Disneyland Day 2

We spent the morning together in Disneyland and then took the kids back to the room in the afternoon to spend time at the resort pool & with their cousin Dawson.  Mandy's sister Jessica flew in today and in exchange for staying with us it was agreed that since she wasn't going in to the park until the next day, she would watch the kids while Mandy & I did a few things in the park ourselves that would be better to do without kids.  

We got to the gates before the park opened so that when we were let in we could go straight to Tomorrowland and be among the first in line for the Finding Nemo submarines.  I think we were the first ones on that submarine that morning.  There was only room for 2 people to get on after I did, the seats were still cold.  I didn't take pictures of the part of the ride that included animated sequences of Nemo & friends because it was so dark & on most of the dark parts of rides I didn't want to use the flash because it kind of detracts from the ride for everyone.  

We got off Nemo & the plan was to get a fastpass for Autopia but the sign said the wait was 5-10 minutes so we just got in line.  Apparently the engines were still cold because we noticed them having some trouble starting the engines and the wait was more like 20 minutes or so.   It was still fun and I let Jennifer sit in the drivers seat while I helped with the gas pedal for her.  I took a few pics trying to reduce the awkwardness of how close up a shot it was.  However, she "drove" as awkwardly as expected but still had loads of fun.

After we got a fastpass for Space Mountain, we did the Buzz Lightyear ride where 2 riders sit in a pod and get control of a "laser gun" to shoot "Z" targets.  The unique thing about this is that since there were targets in every direction, there was a center joystick that let you control the direction you faced.  Mandy let Anna control that and somehow she scored higher than I did.  

There are several attractions where Anna and sometimes Sara are too short to go on the ride.  There were only a small few that Jennifer was too short for.  Star Tours was one that Mandy & I had to split up to go on with a "switch rider" pass.  Jennifer & I went on Star Tours first then Mandy could go on with Sara if she was tall enough or Jennifer again if she wasn't.  Sometimes Mandy would go first on these types of attractions.  Last time I was at Disneyland, Star Tours was relatively new.  And where they did the 3-D attraction "Honey We Shrunk the Audience" was the relatively new and somewhat popular 3-D "Captain E.O." that was a Sci-Fi type short film staring Michael Jackson.

I went on Space Mountain with Jennifer and there was born the worlds newest roller coaster freak.  I think from that point on, Jennifer loved roller coasters and every other fast ride the park had to offer.  98% of the ride is in almost total darkness.  We sat in the very back so it was even harder to see what was coming, we might as well have been blindfolded.  I think this is probably the scariest ride.  Jennifer was super excited when the ride was done and anxious to do it again.  It was all I could do to hide from her that I was about ready to pass out and throw up, not exactly in that order.

Jennifer was super excited and looking forward to the Jedi Training Academy because she learned that they take kids from the crowd and teach them how to be a Jedi which she was very interested in because Uncle Chris claimed to be a ninja and admited that a Jedi could beat a ninja.  She really wanted to beat Uncle Chris as a Jedi because if she can beat Darth Vader, she knew Uncle Chris was afraid of Darth Vader.  We got to the appropriate location for this event early and she was among the first of about 30 kids to be chosen from the audience.  She was given a padawan jedi robe and was issued a "training lightsaber" to learn the basic moves of a jedi in the ways of the lightsaber.  When some basic training was complete, a couple storm troopers paid the a visit apparently paving the way for Darth Vader.  The Sith Darth Maul followed in after Darth Vader looking all menacing with his double edged light saber, horns on his head, and those yellow eyes.  The Jedi Masters were confident of their new padawans and sent them up against these villans.  Jennifer had on her birthday button she acquired the day before and while all the kids "fought" either Darth Maul or Darth Vader, she was the only one who got to fight both of them.  The Jedi trainer joked that it was her big smile that confused Darth Vader and allowed her to "defeat" him in battle.  After it was over, she got a certificate as a rememberance of the event.  We all had a great time but especially Jennifer.

We spent a little time at Innoventions checking out what was basically "Microsoft Home" with most of the technologies powered with HP hardware and Microsoft Software.  One of the neatest thing is still the Microsoft Surface.  I'd seen it in video before but it was fun to play with it first hand finally.  I probably spent too much time downstairs because we only had maybe 20 minutes or so upstairs before we had to go.  Not enough time to catch the Asimo show.  There was a person on a Segway.  First time I'd seen one that close before.  Most of the rest of the top floor was a collection of video games brought to you from Xbox 360 & Playstation (mostly Xbox).  Mandy & I returned later that evening to take a closer look upstairs when we had more time and were kid free.

We had to get over to the Plaza Inn on Main Street for Jennifer's Birthday celebration with Mickey, Minnie & Pat E. Cake where we each got hats, cups with lemonade, & cakes to decorate.  Then each kid got to get their picture taken with Mickey & Minnie.

We dropped the kids back off at the resort with their Aunt Jessica who immediately took them down to the pool.  When Mandy & I got back to the resort, she took two of our 4 park hopper tickets & got fastpasses for Big Thunder Mountain and I took the other two and got fastpasses for the Indana Jones ride.  We met for dinner at the Blue Bayou having made "priority seating" reservations the week before.  This place is inside the Pirates of the Caribean ride and shares a kitchen with Club 33.  The back wall of this restaraunt displays the first part of the ride where riders are going through a backwoods bayou replica.  Food was great.  I had a nice medium well prepared steak with potatoes.

We immediately got in line for Pirates of the Caribean & the line moved quick.  Then we went on The Haunted Mansion next.  Both are always a classic though Pirates was redone after the movies.  Mandy & I used our fastpass tickets to walk right on to Big Thunder Mountain and got to sit right up front.  It was great.  We were able to time it just right to walk right on to the Mark Twain riverboat to take a trip around Tom Sawyers Island on the "Rivers of America".  Without kids we were able to get things done at a faster pace & made our way to the Indiana Jones ride between the Jungle Cruise & Tarzans Treehouse, formerly home of Swiss Family Robinson and apparently not changed much physically but for the addition of some props, statues, & signs.  

We were able to get right on Indiana Jones right and went straight to the front of the line with only about a 10 minute wait.  A couple points during the path there are signs that say do not touch, pull, press, etc some object like a rope or a lever.  I wanted to but Mandy raced ahead.  Luckily, the guy behind me took the opportunity to trigger the event such as spikes popping out or whatever.  This is the guy who does the opposite of what any sign says NOT to do.  During the preshow, a video says not to look into the eyes of the statue.  I looked at this guy and said, "You're going to look into the eyes aren't you?"  Of course he did but if he didn't, I sure was going to.

Disneyland Day 1

So I took my kids into Disneyland & Disney California Adventure for the first time today. We spent all day there & I just wanted to give a quick run down of what we did. We walked in to Disneyland when it first opened at 8am & just planned to do Main St. & ride the train once around but once we got in we immediately saw Mickey with Pluto, Donald, Minnie, Goofy, Alice & Mad Hatter, and Cruella deVille. Later on in DCA we saw other characters, mostly at Disney Animation which included Mickey in Sorcerers Apprentice outfit, Woody, Mr. Incredible with Elastigirl, Cinderella with Jasmine, Chip & Dale, Koda & Kenai from Brother Bear.

From Disneyland 2009

Anyway, we rode the train around Disneyland, walked up & down Main St. USA, checked out Sleeping Beauty's Castle, and headed over to DCA for it's opening (it opens at 10am). We got a fastpass for Soarin' Over California then made our way to Monster's Inc. ride. We were the second car on the ride that morning. Then we did Tower of Terror which Jennifer just loved especially since she got to go on it twice in a row. For all the rides with height requirements where Anna and/or Sara are too short, one of us would go on the ride with Jennifer who's tall enough for just about all the rides and then the other would stay with Anna then we'd swap & the second adult rider would just take the switch off pass down the "Fastpass" line almost right up to the front bypassing most of the people waiting in line.

We did Soarin', then while one of us did Grizzly River Run, the other let the kids play at Redwood Creek Challenge Trail. We all got nice & wet on GRR and Sara especially loved flying at Soarin'. We had lunch and spent time in Bugs Land where the kids had fun on Heimlich's Chew Chew Train (very short for the 15 minute wait), Tuck & Roll's Drive 'Em Buggies (same as last one and it's only slow moving bumper cars), Flik's Flyers, and the 3-D show "It's Tough to Be a Bug!" that had more effects & sensory elements to it than just visual, the seats sprayed you & made you feel things during the show related to bugs, fog machines, spiders dropping from the ceiling, etc

Finally we did Muppet Vision 3-D, another show like the last one but Muppet themed but funnier and no scary parts at all. All your favorite Muppets are represented except for a lack of characters from Dr. Teeth & the Electric Mayhem which meant no Animal but Janice rides by on the back of a bicycle with Scooter at one point. After this show we sat in line for a Broadway type showing of Aladdin with real actors & nice effects, sets, etc. We sat down in line & had dinner since we arrived to the show early enough to do so, about 25 minutes or so and there were already people there before us. We called it a day after that & now we're all tired. We did a bunch today, tomorrow we'll take it a little slower.

New Design / First Compliment

First off, if you come to my actual web page to read my blog vs. getting updates via RSS feed you'll notice I picked a new design template for my blog and have chosen to "go green" so to speak.  The layout is still the same so you can still access all the features and fun stuff as before but I thought it was time for a change.  At some point in the future down the road I may eventually go to a hosted site & start using something like Wordpress so I can have more flexibility in my design but for now this offers very low maintenance, easy startup, and best of all, it's free.

And now for something completely different.

In the last few months my 2yr old daughter Anna has just been exploding with how much she's talking, the words she's using, the sentences she's making, and in general just how much she's communicating and showing us how much she understands things.  This has also started to define her personality more as she's able to communicate what she's thinking, how she's feeling, her wants, etc.

This past week as I was coming upstairs, she was standing at the top of the stairs waiting for me and holding out a bracelet for me to take while saying "Reach Dad, reach."  When I got to the top of the stairs and took it from her she gave me possibly the first genuine compliment she's given me by simply saying, "Good reach Dad, good reach."  The next day I had just finished helping her in the bathroom and while she did most of the actual "work",  as we were finishing up she told me, "Good job Dad, good job."  

I can't remember the last time I got a compliment that was as meaningful.  It reminded me that genuine compliments between adults seem to come way too infrequently and are usually "scheduled" events that involve a boss or manager at review time.  At the same time, it also taught me that perhaps we should be more casual in giving compliments to each other so long as it's sincere and not trite or repetitive.  

"... and a little child shall lead them."  Isaiah 11:6

New feature added

In case you haven't noticed before, or you're using an RSS reader to read my blog updates, on the right side bar of my blog I've had a little widget that allows you to Instant Message me directly from the page.  

Now I've gone one step further and added a mini chatroom for everyone to post messages to.  I believe these messages are stored on the web so even if nobody is in the room, they can be seen by people joining the room later similar to a discussion board or forum.  I just thought I'd try it out for awhile so check it out & tell me what you think.  Is it worthwhile or should it be removed because it's pointless?  I'm interested in your opinions on this one.

You'll notice it will automatically assign you a guest name but you can change it by clicking on "edit nickname", how clever.  Looking forward to hearing from anyone that reads this.  Thanks, enjoy.

Growing Up

In finding old friends on Facebook it's hard not to reminisce about the times spent together during those days long ago from past periods of our lives.  Of course one of the first things we do when we discover a friend we haven't had communication with for quite some time is to attempt to make up for lost time and catch up with the current status of our lives since then.  

I find myself now communicating with people that I haven't seen in 10-15 years or so and it makes me think what's changed in my life over the last decade.  This is a good thing to because it reminds me that I celebrate my 10 year anniversarry with my wife this year and that while I haven't planned a single thing, I've got until May 1st to figure it out.

I think about the schooling I've done, the kids I've had, the places I've lived, the jobs I've had, and the friends I've made in the last 10 years.  As I recall these things with people that knew me during the earlier pre-marriage years, I still feel hesitant to accept a title my kids might bestow upon me as "grown up".  

When we were younger, we asked each other and thought about what you want to be when you grow up.  Part of me is still trying to figure that out.  I enjoy some of the benefits of "adulthood" like having a home & family of my own but there are times when I wish I could also enjoy some of the things I did when I was younger.  To some degree I haven't stopped some of those activities from my younger years like video games & cartoons but even those types of things have changed and decreased.  

Recently I had to have the discussion with my wife about "an allowance" for our kids if they accomplished certain household chores and what-not.  She initiated the conversation and I initially told her I didn't want to have that conversation because doing so meant that I had to take another step closer to assuming the role of an "adult" with "responsibilities" and making decisions for these young lives I'm in charge of.  Even though I'm 33, I'd like to believe that there's still a care free kid inside me and having this conversation mean admitting to myself that I am a grown-up and I am responsible.  

I never answered the question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" with the answer, "I want to be a responsible adult with a wife, 3 kids, and a mortgage."  But now I find that it comes with the package called "The American Dream" and apparently I'm living it and I wouldn't change it for the world.  (Though I would like to travel with my family more.)     ;)

drutherford | Twitter Grader

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Internet Hotel Amenities

First of all I want to say that I rarely stay in hotels. When I go on vacation someplace, it's usually somewhere where I can stay at one of the units that's part of Trendwest membership because I know what to expect as far as quality and because since I'm usually on vacation with my family, having a full kitchen & washer / dryer with dining room & living room along with separate bedrooms is very nice. However the few times I have stayed at a hotel, I'm usually too frugal to get anything more than a non-smoking room that's just going to be a bed for the night. I stayed at a couple different hotels on my road trip to & from Yellowstone last September and again it was on my way to or from one of the resorts I mentioned.

Having said that, staying at the less expensive hotels must have spoiled me. I guess I've come to expect certain things from hotels. I don't expect much, if there's a continental breakfast included in the morning, bonus. But even the less expensive hotels I stayed at had free internet like it was just as standard as water, electricity, & toilet paper. So I was unpleasantly suprised to find that places like the Hyatt or the Sheraton in downtown Seattle didn't offer such fancy things. Oh sure you can get it for a daily fee, but I'm not sure I understand how / why the smaller hotels I've stayed at can offer such a simple thing and the larger chains still charge for it even after the room rates they charge you.

For example, a sample room rate per night at the Sheraton where I'm staying is $140. A local hotel near my home has room rates ranging from $50-70. Now of course the quality of rooms is substantially different but I think I'd rather have a lower quality room with internet access than a higher quality room without. Heck, even the public library has free internet for its patrons.

Hear me now downtown city hotel chain establishments, it's time to step up and get with the program. You may be convenient as a downtown location for events and such, but if you're going to charge me an additional fee on top of the room rate you already charge me, so long as I have options, I'll be sleeping elsewhere.