How I Spent My Birthday

My birthday was yesterday and I had a great day. Steven took the day off from work and we took the kids to school together and then we went out to breakfast! That was pretty fun - going out to breakfast while both our girls were in school. LOL. And then he needed to get some things from the church office and we spent some time there, thank goodness he has an iPhone, I spent the time on the internet. And then it was home to shower and get ready to go back to the school for the girls.

The girls have been on minimum days all week due to parent/teacher conferences and it worked out perfectly for picking up the girls from school and then heading to Disneyland. I spent the remainder of my birthday at The Happiest Place on Earth.

This years Disney promotion is that you get in free to Disneyland on your birthday. If you're an annual passholder, you have a couple different options. One option is a 'Fun Card'. You basically get a gift card with the amount of what a ticket would cost, and in my case, an adult ticket is $72. So I got a Fun Card with $72 on it to spend anyway I want! With the exception of food.The day was starting off great - we pulled into the parking structure with minimal lines, walked right on to a tram!!!, walked through security, and walked right through the entrance turnstiles! What a great way to start our day!

It's not often that Steven gets to go to Disneyland on a weekday, usually only when he takes off specifically when out of town family is in town and are going (like he'll be doing in another week), but overall the crowds were great and ride wait times weren't bad either. Would have made the day if our children rode the 'good' rides! In years past, this time of year, tucked way in the back of the park, is Thunder Mountain Ranch, and normally it would be a place where picnic tables are set up and Halloween coloring sheets are available all the while a stage show is going on. But this last spring, they turned that area into a family style restaurant area and I thought for sure there'd be no more sitting and relaxing and enjoying the fall decor, but I was wrong, they scaled it back and moved it over just a bit. I was happy to see it! And we sat for a spell while the girls colored.We made out way at some point over to Tomorrowland and went inside Innoventions. IN the last year, they installed a "Smart House" whereas every one has a control panel and is totally ran by a computer - it's so cool! Steven hadn't seen this yet and the girls loved showing him all around, although it was disappointing that some of the control panels weren't working. Standing at the kitchen island in the Smart House.
For dinner, we ate at the Big Thunder Mountain Ranch Celebration Roundup. It was on the expensive side, but hey, it was my birthday afterall! The food was GREAT and was served family style - BBQ ribs, chicken, and sausage, with sides of ranch beans, corn, coleslaw, and cornbread. It was all you can eat and it was YUMMY! There was a stage show going on during dinner and our little 'not shy always wants to be a part of a show' daughter got up and ran to the stage when helpers were beckoned out of the audience. It was a great meal with great entertainment!We took a ride on the Mark Twain Steamboat as it was operating past dusk. That's always fun and different. And then we sent and scoped out a place to catch the Halloween Fireworks. They come to an end this weekend and while me and the girls have seen them, Steven hasn't. They are good fireworks and the girls enjoyed the show a lot more this time around then the last. It was a great birthday! And now I can't wait to go back and spend my Fun Card. It's funny, I've had my eye on different things for the last year, and now that I have the money, I'm not sure what'll I'll buy!