014 - No Tech Tuesday

From abut 3:30 in the afternoon till bedtime, it's downright impossible to get hold of our family unless you actually *call* us. I hate to make you all use your cellphones like some primitive vocal communication device that you have to press up against your head in order to contact us, but there is a reason. This is No Tech Tuesday, and this is *hard*.

Molly likes to think that she hates No Tech Tuesday. She complains and complains how she really just wants to watch some cartoons or play Minecraft, but in reality she is SO EXCITED for our all the stuff we'll be doing together such as playing games, doing crafts, building with Lego, going to the park - all stuff we do during the regular week, mind you, but now without the possibility of Crystal or I saying "Okay honey, just one minute, Daddy needs to reply to this email" or "Hang on, sweetie, Mommy just needs to look this up on her phone real quick".

No Tech Tuesday is just as much about weening ourselves off of Digital Life as it is about getting Molly off the computer. Too many times our fun plans have been cut short or eliminated all together because Crystal or I needed to "just finish this up real quick" on an electronic device, which then turns in to an hour or more of digital life. I would have been totally okay with this lifestyle, mind you, if I hadn't noticed Molly mimicking our habits. "I'll do my chores in a minute, I just really need to finish watching this Stampycat Minecraft Video first!"

So really, she loves No Tech Tuesday even though she says she hates it. I often wonder if this is going to end up being for her, what my chores were like for me in my lifetime? When I was *doing them*, I HATED chopping wood, mowing the lawn, feeding the cows, gathering the eggs... Today, I would give just about ANYTHING to be back on the farm mowing that giant lawn with an ancient gas-powered push mower! Is Molly going to look back on No Tech Tuesday in the same way when she's an adult?

I really hope so :)

You can't cancel Dianeyland, can you?

I've tried not to mention it too much for fear of Jinxing it, but we have a trip to Disneyland planned for the end of January! Not just any trip, mind you, but an EPIC trip!  Reasons this trip is to be more epic than other trips include:

- First trip in over TWO YEARS! Trust me, that is A LOT for a family as obsessed with Disneyland as we are!

- First time staying at The Best Western Plus Park Place View Inn & Suites, or whayever it's called... the hotel connected to the Captain Kidd's Buffet that is litterally THE CLOSEST HOTEL to the entrance to Disneyland that you can stay at!

- First time Molly will be tall enough for ALL the rides, including Indiana Jones AND California Screamin!

- First time Molly will be *walking* everywhere instead of being pushed around in a stroller!

- First opportunity to see a bevy of new attractions including Fantasyland Village, Mickey & The Magic Map, and all the new Frozen-themed stuff!

...And the BIG ONE...

- My big Christmas Present this year is that I am doing the "In Walt's Footsteps" tour of Disneyland!!!

We bought our flight back during the Summer Get Away sale at a price so low not even the Black Friday Deals after Thanksgiving could come close! This is how we roll with these vacations and how we are able to do them so often, we schedule EVERYTHING during the "Off Season" in order to get dirt cheap pricing.

The trade-off is that the "Off Season" is when they do all the refurbishment and maintenance, often taking our favorite attractions and making them completely unavailable for our entire visit. Furthermore, we rarely know exactly *which* attractions will be down till as late as the weekend before we arrive!

Which is where I have run in to... problems... keeping my cherub-like demeanor.

The Mad T Party, gone.
Soarin' Over California, closed.
Grizzly River Rapids, closed.
Redwood Forrest Wilderness Explorer Trail, closed.
Matterhorn, closed.
Small World, closed.
Disneyland Railroad, closed.
Peter Pan's Flight, closed.
Splash Mountain, closed.
Winnie The Pooh, closed.
Davey Crocket canoes, closed.
SLEEPING BEAUTY CASTLE, CLOSED?!?!

They just announced it today that THE CASTLE will be behind tarps the entire time we're there, beong refurbished for the Disneyland 60th Anniversary in May!

NO CASTLE!!!

*Deep Breath*

Okay... I can do this.

Our cut-rate, off-season vacations to Disneyland have always had a catch like this... this is nothing new. We have been there when The Rivers Of America were drained! Main Street USA was closed! DCA was little more than construction walls and chainlink fences! I'm sure there's more, but those are the things that readily come to mind right now.

Closed attractions means smaller crowds - MUCH smaller. And smaller crowds are an awesome thing :)

But THE CASTLE! Thats my recharge! I end the night sitting on a bench at the end of Main Street, watching that Castle and holding Cryatal's hand and letting Molly sleep and just soaking in My Happy Place. I *need* that. That's why I go over and over again :(

I need to get over this. This is not a thing that will "ruin" Disneyland... it's just another happy memory waiting to happen! That's the great thing about memories - regardless of if you remember the good stuff or the bad stuff, you're right :)