Ellie Goes to Cali

Well, it's been a little while since we last posted, but that's because Ellie has been busy traveling across the US to sunny California and back again. My sister Molly lives in Huntington Beach and works for the Anaheim/Garden Grove Hyatt out there. It was a great stay, but I will say that a 4-hour plane ride with a 9 1/2 month old, plus a 3-hour time difference can be exhausting. I'm glad my mom was there to help out; otherwise, I don't know if I would've made it off the plane sane.

Molly and Hyatt were excellent hosts, making us feel like welcomed celebrities. Some of the things we experienced: Disneyland and California Adventure Park (awesome and very fun), the Surf Cup 2008 in Huntington Beach (crazy amount of people, In and Out Burger (yum), Laguna Beach (yes, I did feel like a super-rich kid memorizing my lines for an MTV show), authentic and tasty Mexican food, no humidity and cool evenings (way better than Cincy right now), and most importantly, a lack of naps.

Below you will see some of those pictures and some other random ones.

An Ellie Bear who can stand in her crib is a funny sight after a nap...and a frustrating sight before she falls asleep.

I don't even know what to say about this face.

After arriving at the Hyatt in Anaheim, Ellie decided it was a good time to read us all her interpretation of The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Beautiful.

She also felt it was a good time to do her daily squats after sitting on a plane for so long. She highly recommends the Buns of Steel videos.

Friday morning, Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse welcomed us to Disneyland.

Though we didn't get to meet Mickey, we were able to spend some quality time with Minnie. She and Ellie loved each other. Ellie could have sat and played with Minnie's nose all day long.

Ellie's first ride at the park was the traditional carousel. Mom liked it, but Ellie thought it was booorrrriiinnnggg.

Eleanor and Grandma sharing a moment. Ellie was so happy Grandma came along, because she thinks everything I do is great.

Since the carousel wasn't up to Ellie's standards, we decided to try the "Pirates of Caribbean" ride. She loved it; she got a little wet, which shocked her some, but she enjoyed seeing the new addition of Johnny Depp to the ride. A little water, a little hill, a little piracy - a much better ride.

You can't leave Disneyland without mouse ears. Ellie got hers embroidered with her name on the back, and then she wanted to show them off to Aunt Molly. (Thanks again for getting us into the park with your connections, Aunt Molly!!!!)

We did get to chat with another character - Chip from Chip and Dale. He was in love with Ellie and would not let go of her hand. Here, we're trying to leave, but Chip wanted more time.

The last stop - Grandma wanted to buy Eleanor her own Disney stuffed animal. We went in and picked out our favorite; although, I think they were all Ellie's favorite.

But she finally decided on Minnie Mouse. A good choice. Here Ellie is enjoying the king-size bed in the hotel room. She has decided to ask for a king size bed for Christmas because it makes a great gymnasium and wrestling area. Minnie power-bombed Ellie multiple times.

One bummer of the trip was that it took place over Andy and my 5-year anniversary. It was hard to be away from him, but to make it a little better, Andy was super-sweet and sent me flowers all the way across the country. When we came back from Huntington Beach on Saturday, I had a beautiful vase of flowers waiting for me!

I think this picture says it all. We had so much fun with Aunt Molly in California, but oh my goodness are we tired. We are still trying to recover from the time difference.

Until next time, we'll enjoy our Beach Boys, Minnie, and mom will take a mojito!