Man! Ok, our bad...it's been far too long since our last post. Let's just say we've been busy...so here goes.
For Lanhua’s 10th birthday (May 21), we headed to Disneyland for 3 days! It was crazy fun. And making the “Big Day” even better, Aunt Tina, Uncle Paul, Gigi (Pam’s mom), Ye Ye (Pam’s step-father), and our great friend Tandora all drove up for the day to help her celebrate. It was very nice of them and Lanhua was excited beyond belief.
Where to start? First, as I think I’ve mentioned previously, this girl LOVES roller coasters. In fact, I think these are two English words that she not only has eagerly learned, but just as eagerly says: “Roller” and “Coaster.” Or is that one word? At any rate, over the course of three days at Disneyland, we must have ridden the new roller coaster called California Screamin’ close to 10 times! She just could not get enough. In fact, the last time she rode it she insisted on going by herself. We could not have been more proud.
Overall it’s safe to say that Disneyland has yet another convert – Lan, without a doubt, loves Disneyland. We hit all the classic rides – the Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, Autopia, It’s a Small World (a particular favorite of Lan’s grandma, Gigi), Peter Pan’s Flight (a favorite of scout’s, which I have to admit I had not done in decades and it was awesome), the Matterhorn bobsleds (the freaky abominable snowman with the glowing eyes really scared her, though), the Monorail, Thunder Mountain; the list goes on. In fact I even talked Lan and her mom into taking the raft over to Tom Sawyer’s Island, which has been upgraded to “Pirate’s Lair” and was a lot of fun with its caves, Dead Man’s Grotto, and interactive forts, bridges, etc. After the fun of the Island, we even did the canoe ride! Now that WAS fun, although I have to say Scout took one for the team there: she was seated in front of Lan and so got fairly soaked from Lan’s “sloppy” paddling (ok, it was intentional on Lan’s part).
What else? Oh yeah – the fireworks. She loved those as well. And although we continually tried to get her to pose with Disneyland characters – and at times she really seemed close to doing so – we could not close the deal except with a quick photo of her and Chip and Dale, and she’s got the frown to prove that she was not really happy with the situation. I even posed with various characters myself in an attempt to get her to try it, but no dice. (Umm, ok, so I didn’t actually mind posing with Donald….so sue me!)
We stayed at the Disneyland Hotel, which also meant swimming. Lan has been taking swim lessons at the local community pool, so she was excited about the prospect of more swimming, and of course Disneyland did not disappoint. There was even a water slide – and you can guess how that went over.
On Saturday, we had a very nice dinner at Ariel’s Grotto in the California Adventure Park. It’s a great experience for girls. You have a nice dinner and Ariel and four other princesses – Snow White, Belle, Cinderella and Aurora (from Sleeping Beauty) – all intermingle with the guests. Lan of course was deathly shy, but she was also very curious and interested in the princesses. Maybe next time she’ll be a bit more interested in actually interacting with them. I will say that all of the girls playing the princesses were extremely nice and understanding of Lan’s shyness. And, as a bonus, the food was actually really very good.
Other details: Uncle Paul buying Lan some cotton candy…Aunt Tina looking like a movie star…Uncle Paul winning Lan a stuffed gecko (“Gordon”), which became the subject of a 30 minute, frenzied game at a full-out run of “pass the gecko” across California Adventure at Tandora’s instigation…Gigi enjoying It’s A Small World…Lan and I “Fastpassing” Indiana Jones at close to midnight on Saturday night (mama was tucked away safely in bed)…the Haunted Mansion at night and wondering why it seemed suddenly scarier…beautiful Mama posing with an equally beautiful Mulan...Lan’s birthday dinner at the Rainforest Café and her intensely serious game of patty-cake with Aunt Tina…me losing my Ray Bans on Space Mountain, only to return to the ride and discover some nice soul had turned them in…seeing Mickey Mouse at California Adventure in safari clothing and then seeing him at Disneyland 30 minutes later in his traditional outfit and Lan genuinely confused as to how he: 1) moved so quickly; and 2) changed clothes…the great fun we had on the Grizzley Rapids ride with three Japanese tourists…
Overall, it was a great experience, although perhaps a little exhausting for the parents. (Ok, I lied – it was more exhausting for Scout than I. What can I say? I could have spent another 2 or 3 days there!) We upgraded our tickets to Annual Passes, so I foresee many more trips in the next year, and with the park only being a 75-minute drive away, day trips will be easy to do.
So, to everyone who so thoughtfully came up on Friday to help us celebrate, thanks so much! You made our little girl so very happy. I’ve posted many pictures, so enjoy!
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