A Good Time Anaheim!

And now... the Top 10 reasons we spent 400 bucks and loved every damn second of it.

1. Stink arriving in the parking structure, eyeballing the escalator and shouting "Let's go on that ride!" (pic of him in oversized Goofy shirt holding my hand)

2. Stink viewing the Pirate boats with the wonder of a Morman drinking soda for the first time. (Downside: he was a little freaked out by the explosions. "Ooooh... this is too pooooooooky!" Upside: At least his night terrors will be more legitimate than 'that caterpillar scared me'.)

3. Rex and I treating ourselves to an overpriced meal at the Blue Bayou. The twinkle lights, fireflies, sounds of water and laughter from the passengers on the pirate boats exceeded all my childhood fantasies of dining on that romantic porch. Especially unforgettable: dining alone while my cousin took Stink to Toon Town (We actually extinguished the candle ourselves because it was too bright, not because a toddler insisted on singing a round of 'Happy Birthday to You' and blowing it out with spit.

4. Seeing my husband go from Mr. Cranky Guy ("Great, we spent 180.00 to stand in a ticket and a tram line for 1 hour") to Mr. Kiddie himself "We have to take Stink on the Jungle Cruise and Tiki Room right after I hit Splash Mountain...Oh, Pip would have loooooved this!".

5. Chatting about nothing in line for half hour stretches while Stink happily looked around or sat on Papa's shoulders - not one complaint (shocking, but like the fabled intoxicating atmosphere at this place ? All true. Picture above - one of a few family shots we own, actually.)

6. Seeing Stink's big eyed look of wonder on his first flight to Neverland, as well as some classic confused grimaces (like seen above.) You gotta wonder: these kids go from pushing their way out of a birth canal to three years later being stuck on a giant honey pot and twirled through a "story book" dream while fat bears spin amonst animitronic flies. Ya think it's a bit confusing?

7. Hearing blue jazz play in New Orleans Square while Rex and I reminisced about our childhood at the park.

8. Riding on the carousel while hearing Julie Andrew's voice announce the princess procession (I half expected to see Pip herself coming out in full regalia, but alas, she was safe at home with grandma, pulling sticks, watching Elmo, and refusing to eat.)

9. Eating Mickey Mouse shaped pretzles on Main Street after viewing the parade - the lights twinkling in the trees, the souvenier shops lit up like a Christmas tree, big band sounds pouring through invisible speakers at the the Carnation Shop.

10. Stink pouting (for the first time that day) "I'm sad... I don't want to go" only to be surprised by Rex who, on a rare act of whimsy, presented him with a plastic rope light for his neck (even bought one for Pip who stayed home with Grandma). This trinket kept our little man occupied for ten minutes in the car (which he ran to, with Rex... you think Disneyland is insane? Nothing compares to toddlers' energy.) Not even a mile out of Anaheim he had fallen asleep, head first, drooling in his carseat- little lights twirling around his neck like a dog collar.

I don't care what anyone says about Disney consumerism. I love it and hope to go year after year - spending too much money, eating too much, buying dumb tee shirts and black mailing my kids with photos. In a great gesture of optimism, I even hope to stay at the Hotel California which I hear has an amazing Craftsman style flair.

Today it's back to reality as we clean house, prepare for our final baseboard paint, food shop and cook. In reality I'm wiping down my 1950's cracked counters. But in my head I'm at the Blue Bayou, holding my husband's hand and sipping on soda with a lemon.

Magic indeed.