The Year of a Million Dreams

We've made it a tradition to go to Disneyland at Christmas time. The festive decor, spunky holiday music, and special Christmas effects all come together for great memories. This year was even more special as Jill, Justin, Jackson, and the Francis and Fellows families joined us in the tradition. We hopped from park to park for three fun-filled days. The weather was a bit unpredictable as we anticipated rain for a couple of the days but we only had to throw on the ponchos for an hour or so on Saturday. Ethan had the time of his life with his friends, especially Ethan Francis. He probably rode the Screamin' ride 10 or more times without getting tired of it. In fact, I took him one last time on that ride just before we left on Sat. night and he made time to say "good-bye" to the ride (a few close onlookers got a smile out of this)and then he kissed his hand and patted the seat and bid farewell until next time. Blakers is tall enough to ride some of the scarier rides and he loves them. He wanted to buy a toy at every store. He chose a box of stretchable lizards and snakes and three (yes, three) plastic cell phone. He took turns talking on them, sometimes two at a time. As he was talking to his friend, Trevor, I told him that he should call Santa. He informed me that Santa isn't in his phone! By the end of the trip Jackson and Keaton both had their own phones and were busy closing some big deals. Keaton loved the merry-go-round and Small World. He also enjoyed just walking around while we waited for everyone else to ride. This was the first time he acted anxious about some of the darker rides like Pirates and Haunted Mansion. He's such a delightful guy. The highlight of the trip for Darren was, hands down, getting the Dream passes. Seriously, you should have seen him. I thought we'd won the grand lottery by the way he was acting when he found the Dream pass people and got a pass for the second day in a row. That's right! The man had his dream come true twice. He kept the used passes and plans to frame them in a shadow box. I think they may even take presidence over other important documents like birth certificates and our marriage license. As for me, I just feel lucky to be the one who gets to go back to the hotel for a nap with the little ones. Did I mention that I love this time of year...Disneyland or not!