Plums!

Our plum tree is loaded this year...which is not a good thing because it attracts raccoons, birds, skunks, squirrels, wasps and all manner of city critters. The combination of plums and critters makes for a huge mess and this time of year when it's dark, I'm always fearful of a standoff with a skunk while I'm taking out the garbage!

The picture represents less than a fifth of the plums on the tree this year. We're bagging up plums for everyone we know, making plum cakes, and sending a load to Harmoni for plum wine! I'm even dreaming about plums and concocting ideas on how to harvest the top of the tree!

Disneyland 2009 (Part 6)

It was a great California Adventure for everyone, but it the blistering heat was too much to bear. It was so hot we actually convinced Justin to go on the whitewater rafting ride. Boy, did he get SOAKED!!! He loved it but he got drenched...so we went on it again and he got it all over again!

We finally found a good place for Justin to hang out and left him in the Toon Town jail!

Disneyland 2009 (Part 5)

Life isn't always a cup of tea, but the Mad Hatter Tea Party is always fun. Brooklyn and Justin made us spin so fast I literally stumbled out of the teacup. The more I threatened them I was going to barf on them, the faster they went.

We also spent time at the adjacent Disney California Adventure Park, which has a lot of Disney-Pixar inspired rides and attractions. The kids area, based on A Bug's Life, had no lines and no waiting at all this time. In addition to the new Ariel ride I mentioned, they're building a Pocahontas water show and a whole new area based on the Cars movie. The best ride at either Disneyland or California Adventure has got to be the new Toy Story 4D shoot 'em up arcade game/ride. We all loved that one, especially with the comment-tater entertaining us in the lineup! Don't we look cool in our 3D glasses?

Disneyland 2009 (Part 4)

What would a trip to Disney be without the Princesses? Well, let me tell you, when I was a kid, Disney was Mickey, Goofy, Donald and Pluto...not Ariel, Jasmine, Mulan and the gang. Another brilliant marketing ploy targeted at young girls to fill Disney's coffers. At least they're actually putting in an Ariel ride at the California Adventure park for 2010.

Brooklyn loves the princesses to be sure. Her current favourite is Ariel for some reason, but it has been Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty and Belle at different times. Anyway, pictured above is Princess Brooks with Belle, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Ariel, Tinkerbell, Jasmine and Cinderella.

(PS My favorite Princess is Jasmine, what's yours?)

Disneyland 2009 (Part 3)

Did I mention how hot it was in California? The heat got to Justin pretty quickly and he turned a bit Goofy. He didn't even want his picture taken with Minnie Mouse! Brooks and Justin enjoyed her house, especially the kitchen.

Justin's favourite ride seems to be Mr. Toad's wild ride. I was feeling a bit hot and annoyed after several repeat rides, so I decided to take care of Justin with my Toad-mobile. Sorry, Mom, the heat got to me!

Disneyland 2009 (Part 2)

Brooklyn's second visit to Disneyland was a bit more fun than her first, since she didn't have to nap all afternoon this time. She really enjoyed the carousel...so much so that after her first ride she got off the horse and kissed his leg. "My horsey was the mostest beautiful one of all" she squealed with glee.

Disneyland 2009 (Part 1)

Off we went to smokin' hot California last week, bound for Disneyland. The trip was a surprise for the kids and they didn't clue in where we were going until the Disneyland Express pulled up at LAX. Their reaction was muted and disappointing after the lengths we went to to keep it a secret! Sheesh. When I was a kid, going to Hawaii and California in the same year would have been a dream come true. But Brooklyn already has a surprising amount of air miles for an almost-4 year old, I guess.

Before we made it to the monorail station, we encountered the Lego store. Holy guacamole! Even I thought it was cool! I've never seen so much lego in one place, and they had practically every plastic piece of Star Wars lego ever made, including the $500 Death Star, on display in a case. The 6 foot tall Darth Vader made of lego blocks was pretty cool too.

But enough of that! Justin was soon ready to drive us to the the Magic Kingdom!