Day 2 - Disneyland

On our second day in California we went to Disneyland. We have been to Disney World but never to Disneyland. One friend had told me that Disneyland is exactly like Magic Kingdom in Disney World. She was right. The two parks are nearly identical. I felt that I knew my way around Disneyland since we had been to Magic Kingdom just over a year ago.

My friend Joanie (whom I went to junior high and high school with) lives in Los Angeles. Since we had not seen each other in over five years she met us at Disneyland with her son and daughter to spend the day with us.

Joan and I posing for a picture. It was really nice getting together with Joan. I remember in high school I use to go to her house after school and she would make us pizza out of toast, spaghetti sauce and cheese. Oh, how long ago that was.

And here is Ally and Joan's daughter, Mia. Ally and Mia had met when they were 3 months old. However, neither of them remembered this ;)

This is Joan and her 2 year old son Diego.

And here are the 4 kids posing for a picture.

3 of the kids and Henry riding the Teacups.

Ryan and I riding a boat around a boat around an island.

Ally and I firing at Zurg in outer space.

I think Henry and Ryan got Zurg.

I'm glad that we went to Disneyland. We enjoyed the day. However, Henry and I are pretty certain that we wont be returning to Disneyland. Out of the 4 amusement parks we visited over spring break Disneyland was not one of our favorites. If we do "Disney" again, we will probably go to Disney World.

Knotts Berry Farm

Our first full day in California we went to Knotts Berry Farm. We really enjoyed Knotts Berry Farm because it was not busy (we could walk up to most rides and not have to wait) and also because there is a part of the park called Camp Snoopy that is just for little kids. So of course Ally and Ryan were able to ride all the rides in Camp Snoopy. Knotty Berry also has some pretty good sized roller coasters. So every now and then Henry would take off and go ride a roller coaster or two. It was a nice, slow day with rides for everyone.

Ally and Ryan riding the Red Baron.

Ally and Ryan on the G8 Sk8. It is supposed to be a big skateboard that goes back and forth like a skateboard on a half pipe.

This ride was a family favorite. It was a calm ride down the "river" with a few dips for being splashed.

And here they are getting splashed. I rode this ride a couple times with them. The kids loved it so much that they rode it a couple more times with Henry (as I took pictures).

Now this was my favorite ride. This ride is like a roller coaster where you sit/stand on the horse. Henry tried to get a picture of me on actual ride, but it went too fast that he missed me.

Yum . . . foot long hot dogs for lunch. The down side of Knotts Berry Farm is the cost of food. You can not take food into the park (like you can at Disneyland and Legoland). For lunch we ordered 2 foot long hot dogs, 2 french fries, 2 chicken sandwiches and it cost $50. Wowzer!

Henry and Ally getting reading to ride the hot air balloons.

And Ryan posing for the camera as we wait for the ride to begin.

Now this was my favorite ride for the kids. It was a little train where the kids had to move the "train" by themselves by pumping the bar back and forth. Let's just say Ryan was not a fan of this one.

This was Ryan and Ally's favorite ride.

They loved going abound the corners as the car jerked sideways. They both wanted to ride this one over and over.

And here is our family picture as we walked into the park. What a happy family (except for Ryan). Ryan wasn't upset. This is just his new face when it's picture time.

After Knott Berry Farm we grabbed something to eat at the famous Mrs. Knotts Chicken Dinner Restaurant (you have to eat there if you go). We then headed towards Disneyland to check into out next hotel and to get ready for the next amusement park.

California Vacation 2011

We took a family vacation to southern California for a week. We had an amazing time. We flew out last Thursday and we went to Knotts Berry Farm, Disneyland, California Adventures and Legoland and flew back into town on Wednesday. Let's just say that we did a lot of walking and all of us have a really nice tan.

When we flew into Los Angeles we only had one thing on our to do list for our first day - go to American Girl and let Ally choose an American Girl doll. Ally had been going through the American Girl doll magazine for a couple months. So, she had a pretty good idea of which doll she wanted. So we drove to The Grove in LA and went straight to American Girl. She picked out a My Girl which looks just like her. Of course I did not take my camera down from the rental car, so I had to take a phone with my phone. I apologize for the poor quality of this photo.

Ally with her American Girl whom she named Ally Ally.

She picked out a brush, pair of glasses and undies set for her doll. We told her she could also pick an outfit for her doll and the matching out for herself. Talk about the hardest decision for this girl. We went up and down the store, picking up one outfit just to put it down for another numerous times. In the the end she chose a pink skort and a red American Girl t-shirt for the two of them.

Since it was rush hour once we were down shopping, we decided to go see a movie (Rango) before heading to our hotel. After the movie we ate a quick dinner and headed to our hotel at Knotts Berry Farm to get a good night rest.

I Know, It's Been Awhile - Sorry

Wow! I have not posted since December 2nd. What is wrong with me. It's not like I'm not on the computer everyday (keeping up with all my news site and Craigslist). I don't know. I just have not been in the mood to blog.

I was just reading my last post, titled "Yeah, that's the MS". I am shocked on the energy I must of had at the time. I shampooed the carpet for crying out loud. Now a days, I must break up my chores. One day I'll do floors (vacuum and mop - hopefully every room). Another day I'll clean the bathrooms. Another day I will start laundry and I find it goes way into the evening (when Henry is home and helps out). I don't know. I find that if I do "too much" in one day that I am physically drained the next day.

Still, that's no excuse for not blogging. So, here is my promise that I will begin blogging about once a week (fingers crossed).

We are heading to California tomorrow. We will be going to American Girl, Disneyland, Knottsberry Farm and Legoland. So I will post all about our trip once we get back. Promise.

Henry felt I should have a photo on this post. So, here is one of Ally and Ryan. Henry took them hiking up in Jemez on Sunday. They had fun and I had some time to myself. Everyone wins.

Yeah, That's the MS

So I went to my neurologist yesterday. It was my annual visit. He asked how I was doing overall. I told him that I have good months and bad months with the fatigue. During the bad months I am pretty much useless from around noon to 5 pm everyday. I also told him about the cramping that is beginning to appear in my hands and feet. We discussed my addiction to caffeine that I use to fight the fatigue. I also told him that my memory is terrible and that I forget or lose so many things everyday. The response I pretty much got regarding all of this was "Yeah, that's the MS". I am continuing with my daily injections and will see him in a year. Unless, God forbid, something major happens (like losing my vision in one eye, again).

So today I had a list of things I wanted to get done. Go to mall and return some things. Work on Ally's Christmas present (which will be a later post). Maybe volunteer in the kids classroom or go to the gym. Do some laundry. Pick up the house. Oh, good intentions. Here is how my day actually went.

1. Take kids to school. Come home and decide to shampoo the carpet in my bedroom. Might as well clean and mop my bathroom while I am at it.

2. 2 Hours later, eat lunch, surf the web and talk to my sister Katie. I tell Katie that I am going to go to the mall to return somethings and then will come home and work on Ally's present.

3. Katie asks me to go to Cheryl's, pick up a remote and take it to her at our cousins house.

4. On way to Cheryl's realize I forgot my phone. Decide it's ok and to continue with errands.

5. Take remote to Katie, visit for a bit, then head out to mall.

6. Get to mall, find awesome parking. Decide to pull receipt out of my wallet before heading in. Look in my purse. No wallet. Realize I left my wallet on the couch, with my phone, by the computer (I was ordering stuff for our AWANA Christmas party). Take this as a sign from God to go home and take a nap.

7. Come home and try to take a nap. No use. I'm tired, but can't fall asleep.

8. Update blog.

Yeah, That's the MS

The Christmas Tree is Up

Henry and the kids did an awesome job putting up the Christmas tree. I think this weekend they are going to work on putting up the lights on the house. Now to get some presents under that tree.

Thanksgiving in Taos

We spent Thanksgiving in Taos with my parents (Grandma and Grandpa Cookie). It was a nice, relaxing time. For some reason it did not seem as chaotic as previous years making the meal. Everyone pitched in and it was a nice, calm dinner. Henry I took the kids shopping in Town and also took them to the park to play some basketball. The weather was awesome.

Here we are playing Cranium. We also played Scrabble quite a bit. Henry's goal, when Cheryl is around, is to prove to her that he can beat her at any board game. It is always exciting interactions between these two over achievers.

Ryan refused to play games with the group. So here is Uncle Eli playing Sorry with him. It was nice family time over the holiday.