Countdown to Disneyland

Disneyland was definitely the highlight of our Summer 2016. And since it was at the very end, we were eagerly awaiting its arrival for quite a while. Luckily, a friend of mine gave me a great idea - have a countdown. But not just any old countdown. This one would include a fun activity of some sort each day. And I happened to come across my friend's blog about such a countdown when we were 45 days out. 

I quickly turned to Pinterest and made up a plan, supplies list and shopped for supplies so that we could be ready to start on Day 30. Each day the girls took turns pulling a labeled Popsicle stick from our new "Disneyland" mason jar. 

Some sticks were color-coded. The stick to start the countdown was marked black. Longer activities that would need to take place on a weekend day were marked red. And to be honest, we didn't get to all the activities - I think 2 or 3 were forfeited as things were a bit crazy right before we left, but overall the girls had a blast and this countdown built up the aniticipation. 

Here is the list I came up with of possible activities (and pictures to go with): 

1. Learn to Draw Mickey - this was one we never drew due to the last minute craziness. I'll save it for next time. 

2. Mickey Mouse-shaped Pancakes for Breakfast - I made the batter extra thick and doctored an individual Sunny-D bottle to squeeze it through to help make the shape. London still asks for Mickey-shaped pancakes every weekend. 

3. Watch Disneyland YouTube Videos  - We watched a video about the nighttime shows we could expect to see, Walt Disney's Opening Day Dedication and a preview of changes made to the Peter Pan ride since that had recently been refurbished.

4. Read a Disney book before bed - each girl picked a book so they got two in one night. 

5. Name the 7 dwarfs & then watch Snow White - Surprisingly, London did this on the first try

6. Compare Park Maps - We compared an Opening Day park map that I found online to a map we had from our last visit (2 years ago). I keep a map for each girl for each visit, circling each attraction, restaurant and show they see. Now I just need to purchase special "Disney" memory boxes to keep these in, along with Pins they get, autograph books and any other fun memorabilia from our trips. 

7. Play find the Hidden Mickeys - I used my Silhouette Machine to cut a Classic Mickey head (which I found on Pinterest) and then hit them around the house. The girls continued to play this for several days until I took the Cut outs away - I need them for next time! 

8. Pick Your Favorite Character - then I printed out a coloring page of that character. London picked Aladdin (she knows this is Daddy's favorite movie) while Sydney chose Ariel.

9. Make Mickey Pizza for Dinner - We pulled this stick on the night before we left. Couldn't have been more perfect timing as I really didn't have anything else planned for dinner. 

Yum! This stick got pulled the night before we left which was perfect timing. 

10. Princess Glitter Slime - unfortunately, we didn't make it to this one. I may have to work in a version around Halloween. This countdown was fun and doesn't just need to be for Disneyland. 

11. Mickey Pretzel Bites - I found this on Pinterest as well. Super easy to make too. We made white chocolate and dark chocolate versions. Turns out most of us preferred the white chocolate. And we made these close enough to the trip that they came with. Most mornings I found London snacking on this while waiting to go to the park. 

12. Pin the tail on Eeyore - Again, found on Pinterest. I printed Eeyore and the tails on Cardstock. And I swear London figured out how to cheat - just not sure how. 

13. Thumbprint Balloon Picture (inspired by Up) - this was a fun little art project that was accomplished while I made dinner one night. Sydney definitely needed a bath after it. As did my dining room table - one reason I love having a glass table top. 

14. Disney Bingo - again, I found this on Pinterest. We never actually played it at home but we took it with us and played it at California Adventure while waiting for World of Color. Definitely worth repeating and keeping in our Disney backpack, but I need to doctor it up a little. 

15. Do you Want to Build a Snowman? - I found a cute printable on Pinterest where you cut out and create your own Olaf. This was also good cutting practice for Sydney (yet another thing she didn't learn last year at the old daycare). 

Sydney's

London's

16. Mickey Mouse Hopscotch - remnants of this are still in our front walkway. The girls still try to hop through it as we walk to the cars each day. 

17. Winnie the Pooh or Mickey & Minnie Flower Pots - this one definitely took some time as you had to wait for each layer to dry and I didn't prime the pots first. The girls still need to get plants for theirs. 

I couldn't resist and made one myself - I needed a home for the Jade plant I have at work

London's

Sydney's

18. Watch Peter Pan & color Tinkerbelle

London's

Sydney's

19. Gift of a Disneyland Trip Journal - I found this on Pinterest. And we filled them out when we got back. Another thing to fill the Disney Memory boxes when I get find the right ones. 

20. Make Magic Feathers & watch Dumbo

21. Mad Tea Party Viewing of Alice in Wonderland

22. Sword Play. Make swords and watch the Sword & Stone - I got giant paint stirring sticks from The Home Depot and giant Popsicle sticks, which I used hot glue to put together, and then covered the swords with foil. The foil has not lasted but the swords are still a hit. 

23. Mickey-shaped Biscuits - again, an idea from Pinterest and super easy. The girls loved them. 

24. Mickey Dot Shirts - We each made one, with the intention of wearing them at Disneyland but the girls chose other shirts instead. To make, I just cut a Classic Mickey head on my Silhouette onto sticker paper. We placed the stickers and painted around, then pulled the sticker off. These will probably become paint shirts in general now. 

Sydney

Mine

London

25. Learn about Hidden Mickey’s - this paid off. Sydney spotted a really good one while we were at Disneyland. We also have a Hidden Mickey book, but it may be time to replace as it's from the 50th Anniversary and still has the California Adventure land "Golden State"!

26. Mason Jar Aquariums (inspired by Finding Nemo/Dory - I put a little too much blue dye in the water, but I also still need to add the submersible LED lights so that these can also act as nightlights. 

27. Minnie-inspired Pedicure 

28. Countdown Chain - this was our first stick. That way each girl got mark each passing day. We also talked about what the girls were excited for. 

Sydney made a Sleeping Beauty-inspired Chain and was excited for: 

• Meeting the Princesses
• Space Mountain
• Bibbity Bobbity Boutique
• Paint the Night Parade

London made an Elsa inspired chain and was excited for: 

• Meeting the Princesses
• California Screamin'
• Seeing friends and family
• Splash Mountain

29. Make Chefs hats & watch Ratatouille - again, I found the tutorial on Pinterest. All it took were a couple of sheets of tissue paper, printer paper, a glue stick and tape. And surprisingly, these have survived. 

30. Learn about 1955 Rides that are still open at Disneyland today - We went onto Disneyland.com for this. When searching Attractions there is a special filter just for this. 

If you haven't picked up on it yet, we focused on the 1955 Originals as best we could, from movies to watch (each movie has an original ride still open today (except Ratatoullie - I couldn't pass up the Chef hat craft). I choose this theme since we were going for the 60th Anniversary celebration. Cameron and my first trip to Disneyland together was for the 50th Anniversary and I really didn't want to miss the 60th! 

Summer is over!

What's that line in the Christmas song, It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas? The one that says "Mom & Dad can hardly wait for school to start again"? The perfectly matches how Cameron and I felt by the end of London's summer break. 

It was packed full with business trips, birthdays and swim lessons. 

The good news is London progressed greatly in her swimming abilities this year, moving up two classes. One session she practically had private lessons - it was her and one other kid with two teachers. She was able to skip the next group because of that session. She's now in the big pool in 7-12 feet deep water. 

Sydney progressed up one level, which is what we expected. We actually held her back in the lower class she began with at the start of summer an extra session, so had we not done so, she may have gone up two classes as well. But, I'm happy with where she is at - next year we hope she has a better attention span for lessons. 

London is thrilled to be back at school with all her friends. And Sydney has made a move too. We've taken her out of the daycare we have had her in since she was a year old and moved her to an in-home daycare closer to home. The main reason for this is because we were paying for preschool instruction but she wasn't getting any. When London had been in this class she learned a ton - she knew almost the full alphabet, could count 1-20, knew the days of the week and some of the months of the year. Sydney can almost count 1-20, but she still has issues with the days of the week, doesn't know any months and only started learning the alphabet when we started to work with her. The teacher London had had left at the beginning of last school year and Sydney has had 5 or 6 teachers throughout this time. She can't even use scissors well. 

We have a lot of work ahead of us to get her prepared for TK next year. At least we'll be saving money both in daycare costs and gas. The new daycare is on the way to dropping London off at the bus stop each morning and on the way home after I pick London up in the afternoon. So far, Sydney is doing as good as can be expected with the new daycare. Change is hard and she only has memories of the old one. But she loves that she can wear flip flops and bring her green blanky and stuffed Tulley dog if she wants. I'm trying not to let her know she can wear her PJs if she wants as I do want her in the habit of getting up and ready for the day in anticipation of next year. 

Now that school is back in session, Cameron and I are trying to get back into a gym routine - it was very hard over the summer as we didn't get back from swim lessons until 6 each night and by then it was a rush to eat and get the girls into bed. 

We did end the summer on a high note though - we snuck in a trip to Disneyland! More to come on that soon. 

Introducing Roxie & Sunny!

Our "kids" are finally living with us on the homestead. We were supposed to bring Roxie & Sunny home at the beginning of May but Cameron gave himself a concussion putting in the first post of the fence he needed to install on the goat pen! The two weeks required of his recovery, as prescribed by the Urgent Care doctor I made him see brought us right up to our pick up date and the busy month of May. Our crazy June delayed their arrival even more, but we were able to pick them up the last Sunday of June. 

We've been enjoying getting to know them ever since. It's quite funny when I'm walking around the property and I get "maa'd" at. The girls have been fun additions to the farm. I get to watch them climb this tree almost every morning when getting ready for work as our bathroom window looks out onto the goat pen. 

The goats don't seem to mind the dogs at all and even seem curious about Sophie, though Sophie isn't as curious about them. The first real encounter - with a fence between them - Sophie hunched up and hissed a little. She's not really a social butterfly in general though. 

Roxie & Sunny have made quick work on stamping down and eating the tall, dry weeds in their pen and even the low leaves of the tree. 

And Cameron has recovered just fine from his concussion. He is also the proud new owner of a Cat Yellow Hard Hat and we have a new rule that he is not allowed to go out without his phone. 

London's 6th Birthday Party & June Recap

We held London's 6th birthday party on Saturday June 11. Because she wanted to invite over 30 kids to the party, we knew we had to come up with something to do at home. And in our area, June is usually pretty warm. But the thought of having 30 kids running around inside due to the heat made me anxious. Luckily, London loved the idea of getting a giant water slide so we could have the party outside. We also made it last only 2 hours officially. And luckily, only 10 kids said they could come!

London with her best friend from Pleasant Grove School - Sammy. We were sad to learn Sammy will not be returned to PG for 1st grade but understand what a hassle the last year has been on his dad to get him there and back after a move. 

I love watching these 3 grow up together. Maizy and Paige are daughters of some of our good friends so it's nice to see the friendships continue with the next generation. 

After some research, we decided we would buy the actual slide instead of just rent one for a couple of hours. Money well spent. We've even rented it out to an acquaintance for her son's birthday party. The slide has been a hit at both parties from kids and adults alike. We'll definitely be breaking this puppy out at least 1 more time before the summer is over (I hope). 

At the end of the day, Sydney decided she liked swimming in the splash zone.

I swear I have no clue where the month of June went. Ok, maybe I do. It started with me heading to Santa Rosa for the 3-day Country Summer concert series with a couple of girlfriends while Cameron flew out to Chicago for work the entire week. During that week, the girls and I were busy prepping for the party. 

Day 1 we won seat in the back of a Chevy truck near the stage - we may even had a visit from Chase Bryant ; )

Day 2 we were in Pit as planned and we got this close to Chase Rice!

Day 3 in the pit again - the heat was definitely getting to us by this point. 

Cameron got home late that Thursday night, with the next day being London's actual birthday. The day after the party, I headed out early that morning to Peoria, Illinois for a work training. Getting there was quite an adventure that involved being stuck in Dallas for 36 hours, 3 canceled flights and many delays. I got to the training a day late and almost just turned around and went home. But the training was worth it once I was there. The flights home weren't as adventurous but did include a missed connection and a delayed re-booked flight so instead of getting home around 8 PM on Friday, I got home at 2 AM Saturday. I lost that Saturday to exhaustion! And the next week was lost to the first week of Swim lessons and me getting sick. 

I enjoyed taking in the sites on my walks to and from my training. 

The last day I made it over to the Cat Visitor's Center for a tour. We don't get to see Mining Trucks often in our territory so this was quite the site for me. 

We capped that week off with my parents coming into town and celebrating my dad's 70th birthday with many old family friends and feasting on a lot from my garden. And that brought us to the last week of June. See - it flew! Of course, the heat struck hard this last week and included swim lessons so by the time we got home, it was a mad dash to bathe the girls, feed them and get them to bed. And the heat zapped all ambition and energy so most nights were spent splayed out on the couch just trying not to fall asleep too early. 

My dad with his girls

I'm hoping July doesn't pass by us so quickly. And I hope the heat backs down a little.