Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Disneyland 2010

Where do I start? Our summer was so packed it's time to catch-up. So I'll start with Disneyland. We did Disney's "give a day get a day" and got free tickets for Jake and I. (I made covers for heating pads at the hospital with my squister.) We only had to pay for Reesa since Jansen wouldn't turn 3 for a few more weeks (yeah!) and Mitchell is of course a baby.
doesn't this look like fun?
I had matching shirts made and Reesa wore her's for about 5 minutes. She was screaming and crying and we were making her wear it when I just thought "all she's going to remember about Disneyland is that her parents made her wear a shirt and she cried the entire time." So we took one family photo, and off it went. Although all day long I kept asking her if she wanted to put it back on. It had Cinderella on it, which she wanted (but it was a boy T-shirt b/c I couldn't find a solid girl one and I don't think she liked the neckline).
we got to meet Donald and Goofy, which Jansen LOVED
We went with Jake's family and we had a total of 22. It was so much fun. We had a blast entertaining the kids the first half of the day, then that night all the kids fell asleep in their strollers, and the adults took turns staying with the kids and going on rides for the last 3 hours.

Reesa got to go on stage and sing along with Tiana.

So the two best things... #1 Jansen was diagnosed with Autism in June and Disneyland is SO COOL! They let us have a special pass to go to the front of the line with 6 people in our party so Jansen wouldn't have to wait in the lines. And even that was SO HARD. Jansen had to wait maybe 5-10 minutes for each ride and he was screaming and crying to get on the ride. He didn't want to wait at all! Seriously it made all the difference for our family. I don't think I would EVER go again if we didn't have that pass. While were there I started crying just thinking about how nice Disneyland is for thinking of families with kids that are special. It was so touching to me that we were able to have such a wonderful experience there. In fact it worked so well because with changing diapers and feeding kids we would just catch-up with Jake's family as though we had been in the long lines anyway. It was AWESOME!!!
fun at Tom Sawyer's Island
#2. Jake's sister wanted to let her daughter meet the princesses, so I went mainly to keep Allison company. I didn't even think Reesa would care. Well when we turned the corner and saw Ariel, Reesa seriously started jumping up and down and screaming. She was so excited and she couldn't believe it. She wanted her picture but was just a little too shy to do it alone, so I helped out.
Next we saw Tiana and she kept telling her cousins to hurry up because there's "princess and the frog!" She was totally loving on her. I'm serious she was practically malling these princesses, kissing and hugging them! and they were so nice to her.

Finally she saw Belle and the rest of the day wanted Belle's dress (which was $68, no thank you). It was so cute, Reesa was in heaven. It was the highlight of my trip seeing how magical that was for Reesa. And to think I wasn't even going to take her....

Reesa got a baby Aurora instead which she loves! and Jansen got a Buzz lightyear. We had such a great time and can't wait to go back!

9 comments:

  1. What a great trip!! I'm so glad you got to go with so much family and that Jansen was diagnosed before you went so things were a little easier for everyone. I'm sorry about Jansen, but I'm sure it's nice to have some answers. Loved Reesa with all the princesses!

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  2. how magical!! we'll be moving to FL next summer, so Disney is definitely on the radar now. I hope things are going well w/ Jansen and Mitchell. Poor reesa wouldn't wear the shirt but you're right, you don't want her to remember disney w/ the shirt she hated and being sad. what a good mom!

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  3. Kell:

    Princess training. Someday, Reesa will be the Princess on stage loving other "little Ressas". Great role models. We flew back into Ontario from Alabama with one of the gals who plays Ariel. She had 40 minutes to get from the plane to work at Disneyland. When she plays Cinderella and is late, she tells the kids that the carriage broke down. She said "What's a princess to do in the modern world?"

    Glad to see my grandkids so happy. I love them all even more these days.

    Grandpa Geyer

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  4. kellie, loved seeing the pictures of Disney Land. Brought back so many fun memories, I cried too when I saw how magical it was for my kids. I did not know Jansen was autistic. Special kids are sent to special moms. Patient, loving moms like you.

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  5. Jealous! Jealous, jealous, jealous, jealous! I would love to see how magical it is for little kids. Looks like you had an awesome time, and how nerdy/AWESOME are you to make matching shirts? So something I would do. :) Love it!

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  6. Oh, so fun! Why, oh why did I go to Disney World during Christmas last year? It has haunted me ever since! I just want a normal Disney experience!!!

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  7. Disneyland looks like so much fun. I can't believe I've never gone. You are the funnest mom! Your kids will always remember that trip, and I'm sure it was just as special for them.

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  8. Looks like you had a fun time! So I would LOVE to talk with you sometime about our little boys. Autism is no easy thing to understand but I don't know many moms who are going through this so I'd love to chat with you. Give me a call or email. We are getting my youngest son tested too; he's showing signs of autism and we're concerned. Anyways let's talk
    lsrminer@gmail.com
    801-857-0063

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  9. That is sweet that they gave you that pass for the rides!!! I felt the same way, when we took our kids, that they are so good to families and our kiddies. It really is the happiest place on Earth :) When we were there it was December and they did this neat lighting of the castle and had voices over the speakers...a boy was asking his grandpa if it could snow in California (right then my kids asked me the same question and I told them of course not) then they sent down bubbles and it looked like snow. It really was so magical that I teared up a little. There is something about that place, it is a little bit of innocence in this extremely cynical, jaded, disbelieving world we live in!

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