We come back and it snows 1 foot overnight. We're the bad luck charms.

Seriously it snows a foot overnight. I was surprised they closed school, but good for them. I was missing being a teenager for like a minute. Not in middle school though. Every time I drive by Union Middle I think they should burn that place to the ground. On a Saturday of course.
We had an absolutely amazing time in California. We flew into Burbank on Sunday, and when I walked off the plane it was 75 degrees, and I smelled that green smell for the first time in a while. I felt sadness and depression from the winter melt off of me. In the Lord of the Rings when Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli are chasing the Uruk Hai to get Merry and Pippin back, there is a time during their chase they come close to the woods, and Legolas takes a deep breath and says, "Ah, the green smell! It is worth many nights of rest!" That's exactly how I felt at that moment. If I had a bow some orcs would have been shot. Yes, I'm a geek.
We spent Monday in Universal Studios. I love it there because I can geek out. I learned that a 3 and a 5 year old don't really work in Universal Hollywood though. We went straight to Hogsmeade and bought Hermione's wand. I was so caught up in geeking out that it took me a second to realize why my little girls weren't geeking out too, then I realized they were 3 and 5. The next time we go they'll be into it more. They did like casting spells with the wands (we already own the Elder Wand. Told you I am a geek). We tried butterbeer hot, frozen, and cold. I like the cold the best. We also had pumpkin juice and pumpkin fizz, and I ate bangers and mash in The Three Broomsticks. I was going to buy the girls house robes (gryffindor of course) but they were $115 dollars a piece. I love spoiling my girls, but I'll just wrap them up in a sheet and call it a house robe if they really want one.
Spent some time in Springfield, ate a huge donut and a ribwich. I cried when Optimus Prime thanked me for helping him. I always do.
The highlight of that day was in the Despicable Me section of the park. Edith, Margo and Agnes characters were out taking pictures with people. Mirinda was terrified, but Priya walked right up to them to hug them and dance with them. When the employees told the characters the two girls were adopted, they were so sweet to them. It actually made me tear up. It was a cute moment.
On Tuesday we made our way down to Anaheim, and decided to go to the Santa Monica Pier, which was very cool. I didn't know it was the end of Route 66. We played on the beach, and ate on the pier, then made our way to Anaheim. It was a pretty chill day.
The next day we went to Disneyland and it was a perfect day. The key to Disneyland is to take your time. People that don't have a good experience don't go for enough days, and because they're spending so much money they want to make sure they do everything. As a result the kids are cranky, the adults are upset, and everyone is miserable. If you go for enough days, and let your kids do what they want, you'll have a much more enjoyable time. The girls loved meeting Minnie and Mickey. They especially loved meeting the princesses. We ate so much good food. Ate a plethora of churros. The next day it was going to rain, so we decided to stay at Disneyland instead of driving to the San Diego zoo. It never rains in southern California, which leads me to believe we're the bad luck charms. It rained hard for a few hours. We finally went to downtown disney and bowled. There's a new bowling place called Splitsville. That's an interesting experience, when you calculate how much you're paying to be in the park, and then realized you just payed $60 to bowl while you're paying to be in the park. The girls loved it, and we got them dried off, then went back to the park for the evening.
On Friday it didn't rain, and we spent the day in California adventure. We got fast passes to the Cars ride. Priya wasn't tall enough to ride, so I took Mirinda on it once, and then Amy took Mirinda on it once. Mirinda absolutely loved it. We rode Little Mermaid like 20 times. I went on the Incredicoaster and I think it's faster than it used to be. It felt that way anyway. My sister Ashley and her husband Jared met us later in that day, which gave my back a break. Mirinda wants to be constantly held, and so Ashley got to take a turn. It was a blessed opportunity.
The last day in Disneyland my mom and step-dad came into town. We rode some rides in the morning, then it rained hard again, so we went to Ashley and Jared's hotel room and hung out. I tried olive brittle and goat cheese ice cream. It was actually fantastic until you hit the aftertaste. I like goat cheese, but it didn't work. About 3 the rain stopped, and we went back to the park. No one was in the park. We walked right on to most rides. We got Mirinda and Priya to ride Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion, which was a really big accomplishment. We ended the night with a trip to Mickey's house, and then the girls got to see Minnie one last time, and Mirinda gave her a hug. That was one of the biggest victories of the trip.
On Sunday we flew home. I was really happy with the way the trip worked out. The girls were really good, and we had an amazing time. We're going to Disneyworld next year, so I'm excited for that.
As an update on Priya, she has a cast on her foot again to help with the club foot issue. She took it in stride like she does with everything else. We're looking to schedule her hip surgery for late April. She's a flower girl in my niece's wedding, so we'd like to do it right after that. We learned yesterday that they are actually going to take a section of her femur out and use it to help form the hip, as her femur isn't straight. That way when they do the leg lengthening surgery it will help because her femur is straight. I'm trying not to think about it honestly. You know it needs to be done, and that in the long run it will change her life, but if there was any way we could avoid it we would. She'll be in a cast for 5 weeks, but that is why we're doing it early so she can enjoy the summer.
Long post today, but it was a fantastic week. As always thanks for reading!