Angel?

While at Disneyland many people commented about how sweet Aerin was. In reply, she would bat her eyes at them and say, "I'm an angel."

Little Miss Energy

Friday night, after 13 hours at Disneyland, I was dragging a bit. Aerin was doing cartwheels as she ran to the next ride. Now I know why some animals eat their young.

New Bolt

Last week Aerin told Tracy that one of the lamps needed a new bolt. Tracy didn't want to embarrass her, so she said, "Let's look in the closet and see if we have any more light bolts."

Another Teaching Moment

For a school assignment due this week, Aerin did a poster advertising a favorite book. She chose Pride And Prejudice. As Tracy and Aerin were coming up with words to describe the book, Tracy suggested "Elopement". Aerin decided on "Scandal" instead. Tracy asked here what scandal meant. Aerin said, "It's what men and women do together when not married."

Saturday With Sore Feet In The Park With Aerin

Thankfully, since we had to catch a plane, Saturday was a short day: Two hours in California Adventure and two at Disneyland.

We got to California Adventure as it opened at 10am. We rode Mike & Sully To The Rescue, then Grizzly River Run three times in a row. I had brought a change of clothes for Aerin and told her that once she changed clothes, no more water rides for the day. Should have brought a change for me too. I just moved from sunny patch to sunny patch for the next couple of hours, as the clouds thickened and my clothes dried. We finished the California Adventure with the Golden Zephyr and Orange Stinger rides.

The crowds were thick at Disneyland, so we just had time for the Haunted Mansion, Tarzan's Jungle Adventure, and the Pinocchio ride. We left as the rain started.

Aerin was finally tired. The night before she was doing cartwheels (literally) at 11pm, but she was dragging as we walked back to the hotel.

Friday In The Park With Aerin

On Friday, Aerin and I spent 15 glorious hours at Disneyland. It was a little rainy at first, but beautiful later. The crowds were somewhat thin. We rode:

• Buzz Light Year (3 times) - We started with Buzz.
• Mr. Toad's Wild Ride (twice)
  
• Indiana Jones
• Star Tours (twice)
• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (twice)
• Splash Mountain (twice) - With a walk back to the hotel to change all of Aerin's clothes
• Alice In Wonderland
• Teacups (3 times)
• Go Coaster
• Dumbo (twice)
• Rockets (twice)
• Haunted Castle (3 times)
• Winnie The Pooh
• Pirates of the Caribbean (3 times)
  
• Matterhorn (twice) - We ended with the Matterhorn.
  

By 11:40 pm the line at the Matterhorn had finally gotten short enough. We had checked it several times during the day, but any wait over 15 minutes was just too long for the kind of day it was. Aerin loved the ride! As we finished, we saw that the line had been closed and the sled in front of ours was the last to leave for the night. Our sled-mates asked if we could stay seated, and the operator sent our sled through again.

Then we just had a mile walk back to the hotel.

Big Thunder Mountain

I worried that Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (a roller coaster) would be a bit intense for Aerin, and, anyway, the line was always too long. Around 9pm on Friday suddenly there was just a 5 minute wait; I couldn't pass it up. There's a part where it is dark, so we when came out into the light I quickly looked over to make sure she wasn't frightened. There she was with both arms in the air, laughing and hollering at the top of her lungs.

Chopsticks

After Aerin and I flew to LA on the way to Disneyland, we stopped for dinner. Aerin had Panda Express and handled chopsticks better than I had ever seen her do before. I asked her how she had gotten so good, and she said, "Instinct."

Pictures!

Pictures from Aerin's trip to Disneyland with Dad are here.

Boring Saturday

Today Aerin called and called to find a friend for a play date, but they were all busy. She had to settle for boring, old Dad. We made a bead necklace. We rode bikes in the cul de sac. I watched her jump on the trampoline. We played basketball; she jammed a finger. I watched her ice her finger. Ahhh. Future memories.

How would she know?

We watched Addams Family tonight. During the ballroom scene, Aerin asked, "Why are all the women dressed like goths?"

Shannon Would Agree ...

Tracy hosted a baby shower for a friend last Saturday. Aerin saved two bags of candy for later. She said one was "for emergencies, when there's no chocolate."

Trivia?

We were playing Disney Trivial Pursuit. It was Aerin's turn to read a question: Who always said "Oh, bother." Quickly turning to the answer she read: "Whiney Poof".