Universal Studios

I thought it would be less crowded than Disneyland for New Years. Bahaha. Nope. Big party at Universal.

I don't know what everyone is doing. They aren't on the rides, shopping or eating. They are all wandering around looking lost in the main walking areas. Sooooo weird.

We managed to walk on all the rides. Slight wait for a couple of them. Amazing.

The staff were impressed with our minion outfits. Some of them just laughed at the Minion painting himself as Mickey.

No character greets. Jia saw them coming and would try to steer me away. Homer and Marg were out together!

We had fun. Back in the room around 6. It's cold here. I've never felt cold in L.A. I had gloves on all day today.

Time Turner, wand and a minion dress. She did get a huge kick out of that.

Our first uber experience. Love. The app is great. Both our drivers were great.







Frozen Butterbeer. The whole reason I'm here.



The classic flood on the tram ride.

Chewbacca

Max Pass photos. Might be the only character we see. I got one pick. He loved my ears! Gives the best hugs! Love that Wookie.

Disneyland

Busiest time at Disneyland is between Christmas and New Years. I was a bit concerned and we were prepared to miss some stuff. Then we heard the park was hitting capacity! We weren't sure we'd even get in.

We got five hours of sleep. Then made it for rope drop. Which I've only ever seen once. Totally worth it! I followed an advised plan from a fellow in a Disney Facebook group I'm a part of. He was soooo right. Before noon we did Big Thunder, Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Winnie the Pooh, Splash Mountain, beneighs (sp?), Indiana Jones, Jungle Cruise, Dole whip (the only thing better than original Dole whip, is the new pineapple/orange swirl), Tiki room and Star Tours. What?! It was like a Disney miracle. The we had pretzel ears, visited Chewbacca, did Astro Blasters, Autotopia, Teacups, Small World and then the train. On our way out we stopped and watched the holiday parade. We left at 4. Long baths in our room. Cereal and cookies for dinner. We'll sleep well tonight!


Breakfast.

First ride...walked right on.

Conquering fears at Slash Mountain. She loves it now.
Possibly because she was dry and I was soaked.










Solid peeps.

Travel Day.

We were up at 7, out of the house at 8. Took the 10:15 from Duke Point. Pelting rain but the drive was uneventful. Then two hours at the border?! What. Has never happened to me before. Made our relaxing time in Bellingham hectic and short. Bellingham airport did not disappoint. Flight was fun. Sat with a writer/director who was very entertaining. We didn't get to our hotel until midnight. Long day. Making me rethink our plan of flying from Seattle with the family. Pretty sure we need to come to Seattle the day before.

Crazy long line.

Charging up for the plane.

So excited to be back at the Candy Cane Inn. Loving the themed tree.

Jia's 9th Birthday

She choose DQ with Max. Worked for me since there was still some organizing to do and I wanted her to get some sleep before the trip.



A new Harry Potter wand...Max knew some incantations from the series. I was all geekily impressed.

Can we sit alone?

She still doesn't like cake. She wants to. Eric made her cake. She tried it and once again it's a no go. We all know it was really for me ;)

Pomsie

Her name is Blossom. She might be the favorite gift...and she holds the phone!

The Mayham

Too much of course. I think they had fun.

4 hours to make dumplings. They were delicious and it was a feast so it's all good.

I'm trying to herd all the gifts upstairs and get rid of Christmas in the whole house except the living room. I like it clear for Jia's Birthday. Plus...Jia and I are away in three days! We're not ready.

Too tired to do much more today.