Xanthe's Ten-Year-Old Trip!!

 Sometimes when I'm going on vacation and not teaching, I bleach my hair and it turns out pink.  It's kinda Magic Kingdom, right?  My kids said no, but I went with it because I ran out of time to do anything further.

 The whole entire family went to dinner together on the eve of the Disney trip.  We estimated that it had been several years, since Grandma Great Dopp's 90th birthday party, that the entire family went out to dinner together.  Wow!

 The trouble with big breadsticks!

 We stopped by Grandma and Grandpa's after dinner and brought ice cream to share.  Why don't we do that more often!?  It was nice to see them and relax for a bit.

 Not too long, though, because we had to leave for Disneyland at 2:20 am the next morning!  So here's the deal:  this started out as Xanthe's Ten-Year-Old Trip.  Then she invited Ptolemy by writing him a sweet little note.  Then we figured we might as well take Tziporah, the girl who lives in her Disney costumes, but we had to do it before she turned three, so she could get in free.  That left the week of Ruby's 16th birthday as our only available date.  So we brought her along too, because she has always wanted to take Xanthe to China for her 10yo trip, and plus, we couldn't just not be with her when she turned 16!  So we ended up with quite a crowd, and Xanthe was ecstatic!

 2 am, Kaysville.  Noon, Downtown Disney.  It's so easy to get there, it's scary.  We had even had time to go to our Anaheim Hills Fairfield and take a dip in the pool already!  First Downtown Disney stop, Build-a-Bear Workshop.  The kids had gotten gift certificates from Santa Claus, and they had brought their special bears to share the occasion.  Each bear got a new outfit and a new box to ride in.  I don't know about anybody else, but Ruby and I love Build-a-Bear.  Ruby had fun helping Tziporah choose her outfit, but I secretly felt badly that Ruby didn't get to get her own bear.  Nevertheless, she had fun.

 This is Tziporah's "Let It Go Dress."  As in, "I want to wear my Let It Go dress, Mom."  Every day.  She says her favorite princess is Let It Go.

 We lost Tziporah momentarily.  She was in this flower bed.  I took my friend Lenore's idea and wrote my phone number in Sharpie on their arm, in case they got separated from us.  Best idea ever!  Thanks, Nor!

 We can't go to California without seeing the Pacific Ocean.  We chose Newport and got there just in time to see the most amazing thing.  A whale came right out of the water, right next to the shore!  Ruby saw it and her jaw dropped.  I looked out to where everyone was watching and the whale came out again!  I happened so fast, I almost couldn't believe what I had seen!  Apparently, the whale had been putting on quite a show because he had quite an audience of people ooohing and aaahhing, cameras poised.  Powerful experience!

 Wha?  Seeing the whale breach

 Disbelief.  Then it happened again!

The light was liquid gold, the salty air was warm on our skin, the kids were beautiful, and I was strolling through this pretty scene with Scott.  Aaaahhh!  Tizzy kept asking if we could go to Cowabunga.  She didn't get that we were at a different beach than IB.

Day One, 10yo Trip, success.