26 years

Today was the best and worst day all in one. My birthday is always a fun day in my opinion! Apparently, Kevin stayed up late last night making me mint chocolate chip brownies (since he couldn't get me an ice cream cake) and surprised me with it this morning. It said, "We love Auntie Amber" and had a cool Batman candle on it! Kevin has some mean cake decorating abilities! So thoughtful! I got to open my presents and cards this morning from my family. Not that it was necessary, considering I told them their plane trip out here was present enough. I got gift certificates to Rascal's, to Von's, and a few other trinkets.

Our agenda for today consisted of one thing: DISNEYLAND! By the time we drove there, got our car parked, rode the trolley, and got to the gate it was about 11:00. Maybe you're wondering why it was also my worst day today: when we went to scan the tickets I bought off of Craigslist, they had already been used. They were no good. I immediately started bawling. $240 up in smoke just like that. The Disneyland employee asked me where I had gotten them from, so I told her from Craigslist. She just shook her head. By that time, I was too hysterical to know what was going on. She called over a manager who asked me the same question and went on to tell me that ten to twelve families each day get scammed when they buy tickets from people on Craigslist. Holly explained that I bought them for my family, and that it was my birthday, so the lady did an amazing thing: she let us in anyway. Bless her! She said they typically cannot let people in, or else they'd be doing it all the time, but because it was my birthday, she'd make an exception. Thank you Disneyland! The tickets I bought online were for two days at Disneyland. Now we'd have to fork over more dough for our second day at Disney. Luckily, my friend Alicia works for Raytheon and was able to get us tickets at a little bit of a discount. She dropped them off tonight after we got home and enjoyed birthday brownies with all of us. What a gal.

Anyway, back to the more enjoyable part of the day. I got in free, and received a cool Birthday Ticket and button so all the world would know it was my day. There were hundreds of other people with the same button. This whole birthday promotion must really be working for them this year! Today was probably the highlight of Presley's year. She loved every minute of it. When she saw the castle for the first time, her jaw dropped. She started jumping up and down at random moments, and couldn't wait to ride all the rides. Madison didn't give a rip where we were. She didn't sleep well last night, so she was owly the entire day. She got on a few rides though too. We rode Dumbo, the Teacups, Peter Pan, and Small World. Presley was a maniac in the tea cups and wanted to spin as fast as possible. It took us 40 minutes to meet Tinkerbell and her friend Fawn. Luckily, the Barker's met us in line and helped keep us company while we waited. We stood in line for an hour and a half to see 3 of the Disney Princesses (two really, because Pocahontas doesn't count if you ask me). Presley put on her Snow White dress and hugged Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Pocahontas. She even got a little autograph book and had them all sign it. Her level of pride was hysterical. We got to meet: Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Pluto, the princesses, and Tink of course. Lots of autographs and smiles.

The flowers, buildings, people, and setting of Disneyland is immaculate. Nothing was out of place. If you dropped a piece of garbage on the ground, there was someone there with a broom within seconds. I bet 20 employees throughout the day saw my button and wished me a Happy Birthday. Kevin bought me a pair of Minnie Mouse ears as part of my gift. Disneyland has this long standing tradition of embroidering names for free on the back of any Mickey/Minnie ear purchase. I had them put "Amber." Boring, I know. I wore them proudly all day, and listened to Kevin try to get Presley to call me "Auntie Mouse." It didn't work. We wound down quickly toward the end of the night and stayed long enough to watch the fireworks show over the Castle, and saw a real person flying in the air on a string as Tinkerbell. It was pretty awesome. I want that job! Really, I'd be any Disney Character. By the time we arrived back in Torrance, the girls were zonked in the car, and we were all ready for bed. Luckily, we get to go back and do it all again tomorrow! After mint brownies with whipped cream, it's time for be. What a day!