Okay, so, take a deep breath because here we go.

We left Colorado for Disneyland with some short pit-stops in Utah (for sleep) and Vegas (for a haircut and lunch) along the way. Once at Disney we checked into the hotel, went down to the Downtown Disney area and found the Jazz Kitchen... you realize why this had to happen, right? No? Well, my mother-in-law lived in New Orleans when she was younger and I got to hear her go on and on about (what else?) beignets. Off to the Jazz Kitchen to find beignets... beignets are, f'real, the best donuts ever. they're little puffs of fried dough doused in powdered sugar. In New Orleans you eat them with cane syrup... in Disney you eat them with maple syrup. Anyway, it had been a lot of driving so we ate and then went back to the room ready to begin our Disney adventure.

We were not disappointed. We met up with our friends early on and headed into the park. By "early" I mean that I was still on Colorado time and woke up at like 6 or something heinous. Too early for words. Our friends got there around 8. Off a-skipping into the park we went. Really, the first day, fun but now awesome. I mean, there was talking and catching up and then there was discussion about what we were going to do. It just got to be a lot... It felt like we ended up going on only a few rides the whole day. Well, we learned from this. The rest of the trip was better because we kind of did whatever we wanted and didn't "talk" so much about it with the rest of the party. We went on rides, ate surprisingly good food, manipulated young children onto scary rides.... you know, family stuff.

So, the downsides of the trip: Bickering, torn contact, reading glasses, food poisoning, long drive and some mild sunburn.

Great things about the trip: Everything PLUS dinner with Shamu.

I can't say thank you enough to all of our friends that worked around our busy schedule to see us. We appreciated it so much. Especially the ones we had to cancel and reschedule on. I know, we're awful... thanks, though, for putting up with us.

There is, obviously, more going on these days. We're about to leave for Yellowstone here in a couple of weeks. Planning another trip to Disney with fewer people and more time next year... and we're working a lot. And it's hectic. So, we'll see where it all takes us. Let's start tomorrow, though, k?

it's too late to post tonight but i am acutely aware that i owe my (three or four) readers some details on my disney adventure and subsequent time with shamu. i am a bad blogger. this explains, of course, why i have only three or four readers.

i am tired (and i need a cookie!) and i am going to bed.