Thunderbird

I know I seem to post the same pictures every year, but it's always exciting when we pull the old T-Bird out of the garage.  The boys think having our very own "old fashioned car" is pretty darn amazing.  I think they're right, and we're making it a point to get it out more often.  I mean, now that we live in SoCal, we can't not drive a convertible!

It's only a 2-seater, though, so the boys have to go in shifts. 

Hayden was eagerly waving "bye" and thankfully for him, the rides are short, so he didn't have to wait too long for his turn.

Our town really boomed in the '50's and there are still several original, un-renovated homes scattered throughout.  I think the T-Bird fits right in (if you can get the modern cars off the streets, that is)!

This silly monkey, however, I'm not quite sure where he fits in!

I don't think he got the memo that you need a certain level of "cool" in order to be seen in this ride!

Ben at play

Benjamin is one busy boy.  He always seems to be going a mile a minute, throwing all of his creative and physical energy into whatever the task of the moment is.  Sometimes, he's very patient and will focus on an effort for 20 minutes or more.  Other times I think he's onto something new in less than 2 minutes (leaving a trail of his adventuresomeness all over the house along the way).

This particular morning, he was busy in his room and when I peeked down the hall, I just loved the light and the glimpse into his world.  Here he is, in about 10 seconds of real time:

Busy.  Just about sums it up!

A Disneyland Birthday

In lieu of a party, we decided to celebrate Benjamin's 3rd birthday at Disneyland.  Last Saturday, we got up early and headed out to Anaheim for the fun.  Ben was a little dazed all morning, but I managed to capture a few smiles.  We hit the favorite rides first:  Buzz Lightyear and Finding Nemo.

We went to the Jedi Training Academy and Hayden thought he wanted to get picked, but then decided otherwise.  Even though he didn't get to battle with Darth Vader or Darth Maul, it was still fun to watch!

Next, we headed to the Star Tours ride.  The minimum height is 40" and Ben is 38.5" barefoot.  When we told him a few weeks ago we were going to Disneyland for his birthday, he kept talking about it being his "Star Wars Party" and that he wanted to go on Star Tours.  So, we told him that he just might be tall enough and we were hoping with his shoes on, he'd make the 40" cut-off.  He told us he was going to eat all his fruits and vegetables so he would grow in the next 2 weeks. 

Well, he didn't grow quite enough.  We got to the front of the line and they did a final height check on him where he *just* missed it.  We did get to see C-3P0 and he didn't seem to be fazed about not getting to do the actual ride (thankfully).

After that, he started getting a little sleepy, and punchy.

We stopped for lunch then hit the Jungle Cruise and Tarzan's Treehouse.

Then we headed to our standby, the Walt Disney World Railroad.  It's a 25 minute train ride around the outside of the park, and you can stay on continually.  Just like that, it became the railway to naptime!

(I know this one is blurry, but I love Hayden's face making!)

 

After the train ride/cat nap, it was time for the birthday celebration.  Every day at 3:15, Disneyland has a birthday party at the Plaza Inn restaurant.  Your reservation includes a party hosted by Pat E. Cake, a personal cake that you get to decorate, a party hat and souvenir cup, and a visit from Mickey & Minnie.  It was a fun way to celebrate a special day!

And while I was paying our way in, my camera bag fell off the counter.  My stomach dropped and then nearly came all the way back out when I pulled it out of the bag and saw this:

Thankfully, it was just the filter that was busted.  But of course it happened right before the event I brought my camera specifically for.  The filter ring was stuck on, so I picked out the broken glass, said a prayer, and continued to shoot.  It appears that it's mostly okay, but I now have it in to Canon for an expensive check up.  

So, back to the main event. . .

Whew!  That was fun!   And it was just what we needed to re-energize and get back to the rides, with a short break to watch a parade first.

 

With my broken camera, I still wanted to get some fun shots on the Tea Cups.  It was sort of a blind shot, as I held my camera too low to look through the viewfinder.  And even though some are a bit blurry, I love Hayden's expressions and Ben's zoned-out "oh my, what is happening!?!?!" look!

Between alternating potty breaks, I got some pictures of the kids. . .

We rode the Storybook Cruise and then got some dinner.

And before we knew it, it was 9:00 p.m. and we were ready to head home!

I think in all of our books, we considered it a perfect birthday celebration (minus the busted camera!)!