Disneyland-Adults Only

Kevin and I went to Disneyland. We went on our own, over President's weekend. The boys went with my mom and dad, in their RV, to Case de Fruta. Quinn was sick (really sick) the whole weekend though. Now my mom is super sick (thanks to sick kids in her class, and Quinn). Quinn is still coughing, but he's definitely more himself this week. Riley had a good time though. He didn't have to talk to anyone, or go anywhere, and that's paradise to him!

Kevin and I got to ride on the Lilly Belle. It's a caboose that Walt Disney purchased, and named it after his wife. Anyone can ride, you just have to make reservations in the morning. You can't ride without a guide, and it doesn't run in bad weather. We enjoyed it. It's been fully restored and contains some antiques, and things that belonged to Walt and his wife.

Cheshire Cat. He's my favorite part of Fantasy Land. He's hidden in a rock, outside of the Alice in Wonderland ride.

The Matterhorn is being refurbished. Scaffolding everywhere! Not very picturesque, but we find this kind of stuff very interesting. I am sure it will be ready to go in time for the summer season.

Tomorrowland. I really do NOT like the ride that is attached to this, but I sure do like this space orb thingy. The ride is like Dumbo, but it freaks me out. The space shuttles seem too short on the side and I worry I will fall out.

Cute owl with the castle in the background.

CHECK IT OUT! Construction is almost complete on Carsland! This is going to be so COOL. We just can't WAIT until it opens. This is the backdrop to a ride, which if you have ever been to Epcot at Disney World, is a lot like Test Track. We are super excited. I believe they have an opening date of June 15!!

Tower of Terror. I really like this ride. It makes me feel scared every time I ride, but it's so much fun. It bounces...and bounces...and bounces...and drops. So fun.

Kevin is playing the part of your favorite Disney Pal. Mickey is pointing at him.

California Screamin'. This ride is the BEST roller coaster. It is so much fun. We can't get either boy to ride it. We are hoping they (or one) will ride it when we go in April. I think we have a much better chance of getting Quinn on it than Riley.

Kevin and I had a good time. The parks were super crowded. We hadn't been to Disneyland when the crowds were that big, in quite some time. It was crazy crowded and even the Fastpass lines were long. We did what we wanted to though, and survived. My only request is that Toy Story gets a Fastpass one of these days! They have one for it in Florida. I could ride that ride all day long.

Birthday Fun

Today is Quinn's birthday. He's 10! Double digits, and not a baby any longer! He has been asking for a hamster forever, so we decided that he could have one, for his birthday gift.

On Thursday, we got all of the hamster equipment: house, bedding, food, exercise ball, extra tube perch and small sleeping hut.

We got the cage put together.

Today we went to PetSmart to get the hamster.

Quinn, the proud owner of his very own hamster.

Carefully holding his new friend, on the drive home.

Meet Ruby. She's a Robo Dwarf Hamster. She's tiny. She's about a month old, and if taken care of, she can live up to 6 years! She'll get a little bit bigger.

She is freaking adorable! She seems to love Quinn. When I try to pet her she's all freaky, but he must have the touch, and he certainly loves her.

Quinn said this was the "best birthday of his life!" He also got a Creator Lego set from his brother, a Gryffindor Scarf, a Harry Potter Lego set, money and a Target gift card. He's a pretty happy boy.

I seriously can't believe he's 10! Where does the time go?

January Stuff

Quinn is small. He fits in many spots. Here he is in the space in a wall at Rubios.


Riley had his first piano recital. He played Heigh Ho and It's a Small World. He did a great job!!




This is my new Target! It doesn't open until March 11, but I am ready!

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Quinn Loves to Draw

Quinn is quite the little artist. Just give the boy some paper, and he's happy!

Quinn drew this unicorn this morning.

A self portrait.

Quinn as a lion. (He's also a HUGE Lion King fan).

Cute panda.

Picachu.

Another picture of himself as a lion.

Kirby. He started out drawing Kirby, all the time, but now he can draw just about anything!

Long Weekend

It's great to have a long weekend! So far, I have slept in, until 10:00 AM both days, and just hung around the house. It's nice. It's just crazy at school. There are just too many students. The change in class size is just ridiculous. I can't teach. I spend my entire day disciplining 3 kids. It's exhausting. I do have sweet kids, I really do, but there are three that absolutely make me nuts. I am trying to focus on the rest. It's quite challenging with the constant interruptions. I wish their parents could control them. Anyway, I am enjoying my weekend...


This is Sharkie, the mascot of the San Jose Sharks. He came to visit my class on Friday. I swear we need Sharkie every day. The kids have never been more at a loss for words!


Even Maya is enjoying the lazy, king weekend!



I got a new puzzle when we were at Disney World, so I got it out and started it.


Kevin and I enjoyed two bottles of this yummy stuff on Saturday night, and again tonight, while we watched the Golden Globes.

Tomorrow we are going to venture out of the house, to see Beauty and the Beast in 3D.

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Christmas Highlights

Our 2011 Christmas tree. Pretty much looks the same as 2010, 2009, 2008...

Santa left some goodies for the boys!

Christmas mess!

Gifts the boys got from us, Maya and the cats.

Maya got a new toy! It's still intact too!! It's really hard plastic, so she's not able to destroy it as quickly as the fabric, stuffed toys.

Quinn's been doing a lot of drawing. He drew this picture of himself. I really think he has talent!

I'm Here

Wow, it seems I have had many absences from my blog lately. It's just work/life keeping me busy. Plus, we just got back from Florida. We spent 10 days at Disney World, and a quick trip to Islands of Adventure, to go to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Here are the highlights of our trip. I still have to get them onto Flickr.

Animal Kingdom, on our way to ride Expedition Everest. Quinn is just tall enough this year to ride! He loved it!

We did this Wild Africa Trek at Animal Kingdom, on Dec. 31. It was sooooo cool. We all got to wear those funky vests!

The trek allowed us to get closer to hippos and crocodiles. I was not standing right next to this hippo. I was on a slight overhang, looking over them. I zoomed with my camera.

This is where we stood, harnessed in. If you look to Quinn's right, you can just see the hippos. You can also see the regular safari tour vehicle, to Quinn's left.

We had to cross two rope bridges! One person at a time. It was very cool.

One of the bridges went right over the crocodiles. There's something like 26 of them down there! All boys. Again, we were up above them a little, and harnessed in.

Magic Kingdom, Cinderella's Castle.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Riley and I have been reading the Harry Potter books-finally. I bought them a long time ago, thinking Riley would like to read them. He never showed any interest, but then I decided that I would read them. My nieces love them, and between them and me reading them, Riley has started reading them! He's reading book 5 and I am reading book 4. Since we were going to be in Florida, we decided to visit the Harry Potter world. It was pretty cool. VERY crowded, but cool. Oh and it was freezing the day we went. I mean really really cold!

You felt like you were in the book or movies, walking through Hogsmeade. Really really cool.

Of course, we had to have Butterbeer. We had both the cold and frozen. Both were very yummy.

Epcot. This park is my favorite. I really love the World Showcase, and we all love Test Track.

Rafiki and the boys! This was taken at Rafiki's Planet Watch at Animal Kingdom.

Quinn on Expedition Everest. He loved the ride. It really is a great ride-easily my favorite Disney ride. It's so good!

A giraffe from the safari vehicle at Animal Kingdom. I just love them. They are so cute.

Kevin, Stitch and the boys at Magic Kingdom.

We had a really great time. We are all still quite exhausted and still trying to get back into our time zone. I am looking forward to the weekend, where I hope to sleep!

I will try to be back tomorrow with other things that have gone on around here.

To check out the pictures from our Wild Africa Trek, click HERE. To see the rest of our pictures from The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, click HERE.