Grown men in Tinkerbell sweatshirts and teenage boys in Buzz Lightyear hoodies.

Soren (our number 3 baby) turned number 3 today! We originally had planned on being in Sea World for his birthday, since he is going to be our 'Greenpeace-save-the-whales' kid. However, with the RV taking forever to get fixed, we just didn't have the time to get to San Diego. On a whim yesterday, we left San Francisco in the morning, went to pick up the big beast from the repair shop, dropped off our rental van, and decided to drive to Anaheim. We didn't tell the kids until after breakfast this morning. Annika is the only one who is old enough to know what Disneyland really is, and she was ecstatic. Kai didn't say anything and Soren said "will there be fish there?" (His standard response).
Some things you should know about Disneyland:
1. It is the biggest money grab on the planet. Not only are there exorbitant fees to get in the park (it cost us  1000 dollars for a 3 day pass), but the prices are insane inside. A cheeseburger is 9$, an apple is 2.79$, and everywhere you look they are selling something. And the crazy thing is, people are buying it. They're   buying Disney balloons, blankets, mouse ears, decorative pins, mouse-shaped pretzels, etc.
2. It is perfectly acceptable for a grown man or woman to wear Disney apparel. Whether this is a set of Goofy ears, or a pink Tinkerbell t-shirt, or a Disney backpack, it's all fair game when you're at Disneyland. I was shocked. I wanted to ask some people, "do you dress like this normally?"
3. You will see someone puke. For those who don't know this about me, I'm an extreme barf-a-phobe. I chose my lifetime career based on which jobs don't see lots of puking, and I seriously considered not becoming a mom because I knew it would involve cleaning up someone else's barf. So places like Canada's Wonderland and carnivals make me nervous. I try not to look near garbage cans or super spinny rides, just in case I spot some puke on the ground or WORSE, someone in-the-act of puking. When I got to Disney today I started praying, "God, please don't let me see puke today." But sure enough, I saw a kid puking all over the ground. Ugh. This is the same ground that my kids will be crawling all over the place. Gross.
4. The lines are INSANE. We went on a Saturday, not the best idea. But it is LOW season and it was so so busy. I can't imagine what it's like in the heat of the summer with all kinds of strangers' bodies pressed up against you.

All that to be said, we did have a great time today. We spent a couple hours in the morning/early afternoon in the park, then we headed back to the R.V. for a couple hours of down time (and birthday cake). At about 5 pm, we headed back into the park and it was much more pleasant. The lines were not bad at all and even though we rode the flying elephants and cruised the jungle in the dark, it was fun. The sheer excitement on the kids' faces was priceless. Well, actually it came at quite a steep price. But as Andy said to me "now we don't have to do Disney World for like, another decade."

Happy Birthday to my precious baby boy Soren. These last 3 years with you have been a precious gift from God. Soren, we all love you and are so glad you are a part of our family. There would be a lot less giggling without you.

When it is your birthday, you obviously get to lick the cake spatula.

This looks like I am riding the roller coaster alone, but actually, Soren is with me.

Opening Presents.

He had LOTS of helpers for present opening.

Climbing on the outside of the treehouse.

 He loved his first roller coaster. All 15 seconds of it.

Someone is all Disney-ed out.

Cake picnic in a parking lot. Hooray!

Mr. and Mrs.

Special Disneyland button.