At Disneyland, the twins were great and had so much fun. The girls are at that great age where they enjoy most of the rides and let me tell ya' we rode a slew of them. By far, their favorite rides were the “It’s A Small World” boat ride and the "Casey Jr. Circus Train" ride. It was a beautiful day with even more beautiful weather. We also never waited in line more than 30 minutes except for the “It’s A Small World” ride. The twins were really good about waiting in the lines too. No real complaining and by far the best behaved kids I saw in the park. (Okay, so maybe I’m a little partial but hey, they really were good kids).
Speaking of waiting in lines and complaining, since we are a family who has a child with “special needs”, we could have taken advantage of the shorter lines by proceeding directly to the front of the lines by accessing the handicapped/disabled lines, but we didn’t. Mike and I decided that Taylor (our “special needs” child) can walk, can stand and therefore should stand and wait out the lines just like the rest of the “regular”, “normal” people and kids. And although her little leg braces that she wears certainly would have qualified all of us to move through the lines much faster by using the handicapped/disabled access lines, we decided we weren’t going to do that. In our short almost 3 years of raising Taylor and managing her disability, as her parents, Mike and I have learned that her disability and special need is as much a mindset as it is an actual physical condition. And, while we can’t do much about the actual physical condition and challenges associated with her disability, we certainly can do something about our mindsets and so it was that we opted to stand, wait patiently and move slowly through the lines just like everybody else. Yep. So, the four of us stood in the “regular” admission lines to all the rides and exhibits in the park and Taylor did great! I was very proud of her! She kept right up and proved that she was really just like “everybody else.” Paige also surprised us a few times during our time at Disneyland. She was quite timid and apprehensive of a couple of the rides – like the Roger Rabbit fun house ride. Paige wouldn’t even get inside the car, despite mom and dad’s best attempts at coaxing, let alone go where that car would take her - behind two large doors into a great unknown. Paige rode most of the other rides but the fun house type rides are obviously just not for her, and after our Disneyland experience, now we know.
Towards the end of our day at Disneyland, the twins got up close and personal with Minnie Mouse, or as the twins say, “BIG Minnie Mouse.” That was definitely one of their favorite moments of the day – meeting Minnie Mouse and giving her a hug. Meeting Goofy, the Chipmunks and cruising through Mickey Mouse’s house were all close seconds.
Prior to spending a day at Disneyland, the twins enjoyed an afternoon romping around the grounds of the Reagan Memorial Library. While Disneyland was definitely the quintessential vacation experience for Paige and Taylor, the highlight of Mike’s and my experience on our vacation was ultimately visiting the Reagan Memorial Library. What a wonderful memorial and tribute to President Reagan, and in my humble opinion, one of the greatest presidents of our nation. Although Mike and I could have spent far more time exploring the memorial if it was just the two of us, we still enjoyed ourselves even though we had to make it a twin toddler, kid-friendly experience. In keeping with all things kid-friendly, we spent most of the time walking around the outdoor gardens and fountains, exploring the Ronald Reagan Presidential Museum Store and touring the various motorcades of Reagan’s presidency.
On our final day of vacation, we ventured to the beach. The weather and water was too chilly to actually suit up and go in the water but nice enough that we could at least get some sand between our fingers and toes and chase a few seabirds along the waters’ edge.
Since there are just too many photos from our vacation to feature on my actual blog page, I encourage you to visit Slide.com where I've uploaded all the pictures and highlights of our vacation last week.
View pics from visit to the Reagan Memorial Library: http://www.slide.com/r/EJNlRIUiyT-17C8VfnnAtaS5AUz2ARv9?previous_view=mscd_embedded_url&view=original
View pics from visit to Disneyland: http://www.slide.com/r/JvUrPLOI2z8Qo0OqJoPwvt0ed34hesTF?previous_view=mscd_embedded_url&view=original
View pics from visit to the beach: http://www.slide.com/r/OOAzQwK4vT8VV7f0YhosNvKYMkX4tmRU?previous_view=mscd_embedded_url&view=original
But, just to peak your curiousity in the meantime, below are a couple shots of our fun day at the beach.
