…And some highlights from our time at the other side of Disneyland – at Disney California Adventure.

-M

Our first big batch of photos, starting with our Sunday arrival in Orange County (where the girls put their ears on right away) and going through our first day at Disney. My favorite thing here: The look on Avery’s face as she gazes up at Ariel in the third-to-last pic. She loves her princesses!

-M

We got home from our trip to Disneyland yesterday, and in two words our time there was exhausting and exhilarating! We spent our first day (12 hours!) at Disneyland and the next day at Disney California Adventure, which the girls and our travel partners seemed to like just as much as the other side. We hit almost every major ride (with Big Thunder Mountain, California Screamin’, Matterhorn Bobsleds and Radiator Springs among the group’s favorites) and met almost every princess (though Avery was disappointed about missing out on meeting the Evil Queen). I’ve got a collection of photos to share but will start with the obligatory just-inside-the-gates family shot.

-M

Before we left for Disneyland I asked Avery (who doesn’t remember having been there before) for a few thoughts on our upcoming trip. She was in a silly mood, and the videos are fairly amusing.

-M

Zoe’s second grade class walked to a nearby lake for some artistic inspiration one day last week; Q joined them and took these pics.

-M

Avery hosted another playdate the other day – this time with a little girl who likes to play dress up as much as Avery does. And much to my surprise/happiness, Zoe joined in on the princess fun too… (Maybe she’s gearing up for Disneyland.)

-M

Kids love their half-birthdays, so it was no surprise that Zoe got *really* excited when she saw today’s date and realized that she’s just six months away from turning nine! (We celebrated with a cake pop.) I had forgotten the significance of today’s date myself, which Zoe explains in the video below.

-M

Another field trip for the kindergarteners (they’re really packing them in at the end of the year!), and I chaperoned again. This time we went to a science and wildlife center called CuriOdyssey, and the six kids in my group had as much running around and being silly as they did looking at the animals…

-M

We took Zoe to Disneyland for her fifth birthday, and we always intended to take Avery there for hers. We’re a little late, but we’ve been planning – in secret – a trip for the end of this month for awhile now. Yesterday morning, exactly one month before Avery turns six and in honor of the Browdy-household holiday, Sisters Day, we told the girls – and their reaction (especially Zoe’s) was underwhelming. I had visions of them squealing and screaming in excitement (much like they reacted to our putting bunkbeds in their room), and I was disappointed that this didn’t happen. But later in the day Zoe’s teacher e-mailed me out of the blue and wrote, “Zoe is SOOOOO excited about this trip! She told me about Disneyland and the whole ‘sisters day.’ Fun, fun, fun!!!!” And that evening Avery also grabbed me and thanked me for planning the trip. I think they’re getting excited…

-M

The girl’s school held its annual Fun Run on Sunday; students and their parents were invited to run the one-mile course either once, twice or three times. I was super proud when Zoe, who loves running and whose PE coach has praised her for her strength in this area in the past, ran a total of three miles. And even Avery, though not pictured here, wound up doing a lap. She had earlier said she just wanted to be a cheerleader, but when her friend grabbed her hand and asked Avery to join her, they were off…

-M

At one point yesterday the girls also took time to snuggle up together and read. (I’ll elaborate in another post, but Avery is doing really well with he reading. Here, Zoe was helping her by reading sentences and having her sister repeat them.) When I saw how intertwined the girls were (I mean that literally – check out their legs), I had to grab my camera.

-M

Q is out of town for the day, and I gave the girls a few choices of what we might all do together. Their decision? To stay home and do crafts (we decorated a tote with duct tape) and play with Play-Doh. The next few weeks, with various end-of-year activities, are going to be so busy that I welcomed the down time!

-M

As part of a unit on careers, parents were invited to come into Zoe’s class and talk about about what they do. It was my turn to present today, and Zoe looked very proud as I talked about my job and my love for writing – which dates back to when I was a kid. And she made me laugh later when we were chatting about the other presentations and she told me, “By far and away the best one was-” (and here, I puffed up my chest in pride) “Dana’s parents.” But then she reassured me, “But you were good, too!”

-M

As mentioned below, the girls loved this new playground we discovered. And I loved watching the looks on their faces – especially Avery’s – as they ran around. They were just so happy, and Avery, in fact, was so overwhelmed with joy that at one point she ran to me, threw her arms around me and said, “Thank you, Mommy, for taking us here. This is the best place I’ve ever been!”

-M

When Zoe was little, we spent at least one Mother’s Day in Walnut Creek, a sunny suburb just across the Bay Bridge. We headed back there this weekend, and the highlight was our Saturday discovery of Heather Farm Park – which features a gorgeous botanical garden, a lovely pond, and a huge, recently renovated playground. We’ll be back for sure!

-M