Uncle Jono and Aunt Kelly!

Moving right along with my attempts to get this blog caught up, we're now at Monday, January 21st, which also happened to be Martin Luther King Jr. Day.  As crazy as it had been at Disney the days prior, I was so so glad there was this day off so that we had a chance to get rested up before the regular swing of things resumed.

Also, Matt's brother Jon(o) and his wife Kelly were due to arrive for a visit sometime in the afternoon.

How very very exciting.

Peter actually didn't seem to have much of an idea that they were coming, (probably because we didn't really tell him ahead of time) and yet he randomly decided to park all his cars by the front door to greet (trip) them when they arrived.  

So, they arrived on Monday afternoon and we pretty much just hung out.

Then on Tuesday morning Peter had school like normal, but afterward we all went out to lunch.  When we go home from that, A.J. went down for a nap and the rest of us went out in the backyard to enjoy the nice weather and, apparently, to fix the playhouse roof.

If you're wondering, I'm not entirely sure about what started the cowboy hat.  He's owned the thing for a long time, like... I know I bought it when we lived in Washington.  Anyway, so I guess that morning Peter was up early enough to catch the last little bit of Barney (which we never watch) and it was a cowboy episode or something.  Somehow this led Peter to dig out his hat and Uncle Jono to teach him to tip his hat at everyone he met and greet the with a friendly "Howdy Partner!" or "Howdy Ma'am!"  Seriously.  He wore the hat all morning at school that day and greeted the lady at the counter at lunch just as he'd been taught.

Weird.

Anyway, somewhere during the afternoon Kelly decided they needed to make Dirt for dessert again.  The last time we'd visited Jono and Kelly at their house (a few weeks before their wedding) they'd made Dirt and it was such a hit (not to mention so delicious) that it seemed like a great idea to make it again.

They soon ran out to the store to pick up the ingredients-- and thank goodness they took a wrong turn trying to get out of our neighborhood on the way, because Peter, slipped out the door behind them when I was picking up the toys out in the yard and took off on his own down the sidewalk to follow them!  He only made it a few houses down the street before his Aunt and Uncle looped back around and spotted him, but still!!!  I hadn't even realized he'd gone!!  Peter and I had another long conversation about his need to stay WITH adults he knows and about how he is NOT allowed to open or go out the front door by himself.  Period.  After our talk, I let them drive the van and take him with them to shop, since clearly he was just determined to go one way or another, and then when they got home I had a good long laugh at all the stories about the crazy things he said and did in the store.

At least, for once, somebody but me got to experience his overwhelming personality out in public.  :)

By the time they were back from shopping, A.J. was awake and so they made the dessert.

Obviously we made everyone eat a proper meal before enjoying the treat, but here is their finished product:

Yummy!  What a great way to begin their visit!

Tinkerbell Half Marathon

I suppose if I am working chronologically, I can't really put off writing this post much longer.  That's really really crappy because I really don't want to relive that race in order to write about it.

Which is weird really because *most* of the race went pretty well, considering I wasn't really prepared and didn't run at all between the second week in December and the second week in January.  UGH.  

Anyway, here goes:

The night before, after we left California Adventure, we walked back to the parking garage (because sometimes walking is just easier than unloading the stroller to fold it down and lug it on the tram) and then proceeded to drive for approximately 45 minutes in stupid traffic, around the perimeter of the Disney property to get to our hotel.  It was okay because Peter crashed out in the car and stored up enough reserve energy to get him through dinner, but dealing with that much traffic over a span of about a mile and a half of road is just, frustrating.

When we got to the hotel, we got all unloaded and checked in and we set the kids up watching some DVDs while we ordered room service.  After eating, it was already 6:30 or so, so the kids went into the bathtub and we put them to bed.  I got in the tub to soak my sore legs and feet (from the long day at the park) and Matt battled with them to get them to actually sleep.  By 7:30 or so, when I'd finished my bath, climbed into some pj's, laid out all my gear for the morning and set multiple alarm clocks, neither kid was even in the bed anymore and Matt and I were both about to lose our minds.  We got them all back in bed, turned out all the lights and I laid down between them in their bed with my arms stretched out on either side of me, over top of them, basically, holding them both down.  The next thing I knew, Matt was snoring softly in the other bed and both kids were out like lights.  

I caaaaarefully climbed out from between them, tucked them both in better and went back to my own bed.  I slept better than I had before Santa Barbara, in that I actually did sleep some, but not well.  I got 30 to 60 minute cat naps in throughout the night until 2:45 am when it was time to get myself up.

Yes, 2:45 am.  You read that right.  Good thing we all basically went to bed at 7:30 right?

After the bussing problems in Santa Barbara, I was going to be good and early for this start no matter what.  Also, I couldn't really sleep anymore anyway.

I got dressed in my Tinkerbell outfit, tied my hair back in the tightest bun I could make, grabbed a banana and a protein bar for breakfast and headed out to catch the bus at just after 3 am.

The busses dropped us off on the opposite end of Downtown Disney from the start so the few of us that were there that early shivered our way across the way over to the finish line area where people were gathering until they opened the starting corrals.  I chatted happily with some random folks, danced a line dance or two with some pirates and used the porta potties once or twice until the flow of people started to move towards the actual starting line.  

I borrowed this photo from the Run Disney Facebook page.  It's either the
backdrop to the stage or one of the the aches over the start or finish lines.

Me and some pirates.  

My bib and Tinkerbell shoes  :)

When I walked around the way to the start they had probably a good mile of road divided up into the 5 corrals.  I had submitted my time to get myself into the 2nd starting group and really this seemed ridiculous to me as I am so slow.  It started to get crowded enough that I couldn't find the pacing people with their signs easily so I finally just picked a spot near the middle of my group to start in.

Then there was all kinds of music and fanfare to start things off.  Someone sang the national anthem and fireworks went off and then Mickey and Minnie started off the first group of runners.  My group moved up behind them and we waited a few more moments before it was our turn.

And then... we were off.

I was crazy nervous.  It was cold.  I didn't feel prepared.  I felt tired.  But I was going to get through it or, possibly, die trying.

The start line was on Disneyland Blvd, and basically ran immediately under Downtown Disney via a tunnel before climbing up a big hill which was actually one of the ramps into one of the major parking structures.

The tunnel smelled like urine.

And as we started to climb that first hill some lady wiped right out and and landed on her face right beside me.  I think she tripped over one of the lane markers in the road.  Yikes.

I trotted on.  It was crowded.  People were passing all over the place and it was nearly impossible to run a straight line.  I watched my watch and tried to keep a steady pace (I think I was aiming for around 11:30/mile) put there was no telling what was really happening with all the weaving.

We rounded a corner.  We were on the back side of Disneyland now, still outside the resort, near the employee parking garage entrance.  We had to go over the freeway which meant another "hill."  I struggled to keep my head in the game and slowed to a walk up that silly slope.

We passed the one mile mark.  UGH.

We rounded another corner, and Ik new from the course map that we were now nearing our back entrance into the park.  I passed the 2 hour and 45 minute pace runner, for whatever that was worth.  I watched the Team in Training coaches run around in circles to talk to their runners.  We went over the freeway AGAIN.

Then we took another little turn and we entered the behind the scenes part of the parks.  People were cheering and getting all excited.  But it was dark and hard to see and the very first thing we did is go under the downtown Disney street again which meant another tunnel and you guessed it, it smelled AWFUL in there too.

I knew I was supposed to be having fun but I really just wasn't.

But at the other end of the tunnel a marching band was playing.  That made me smile.  I also spotted a mile marker but it wasn't turned on yet.  We'd be back here again at the end of the race and that would be our 12 mile mark.

We rounded another corner and entered the back end of California Adventure, coming out beside the Tower of Terror.  Now that was neat.  There was music going and random employees cheering and lights on everywhere.  We ran through the Hollywood Backlot area, passing Mike and Sully from Monster's Inc. and headed toward the big fountain where Peter had danced in that little show the day before.  Then we took a left and ran over to Cars Land.  The neon lights were all on and it was pretty and cool.  We passed Lightening McQueen and maybe some others before we went out a gate behind the scenes again.  We ran along the back of the park, behind the roller coaster and things to come out at the back corner of Paradise Pier.  I've never been in that park after dark so it was neat to see it all lit up.  All the lights and restaurants were lit up and the water was all dancing and lights like part of The World of Color Show I suppose.  I felt crappy though and slowed to walk some more.

We turned and went around the back side of the park past the water ride and the Wilderness Explorer Camp and it was really dark again so I just concentrated on not falling down.  Then we were back up at the fountain again only this time we were on the opposite side and we took another left to head out towards the front gates.

Literally a foot in front of the gates we went over the mat for the 5K mark.  I hopped over it and went on my way, out into the entrance plaza which was packed with spectators on either side of our running path.

We entered Disneyland itself.

And again it was all pretty and magical but I just felt "blah."  The crowd had thinned out a great deal as folks had stopped for pictures and bathroom breaks and things so at least I felt like I had some room to move but I don't know, I just wasn't into it.

We ran through the entrance area and then up main street towards the castle, passing tons of characters along the way.  People were lining up for photos but I'd decided ahead of time to skip these.  I have been to the parks enough times to get pictures, I don't need photos of me all sweaty with them too.

Tinkerbell.  I borrowed this photo from the Run Disney Facebook page as well.

In Tomorrow Land I saw Darth Vader and some Storm Troopers.  Then we rounded a corner and went past all the Princesses on our left side.... Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Belle, Rapunzel and Flynn, Merida from Brave and It's a Small World was on our right.

Then we went behind the scenes again, running for a good ways and then coming back out at the back of Toon Town.  We went through Toon Town, then crossed back behind the Princesses to go on into Fantasy Land.  The carousel was going and The Big Bad Wolf and The Three Little Pigs were riding it around and around.  That made me laugh.

We passed Peter Pan and Wendy in front of their ride as we left the Land and then crossed under Sleeping Beauty Castle and headed over into Frontier Land, over and through New Orleans Square and on into and through Critter Country.

I knew we were about to leave the parks basically for good and as sad as that should have made me I didn't care as I was expecting Matt and the kids to be outside in Downtown Disney waiting for me around my mile 5.  So we left the park again, went through another back stage area and then rounded another corner, dumping us out into Downtown Disney.

My head quite frankly got a bit swimmy.  It was still dark, except for the yellow light from the street lamps and people were everywhere. I had no idea of even knowing which side of the street my family would be on so I tried to stick to the middle and scan the crowd for them as I trotted along.  Then I spotted Matt at last.  The kids were chilling in the double stroller, snuggled up under a blanket and seemed only half awake.  I untied the long sleeve shirt which I'd shed earlier from around my waist and handed it to him.  I hugged him.  "This sucks!" I told him.  "I don't know what's wrong with me, but I don't know how I'm going to get through this."

He smiled at me and told me I'd be fine and then pretty much shoved me on my way, promising to find me at mile 10-ish.

I went on soon we were leaving Downtown Disney via the parking lots and I knew in a moment or two we'd leave the resorts behind for the long last 8 miles which ran in long mile or mile and half stretches through the streets of Anaheim.  I passed the 5 mile marker and realized my watch was reading nearly 3/4 of a mile ahead from all the weaving in the beginning (GREAT.)  I stopped to walk again and took out my first Gu pack.

I finished the Gu right as we stepped out onto the first long straightaway.  I turned my music on (I'd left it off for the duration of the parks because of all that had been going on in there) and f-i-n-a-l-l-y settled in.

I ran.  And ran and ran an ran.  We went through a long stretch of sleeping neighborhood.  Then we passed a high school and their marching band and cheerleaders were out there playing and cheering.  I looked at all the high school girls and laughed to myself about how I was that young once too.

We went on, I chatted with random people around me about random things and even ran for awhile with some ladies from Columbus, Ohio.  Weird.

We made a big loop through what seemed to be a trendy little down town area and then headed back towards the resorts.  There were lots more marching bands and cheerleaders.  We crossed through a somewhat iffy area full of pawn shops and things and then passed under the freeway again (seriously, WHAT is with the smell under those things) before turning away from the parks again to make another loop around back towards the finish.  For a good bit there towards the end we were literally running parallel to the freeway and I couldn't help but wonder about the fumes I was breathing in.

Yuck.

But, unlike the first 5 miles or so, I felt good.  Great even.  I felt, fast.  Looking at my splits later, I'd discover that I actually made up QUITE a bit of time in the back 2/3 of the race.   So I guess the lesson here for me is that I do better on long straight paths and should avoid courses with lots of turns and curves and crowds.

Just before we turned again to go back behind the parks and run through the stinky tunnel (AGAIN) and cover the last mile towards the finish, there was Matt again.  This time he was taking pictures.

I'm way to the right in this picture with my arms up.  Look for my shoes.  And I promise I was running,
still, although for whatever reason it really doesn't look like it.

We chatted again briefly, and he commented on how much time I'd made up.  I think I probably kissed him quickly, I waved to the kids and then I was on my way again.

By that point everything was starting to hurt so I really didn't want to stop for too long.

Cut to... I don't know, 20 minutes later or something.

The last mile of the courses had all been run behind the back of California Adventure, on this long, boring pathway full of nothing of any real interest besides the random Disney Cast Member cheering us on.

Finally we took a right and then another left and we could SEE the finish.

YEAH!

Of course, like every race I've ever run or watched, there was a big loopy out and back before we actually got there.  Not sure if they do this to get in the correct number of miles or if they just want to give lots of room for spectators near the finish but all those final turns are just... neat.

So when I finally got to that last 100 yards I just threw my arms up, smiled like an idiot and ran home.

The end.

Boy was I tired.

I found my medal, my snack package and then I started wandering aimlessly towards what I hopped would be an exit.

Matt texted me and I found him.  He took these photos of me:

I look tired don't I?

And congratulated me and put his big humongous warm sweatshirt on me and after I rested for awhile, we headed out.

It wasn't even 9 o'clock in the morning yet, but I'd already been up for 6 hours.  

We visited the restrooms.  We got the kids cupcakes to tide them over and me a cup of coffee.  We wandered in huge circles trying to find our way back to the hotel through the road closures.  

In the hotel I took a shower and put on my normal clothes before we loaded the car to drive home.  The kids slept nearly all the way.  We picked up food.

And when we got home, Matt put on a movie and I went to bed.

*****

Timewise, I guess I did okay all things considered.

My splits came in as follows:

5K- 45:56, 14:47/mile pace  (THIS IS AWFUL!)

10K-1:19:05, 12:44/mile pace (A bit better...)

15K-1:56:56, 12:33/mile pace (At least this resembles a regular training pace when I push the stroller!)

Finish 13.1M- 2:43:30, 12:28/mile pace (On the plus side, I seem to have achieved the often elusive negative splits...)

I was the 820th woman in my age group to finish, and the 4218th out of 10553 women overall to finish.  

I'm not even going to look up the comparison to men, because I know they all started well behind me, yet I saw loads of them passing me and that's just irritating.  :)

*****

Somewhat unrelated, but I guess while I slept Peter and A.J. fought over the balloon.  (Go Figure.)

Later that evening I found his solution to not wanting to share the thing.

Obviously, he hid it in his dresser.

Why didn't I think of that?

The Rest of the day at California Adventure

After spending the better part of our day enjoying Cars Land, we found ourselves with a couple of hours to kill before we could check into our hotel so we headed off into the rest of the park for a bit more fun.  Bugs Land is right next to Cars Land, so we naturally started there.  Also, because Peter was requesting to drive the bumper cars and ride the Chew Chew Train.

A.J.?  She was just sleepy.

Matt stayed with her while I went on the cars with the boy.

By the time we were finished, the little Princess was out.

Matt and Peter got in line for the train while we stood aside and she slept.

The boys on the train.

Totally random, but hen you go on the Flying Balloon ride they tell you to keep an eye out as you spin for the one and only 4 leaf clover in the land.

I found it!

After the train ride, Peter wanted to meet Flik.  He really enjoys that movie and they're meeting was really funny.  Peter, the conversationalist started telling him all about his day and showing him his new Cars watch (that I got for him free at the Expo the day before.)

From there we went in search of some hardy snacks.  We'd had a big, late breakfast, and some popcorn some place there in the middle, but as the afternoon was pushing on tummies were starting to growl.  We found some soft pretzels and churros and wandered aimlessly around while everybody munched until we go to the main center circle/fountain in the new front of the park.  

There we spot Goofy and a band putting on a little show.  The lady singing was big on involving the crowd, putting her feather boa on guests and trying to get everyone to dance.  Peter immediately looked up at me with his mouth full of popcorn and said "I want to go up there!"

Seriously?  What kind of 3 year old WANTS to get up in front of a crowd and "perform?"  

Oh, that's right, mine does.  

Remember last year when we were at the park and he volunteered to lead the Wilderness Explorers?

Yup.  That's my boy.  

So when the lady said it was time for the Finale and started pulling in volunteers Peter bravely stepped slowly forward.  But the lady sort of scared him at first and he hesitated so she let him be and went back to the group.  He looked up at me sadly like he was going to cry and I told him if he wanted to go right in there and not take no for an answer.

(I'm fairly certain the singing lady could have killed me.  She clearly thought he was too little and that I was forcing him up there... which was SO not the case, but in true Disney fashion, she did her job, smiled, took his hand and led him through the little routine.)

The big finish.  :)

I was proud of him and more importantly, he was proud of himself.

With all the trouble he's been having at school lately (he has good days and bad days) Matt and I have seriously begun to wonder if we're going to have to "break" his spirit to get him to behave.

We don't want to break his spirit, he LOVE his spirit, but he can be so strong willed and difficult that we seriously are starting to wonder if knocking him down a few notches is going to be the only way.  So anyway, it was nice to be able to encourage him for once.  :)

As the little street show wrapped up Peter spied the balloons.  A.J. (if you're wondering,) was still sleeping soundly in the stroller. So we got him his balloon, and then called it quits for the day.

Cars Land

Alright, so here's where anyone who follows this blog closely will start to think that my children are so so very spoiled.  I mean, they were at Disneyland 3 times last year, as recently as this past May.  Why on Earth would we spend the money to take them AGAIN... especially since Peter is now 3 1/2 and can no longer get in FREE.

Well, see there is the tiny matter of Cars Land, which opened in June (about a month AFTER our last visit.)   There is also the plain and simple truth that my son, like many children around his age, especially of the boy variety, is somewhat obsessed with all things related to Pixar's Cars movie, Mater, Lightening McQueen and, well, basically the whole franchise.

And so also, I commited, myself to running in the Half Marathon probably 6 months ago, and since I was going to be there it seemed like fun to have the kids run in the kids races too.... which was all well and good, except for the fact that these events would mean we'd already be up right NEXT to the parks.  What was I going to do... NOT take them?  

I mean, I suppose that was an option.  But... but... Cars Land!  and, Peter!!!  

I wanted him to get to see it.  Especially since there is simply no telling when we'll get up to Disney again.  

(And okay, so I wanted to see it too.)

So, basically, Matt and I made the command decision that Saturday, after the kids races, we would go into California Adventure for a couple of hours, with the express purpose of doing Cars Land only.  Sure... we MIGHT hit some of the other stuff again, but we didn't want to over commit ourselves.

Trouble was, of course, this might be the only time I've ever been at Disneyland on an actual weekend, let alone on a Holiday weekend (MLK Jr,) let alone a holiday weekend when there was a major event going on at the same time (the Tinkerbell Half Marathon.)  It was crowded, AND, with Cars Land being so new, it seems that the vast majority of the park visitors that day had the very same idea as us.

Oh well....

We entered the park gates around 9:30, just a half hour after the place opened, and the line to even pick up the Fast Passes for the Radiator Springs Racers Ride (the Cars Land main attraction if you will) was already stretched so far back from the actual distribution point we couldn't even be sure where to find the end of it.  Looked like we'd be waiting in the long line for that one.

Anyway, so finally we got to our desired destination.

Basically, the whole Land is set up to look like Radiator Springs from the movie.  There are the rock mountains in the background and in typical Disney style, the attention to detail is awesome.

Look how cute the Cozy Cone Motel is?  Each cone was actually a snack shack, selling various cone
themed snacks... :)

At the end of the main drag (Route 66) was the entrance to the big race car ride.  The line of course, didn't actually start there, it had already over flowed a few hundred yards out onto the street as well.  Ugh.

Notice the wait time sign.... 1 hour and 50 minutes.  Or is that 150 minutes?  No way to be sure actually.
Swell.

With knowledge of that wonderful wait time stewing in our brains, we made our way back up the street to Flo's Fueling Station to get some breakfast.  It was mostly empty that early in the morning so while Matt went inside to get our food the kids and I selected a table with awesome views of the Racers.

Peter was really starting to figure out where we were now and he was getting pretty excited.  

Soon enough, Matt came back with our food and we all ate and strategized about how we were going to go about our day.  Like, were we really going to wait for nearly 2 hours for that ride?  Would Peter make it?  A.J. wasn't even tall enough!

Then, we were surprised to see somebody pretty important come driving by.

LIGHTENING MCQUEEN!

A few minutes later, Mater came back from the opposite direction.  (I guess they'd been switching out locations at the character meeting place down the street.)

Peter was so sweet calling out greetings to the cars and trucks.  (They talked
back too!)

After that, it became clear that Peter "needed" to ride those racers.

Matt took the hit and went and got in the long line with him.  (We kept each other updated throughout via text messages.  Like when the time came to measure Peter see if he was tall enough to ride.  Not to worry, I'd double checked him at home, but he just kept telling everyone he KNEW he was big enough, until finally he squeaked by with just under an inch to spare.  PHEW!  Pays to be tall for your age kiddo!)

I sucked it up, sad not to be able to go to, and took A.J. for some fun of our own.   We did basically have 2 hours to kill after all...

A.J. and I started out by meeting up with Red the Firetruck.

We headed over to Bugs Land where I knew the line would be fairly short and she was big enough for almost all the rides.  We rode the Chew Chew Train and then Flix's Flyers.  Fun times.

After that we went and rode Ariel.  The line for that was a bit longer, maybe 2 minutes but I love The Little Mermaid so that was worth it.

Following Ariel, we did a bathroom/diaper change stop which seemed to take about 300 years and then we headed over towards Paradise Pier for awhile.  We lapped the boardwalk, but A.J. seemed content to ride in the stroller so I didn't bother getting her out until we saw Jessie (from Toy Story.)  Sadly though, the line for Jessie had already been cut off and the handler told us we'd have to wait around for Buzz or Woody to show up.  We already have pictures with both of them so we left.

And then we found Donald.  :)

As we were finishing up with Donald, Matt texted me to say they were "almost" on the ride so we headed back over to the street by where we'd had breakfast to see if we could watch them ride by.

Boy was that interesting!  The cars race at you over this hill and you basically have just enough time to figure out whether or not you recognize your people before they zoom off around the the corner.  The only way to get a picture was to take one of every set of cars and then try to figure out afterward if that was your money shot or not.

I got my shot though... not that you can tell.  Matt and Peter are in the front (darker blue) car.  Matt is in the driver's seat and Peter is beside him in the middle.  You can't really see them through the windshield very well though.

Not to worry, OBVIOUSLY, the Disney folks offer ride photos and in a (rare) moment of brilliance, Matt actually bought one so I could see.

Ha.  Peter looks TER-RI-FIED.  

Matt actually says he WAS terrified, until they got off the ride and he heard everybody else saying how awesome it was.  Then he changed his tune and was all about how awesome it was too.

And so then by the time they came out to meet up with us... well,

He was ALL kinds of excited!

After that 2 hour adventure, Matt wanted to walk around some.  So we did, heading back over toward Paradise Pier and riding the Carousel.  Peter really wanted to do the Toy Story Ride/Game but the wait for that was over 50 minutes and as much as we love it, we just weren't feeling up to it.

Jessie was back out so Matt took A.J. over to see her again and can you even believe it... we were turned away again!  I really thought A.J. was going to cry.  The guy working with her felt SO bad though, and walked Jessie over to greet us in our strollers on her way out.  Wouldn't you just know it, under those circumstances, A.J. found her to be terrifying.  :(

The best laid plans right?

Eventually, we lapped back around to Cars Land and got in line for Mater's Junkyard Jamboree.  That line was a good 40 minutes as well, (I honestly think only half of that ride is even open yet because there's still a big construction tent in the middle of it.)

While we waited the kids entertained themselves climbing on the line dividers and studying the Mater
themed decorations.

A.J. snuggled with Matt.

Also, notice her Princess Dress?  It's leftover from Halloween and really isn't going to fit much longer.  I hesitated to even let her wear it, because it doesn't look very comfortable to me, but I thought it would be cute during the morning's run.  Anyway, I'm so glad I did.  Because did you know when a little girl wears a Princess dress to the Disney parks the park staff will refer to her as "Your Highness" all day?

Seriously!

It was so cute.

As were were entering the park the lady there asked us if we had Royalty with us that day and bowed.  And when we went on rides the people helping us into our seats were all "Here you go your majesty," and "Have fun your highness."

It was really cute.

Anyway...

Peter enjoyed "drumming" on the gas can props when they were around.

And when both kids felt cranky and wanted held, Matt found a way to oblige.

Seriously?  How cute it this picture?  If I had a desk, this photo would really need to be  in a frame on it.

So Mater's ride basically was a flat version of the til-o-whirl, spinning and whipping you around in tractor-trailers.  It was so dumb and yet so stinking fun.  Matt had A.J. this time and I rode with Peter.  Each time the big "whips" came around we both had a great time making giant barfing noises, which seemed to me to be as good a way as any to cope with the way the ride sort of made me feel like, well, barfing.

Ha.

And of course, when you've got a 3 year old boy with you, making barf noises leads to LOTS of giggles.  It  was so ridiculous and funny.

"Bleeeeh!  Heheheheheheheeee!!"

Over and over and over.

Meanwhile, out of the corner of my eye every other moment or so I'd catch a glimpse of Matt and A.J. all red faced and joyful.  I swear every few minutes I'd hear her little "WHEEE!" screech out over the sound of the ride and it's music, but I suppose I can't be sure.

And so that was that.

By then, it was probably, I don't know 2:00 in the afternoon but it felt so much later since we'd gotten up at 4 in the morning.  There was still the Luigi's Flying Tire ride left for us to do but neither Matt nor I felt we could do another 40 minute wait with the kids.  So we headed out of Cars Land, stopping so Peter could meet Red on the way, to see if there was anything else we could do before we called it a day.

Peter was so cute, he wanted a whole "tour" around the firetruck, to
check out all the working parts and accessories before our photo.