It started Saturday night as we were checking our facebook before heading to our church Christmas party. My sister's statuses all changed to "Going to Disneyland tomorrow. I love my impulsive mother!" Tyler said, "What?! They can't just go to Disneyland!... We could go too, ya know...We could be impulsive too..." During the next 30 minutes, we tried to call each other's bluffs with things like, "Well, if we're going to Disneyland, we better get packing, shouldn't we..." "What snacks should we pack, since we're going to Disneyland tonight and all..." We packed, went to the Christmas party, came back, gave Calvin a bath, and tucked him into the car. Within a couple hours of deciding to go, we were actually in the car, on our way to the Happiest Place on Earth. We drove through the night, arrived a couple hours after my mom, took a nap in the early morning, woke up, and went to the park.
I don't think we could have done this if Calvin wasn't such an easy-going, adaptable child. He did well in the car even though he didn't get as much sleep as he would have in his bed. And at Disneyland, he remained his happy, cheerful, excited self all day long. He was so cute riding on the rides and watching the parades. He could tell what a special day we were all having.
The Finding Nemo Submarines was one of his favorite rides. He spent the whole time shouting, "Bubbles! Bubbles! Nemo! Fishies!! Bubbles!! Whoa!" It was very funny.
He loved watching the Christmas Parade, too. Kelsea watched most of it with him, while we went to buy his Mickey Ears. You could tell how amazing he thought it was when Buzz and Woody actually passed by, waving at him. He shouted and shouted at them. When Mickey and Minnie went by, he shouted and waved.
Then came It's a Small World. By the end, we was standing up in the boat, stamping his feet and singing at the top of his lungs, "Fa La La La La!!" (It was the Small World Holiday ride.) My favorite is when he would wave at the dolls, saying "HI!!" and "BYE!!!" So cute... He even did this on Pirates of the Caribbean. Each skeleton would be greeted and farewelled by lil Cal. The whole time, I was just wondering what he must be thinking about all these rides. 
Our group. I love my mom and sisters (otherwise known as the Aunt Farm). They know how to feel the magic of Disneyland. We laughed and cried and almost passed out from exhaustion. So so so fun. Then came the most magical moment of all- Calvin meeting Mickey. He loves Mickey since he has this Mickey doll that his cousins gave him. he has been taking this Mickey doll everywhere with him lately. We knew that he just had to meet the real Mickey and really wondered how he'd react. It ended up working out perfectly because it started raining in the evening and we figured we might as well go wait in line to meet Mickey since the line would at least be indoors. We headed over to Mickey's House in Toontown, and it was deserted. There was no one on line at all to see Mickey. We even thought it was closed, and walked through the house anyway. Lo and behold, Mickey was there at the end to meet and talk to Calvin.
When Calvin saw him, it was just like the commercials you see. He stood, starstruck, looking right at Mickey. Then he said, "MiMi!," pointing at his nose. Mickey gave him a big hug and a kiss, and Calvin did the same. It was so cute. When we got left, Calvin said, "Again!" We thought, why not? It's still raining. We went back around 3 times and got a different Mickey each time! It was awesome. By the last time we went around to talk to Mickey, Calvin was a pro. He'd hug him and kiss him, shouting "MiMi! MiMi!," and point out his eyes, nose, and mouth. He was always hesitant to leave, but would finally shout "Bye, MiMi!!" and head for the door. You could tell that his dreams really had come true.
" We're all mad here."
It was raining on and off for most of the evening, but then it started raining a bit harder and the stroller got soaked. We tried to keep Calvin warm and dry as best we could, but eventually we had to call it a night. In this picture, Calvin has to be cold, wet, and completely exhausted. He just kept smiling and smiling. He knows he had such a magical day. I just hope he is able to remember any of it. I know I won't forget it. The drive back was a little harder, trying to work through a Disneyland hangover, but we made it home safely yesterday. I can't wait to go back when he is a little older. I really want to keep Disneyland as a tradition in my family. My family, Tyler, and I have always loved Disneyland, even as adults, but having kids now opens it up again to the kind of magic that only children can feel. Wow. So fun.
I feel like I can do anything now. Hooray for spontaneity!
November was a bit of a crazy month since I spent most of it away from Tyler and Calvin in southern England. I had been doing some script work and paperwork on a film project, and they asked me to come along to work on location for their shoot in the UK. It was pretty hard leaving Calvin and Tyler for more than 2 weeks, but I had such an great time and met so many amazing people who I consider my new friends. I am so grateful for the 
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