Still Riding that Disney High!

Few things make me smile as much as hearing Diella and Enzo laugh! 

We just returned from a family vacation at our absolute favorite place: Disneyland. Our poor little Enzo brought back a very nasty cold with him this time, so we have been laying low, nursing him back to health. He's been, understandably, very whiny and needy during his time of sickness. So seeing a video of our vivacious and happy toddler definitely warmed my mama heart, and I had to share. Because, really, isn't he just the best?!

My favorite moment on the trip was meeting Kylo Ren, when our whole family was speechless at how absolutely BA he is. We literally stood there silently while he ordered us around, all of the kids were scared of him, haha! I'm totally one of those adults who get super jacked when they see the Disney characters like a silly fool, I can't help it! I'm 99.9% sure that I get more excited than Diella. She'll probably tell me I'm embarrassing her in the very near future for this! Is it weird that I sort of want to be an embarrassing parent? Even now, there are times I feel like Amy Poehler on Mean Girls when I'm with Diella and her friends. "There are NO rules in the house. I'm not like a regular mom, I'm a cool mom."

Look at how straight Diella is standing!

I finally had the chance to try Disney's Mickey Mouse-shaped beignets that I hear so much about on the Disney food blogs & YouTube. Turns out they're not exactly Mickey shaped, but a little like a warped teddy bear shape. Not that it matters really, but I'm just tellin'

 y'all. YOU GUYS. I have never had a beignet before, and they are SO FREAKING GOOD. They're loaded with powdered sugary goodness and they're so soft and fluffy. I'm so glad I finally tried them. I also got a Mint Julep, because, they're so sweet and refreshing. 

 Is there a such thing as a good picture of someone eating? I always look like a creep. Note the powdered sugar all over Raf's arm, and my shirt. GIVE ME ALL OF THE BEIGNETS, KTY.

Other highlights of the trip include: seeing the Shadow man on Mark Twain's Riverboat. I yelled "SHADOW MAN!" to him, and he slowly turned around and gave me the sassiest "I'm too cool for you" glare. It was slightly embarrassing, but mostly really hilarious. We watched the 10:30 Paint the Night Parade on our last day, and Diella was dead tired. Like so tired, that she fell asleep on her cousin's shoulder waiting for the parade to start. 

But as soon as the parade started, she got a second-wind and was dancing around, and singing and waving to the characters like a madwoman. I was so proud, lol.

Now that Enzo is mobile and more aware of what's going on around him, it was so fun to watch him explore and experience Disneyland. He was waving to characters, pointing out everything, and running around like he owned the place. We all enjoyed experiencing the park through his eyes. 

I have to say, purchasing Annual Passes to Disney were a really good investment for us this year. We have made so many lasting memories. Raf and I are often sleep-deprived on these trips due to our overly ambitious traveling schedule, but we are always laughing our heads off from being delirious. It actually adds to the experience, lol! Until next time, Disney. Stay classy!

P.S. I found these two little ditties on my camera from Diella. You're welcome, Internet!

Disneyland and Record Store Day!

Our trip was AMAZING. We had so much fun together.

We spent Record Store Day at a sick record store named Amoeba Music. It is like nothing Arizona has ever seen! I wish there were more stores like it here. It was HUGE and had an extensive vinyl section. I bought three little goodies that I really haven't seen anywhere else (in stores, that is. I've seen them online). I got: Thrice - Beggars, Thursday - Waiting (favorite) and Thrice - the Illusion of Safety. Such great finds!! Unfortunately, we were unable to take a picture of us in front of the building, but here's a picture of our bag. haha

We started off Friday with breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen, which is where all the characters are in the morning. It was awesome. We got some sweet pictures with some of the cutest characters! We are such Disney nerds. The food is actually REALLY delicious there, too. I love their Mickey waffles, they are so cute.

Disneyland was all I could have expected, and so much more. We chose the perfect day to go, there were still a lot of people there, but the lines were SO short. The longest line we waited in was 25 minutes. Not bad! We rode all the rides and even rode Space Mountain twice! It was amazing. Disneyland is such a magical place.

Saturday was kind of a spontaneous day. We went to a kind of gross beach in LA, but it was our fault for not planning it out. Anyway, it was full of trash and in a not so good area. But we chilled anyway. We layed out for a while and walked around a bit. It was a lot of fun.

Sunday, we did some outlet shopping (I love me some outlets) and then drove home. It was so nice to be reunited with Ms. D. We missed her terribly while we were gone.

I'll leave with some of my favorite photos from the trip. While I want to share every picture I took, I'll hold back. :)

Oh hai, Hollywood sign!

Sup, dirty beach?!

On Peter Pan. This is the 2nd best ride in Fantasyland, after Mr. Toad's Wild Ride

Soaked after Splash Mountain. My honey always sits in the front so that I don't have to :)

I really was screaming my head of during this pic, haha

You don't even know how stoked I was to take a picture with Jasmine. Love her!

Morning, breakfast!!

Chillin' in Tarzan's treehouse, no big. Note that I had a newspaper with me. How lame am I? haha

Until next time!

Currently Listening to: Elliott Smith - Angeles

Great shows and nightmares. What?

Yesterday was a beloved band of mine's farewell show. It was such a good last hurrah. I Can Make a Mess played so well, it was nice to finally see Ace play as "ICMAM" after more than six years of listening to his one release. Copeland (farewell, dear Aaron) seriously rocked it out. I absolutely loved it!! It's always sad when a band you love stops making new music, but the memories I have of the many times I've seen them, along with the memories that each song brings back are priceless to me. I wish Aaron all the best.

We got to hang out with Chelsea and Scott at the show, which was awesome. I haven't seen them both in a long while. I hope to have many more hang sessions with them in the near future!

I've been having AWFUL nightmares lately. I'm talking horrifying. I had a dream of a worm invasion in my house, which doesn't sound horrifying to you- but trust me. It terrifies me. I'll spare you the details of that one, because worms are sicknasty. Then I had a 'mare about a child molester. What is going on with me!! I woke up in cold sweats each night. I hope I don't have another awful dream tonight...

Raf and I are going to DISNEYLAND in a few weeks. We are like little kids at that place. I just love it. I spent the last couple of days reading about the secrets of D-land. Like the basketball court on top of the Matterhorn (which is sadly used as storage now) for employees, Walt's personal apartment above the Disney Firehouse, the animatronic Chesire Cat in the Mad Hatter's shoppe, etc. I totally nerd out on Disney.

Also, I have a gripe with food-service in America. Why don't more places have vegetarian options? The classic vegetarian paradigm of "I guess I'll just have a salad" is really out-dated. What if I don't want a salad? What if I want a hearty veggie burger (not microwaved OR grilled on the MEAT grill, please) or a bowl of jerk-tofu chicken? There should be more options for us veggies, dang it. Especially when most grocery stores carry the mock-meats now. It's easier than ever to get your hands on some. And with so many people choosing to go meat-free, you'd think the restaurant/fast-food industry would catch up to this key demographic. But sadly, most restaurants are far behind. When will the herbivores of the world get some equality at the table, I ask!

/End Rant