Legoland needs to take notes from Disneyland

So after Disneyland, we ventured down to Carlsbad to visit Legoland.  Sam loves Legos about as much as he loves Lightning McQueen, so he was pumped about it.  Legoland was the complete opposite of Disney...dirty, smelled bad, run down...it was in desperate need of a makeover.  It was pretty disappointing for Nick and me.  Even the employees were kind of disgruntled.  It's like they were the rejects who couldn't get a job at Disneyland.  Had we gone to Legoland first, we might have forgotten how bad it sucked after being at Disnelyand for 2 days. 

Sam thought it was the coolest thing ever.  Caroline was unamused.  Perhaps the most impressive part of Legoland was the Miniland section.  They made entire cities out of legos - to scale!  NYC, DC and even New Orleans.  Don't get me wrong - building national landmarks, the Millennium Falcon and all the characters from Star Wars out of legos is pretty impressive.  While the land of Legos failed to impress 3/4 of the family - Sam had a blast and that's all that really counts, right?

This was made to scale all out of Legos!



St. Louis Cathedral in NOLA

Chalmette, LA even made it in the New Orleans Miniland set. 

(Nick grew up really close to here - so we were surprised to see it)

And finally, I save the best picture for last.  In Lego New Orleans they had this...

Thats right, its a hooker.  Made out of legos.  Classic.



Disneyland!

Beware - picture overload below!  Nick had some work to do in California last week, so the kids and I joined him and made a vacation out of it.  Traveling by myself with two kiddos does not sound appealing, I know, but Caroline and Sam are the world's best travelers.  Throw some food at them and an iPad and you wouldn't even realize there was a kid sitting next to you! 


The first two days we went to Disneyland and California Adventure - and let me tell ya - AWESOME!  It was the first time the kids have been to anything Disney - AND mine too!  I had so much fun!!!  The entire park was so clean, everyone was friendly and it was beautiful!  Since it was Go, GO, GO for two days straight it was a lot for the kids.  Then the next day it was on to California Adventure where we went to the newly opened Cars Land.  I have never seen Sam so excited.  Ever.  He got to meet his hero, Lightning McQueen.  And really - does it get any better than that?  The people who created Cars Land have outdone themselves, because it was like walking into Radiator Springs.  Every detail of the park was amazing.  I thought it was funny that the characters from the movie had their own entourage.  Lightning McQueen had more body guards than the president!


We had so much fun.  It really is the happiest place on earth!  All I have to say is whatever drug they put their employees on, I want it b/c those were some seriously happy peeps. 

 We had breakfast with Minnie & Friends on the first morning

Sam with Goofy (but Goofy as a kid?)



No trip to Disney would be complete without a ride on the teacups...

or the Dumbo ride!

We had to buy EVERYTHING the kids saw.  Including these lovely hats.:)

Cars Land!

If you ever get a chance to go here - DO IT!  It was so amazing.

In front of "Willie's Butte"

Lightning McQueen with his security team

Mater!

Phineas & Ferb!  They did an awesome dance show complete with Perry and the Fireside girls.

Lunch with Ariel in her Grotto with all of her princess friends!

Why does my son refuse to look at the camera?  He's either not looking at us or he looks like he's being tortured to take a picture!

All the princesses were really sweet.

We didn't even have any inappropriate touching (Sam).  The boy loves getting to second base.  With anyone.  Luckily that didn't happen with the princesses.  :)  Because it would have been embarrassing to get escorted off the property.

Worn out!  They were so tired they snuggled with each other!  Believe me, they don't EVER do this!

Hey - you want to know something interesting?  There is no alcohol inside Disneyland.  At.  All.  And trust me, I looked.  With the exception of going into a restaurant and sitting down to eat a nice meal, you can't get a glass of wine or even a beer!  The least they could do is offer some adult beverages - I mean you're spending a ton of $$$ every day a little wine would help ease the pain, that's all.  :)

It was great fun both days.  I would go back.  Nick would need some encouragement. 

Rain. And lightning.

Rain, rain, go away doesn't quite describe my hatred toward mother nature right now.  We were supposed to be enjoying our newly poured patio right about now, but instead we've been waiting for the rain to stop. And waiting.  And waiting.  So this is what my backyard looks like at the moment. 

Stander Swamp

I feel so bad for the guy working with us.  Every few days I send him a picture with a frowny face - he's probably sick of me.  And while we all need the rain - this is ridiculous!  So if everyone can refrain from washing thier cars or performing any rain dances, I would appreciate it. 

No matter how bad it is in our backyard, it is in no way as bad as it is across the street.  Lightning struck a tree in our neighbor's front yard, then arched over to the house and started a fire.  It's a mess.  Then to add insult to injury, some jerk broke into her garage and stole the few things that were not fire damaged.  Makes me sick.  Our neighbor is such a nice person and she's had a rough week already since last week I backed into her car.  Car in the shop, house catches on fire, burglarized...hope this is enough for her for a while.   

When lightning struck this tree, Nick said it shook our house!

Sorry about the orientation of the photo.  Can't figure that out yet.  If anyone knows how to fix this, let me know. 

Looks like for the rest of the week we'll be hiding out while we wait for the rain to stop.  I've got lots to do around here anyway - like clean out a few closets.  I'm pretty sure the gameroom closet deserves a spot on the show Hoarders.

...and then there was blog

So, I've been going back and forth about starting a blog.  It really is a great way to keep our family and friends updated on our activities.  And not everyone is on Facebook to read my many posts about the kids - so why has this taken so long?  Well, I'm lazy.  Like really, really lazy - thus making this initial post a big deal, people.  So here I go on this new adventure of starting my own blog.  But, where do I begin? What shall I call this thing?  What the heck am I going to write about?  and Who is going to read this crap?

What's in a name?  Well, it had to be fairly tame because there is a slight possibility that our family will read this.  Obviously my first choice of blog name "S*** the Stander's say" was not appropriate for the above mentioned reason  (although, don't get this confused with subsequent posts, b/c I've been known to throw out some well deserved swear words - consider this your warning)  Thought about "Mrs. Stander in the Burbs", but that's too long and over done.  Tried to find something that rhymes with Stander, which is kind of hard - so Stander Banter it is. 

What will I write about?  Uh, duh - my crazy kids who happen to be hilarious.  And our dog, Chico - who I'm convinced hates me because he only craps or pukes in the house when the kids and I are home alone.  Of course, we can't forget Mr. Stander, he makes all this possible.  He works his tuches off to ensure that I can stay home with my babies and then turn around and write online about how crazy they make me!  (thanks babe)  This blog is life in this this house, and all the goings on in our world.  It's a fun way for me to vent, rant and share things about our life.  Although it may seem at times that I am complaining - there's is absolutely nothing in my life that I can actually complain about. 

And finally, who is going to read this?  Well, we have family and friends all over the place and this way anyone can check in to see what the Houston Stander's are up to.  So, there you have it folks, welcome to my blog.  If you're reading thanks and sorry - I'm by no means a professional writer.  Happy reading!