A Little of This and That in February

No time to waste since, as of this writing, it's almost April. Here's the rundown for February, starting with:

Baking . . . up a storm for the Great British Bakeoff finale. You know I always have to mention this when it happens because Mike, James, and Kathy always manage to pull off such amazing bakes from the season (and I always contribute a token salad to balance the palette). We are actually a season behind the rest of the world because we always watch it at a nice, leisurely pace (so this was the finale of Season 14). It was a night full of deliciousness. It's always so fun to see some of the mouth-watering bakes we've dreamed of tasting while watching the show come to life in our very own kitchen. We had more good food with the Gardners later in the month when we went to their house for James' birthday and some French-inspired cuisine. It's so fun having foodie friends.

Blowing . . . down the fence. The wind, that is. Mike had to go to California for a work conference, and while he was there, we had some very strong winds. I kept getting calls from my neighbor across the street: "Part of your fence blew down." "I'm so sorry, but more of your fence came down." I knew as soon as Mike was home, he would have it fixed up lickety split, but in the meantime, I kept dragging fallen boards to the backyard as it became more and more exposed.

Pretending . . . it was still Christmas. When we were in Arizona in January, Alicia showed me the amazing needle-felted art made by a friend of hers. I fell in love with the sweetest sculpture of Joseph, Mary, and the Baby Jesus, so I asked this woman if she could make one for me. It was a bit of an impulsive purchase, so when it arrived in the mail, I was a little hesitant to open it. I was worried maybe I had made it out to be better in my head than what it actually was, but it turned out to be even better. I loved it so much, and I was so sad that it was February, and December was such a long way off. So I decided I didn't care about being in the wrong season, and I proudly displayed it on the mantle throughout the month. I loved looking at it and admiring the craftsmanship, and it will be such a joy to bring it out again at the end of the year. 

Impressing . . . an audience with his magical abilities. Clark was hired by one of Mike's coworkers to give a magic show at his four-year-old son's birthday party. This was a dream come true for Clark. He has been learning magic tricks for a couple of years and loves being in front of a crowd. It was a cute show with a variety of tricks. He said it probably would have been slightly better if the audience had been slightly older, but he was still able to hold the attention of most of the kids. He's available for hire if you need a magician!

Searching . . . for my mittens on a winter hike. My favorite pair of mittens still haven't turned up, so Mike and I went back to the place where I last remember wearing them: a trail in Millcreek Canyon. The probably was, there was a lot of snow, so even if the mittens were somewhere along that trail, it would have been pretty much impossible to find them. We gave it our best effort though--brushing off large rocks, keeping our eyes peeled for anything out of the ordinary, looking at every fence or sign where another hiker maybe put them--but no luck. Maybe we'll try again once the snow is gone. The hike was very pretty though, and we even had some new snow softly falling.

Attending . . . Sweetheart's. It was a cold and wintry day for this high school dance. Aaron went with Jillian. His group went to the aquarium, took pictures in the pelting snow, went out for dinner, made an appearance at the dance, and hung out at one of the girls' houses afterwards.

Eating . . . dinner at Mike's parents' and playing crokinole. Mike's parents got each of the families one of these game boards for Christmas, but they were backordered. Mike and I learned how to play crokinole many years ago when we were first married from an older couple in our neighborhood. The boys had never played before and were instant fans. 

Reenacting . . . a historical scene. Clark and his friend, Jude, created a skit for a school history project about the Candy Bomber (i.e., Uncle Wiggly Wings; i.e. Gail Halvorsen). Clark played the candy bomber, and Jude played a variety of other characters. They performed their skit for National History Day, and they did such a good job working the key events and dialogue into just a few short minutes. They did this project entirely on their own, and I was impressed with the end result. 

Hosting . . . knit night. My knitting group came over to my house this month, and it was delightful. Almost everyone was there, so it was a full house and a full dinner table, and it was just the best. We knitted and shared finished projects and ate yummy food and chatted for hours. So grateful for this inspiring group of women. 

Changing . . . plans at the last minute. We were planning to go to Bryce Canyon over the long President's Day weekend for a winter festival. But the night before we were supposed to leave, we looked at the weather along our driving route, and it just looked too sketchy and unpredictable with the potential for a lot of snow. So we made the decision to stay home instead. Some of our friends still went, and the roads were actually fine for them, but we couldn't know that in the moment. And to be honest, we all quite enjoyed just being lazy at home. 

Celebrating . . . Valentine's Day. Because we didn't go to Bryce Canyon, we were able to go back to our old tradition of a Valentine's breakfast and new books for everyone. It was so fun having this slow, festive morning together. That night, Mike invited two of his sisters over along with their husbands, and he made the most amazing food: butternut squash soup, brussels sprouts, pork loin, sour dough bread, and his sister brought a yummy chocolate cake for dessert. This was so much better than trying to get a dinner reservation somewhere on Valentine's night. 

Watching . . . the penguins at the aquarium. That same long weekend, we took Clark, Ian, and Silas to the aquarium. (The older boys opted to stay home instead.) Highlights were the penguins, otters, sharks, and a giant anaconda. Afterwards we went to In-n-Out for lunch and told the big boys they could go out somewhere as well. They went to Cup Bop and the three of them spent twice as much as the five of us. 

Sledding . . . in Neff's Canyon. We got some new snow over President's Day, so Mike took the three younger boys sledding. I was being a cold wimp and parked myself in front of my space heater instead, but they had a blast (until Ian landed face first in the snow at the very end). 

Buying . . . ice cream. My brother's family sent some money in a birthday card to Silas. He was thrilled to have his own money and spent it on his favorite thing in the whole world.

Immersing . . . myself in all things Anne of Green Gables. Mike and I have a vacation planned to Prince Edward Island with the Gardners later this year. In preparation and anticipation, I have been re-reading the books, and I asked Mike and the Gardners if they would read the first three as well. They have been very agreeable participants, and it has been so fun sharing scenes and quotes we liked and coming up with an itinerary inspired by Anne. I also rewatched the 1985 series, and I've been planning out an Anne-inspired outfit I hope to make myself. (So far, there's been a lot of planning and not a lot of knitting or sewing.) The anticipation itself has been so fun and reminds me of this quote from Anne: "Oh, Marilla, looking forward to things is half the pleasure of them."

Discovering . . . new music. Mike's brother, Jon, visited for the weekend with his wife and oldest son so that they could go to a David Gray concert. Mike wasn't familiar with David Gray's music, but he wanted to spend more time with Jon and fam, and it sounded like fun to go to the concert, so he crashed their party and tagged along and enjoyed it very much. 

Cruising . . . through a pair of socks. I knitted Max a pair of socks last year for his birthday. He has worn them a lot (he prefers wool socks in general, so it's not that much of a leap to have them be hand knit instead). I decided he was overdue for another pair. I ordered yarn from my friend Emily (Yarnbrary) in her Sanderson colorway, which Max picked out himself because he loves Brandon Sanderson. I had about two weeks before his birthday, but I finished them in only a week, which was record time for me. Besides his socks, I finished a pair of socks for myself and also a sweater. Both were made with yarns I purchased from the Sewrella Gilmore Girls collection (Where You Lead and Stars Hollow). I finished both projects on the same Tuesday when my sister happened to come over to watch Gilmore Girls with me, which felt like such a full circle moment. I also whipped up a cute little crocheted heart garland on a Saturday afternoon. And I sewed a pleated wool skirt, which I'm pretty proud of. It was a bumper month for completed projects, that's for sure. 

Guessing . . . our spring break destination. We get to go somewhere fun in April, and we told our kids by pulling out a world map and having them all make a guess. One of them was correct, and thankfully it wasn't Silas, who guessed Siberia. 

Listening . . . to the Telepathy Tapes. My friend, Sarah, alerted me to this podcast, and then a couple of weeks later, my dad also mentioned it. I decided to give it a try, and I was promptly hooked. If you interact with me on a regular basis, then I have almost certainly mentioned it to you (to the point that Mike became quite tired of hearing about it and has still not listened to it). It is a docu-series about non-verbal people with autism who have telepathic abilities. It is eye-opening and inspiring and, to be honest, a bit unbelievable. I tend to be a fairly skeptical person, so I appreciated that everything about this podcast was approached from a scientific angle: interviewing doctors and researchers, performing tests, documenting results. It made me feel grounded as I heard these amazing stories. The host of the podcast is not religious and did not enter this subject looking for spirituality. But the spiritual is inseparably linked to the temporal in a really beautiful way that cannot be overlooked, and I found it really inspiring. Sarah and two other friends listened to it, and then we all got together for lunch one day to discuss. Highly recommend (both the listening and the discussing with friends). 

Receiving . . . some much needed snow. Finally. It has been a fairly dry winter, but this storm helped, as well as, spoiler alert, some more storms the next month. Everything looked so pretty the morning after.

Losing . . . my voice. I came down with a nasty virus partway through the month that obliterated my voice. For five days, I couldn't produce any sound except a whisper. This was almost more difficult mentally than physically. To not be able to speak brought on some depression. I had to cancel things, and I couldn't communicate with my kids without being right in front of them and making eye contact. I tried to teach some piano lessons just by writing on a piece of paper, and that was so difficult and frustrating. Besides the lost voice, the illness itself was bad, progressing through many different symptoms for a full month. So take this as a little foreshadowing for March's update where the saga continues . . . 

Performing . . . in a recital. Ian played Hedwig's Theme at his teacher's recital. It was one of those magical performances where he played better than he ever had before, and he was so pleased. I know I've already mentioned his teacher before, but it feels like such a miracle and a gift that Ian got a spot in her studio. She is such a good fit for him--just the right combination of enthusiastic positivity and constructive feedback and help. It was so fun to listen to all the other performers that night as well and see the kind of amazing artistry and musicianship that practicing and time can bring about. (In other violin news, I bought myself a very inexpensive (and very cheap) violin. I'm not taking lessons myself, but I'm learning a lot just by helping Ian, so I figured I might as well play a little. What I have found is, Ian makes this look easy, but it's actually so difficult!)

Closing the book for another month!

A Winter Vacation to Disneyland: Younger Kids' Edition

Last year, we gave the big boys a trip to Florida for Christmas. This worked out so well: it gave us something to look forward to right after Christmas and it cut down on getting a lot of physical gifts we didn't actually need or want.

We considered taking the whole family somewhere as a Christmas present this year, but the truth was the big kids really didn't want to miss school again. As fun as the trip had been, the coming back to school and being behind was difficult. So when we were the floating the idea of a vacation, they actually said we should just take the little kids somewhere. 

We hadn't been to Disneyland since 2019. Clark was four, and Ian was one, and they both remembered very little or nothing from the experience. Just like we could cater our pace and activities to the big kids when we went to Disney World the year before, we knew we'd be able to do the same with the younger kids at Disneyland. When you have a large family, there is something so appealing about being able to narrow the focus and not have to make such a wide range of ages and interests happy. 

So we planned a trip to Disneyland in the middle of January. We decided to fly so we could really maximize our time away. Flying on an airplane was one of the things Clark and Ian were most excited about since neither of them could remember flying before. 

We stayed at a non-Disney hotel that was literally right across the street from the park. We timed how long it took for us to get from our door to security, and it was less than five minutes, and this was so nice, especially when we could be back at our room so quickly at the end of a long day. 

Speaking of long days, we maybe expected too much of the stamina of these little kids. We spent three days in the park, and we were there from rope drop to fireworks every day (although we actually only stayed for the fireworks on the first night). 

It was around 3:00 on the first day when Ian asked me when we were going back to our hotel. I said we were staying until Fantasmic was over at 9:30. He totally deflated and said, "So we have to stay for 6.5 more hours?!" Every half hour after that, he asked me what time it was, and did the math for how many hours he still had to endure. 

It felt kind of sad to be forcing him to stay at the happiest place on earth, but also, he's only seven, and the days of constant entertainment and stimulation are exhausting. He actually did quite a bit better on the second and third days, probably partly because he discovered his favorite ride of the park and that totally lit him up. 

And with that mention of Ian's favorite ride, I think I'll just share some individual and collective favorites from the trip rather than give a recap of each day. Sound good? Let's start with Silas.

Silas' Favorites

It was Silas' first time going to Disneyland, and he could not have been more thrilled. He hated being left behind last year, and he was overjoyed to be included this year. Even though he really had no idea what to expect, he talked about it every day leading up to it. When we were finally there, it must have not been quite what he had in mind because at one point, he asked, "When are we going to Disneyland?" And I had to tell him, "This is Disneyland. We're here, right now."

He was too short for most of the bigger rides (which suited me just fine because it gave me an excuse not to ride some of the ones I don't like). The one roller coaster he was able to ride was Chip 'n' Dale's 30-second GadgetCoaster, and he loved it. He kept referring to it as "my rollercoaster" since it was the only one he could ride. 

Also topping the list of favorite rides for him was the carousel, which he absolutely loved. It's always so nice when a favorite ride has one of the shortest wait times in the whole park, and we took advantage of that. 

His other favorite was, rather surprisingly, Ariel's Undersea Adventure. He had never seen The Little Mermaid before so while we were standing in line the first time, I was pointing out and naming all the characters for him. I had to laugh when he asked if Prince Eric was the grandpa. Because he loved this ride so much, we watched The Little Mermaid in the hotel room on Sunday night and then rode the ride again on Monday.

He loved all of the treats we got, but especially cotton candy and Dole whips. 

He also really loved the Disney Jr. Dance Party in Hollywood Studio, which sadly, the other boys were not fans of. And Mickey's PhilharMagic Concert was a surprising winner. It is done in 3-D, and Silas repeatedly tried to reach out and grab things or duck out of the way, which was so cute. 

I thought he wouldn't have any interest in any of the characters since he doesn't like strangers, but I guess they didn't feel like strangers to him (except for Captain Hook who he was quite wary of). We didn't go out of our way to stand in line to see any of them, but he happily took photos with Pluto and Donald Duck. 

And finally, he also loved Web Slingers. He has a vibrant imagination, so getting to shoot spider bots with his hands was a real highlight.

Ian's Favorites

Topping the list for Ian, no question, was the Incredicoaster. He could ride all of the big rides this time, and he loved all of them, but he could not get enough of the Incredicoaster. It was his joy, and he would have just continued to ride it over and over again and not do anything else if we had let him. 

Personally, I am not a fan of the Incredicoaster, and I avoided it our first day in California Adventure, but on the second day, he begged and begged for me to go with him. So I gave in, and yep, still don't like it, but I was glad I did it because I loved seeing his joy (and he loved seeing my fear). 

One of the rides we ended up standing in line the longest for was Radiator Springs Racers. We did it first thing in the morning, but even so, the line was still about 45 minutes for us. However, the good thing was that since Silas couldn't go on it, we had to do a rider switch for Mike and me, so Ian got to ride it a second time with Mike, which he was thrilled about because it was one of his favorite rides.

Basically, he was just a little thrill seeker the entire time, and the faster and crazier the better for him.

Ian loves a good burger, and the one from Flo's did not disappoint him. For being such a little guy, I'm always amazed when he can put away a huge burger like that one. He also loved the popcorn. We got popcorn twice on the first day and then joked that anytime we saw the popcorn cart, we had to get some. 

Clark's favorites

Clark would be offended if I didn't mention Incredicoaster as his number one favorite ride, too. They started with Matterhorn and Space Mountain the first day, which he loved, but then everything else was dwarfed once he road the Incredicoaster. It was just the best of the best in his opinion.

Per usual for Clark, he was up for anything. This didn't mean he never complained, but his enthusiasm was pretty limitless. Except when it came to food. Then he had opinions, and if he didn't like something, he felt like he needed a redo with a different food. His very favorite thing that we ate at the park was probably Jack-Jack Cookie Num Nums. We had to go back a second time for those. 

Another highlight for Clark was Animation Studios. The line was often long for this event, which meant we couldn't be as picky as we might have liked for which character we got. The first day, we learned how to draw Minnie Mouse, which was not Clark's first choice, but he still loved the process. The next day, we timed it so we could get Hei Hei, which he was much happier about. I can't tell you how many pages of Hei Hei drawings I found after we got home. He mastered it, haha. 

And I would be in trouble if I didn't mention Star Wars Land as a Clark-favorite. It was everything he dreamed it would be. Rise of the Resistance is unlike any other ride out there, and there's just nothing like experiencing it for the first time. On our last day, we split up for rope drop, and Mike, Clark, and Ian booked it over to Star Wars to ride Rise of the Resistance again, and hitting it first thing worked because they were on it very quickly. 

Amy's Favorites

Clark and Ian had a running joke (started by Mike): "If Mom doesn't like it, then it's fun!" The first time we went to Disneyland and Disney World, I made a rule for myself to try everything once. This time, I had been on pretty much everything (except Goofy's Flying Adventure, which I went on this time and absolutely hated), so I gave myself permission to skip some of the rides I don't like, which worked out well for us since we had a two-year-old. 

However, there actually is one ride that I love and Mike hates, so I got to be the fun parent for it, and that was the Silly Symphony Swings. I feel a little insecure in the seats, but I love that feeling of flying as the wind rushes past my face.

Although the ride itself was not exactly a highlight for me, I loved being on the ferris wheel with all five of us. It was fun to slow down for a minute, get a good view of the park, and be together.

Mike and I shared some of the same food highlights, so I'll share some here and give the rest to him.  One of the things I ate that just hit the spot at the right time was lemon ice cream from The Adorable Snowman. It was exactly the right thing at exactly the right time. I loved the shrimp noodles from Paradise Garden Cafe (which had a Chinese menu when we were there in honor of Chinese New Year). 

We had reservations the first night at River Belle Terrace, and I really liked both the meatballs I had for an appetizer and the cajun shrimp and grits for a main course. Silas had fallen asleep right before we were seated so Mike had to hold him while trying to eat, which probably lessened his enjoyment of that particular meal. And finally, I can't pass up a chance to get a mint julep. They're so yummy. 

But do you want to know my #1 thing from Disneyland? Hands down, it was the marching band. I loved them so much. Silas and I accidentally stumbled upon them on the first day. We were right in the front, and I was absolutely delighted by every song: the exceptional playing and musicianship, the choreography, the energy. It made me so happy. As we made plans for our last day, I said the only thing I wanted to be sure to do was to find the marching band again. And we did, and this time Mike, Clark, and Ian got to see them too, and they agreed they were top notch. 

And finally, for me, Disneyland is all about the atmosphere and the vibe. I love it so much. I love the way they lean into a theme so completely, every detail accounted for. I love that the garbage cans are never overflowing and always clean. I love watching the people in their Mickey Mouse ears and ridiculous matching shirts. I love walking from one land into another. I love the possibility of good food and fun around every corner and finding hidden gems. 

Mike's Favorites

Mike found one of his favorites on our very first night. Our flight landed, we picked up our rental car and checked into our hotel, and then we headed over to Downtown Disney. We stopped at Salt and Straw for ice cream, and Mike ordered a scoop of Strawberry Honey Balsamic with Black Pepper, and his life forever changed. Actually, I think I was the one who ordered it, but then he had a taste of it and loved it so much that I traded with him and took his Peanut Butter Brittle Caramel Fudge, so I guess I get the credit for changing his life, haha. He loved that strawberry ice cream so much (and he's usually a chocolate kind of guy). He couldn't stop talking about it, and when he ended up coming back to Anaheim the very next week for a work conference, he went to Salt and Straw three more times. 

Some other food highlights for Mike (and me) were the Ronto Roasters from Ronto Wrap and the Surabat Valley Greens with Roasted Tip-Yip from Docking Bay 7. (And I just have to insert here that even though I'm not the biggest Star Wars fan, I was totally into the vibe of eating at Docking Bay 7.) We also really loved the QuesaBirria Tacos from Cocina Cucamonga. 

But the place that really wowed us was Pym Test Kitchen at Disney's Avengers Campus. We didn't know about it until our final day. We went there for lunch and got the Humongous Taco Salad, Reactor Melt, and potato bites. Everything was worth remembering and talking about later and recommending to anyone we knew going to Disneyland. But there were more things we wanted to try, and time was running out, so in the early evening, we went back for a little pre-dinner Quantum Pretzel and Pepper Particle Pasta. I'm telling you, I think Pym's gets our top-recommendation spot for food from this time at Disneyland.

One of Mike's very favorite rides is Tower of Terror (and it's my absolute least favorite), but he also has a love for the Submarine Voyage ride, which couldn't be more opposite. 

I think the ride that surprised him the most (in a good way) was Tiana's Bayou Adventure (formerly Splash Mountain). Tiana's was closed for part of the time we were at Disneyland, and so it didn't work for us to go to it until the very end of our last day. We were worried about getting wet on the ride but also didn't want to spend a fortune on ponchos. We knew we were going to have to split up two and two anyway, so we bought only one poncho, to be worn by whichever person was first in the log. Mike and Clark went together and ended up being in a log all by themselves. Mike put on the poncho and got into the front and Clark just ducked behind him for all of the splashy parts, and they both came out dry. This recreation of an old favorite ride was so well done and so magical. Ian and I were in a log with four other people, and everyone was just having such a good time. It was like a fun party. It actually felt like the perfect way to end our time at Disneyland, and I'm glad we saved such a fun one for last.

Everyone's Favorites

If there was one ride that was universally loved by everyone, it would have to be Midway Mania. Some of us had better aim than others (ahem, Mike), but everyone could do it and improved with practice. Out of all the 3-D shooting games, that one is the best, in my opinion. 

We all loved Turtle Talk with Crush. This is a live animated show, which is such a cool concept. We ended up going to it twice, and even though some of the dialogue was the same, there were some fun changes that came about by having a different audience. The style of humor was exactly right for Clark and Ian. 

We went to Fantasmic on the first night. We ate at River Belle Terrace for dinner, so we got reserved seating for Fantasmic, which put us as close as we could get without actually being in the water. It was awesome. We didn't have anything obscuring our view, which was so fun, especially when the pirate ship sailed by with Captain Hook and Peter Pan fighting up high on the rigging. We were all snacking on some of that aforementioned popcorn while watching the show, and afterwards, we stood up and realized we had made quite a mess. We hadn't even moved away from the area before someone was using a broom and dustpan to make everything sparkly clean again. That is one of the most magical things about Disneyland.

One of the things we did on the final day was ride on the riverboat. It's such an iconic part of Frontierland, and we all enjoyed standing on the top deck and moving slowly across the water. 

On Sunday, we went to church and then we went to the beach for the afternoon. Having this much more laid-back day in the middle of the trip was exactly what we all needed and a definite highlight. We happened to be in California at the same time as one of Mike's good friends from high school, who was there with his two daughters. We happened to see them on the flight going out to California so kept in touch while we were there and met up with them while we were at the beach. The water was cold but that didn't stop the kids from jumping waves (and getting knocked over by them, too). They dug in the sand, and we all sat in the sun and talked and had such a nice afternoon. 

As long as this blog post is, you might be surprised with how much I didn't share. It was amazing how much we were able to pack into three days in the park, and this is truly just a glimpse. 

I always get so nervous before a trip to Disneyland that it will be so busy and crowded, we won't be able to actually enjoy ourselves, but in our fairly limited experience, this has not been the case. We made such fun memories with Clark, Ian, and Silas, and I'm grateful for days like these ones where we can put away responsibilities and tasks and just live in the joyful present.