Saturday, October 15, 2011

Mommy/Daughter Time

Lately I have been feeling like mama is all about school and chores. Not so much fun for the mama and not so much fun for the kiddos either. We are blessed with a lot of fun things to do as a family, but often I am a bit more wrapped up in the planning and doing of it all, and don't feel like I am enjoy things in the present as I should. I am watching these three little kids grow up right before my eyes, yet occasionally I blink and one (or more) of them seem to have matured overnight into a whole new stage of childhood. Too soon these days are going to pass, I'm sure.

Well, yesterday I decided to seize the day with my little girl. I was working with my hubby installing flooring, when I mentioned to him that I felt like Emma and I needed some girl time together. Half an hour later Emma and I were on the way to Disneyland.

I can't even explain how fantastic it was to hold her hand and just go. We started at California Adventure and went on Soaring Over California, which was a first for both of us (can't do that one with baby in tow). Next we walked over to the new Little Mermaid ride and only waited 10 minutes to get on it. Emma loved it and she was loving the one on one attention she was getting from her mama (honestly I was loving it even more). Next we went to walk through and see how they make sourdough bread while sampling (yum!). We decided to head over to Disneyland next. We walked in at 5:00 and found out the park was closing at 7:00 for a Halloween party. Emma wanted to walk through the castle, so that's where we headed first. We climbed up through the castle and read the story of Sleeping Beauty. Next we started over to Splash Mountain, another ride we can't do when Luke is with us. I knew Emma would be frightened of the big drop, so I did my best to distract her from it but it didn't work. We got in line and she started asking questions. The line wait was 65 minutes, and right away I was beginning to think we were not going to make it. After waiting 2 minutes a woman walked past us and ask if we wanted her fastpasses!! We got to walk right up to the front of the line!! We also got the back seat on the log, so we got to sit together, which was perfect. It was so fun, and Emma LOVED it too!

When we got off that ride we went into the Hungry Bear to get a honey cupcake to share. Perfect snack!

Them we start walking toward Big Thunder Mountain, but i couldn't talk Emma into it so we walked on by and decided a trip to Disneyland wasn't complete without It's a Small World, so that was next. We had 10 more minutes left, so decided a trip on the monorail to Downtown Disney may beat the crowds walking down Maim Street. It was perfect! Time for dinner. We got in line at a place in Downtown Disney, but decided to skip it and head back into California Adventure to have dinner. Man was it packed!! Seams like everyone getting kicked out of Disneyland had the same idea. We ended up walking by the crowded lines at the food places and found ourselves in front of Ariel's Grotto, a restaurant you normally have to make reservations for well I'm advance, but for some reason we walked in and were surprised to find out they could get us in!! We were seated near the window where the popular World of Color show was to start just outside in 15 minutes. We had an amazing meal that just kept getting better and better with every course. We could see the water and lights outside too, not the front of the show, but it was still beautiful! What was really fun was sitting and relaxing with my girl and having great conversation over great food. It's a time I will never forget. Absolutely perfect!! But it got even better because when the check came the waitress brought two tickets to see the next World of Color show up front and center. I thought it was a mistake, but she explained it was part of our meal. So we wrapped up our amazing day under the mist of the amazing show. I tried to hold my growing girl as much as I could so she had the best view possible. My eyes teared up a bit from the magic of the whole Disney moment and the fantastic day spent with my daughter.

So here I sit at 10:40 the next morning trying to get the fresh memories down while Emma is still sleeping in her bed hopefully dreaming about our fun day. A day that will not be forgotten!








1 comment:

Larae said...

awe, what a perfect day! i know what you mean about having to be intentional with one-on-one time and enjoying your kids. you're getting some great use out of your passes!