Disneyland!!!

Notice Ainsley's hair:

Disneyland!  The first day was a day of good weather, much built up excitement, and yes LINES???  Let me get this straight, school has started for everyone and we're in the middle of the week and there are lines??  It's just crazy to think there are thousands of people doing exactly what we're doing (although we did find out later that the largest school district in the area was on a furlough day).  We started out with a quiet 20 minute walk into maham!  We hit California Adventure first thinking we were gonig to go on the new Cars ride but as we walked in we saw the line had already stacked up to 60+ minutes.  So we enjoyed the Mater ride.
We then headed to the Toy Story ride and waited for 45 minutes.  We ended up hitting some little rides on the way that had no wait and the Ariel ride was Ainsley's favorite of the day, so it worked out. 

We hung out with Crush from Finding Nemo and Ainsley and I got to talk with the Crush dude.  Ainsley's name was Aloha Ainsley and I was Rockin Ryan.  It is an interactive show and he picked her out of the crowd and being on the spot is definitely not her thing, but she got through it. 

We finished up with Soaring over California and we all loved that.  It was then time to head over to Disneyland.  The kids watched the Jedi training class (they are hoping to get picked tomorrow as they pick roughly 20 kids out of the crowd).  Trina almost threw up on the Star Tours ride and was only able to keep her eyes open for the first 15 seconds before she started sweating and getting a watery mouth (she can't do motion as it makes her very ill - she also lost her sunglasses as she was out of sorts)..  Ainsley was so funny on that ride.  She looked over and asked, "Are we in space?"  Reggie's highlight was that he got to build a lightsaber from scratch.  We could have gone home after that.  He's been playing with it ever since :o).  That night we went to the Color of Lights show and it was amazing.  A lot like the Vegas Bellagio water show, but on some serious steroids.  It was a late night, but worth it.  The kids had never seen anything like it.
We woke up early the next day to head to Universal Studios.  Traffic was terrible,  but we still got there shortly after it opened.  We headed to the big rides first to get to them before everyone else did.  That was a very smart plan because we literally walked onto the Jurassic Park ride.  It was awesome.  The kids, especially Reggie, were a little nervous about the drops.  The last one was a big one and Ainsley said it was fun, but didn't want to go again.  Next was Tranformers and Reggie was rearing to go.  Trina knew better than to go on that one-it seems that if they are a 3-D ride, they will make her sick.  Ainsley was unsure, so she stayed with Trina.  It was a very good thing they didn't come.  When we first took off on our mission...... things were fine and then all hell broke lose.  Reggie's head was in my armpit 5 seconds after we started.  Many drops and turns and decepticons attacking our ship and after we survived the initial attack, we fell from a sky scraper straight down and right before we hit and died bumblebee caught us and we survived.  It was the craziest and most real ride I have ever been on.  Reggie was moaning and crying the entire time, I felt bad because you can't get off, but the ride kicks ass!!!

On our way out, we saw Bumblebee and then Trina and I took turns on the Mummy ride.  That was a trip!!!  It was like being shot out of a cannon and going through a dark maze, only to hit a wall and do it backwards!  It was good Reggie read the sign about it being a fast roller coaster because that would have sent them to the car.  From there we went to the animal show and learned about special affects.  That was really fun and the kids were laughing a lot.  We headed over to Water World and ran into SpongeBob, the Lorax, Curious George, Scooby Doo, and Shrek on the way!!!  It was super cool.  Ainsley shot out of the stroller when she saw the Lorax and had a grin from ear to ear :o). 

Universal Studious had some fun people up in a hotel making fun of everyone (can I just say, what an awesome job!) and they saw Reggie in the stroller and were commenting on how smart he was for staying in the stroller as long as possible (they thought he was 7-if they only knew he is almost 9!).  The double jogger has saved the kids.  They could probably walk, but they've been a lot less cranky not having to.  We've not been so lucky :o(.  But, happy kids make for a happy family :o).

You can see the wreckage of an airplane behind us at one of the sets in Universal...

We hit everything there, the new 4-D Shrek ride (4-D because you get wet, air blows on you and your seat moves), Water World, the tram tour and were finished by 4!  It was so much more pleasant than Disneyland and California Adventure.  Much fewer kids and a slower pace.  We did learn that Reggie is very afraid of fire and there were lots of rides with fire, so he was definitely ready to go home and after all the crazy stuff we drug him on, I'll be really surprised if he doesn't have nightmares or scars for life!!!  Horrible traffic on the way back, but we had a nice dinner and went for a beautiful swim :o).
We started out Friday bright and early since the park opened at 8.  We were smart and got right in the fast pass line for cars and got our time slot for 11 o'clock.  Some people told us in the pool to ride single and the wait was only 10 minutes, so we tried that, but Ainsley wasn't old enough.  Reggie and I (Trina) went and he loved it!  I got a little car sick, but I had just gone on Tower of Terror, so I wasn't sure if that was part of it). That was a cool ride....the kids were scared to death after the video, so we exited and then Ryan and I took turns going by ourselves.  We did a lot of hopping back and forth from the 2 parks, but after we all went on cars, everything else was just bonus.  We went to Captain EO (the Michael Jackson 3-D movie that was make in 1984).  It was a riot and the kids enjoyed it-Ainsley really liked the dancing).  We did all our favorite rides, Buzz Lightyear, Pirates and Ryan and Reggie did Star Tours again.  I guess they have different ones and Ryan got a little sick because it was a Pod race.  It was the hottest day and we were looking for a water ride, but the kids saw the drop on Splash Mountain and said no way.  So, Ryan and I went single and they put us in back, so we didn't even get wet :o(.  On our way out, we made it to the Rapunzel line just before it closed.  Ainsley was thrilled and had the biggest smile on her face.  I have to say, she was the nicest princess we've met :o).  Thankfully, it was dinner time and we made the trek over to the Rainforest Cafe and enjoyed sitting, eating and being cool!

 Getting new tires on the Cars ride :o)

Today was a relaxing pool day.  We didn't do much except make a trip to target to get some chicken to BBQ and swim and swim some more.  The kids had lots of fun diving for dive toys, playing tag and launching off of Ryan in all kinds of ways!  They sure have turned into fish.  Tonight we had movie night and the kids watched Willie Wonka and The Chocolate Factory (we didn't get to stay for the whole thing when they played it at Rancho).  What a weird movie that is....you don't notice a lot of things when you are little, but watching it as an adult was a different experience.  The kids sure loved it though!
We head out tomorrow morning for our 5-6 hour drive :o).  And then, grandma and grandpa arrive and we have a different sort of Disneyland!!!
So tired.....

School!

Well, we've been in school already for almost a month!  I'm feeling way behind on blogging :o(.
The kids were very excited to start school and we are very excited about their teachers.  Reggie's teacher used to be the science teacher, so he knows her and was happy about that.  I spent some time in the class last week and she is fabulous!  Her classroom is so quiet and she is really nice.  We chatted a bit when the kids were at recess and she told me that Reggie was already tested on his reading and popped up into the 5th grade level.  He read an entire Magic Treehouse book yesterday!  What a difference a year makes (he started last year reading at the 1st grade, 8th month level).  The homework is a little intense because it is nightly now.  We used to get a homework packet that they could do at their leisure, usually over the weekend.  So, it has put quite a bit of pressure on us in the evenings when he is exhausted.  He has spelling, reading, math and sometimes English almost every night.  He is very excited to have his buddy Colin in his class, as well as 5 other cub scout buddies.

Ainsley also has a great teacher.  She is crazy organized and also very sweet with the kids.  At back to school night, she told us that the kids read for hours in the classroom and we can tell!  Ainsley's reading has come a long way in the last couple weeks and I think she is enjoying it more because it is easier.  She has her best bud, Daniella, in her class, so she couldn't be happier.  She has been writing a lot and "teaching" K all kinds of things.

K also started preschool a couple weeks ago and is really enjoying it.  He asks to go everyday, but it is only Tuesday and Thursday.  So, I get one morning free!  Thursday mornings, I alternate helping in Reggie's class and Ainsley's class.  We have been working on our letters and right now he knows the letter O and that's about it.  Seems like such a slow process, but I know if we keep working at it, eventually it will click.  The first day was interesting....standing in line, he saw a classmate and said, "Don't look at me."  Then in the classroom, he was playing at the kitchen and didn't want to share as the toys were his!  Not sure how popular he is going to be!!  Very different from my kids, although I think he's mellowed out a bit.  The teachers there are great and will help him socialize with new kids :o).

So, I think it is going to be a great year!!!  We love Rancho and are happy our new house is close enough to continue going there.  We are going to family movie night on Friday to see Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (the original).  Can't wait to see what the kids think.....
Thought this picture was cute....the kids couldn't part with their kindergarten self portraits and when we were moving, they became interesting again:

The continued plumbing saga

Just when we thought we had the plumbing issue resolved, Trina noticed water on the carpet floor near the shower and her closet.  Against my will, I climbed underneath the house in our crawl space which is barely 18" deep.  Ya, lets just say I was a fat man in a little area.  I had to army crawl clear across the house and maneuver under and over existing pipes.  I finally got to the area (right underneath our shower) and had Trina turn on the shower.  Water began to leak/pour from the pipes that feed our shower.  Interesting that if you just ran the bath it didn't leak but as soon as we would turn on the shower it would pour out.  Anyway, I managed to get back out of the crawl space after almost getting stuck (I thought Trina was going to have to call the fire department).  We called our home warranty again and they explained that they covered the pipe repair but not the access into the wall.  The plumber offered to cut into the wall for $350.00.  Of course, I said no and that I would do it.  So I cut a 1ft by 1ft hole into Trina's closet which exposed the leaking pipe to the shower head.  The plumber came out and fixed the issue and right now we're golden,.  I'm hoping that most of the kinks are now figured out but who knows.  We will send pic's soon of our home with our stuff in it.