disneyland: minnie, blossoms, and snacks [mini-film]

this past trip to disneyland was really marked by one big momentous occasion, that kid of mine decided she was ready to see minnie mouse again.  I think it has been at least two years since she declared her nose was terrifying, and therefore, refused to see any characters.  this time, we eased our way into it, waited patiently for her to arrive, and had our big moment.  maybe next time we will see others too.  this trip also marked the first one we haven't seen any princesses, because as she told me, she's just too busy with the rides.  the only other time she has done this was when we were in disney world, again, for the same reason, too much to do, too little time. it is funny how each trip she has a different mode of operation, I guess to keep things interesting.

here's our mini-film:

shot on our sony a6000 & sony a6500
music:
'married life' from "up"
'fantasmic' from walt disney records the legacy collection: disneyland
'it's a small world' from walt disney records the legacy collection: disneyland
'something I want' by grace potter from "tangled"
'down in new orleans' by dr. john from "princess and the frog"

february family traditions

the mr. and I have been heading to southern california every february break since I started teaching 11 years ago.  in fact, we were pregnant with everly and didn't even know it the first february break we decided to become annual passholders at disneyland.  and well, we haven't really looked back.

this break gives us the family time that we need, since the husband works extra hours during the holiday break when ev and I are out of school.  and really, it just breaks up the second half of the year school year in the best way possible. 

here's a glimpse into our first two days at the parks, the week got progressively colder, so thankfully we were able to get our princess elena dress worn just in time!  having a kid that only kids taller really works on getting our money's worth out of these dresses!

^glasses and 3D glasses, not my favorite^

^I spy another stuffed animal souvenir^

^this kid eats SO well when in the parks - the cheddar twist at maurice's treat cart^

^her favorite silly spot^

^dumbo is currently under a massive re-vamp, so this is our permanent photo spot^

^we only rode this once, that has never happened, but this big girl has bigger rides now^

^I love having her as our photographer now, and I love our matching t-shirts^

^I let climbing the tarzan tree house be a special 'daddy' experience^

^fantasmic now has passes, and our front row, no wait spots were perfect - everly ate up every single second of this show since she had never seen it^

^these pressed coins were so fun to do as a family, I remember loving them when I was a kid.  we actually picked up the souvenir penny book while in disney world, but got it as we were leaving the resort, so, bringing it will us to disneyland was a pretty great alternative to get it filled^

excited to share the rest of our photos soon!

thankful for my village

I've raised my daughter with my village from day one.  many of our friends do not have children of their own, and the way they have loved everly like she was theirs, literally melts my heart every time. I've worked full time since everly was four months old - a transition that was one of the greatest challenges of my life.  however, as time passes, I have clarity on a situation that seemed so unfair and gloomy at the time.  I wanted to be there for my daughter every second of every day.  and I couldn't be.  at first, my village was small, mostly my husband and myself.  and then my village grew, bit my bit, month by month, the pieces just fell into place.  everly's nona is a driving force in her life, and me being a working mom has developed this relationship in a way that is unique and special beyond words.  because her nona is more than a great-grandma, she's a part of everly's everyday village.

I'm thankful for those who are building everly into the person that she is going to become one day. I'm thankful that everly gets to live just blocks away from two very important family matriarchs. I'm thankful for every water balloon fight, fort building, tag playing game that our friends play with everly, because having only one kid in a giant group of adults is not always easy to manage. but these little games, the focus they give her to play and just be a kid, means the world to me.

this summer we took everly camping for the first time. these little moments reminded me of how lucky I am to have the support I do when it comes to raising my daughter.
salt point ca 2017 from Lyndsay Lewis on Vimeo.

disney's animal kingdom [mini film]

when getting the chance to visit disney world, something I never thought would happen, I quickly realized I needed to do a lot of research before getting off the plane.  I knew that we were going to have an extremely limited time in the parks, so we decided on a two day, single park ticket.  deciding on magic kingdom was a no brainer for me, but the second park was a little tricky.  so after spending some time on the disney world app, looking at the attraction listings, I decided on animal kingdom for the shear differences.  I knew that a day in this park would be unlike anything we have here in disneyland. 

we did enjoy our time in this park, and had one of the best meals I've had at a quick service at any disney park, however, I'm pretty sure that I'm having this be a one and done type of trip.  [that best meal was at the flame tree bbq by the way] animal kingdom just didn't have enough disney for me.  I guess I wanted more ears so to say.  it really was an animal park, and I guess I should have gotten that from the name, right?!?  but I just wanted a little more magic, something that would have got me dreaming of how in the world I was getting back to florida.


highlights really included the safari ride and the moment I got to sneak away and ride expedition everest in ten minutes through the single rider line.  that roller coaster would be the one attraction I would love to have back here in california, even though no one in my family would ride it with me!!! everly had a great time, and it was nice to have a pretty relaxed day.  even so, I really could have done with more rides.


this is her flamingo pose by the way, there's a glimpse of it in the mini-film too!


before going, ev and I spent time looking through different photos and videos of rides, especially 40" attractions.  we decided that 'dinosaur' sounded like a good idea, and I knew that it was going to be a little intense, but she was all in for the experience.  when getting into the vehicle, I quickly realized the ride had the same platform as indiana jones in disneyland.  however, unlike indiana jones where there are some dark and scary scenes, there are also some pretty amazing ride moments and views. however, on dinosaur, it is just dark and scary.  I couldn't see any real scenes, just blackness, and then a dinosaur head lurching out at you.  even if I wasn't having to be the concerned parent, I would not have enjoyed this attraction, it just didn't have the finished feel of indiana jones.


thankfully, one scary ride didn't stop everly from trying many other new experiences the next day in magic kingdom, including two big roller coasters!!!  so that was a relief, I was afraid I had possibly limited her experience in these new parks, but she was a trooper.  apparently, the covering of her eyes was enough to save the day!

here's our day...
Animal Kingdom from Lyndsay Lewis on Vimeo.

music from epidemic sound