Fun, family, and forty

Whoa.  I can't believe the last post I wrote was about Halloween, and now it's after Thanksgiving.  One thousand apologies for my lack of blogging, my friends.

We have had a busy month, as usual.  We started November with a fabulous trip to Disneyland, our first time there.  Yes, we're Disney addicts.  I say it loud and proud.  It was a weird sense walking into Disneyland Park in Anaheim; it was like deja vu only I had never been there before.  It was just as magical as walking into the Magic Kingdom in Orlando, but yet, it was completely different, too.  One of the great things about Disneyland is that everything is in walking distance from each other.  Our hotel, the gorgeous Grand Californian Resort and Spa, had a separate entrance to Disney's California Adventure (DCA).  It was fantastic at the end of a long day (or sometimes a long morning) to walk right back into our hotel from the park.  Getting to either DCA or the Magic Kingdom was ridiculously easy: a ten minute walk at the most.  It was wonderful not to have to worry about transportation and building in extra time for buses or boats.  We had mostly great weather, although it ended up raining the last couple of days.  But not even small showers could ruin our magical time.

Finding treasure on Tom Sawyer's Island

Lottie and Dallas with Dale

Dallas and his lady love, Minnie

Periwinkle and Tinks with the kids at Pixie Hollow

Entering Disneyland Park

One of the best parts of the trip was getting together with Trevor's cousin Jonathan, his lovely wife Karen, and their son, Jackson.  Jackson is seriously one of the most gorgeous children I have ever seen, and his smile is like sunshine.  Lottie and Dallas spent plenty of time fawning over him, and it was really sweet to see the three of them together.

During the trip, I celebrated my fortieth birthday.  I can't imagine how I could have had a better birthday than spending it with my family at one of the most magical places on earth.  I mean, right?    Turning forty has been completely painless, I gotta say.  I was definitely more conflicted about turning thirty: I was at a fairly unsettled point in my life.  I was still too worried about what was going to happen in my life, what other people thought of me, and what I thought of myself.  Now it's different.  I'm settled and I'm happy with where I have landed.  I'm comfortable in my own skin, and I'm not afraid of others' opinions.  It's not because I don't care, but it's because I'm secure in who I am.

Mama turns 40!

That's a feeling I hope that I can pass along to Lottie and Dallas.  Both of my kids have such distinct and individual personalities, and I don't ever want them to think they have to change for anyone, not even me, especially me.  Do they drive me insane and frustrate the heck out of me?  From time to time, sure, but I would rather be rattled by them than have kids who have no energy, no creativity, no skills, no spark.  If turning forty has taught me anything, it's that I'm grateful for who I used to be, who I have become, and who I continue to be.  Frankly, I'm pretty damn awesome, and I'll be even more awesome when I empower my children to embrace who they are and revel in their own awesomeness.

The kids at Goofy's house

My sweet, feisty, generous, amazing offspring