickey Mouse climbs the Matterhorn to plant the official 50th anniversary flag atop the mountain. After the corny dialogue that went on between him and Minnie (in which they did indeed kiss and profess undying love for one another), the announcer in true Disney fashion, encouraged us to encourage the mouse and began chanting "Go, Mickey, go!" All the little kids and parents around us joined in, and it was all oh so cute, I started the video camera. Then I focused the video camera in on the guys, who were chanting along with the beat: "Jump, Mickey, jump!"

Below left: a look down Main Street at the beginning of the day, with everyone wearing their Mickey ears

Below right: we break for lunch at the Corner Coke where we feasted on foot-long hot dogs that cost each of us our first and second born.... We had to leave Gwen there.

Hurray for Hollywood!

What a weekend we had! Mikey, Jessica, Jesse, Justin #2, Gwen, and Justin #1 (only on sunday) went and had our little mini vacation this weekend. It was crazy! Our first stop was downtown L.A., four minutes from the Magic Kingdom, to set up our little co-ed living quarters for the weekend (a tent). After some dinner and the first of many Target trips that weekend, we settled in for some sleep.

The next day took us to Hollywood, home of the stars and tourists. Pretty much, Hollywood is like a theme park you don't have to pay to get into. They've got people trying to sell you stuff, street performers, even people dressed up as different characters (I wanted to get a picture with Darth Vader and a storm trooper, but they were "asking" for "donations". We made the mistake of taking a picture of Gwen with Big Bird, and the bird wouldn't let us leave till she had some money). One guy on the street did spray paint paintings that were amazing, and Michael bought Gwen one for her room. The guy was really good, and cool, too. Then we went on to the Kodak theatre, where we spent a ton of time hanging out on the stairs where the gold carpet is laid out. The place was amazing, with pillars on both sides that each had five years written on them, as well as the film that won best picture that year. It goes allthe way up the stairs until about 2000, then goes back down the stairs on the opposite side of the pillars, all the way to the year 2070, I think. We each took pictures next to the movie signs that we felt best described us. Jessica and I took American Beauty. Jesse posed next to Rocky, Michael next to Rainman, Justin with Dances with Wolves (that one's for you, Britt), and Gwen took home Million Dollar Baby.
But the greatest thing about the Kodak theatre is that it's also a mall, and in this mall we found the greatest store ever: The LoveSac. They sell the hugest most expensive bean bag chairs, with a variety of coverings and sizes, and they allow you to come in and lounge around for as long as you like. We were weary after our day of traveling, and stayed in there a good half hour lounging on the chairs, taking pictures, and watching Napoleon Dynamite which they had conveniently playing. The store's main flyer reads as such: "Lovesac.com is not a dirty website" and all around the store are poster advertisements with equally witty sayings. I have to admit, that was my favorite place in Hollywood.

We saw tons of stars on the sidewalk (the ones actually on the sidewalk, not celebrities walking around), and then we went over to the place where they've all got their handprints and footprints and stuff. That was cool. We saw George Lucas's handprints, along with R2-D2 , C-3P0, and Darth Vader. And I discovered my name is out there, granted, it is for Gregory Peck, but I took a picture of it anyway. Justin #2 felt it was within his rights then to claim Mel Gibson as his namesake in the walk of fame and we got a picture with his, too.

After a little dinner at Johny Rocket's, a ritzy overpriced fifties diner, we trudged back to the car, more than willing to crash in our sleeping bags, since we had to wake up early for DISNEYLAND the next morning. When we were stopped at a light, I got my camera out to take a picture of a Hollywood street at dusk, and this guy who was crossing the street right then, full on stopped to pose! We all thought that was hysterical, and I was a little disappointed that the shot hadn't come out well. But Justin fixed that by rolling down the window and shouting,"Hey, it didn't come out-- come back here!" So the guy ran back out in front of us- in the middle of the street- and struck his pose again- while traffic was flowing around us. It was ridiculously funny.

That night, we didn't get to sleep until nearly midnight, with Gwen on her second wind, Jesse and Justin getting a little too friendly in their sleeping bags, and me suddenly overcome with a case of the giggles. But we finally forced ourselves to sleep, knowing we had a full day at DISNEYLAND the next day....

Me, Jesse, and Gwen-- the only ones who weren't babies about getting wet that day and wanted to go on the river rafting ride.

Ahhhh.... Jessica and Mikey on the Jungle Cruise.....

This is one of my favorite pictures. On our way to Subway for dinner, Gwen decided to latch onto Justin Aubrey's hand for the trip. She's not normally the type to just grab someone else's hand, so this was so adorable! I'm not sure how Justin felt about it, but you can draw your own conclusions by the way he's holding on to her hand....

Here we are in California Adventures against the backdrop of Hollywood. This was right after they made me go on the Tower of Terror and I tried to draw blood from Justin and Jesse's hands....

Brilliant.

This thing takes forever and a day. Therefore, I will only post one picture from this last week. This is one of my personal favorites, as it pictorializes Adelaide and Frijole showing off the epitome of their personalities: Frijole is crushing someone bigger than her, and Adelaide is laughing hysterically while trying not to pee her pants.

Testing, testing, one two three

Just checking to see if this new picture thingamajig works....

Seems too easy....

It's a hard job, but somebody's gotta do it

If one more person cracks a joke about me sitting at the pool for five hours of my day, I might kick them.

Seriously, people, you try to watch your blasted kids all day and not fall asleep!
(Thanks for the great word, Jenna-- blasted)

Note to Lotus: you're one of my favorite AGO guys now. That joke you cracked on Friday was awesome!
Note to Jig: I am determined to be your friend this summer despite your intense bitterness. And Dodge is the one who added up the points on Friday, not me, get over it, Eastwood beat you.
Note to Frijole: I miss you at the pool, dude. It was fun playing in the water with you while the kids ate lunch.
Note to Ping: I always thought you were the loyal one. My perceptions of the trustworthy AGO are beginning to change P.S. I already miss the Nicks
Note to Adelaide: Bring a CD player this week!!!! I'm going crazy!!!!

Note to Boston: I didn't have the kids tackle you five times in a row. I did the first one, and Sassy continued the other four. But in all fairness, he did it to protect my honor after you soaked me three times. I'm sorry, but you deserved it.

Note to Fess: I had four cards of a straight in my hand when you made us quit our texas hold 'em game at Friday lunch. The next card was the 6 I needed. That would have been my first straight....
Note to Hurricane: I've come up with a new nickname for him.