May the force be with you!

We dressed as Star Wars characters for Halloween this year. So fun! The kids helped me make their costumes. Here's our family (minus Obi-Wan Daddy : ( ) in front of Blizzard Entertainment, where Justin works. Josh was Luke Skywalker, Caleb was Anakin the young padawan, and Audrey was Padme Amidala at the Geonosis battle. I think the theme for next year might be Harry Potter!

Club 33, Baby

A couple of weeks ago, Justin and I went to Disneyland's exclusive restaurant, Club 33, with some friends. The food was amazing, and it was fun to check out the decor which largely came from old Disney movies. You need to have a membership to this club or know someone who does to dine here, and the memberships are $10,000 a year! There is apparently a 14-yr+ waiting list to join (which they've stopped adding to). In our case, we knew someone who knew someone (who knew someone?) While we were waiting for our reservation we rode the Tower of Terror and California Screamin'- both of which I'd never ridden before. It was the most fun date ever!

I'm going to change this blog url to heidistreasures.blogspot.com It seems more fitting. I'm sorry for the inconvenience!

Trip back east

I had two cousins growing up- one on my mother's side and one on my father's side. I didn't think that it was odd or feel slighted in the cousin department. Marrying Justin has brought my cousin tally close to 50 (?) While Justin has trouble keeping track of all of his cousins names, my two cousins were like siblings to me; although sometimes they were long distance siblings.

Last weekend, the cousin on my dad's side was married! So, naturally we flew to Baltimore to see my cousin-sibling, Scott's, wedding. Justin and I boarded a plane with the kids at 8:50 on Friday morning and arrived at BWI by 9pm. We drove straight to my Aunt Kay's house for some great food (wedding rehearsal dinner leftovers) and then went to bed.

The wedding was held Saturday in Scott's childhood church, a small chapel adorned with beautiful stained glass and carved wood. I think Scott married his soul-mate. I have never seen him so happy! I don't know which brought me more joy: the happy couple, or my little family reunion with people who are very dear to me. I saw people there that I hadn't hugged for over 10 years! It was so fun to share Justin and the kids with them, although I'm afraid that the highlight of the day for the kids was gathering acorns and sparkley white rocks. I overheard Josh and Caleb plotting to sell the pretty gravel and "get soooo rich!"

After the ceremony, we all met at a local restaurant for a nice dinner in lieu of a wedding reception. The party wasn't very kid-friendly, so my kids were easily entertained by simple things like taking photos, taking multiple trips to the restroom, giving hugs, and a new phenomenon they discovered: tapping glasses with forks in chorus. My kids were pleased to find that banging on one's glass was okay at this gathering. Whenever the sound would start somewhere in the room, they were quick to join in. They thought it was just for fun (makes sense to a kid)! When I told them that the glass-tapping was the signal for the bride and groom to kiss, they all made faces and put their glasses down. I sure know how to ruin their fun!

We spent that evening at the pool with Grandma and Grandpa. My dad has been nicknamed the "silly Grandpa", and he was in his glory with a pool full of children laughing and vying for his attention. They played Marco Polo, swam races, and made up games with Ryan and April, who they met at the wedding, and Grandpa Don. The newly met distant cousins were instant friends! I'm so glad we met them.

We spent Sunday playing at Aunt Kay and Uncle Bob's comfortable home. It was a kind of homecoming for me. I miss the woodsy and ample yards of that area-- especially my Uncle's yard. He has tended and literally pieced it together over the years. My kids explored, kicked a ball, and gathered treasures from the grass and bushes. Audrey found a dark berry that she made paint/pulp out of then painted with. There was endless fun to be had.

After our farewells, we went to DC for our 2-day tour. The hotel was less than par (the carpet was sticky-- from what, I ask??) but we were there for the city! We were all so excited!

Day one: We toured the capitol building. Gorgeous! Highlights were a statue of Brigham Young, the mural on the inside of the dome (wow.), and feeling connected to history! The tour was great. We filled the afternoon with a visit to my favorite Smithsonian: The Natural History Museum. We spent an hour in the gift shop (my kids inherited my indecisiveness), learned about bones, visited the ocean hall, then lingered in the crystals and gems exhibit. So many beautiful rock formations, so little time! The variety was amazing.

Day two: I have to mention the metro. Justin and I felt nostalgic for Manhattan, where we spent a summer pre-kids. The little ones saw it as another adventure! We began day two with a bus tour that helped us see the monuments and Arlington.
The cemetery was moving, as where all of the other monuments seen that day. The children were so very good about being reverent and respectful at all of these sites, only needing a couple of reminders. By lunchtime, they needed a little more freedom : ) so we walked the length of the reflection pool to the Washington monument, then caught a bus to the Air and Space Museum. What a spectacular collection of aircraft! Audrey, Josh, and Caleb liked the hands-on "how things fly" exhibit. I love to watch the wheels turn in their little minds, and share their excitement as they figure something out. We finished off the day with the Smithsonian American Art Museum and Portrait Gallery. We could have spent a day there, but they chased us out so the museum could close (that kept happening to us!) After dinner in Chinatown, complete with a "poo-poo platter" appetizer that brought peals of giggles, we were ready to crash!

We got up at 3AM Eastern time (that's midnight in CA!) to catch a red-eye at 6, so we ended our wonderful, trip in a sleepy haze. Airplanes are great for that, though. We each had a good nap and were home by 11AM! I call that time travel : )

Wow, it's been a long time. And so the dilemma: do I try to catch up or just move forward. The first option is way too overwhelming, so I'll start with the present.

I just took Audrey to Miley Cyrus concert last night. Justin's co-worker had won free tickets and didn't have any use for them, so we got lucky! I was excited. Audrey didn't know until the night before where the date with Mommy was going to be, but once she was in on the surprise, our house was the Hannah Montana channel.

Some of you may have already noticed my error. I didn't really do my homework for this outing-- didn't google "Miley Cyrus, Wonderworld Tour", or anything like it. I was clueless. But when Miley came out on stage (after we screamed until we were hoarse and had tears in our eyes from the excitement), I realized that this concert was not what I had imagined it to be. Miley Cyrus and Hannah Montana are like night and day!

I thought I understood the Hannah/Miley juxtaposition. I mean, I saw the movie! Sure, Miley was more rough around the edges, but we liked that. She was real. And the songs she sang as Miley were even better than Hannah's repertoire. They were more real, too. But they still had that innocent, fun feel to them.

The Miley we saw last night looked like another one of Hollywood's sweet little girls turning naughty- following the same route as Mary Kate and Ashley, Lindsey Lohan, and our favorite, Britney Spears. We were so disappointed, but our shock was an opener for a great thought-provoking discussion. First, of course, we discussed what was appropriate and what wasn't about the music, dancing, and dress of the performers. Then Audrey asked why Miley changed. We talked about how changes in us happen over time, with each choice that we make. We also talked about the kind of pressure on a pretty girl star to grow into a certain image. She may not have really wanted to change in the way she did. We talked about the kind of music we like, and mourned the old Hannah/Miley a teeny bit. Now, I'm sure Hannah is still on Disney doing her show, but that was never our connection to her. We don't have cable; it is a vacation treat the kids enjoy when we stay in a hotel or go to Grandma's. We knew Hannah through the music we've downloaded and her movie we watched. So Audrey and I decided that she would live on, in our home, just the way we loved her. And there's our happy ending! When I'd had enough, I whisper-hollered in Audrey's ear that if we left early and beat the rush, we could go out for ice cream on the way home. She was out the door before I finished talking.

I think Audrey and I bonded more that night than we would have if we had gotten the concert we were anticipating.