Sunday, November 27, 2011

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas....

For the first time since my Mom passed away, I am truly feeling the holiday spirit all on my own this year.  Mom passed away 8 years ago... on November 23, 2003.  It's always a tough time around the holidays, but I can't help but remember all the wonderful memories Mom created through her decorations and holiday spirit.  It wasn't until this year that I was able to put up Mom's hand made decorations.  She was so crafty, and made almost all of her decorations!

We started with the tree, which we were gifted last year by some dear friends of ours.  It was such a blessing last year, and continues to be a blessing for us this year.  Kyle helped me decorate the tree with ornaments my Mom hand crafted, as well as ornaments that Josh and I have acquired over our years together.  Josh held Kyle up to put the angel on the top....this was my Mom's angel, that she put on the tree every year.  I don't have a memory of Christmas without this angel up top of the tree.

Our beautiful tree!

One of the first things Kyle said when we got the tree all decorated was, "I want presents under this tree."    ;o)  I can't wait until there are packages under the tree for Kyle.  It will be fun to watch Kyle's excitement grow as we get closer to Christmas day.  I want to get Kyle a chocolate advent calendar, so he can understand the countdown to Christmas day a little easier.  I loved those when I was a kid!  =)  The other thing Kyle has requested:  "I want a big train around that tree.  Okay Mommy?"  We'll see about that.....  ;o)

I took out some of Mom's other decorations, and put them up around the house {for the first time}.  I put on Christmas music while decorating, and truly felt the spirit of Christmas in my heart this year while preparing for the season.  It makes me feel so good to have holiday cheer around the house, and to leave joyful holiday memories for my beautiful son.  His eyes danced with excitement as he turned on the tree lights.  And he giggles at all the Santas around the house.  Maybe it is moving locations, maybe it is less stress, maybe it is 'letting go', or 'letting in'....or maybe all of the above.....whatever it is, it feels like Christmas this year in our home!  All I know is that it's time for this Mommy to create beautiful holiday memories for my beautiful child... just as my Mom did for me.  I feel ready!  =)


Holiday friends above the fireplace.

Mom's hand made Santa.

Another one of Mom's hand made decorations.

Mom made the snowman, and we bought that little tree together many years ago.

"Music Shop" all lit up, and a Christmas rocking horse.

I am thinking of my Mom this year and all of the wonderful memories from my childhood.  She was the best Mom I could have ever asked for, and she was my best friend!  I miss her more than words can express, but her love and memories fill my heart every day.

Happy Holidays!!!

Park Play

It's almost December, and the weather is heavenly out.  It has been such a fantastic Thanksgiving weekend!  Josh had 4 days off, we had my brother and family down from L.A. for the holidays, I got all the Christmas decorations up, and there was plenty of time for play with the little monkey.  Today we took him to the park to monkey around.  ;o)  It's so fun having a professional photographer for a husband, because we end up getting so many beautiful photos of our son.  Such wonderful faces, moments, and memories...captured forever!  I just wanted to share a few of these moments and silly faces from today.  Kyle has the most beautiful deep blue eyes, that I swear just talk to you when you look into them.  He has all kinds of silly faces and smiles....he is just a delightful little boy, and we are so blessed he is our son.  Enjoy some photos of our handsome 3 year old from the park today.

Handsome boy!

He's a climber!

Climbing UP the slide...





Swinging on his tummy.

There are those talking eyes.  Love it!!!

So sweet, just melts my heart!

What's the caption on this one?  Haha!


It is winter time, so why not make a sand angel....since there's no snow...  ;o)

Sea World Christmas 2011

One of the perks of living in Southern California is being close enough to have a membership to Sea World!  (At least I see that as a perk, lol!)  We made the journey down to San Diego on November 18, 2011 for their special members only event.  This was their special kick off for their Christmas Celebration.  As a member we got a special green glass blown turtle ornament, which is now hanging on  our tree.  We saw Mrs. Clause, real reindeer, played in real snow...Kyle sledded.... and we watched their special holiday Shamu show complete with fireworks at the end.  It was a very busy crowd that night, but it was fun to enjoy the festivities of the holiday season.  Here are some photos from the night.  Enjoy!  =)

Sea World Sky Tower


Kyle, Mrs. Clause, & a very happy Elf

Mommy & Son

Sledding in real snow at Sea World, San Diego!  ;o)

Daddy & Son waiting for the Shamu Show to start
Watching the fireworks show...look at his big eyes!  Makes a Mother's heart dance!

Friday, November 18, 2011

Choo, Choo!

November 5, 2011 was a very fun and very special day for one special little boy I know.  ;o)  Thomas Train was visiting in Perris, CA... a short drive from where we are living.  Kyle loves Thomas and his friends!  This event was being hosted by the Orange Empire Railway Museum (in which we are members).  The membership is only $60 for the entire family for the year, and provides unlimited rides on all the trains, and street cars whenever they are running (mostly just on the weekends).  Kyle LOVES it there, and we are happy to support the museum...as they are run completely off of volunteers!!!

Our train ride was scheduled for 10:30am, so we made sure to get there in plenty of time to get parked and where we needed to be.  I will never forget the *sparkle* in Kyle's eyes when he saw Thomas pulling up to the train depot!  It was such a sweet moment, that I will hold in my memory forever!  He lit up inside, and while he was trying to not be too excited on the outside (he's a boy...gotta stay 'cool' when possible, right?)...I could tell that he was dancing on the inside!  There he was, THE Thomas Train, chugging along with steam and all... and about to take us for a ride!

Our first glimpse of Thomas!


We boarded a passenger car, that Thomas was "pulling", and went for a 25 minute ride down the track and back.  Thomas wasn't really pulling the train...there was a diesel engine at the back that was pushing and pulling the train, in all reality.  But, Thomas was puffing steam, and for all intensive purposes, he looked like he was pulling the train!  =)

Front row view from the platform of Thomas pulling the passenger cars behind him!

Here is Kyle in anticipation, right before the smile, as he saw Thomas coming in the above photo.

"HI" Thomas!  =)

   
There he goes!  Choo, Choo....

We got to do some other fun things during the day as well!  We got to ride in the top of a Caboose, and Kyle really enjoyed that!  Here are a few photos from the caboose ride.

Mommy and Kyle in the Caboose

Hanging out the caboose window up top to "see what he could see"

His eyes are so deep - old soul right there!  ;o)

We got to see a real steam engine, although not running...they are getting it ready to run it soon I think.

Steam Engine

Kyle got to play with toy trains in a large tent with tracks and train cars galore!  They had temporary tattoos, and Kyle choose "Diesel 10" as his.  That one seems to be his favorite right now...even above Thomas it seems.  ;o)  We rode a street car around the museum, and got our photos taken with Thomas.  It was such a wonderful event!  We literally spent over 5 hours there!  We all had a great time....especially Kyle!  But I sure had a great time watching Kyle's eyes dance with excitement all day long!

Kyle and Daddy

Daddy, Kyle, & Mommy

Kyle's Tattoo
Riding the street car.

Mommy & Kyle, waiting to have our photo taken with Thomas

Thomas up close and personal

Thomas is #1!
 Photography by Josh Buchanan: J.B. Photography

This Proud Mother

Yes, this is going to be a total "brag" post, lol!  I got Kyle a couple workbooks a couple days ago (the erasable kind are the ones we are starting with).  Yesterday Kyle and I sat down to work on his new workbook, which he is super excited about, by the way.  I was surprised by his interest and continuous work for 45 minutes!  Kyle is 3 years and 4 months old right now.  This was our first intentional practice with doing "pre-writing" activities.  Basically that means he is learning to draw lines, and trace things.  I was so impressed with how well he did for his first time!  I will share some photos here, so you can see where he is starting out...and then I can track his progress as we go along.  =)  I took these photos on my cell phone, so I apologize for the lack in quality.

Vertical lines - Drawing Flower Stems
Horizontal lines - left to right
Left to Right, Right to Left, and Diagonal lines
Curves - like a rainbow  =)

And the grand finale- a Snowman, face and all!  =)

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Disneyland! (No children allowed...)

You heard me right....Disneyland, and we left the kiddo at home!  Let me back up so you get the whole story as to why we left Kyle behind on this trip.  ;o)

Inside Disney Club 33 - November 13, 2011
A few weeks ago I got a postcard in the mail from the University of Redlands, Alumni department.  Something about a Disney Club 33, and enter your name by going to this website.  I had no idea what Club 33 even was, so of course I immediately went to the website given on the card, as well as eliciting the help from good old Google.  My research brought to my attention that Disney Club 33 is an exclusive club hidden within Disneyland.  It is for members only.  Most people (including myself) didn't even know it was there....but now you do (and me too!).  ;o)

I showed it to my darling husband Josh, and asked if he wanted me to put our names in for the raffle for tickets.  The event was through the U of R, and for $105 a ticket, you got breakfast in Club 33, and a park hopper ticket for the day.  (You can't even get a park hopper ticket for $105, let alone the privilege of having breakfast in an exclusive hidden restaurant!)  What a great opportunity that the U of R offers it's alumni.  =)  Josh was excited about the prospect of attending the event, as well as myself.  So, I put our names in, and waited.  I kept the postcard sitting on the desk, right in front of the computer keypad, where I looked at it every time I sat down at the computer.  Every time I looked at it, I got excited about going.  That's how you manifest, ya know.

It was now Halloween, and I was looking at the postcard that said, "Names will be drawn on Monday, October 24, 2011."  I thought for a second about throwing the postcard away, or at least setting it to the side.  It had been a week, after all.  But, I quickly let go of that thought, and decided that was silly...of course we were going, so I was going to keep the postcard handy for the information.

It wasn't but the next morning that I got the phone call from the U of R, leaving me a message saying that my name had been drawn for tickets.  I called them back to confirm our spots in the event...and We. Were. IN!  Now came the fun part....finding a place for Kyle to be for the day, while Josh and I went to this fancy dancy place for breakfast.  Everyone kept saying, "It's Disneyland, why don't you just take Kyle with you?"  I don't think people could appreciate the venue of Club 33, to really "get" why we were not taking Kyle with us.  Not only that, he's 3 years old...and we just don't think he's ready for Disney yet.  Now don't get me wrong...I'm sure he would love it!  BUT...I don't think he would handle all the walking and waiting that comes along with Disney.  We would make it a few hours and have to leave.  Josh and I decided it would be more fun this time to go and BE the kids for the day, so to speak.  We're thinking that we may take him next year when he is 4 years old.  =)

A huge thank you goes out to my U of R friend, and my SAI 'big sis', who entertained Kyle all day, while we went to Disney all day!  Kyle even got to climb in a police car at lunch time (her husband is a police officer).  Kyle had such a fun day playing with Susan's two girls.  We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends who are willing to support us when we need it!  =)


So, what is Disney Club 33?

It is an exclusive hidden restaurant in Disneyland.  Why the 33?  That is the street address within Disneyland, 33 Royal Street in new Orleans Square.

33 Royal Street


The club opened on June 15, 1967.  It is the most exclusive address in all of Disneyland.  Club 33 includes two dining rooms and several adjoining areas, all of which hold a variety of antiques and original works of art. After ascending to the second floor in the unique Victorian-age, French-style lift – a reproduction of one Walt had admired during a trip to Europe – you enter The Gallery. Here you’ll find an oak telephone booth with beveled leaded glass panels adapted from the one used in the Disney motion picture “The Happiest Millionaire” and a rare console table which was found in the French Quarter of New Orleans.
Hello?
The Lift


About to take a ride up the lift!


Table in the motion picture Mary Poppins.


Josh and I had breakfast in the "Trophy Room".  We sat at a large round table towards the back of the room (right next to the door to the kitchen).  We could see the old time microphone in the middle of the chandelier right above us.  This room was originally to be the setting for a show featuring five Audio-Animatronics figures: two magpies, an owl, a raccoon and a vulture who would entertain the guests and even participate in their conversations through the use of microphones which were hidden in the chandeliers above each table. The show never developed, however, and today only the vulture remains on his perch in the corner of the room.

The Menu

We were served fresh squeezed Orange juice, and delicious coffee out of fancy decorative coffee cups.  We were served a delicious buffet breakfast consisting of bacon, mini quiche, eggs, steak, potatoes, Mickey Mouse waffles, pastries, cereal & milk, and fresh cut fruit.  It was delicious, and among my favorite tastes from this breakfast was the potatoes, eggs, and the quiche.  The whole breakfast was delicious!

In the Trophy Room, just finished our breakfast.  Josh looks tired already... ;o)

I was advised to visit the restroom by the lady sitting next to me (who was a U of R alumni, and also worked at Disney previously for 18 years).  Well, with all the OJ and coffee, I was sure to make a visit before we left there anyway, lol!  So, off I went to see what I had to see in the ladies restroom.  Behold- a throne!  No really, the toilet was literally a throne.  Here is a picture I took with my cell phone, sorry it's not very good...but the lighting was dim.  Yes, I even took a paper napkin from the restroom, as it has a fancy "33" symbol on it.  ;o)  Such a tourist!  LOL

The Ladies Throne

We went out on the balcony, where we overlooked the New Orleans section of Disney.  It is amazing how many people do not look UP!  LOL  There we were...and no one even knew we were there!  We had a nice view of the lake, and we were a hop and a skip away from the Haunted Mansion.  It was fun getting to do something "special" that day at Disney!  It wasn't just your ordinary visit to the Happiest Place on Earth.

Us on the Balcony

Leaving the exclusive Disney Club 33...ready to go play!

We had such a nice time!  And even though we didn't know anyone there, there was something about being with a group of people who have all experienced the U of R, in some way shape or form.  It didn't matter what year we graduated....what mattered was that we all had "Och Tamale" in common!  =)

Och Tamale - Entering Club 33


After breakfast, we enjoyed the rest of the day riding everything we could at Disneyland.  It was a pretty 'light' traffic day at Disney, so our longest wait for a ride I think was 20 minutes.  Most of the rides we got on with either no wait, or a max of 10 minutes.  It was awesome!  We rode all the big rides...Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Thunder Mountain, etc.  We saw Captain E-O...that was interesting, lol.  I know I saw that when I was a kid, but I sure don't remember it, nor do I remember the bouncing seats, haha!  We drove little cars on the Autopia ride, and used lazer guns to fight the evil Zurg on the Toy Story ride.  We had lunch at The Golden Nugget (I had chicken nuggets, and Josh had fish and chips).  It was a full day, that's for sure!

Beautiful Christmas Castle!
Sleeping Beauty
Autopia Ride
Indiana Jones Ride


We spent the evening in California Adventure to ride the "Screamer" roller coaster, Tower of Terror (much to my dismay), and the World of Color show.  We had a delicious dinner of chicken pesto pasta, and a Mediterranean salad...while enjoying live music under the twinkling lights decorating the trees on the patio.  It was a lovely evening (and day) together, just the two of us!  We don't get many days (or even a few hours) to be JUST a couple....so why didn't we take the kiddo with us to Disneyland?  Do you understand now...?  ;o)

California Adventure

Photos taken by Josh Buchanan - J. B. Photography