California, part 2

Ugh. This is going to be shorter. I'm getting tired of playing catch-up already.

We spent the 29th at Disneyland, or, more specifically, at California Adventure (it was one of the busiest days of the year at Disneyland). Just a bit of information: If anyone out there is thinking of taking their spouse/significant other to Disneyland for the first time, there is some information they should know--First, Disneyland is AWESOME if you are between the ages of 5 and 11. After that, it's awesome because you remember how much fun you had as a kid. If you never went as a kid, it's not nearly as awesome. Second, this is generally a park for children. There are a few scream-your-lungs-out rides, but not as many as your spouse will think there should be. (And no, your spouse will not be impressed by Thunder Mountain or the Matterhorn). Third, there are lines for EVERY ride. You must carefully judge whether or not a specific ride is worth the (usually) incredibly long wait. Side note--Indiana Jones: not worth a 90 minute wait. Last, there are a lot of rude people in the world. Some of these people will cut in front of you in line and then call 9 or 10 of their family members to cut in with them. When you object, they will pretend not to speak English. But generally people are very gracious and will happily wait in line with you.

As you can guess, I did not properly inform Jonathan about these significant points. He was disappointed at first, but once he realized that Disneyland really isn't like other theme parks he's been too, he settled down and enjoyed it (I think). His favorite rides were at California Adventure (Tower of Terror and California Screamin'), but he did admit that Splash Mountain was pretty fun.

My favorite ride in California Adventure was the Grizzly River Log Ride (or whatever it's called). It was only AFTER we were completely soaked by the geyser at the end that we realized why everyone else had on ponchos. But the line was short (I wonder why), so we did it again. Without ponchos. And were wet the rest of the day.

Kenna's favorite ride was the ferris wheel. She liked it so much that she was deathly quiet and looked like she was going to eat us while we stood in line. Once we actually got on the ride, she was much better--panting, shrieking, closing her eyes and calling out for ex-boyfriends to come save her. Probably the most entertaining ferris wheel ride I've ever been on.

The next day (Sunday) we took a much needed break. After church we hung out at the villa, played games, ate a home-cooked meal (I never thought I'd get sick of eating out), and took naps. Once Kenna decided what we were going to wear, we headed to the beach for family pictures. It was so gorgeous--I wish we had more time to spend there.

That night Mom, Lori & I walked around Balboa Island and looked at the lights. It was very relaxing--a nice break from our hectic schedule. We also found our dream house: a cute little Italian-inspired home. Only 5.6 million.

Then it was back to the villa for one last night (you bet I used that Whirlpool tub EVERY NIGHT) and then...Disneyland, day 2!

I just really like this picture...