Disneyland!

Our time here in California will be coming to a close later this year, so we're kind of hit in the face with things that we need to do before we move!  Disneyland is definitely one of those things.  I mean, we went back when Kendall was about 18 months old, and I was pregnant with Cami, but Kendall didn't start watching Mickey Mouse until after we went, so seeing the characters didn't mean anything to her.  Plus, she's older now, so that also makes a big difference - she's at an age where she can better appreciate something like that.  So we got a 3 day park hopper pass (which you can spread out however you want to, which is nice), Grant took off work this past Friday, and off we went!

It was a great time!  Both girls really enjoyed themselves.  And even though Cami is a couple months younger than Kendall was the last time we went, she does watch Mickey Mouse, so she knew who the characters were.

Speaking of the characters...remember back in December, I talked about Kendall's adverse reaction to Santa?  Well, I kind of thought maybe she would be that way with the characters at Disneyland.  Thankfully, she wasn't at all!  We had kind of talked them up to her, so she would get excited.  She definitely was excited!  The day before we went, she was going through the list of everyone she wanted to meet and hug.  When we got there, as soon as we walked into the park, we saw Minnie.  She was hesitant at first, but we got in the long line to meet her, and during the time we waited, she got more and more excited.  Although, she made sure to let me know that she did not want Minnie to hold her.  Cami loved it, too.  She's in this kissing phase right now, where she wants to kiss everything and everyone (except, of course, her mama), so she leaned over and kissed Minnie, so then Kendall wanted to kiss her, too.  It was very sweet.

Next up, we tried to meet Mickey, but they closed the line down right before we got there, so we met Pluto instead.

Earlier in the week, while we were at the library storytime, I checked out some classic Disney movies that Kendall hadn't seen yet.  One of them was Pinocchio, which I think is becoming one of her favorites.  So we went on the Pinocchio ride (which was actually kind of scary), and then we went on the Storybook Land boat ride.  The first thing you go through on that ride is the mouth of the whale from Pinocchio.  Before we went to Disneyland, I showed Kendall a video of the park on their website, and she saw this boat ride and the whale, and she was very adamant that she did not want the whale to eat her.  I explained that it was just pretend, he wasn't real, and he couldn't eat us, so she handled it well when we were on the ride.

One of the main things I wanted to do early on in our visit was to get Cami some mouse ears, since Kendall has hers from her last visit.  I wanted to get them early, so there would be pictures of her wearing them throughout our time there.  So we got them, and I think this was the only time she had them on that I could get a picture of.

We finally made our way to Toon Town, and we went straight to Mickey's house, since you're guaranteed to meet him there.  For some reason, they keep Mickey's house really cold, so when we got to the part where you meet him, he was dressed in his Fantasia robe.  Kendall said that was because he was cold.  Cami absolutely loved Mickey, and he gave her some special attention.  And I'm sorry for her horribly messy hair.  I do actually comb it, but the mix of her cowlick, pulling out her barrett, and pulling off her hat multiple times, she ended up looking like a ragamuffin.

After Mickey's house we ate some lunch, then made our way to Minnie's house, to meet her again.  As a side note, the good thing about going with just us is that we could do what Kendall wanted to do.  If she wanted to meet Minnie twice, we could meet Minnie twice.  That was really nice.  So we got in line to meet Minnie, which was kind of a long line.  Cami, of course, didn't want to wear her mouse ears, so she was letting her Daddy get a chance to wear them.

After Minnie's house, we went to Goofy's house, which is great because it has a playground.

Cami started really fading at this point (it was probably about 2:00), so we put her in the stroller, and Grant walked around with her to try to get her to sleep.  Kendall and I went on the Go Coaster, which is a mini roller coaster.  The line was really long for this, but every time the coaster would go by us (which, by the way, the coaster got really close to the line), Kendall would scream out of excitement.  She's a little on the daredevil side when it comes to stuff like this.  When it was our turn, they put us in the front car, which I thought she would be scared of, but she wasn't.  Then she raised her arms for most of the ride.  The only part of the ride she didn't like was the end.  She was not quite ready for it to be over - and for what it's worth, it's an extremely short ride...30 seconds, maybe?

Cami ended up not sleeping during that whole time, but she was kind of in zombie mode, until we got to another part of Toon Town.  Then she just wanted to get out and play.

Kendall was really dying to see the princesses, so that's where we went next, but the line was (again) long.  So we took another chance at trying to get Cami to go to sleep.  This time, we were successful!

We finally got up to meet the princesses, and the first one up was Belle.  Right before it was our turn, Kendall saw Belle and got really excited, but as we walked up closer to her, she got a little nervous, and wanted me to hold her.  She was very shy around them, and wouldn't look at them, but she did look at the camera for a picture, so that was good.  I think because the princesses are more "real" than the other characters, that made her more shy.  So we met Belle, Ariel, and Tiana.

After that, we made our way to Pixie Hollow, so Kendall could meet Tinkerbell.  I thought she would be more excited about her, because she's seen more Tinkerbell stuff than princess stuff, but she was super shy again.

Then we made our way to Frontierland, and at one point, I looked down at Kendall in the stroller, and even though she had her eyes open, she was basically asleep.  I think she was trying to stay awake.  It was pretty pitiful!  I told her to lay her head back and go to sleep, and she did immediately!  So we just walked around the New Orleans area, which is mine and Grant's favorite part of the park, and then all over Frontierland.  We made our way to Critter Country, because I wanted Cami to ride the Winnie the Pooh ride, but the whole area was closed down!  So then we started making our way back to the front of the park to start heading out, but we wanted to get some ice cream first.  While we were walking that way, we saw Mary Poppins, Bert, and the penguins, so we stopped to get a picture.

We got ice cream, and poor Kendall was sleeping through it all - even though it was a super noisy place!  We did wake her up so she could get a couple of bites, but I don't think she remembers it at all.

So that was it!  It was a long day, but the girls really did great.  We're looking forward to going two more times before we move away!

Spanish Rice (I'm No Pioneer Woman)

My dad is known for his spanish rice.  He makes it ALL the time, and I've grown up eating it for as long as I can remember.  I can't believe I used to actually hate his spanish rice, but that's a thing of the past.  In fact, I would eat so much of it whenever I'd go home to visit, that I finally decided I needed to learn his "recipe."

Thing is, there's not a written recipe. 

So about this time last year, when I was visiting my parents, I had him show me how to make it.  I didn't write it down, so this is probably not exactly the way he does it, so this is my version of my dad's spanish rice.

And as the title of this thread says, I'm no Pioneer Woman, but I figured her style of explaining a recipe through photography would work well for this.  So here goes...

Here's what you need.  We'll talk about amounts as we go...

1 bunch of green onions
1 green bell pepper
28 oz can of diced tomatoes
white rice
brown rice
soy sauce (optional)
chicken broth
vegetable oil
olive oil
salt
cayenne pepper (optional)

Before you even turn on your burner, go ahead and prepare everything, so it's ready to throw in the skillet.  The rice can burn really easily, so this way, you don't have to worry about not being able to watch it as you chop something, or measure something.

So chop your green onion and bell pepper, but keep them separated, because you'll add them at different times...

Okay, turn on the burner.  I usually keep mine on about 6 or 7 (gas stove), but of course, do whatever works with your stove.  You want it a little higher than medium heat.

Pour enough vegetable oil to cover the bottom of your pan...

After the oil gets hot, add the white rice.  I use about 1 cup.

Try to coat it evenly around the surface of the pan. 

You want the white rice to get browned.  Get it?  It should look something like this...

After it's been browned, add the brown rice...I use about 3/4 cup.

Stir the brown rice to incorporate it with the browned white rice and the oil. 

At different points throughout, you may need to add a little bit more oil, just to prevent burning.  I usually add olive oil when I do this.  This would be one of those times....

Add the green onions...

Stir, and then let the onions cook for just a little bit...maybe a minute..

During that minute, you might want to add some more olive oil.  Basically, if the pan starts looking too dry, I add just a little oil...

Add the green peppers...

Stir...

My dad likes to add a little soy sauce.  I'm out of soy sauce, so this is where I add in some salt (a little more salt than usual, since I'm not doing the soy sauce)...

To your own taste, and only if you want to, sprinkle a little cayenne pepper.

Do you have your can of tomatoes open yet?  If not, hurry up!  Then you can add them...

Stir...

This is what it should look like so far...

Now it's time to add the chicken broth/water.  How much you add really depends on how much rice you have.  I use about 3 cups.  If you don't have chicken broth, water is fine.  The chicken broth just gives it a bit more flavor...

You want to add enough so that your rice mixture is completely covered, and then some...Kind of like this.

Cover, and turn the heat down a little...

And let it cook for...a while.  I don't know...30 minutes?  I never time my rice.  You want all the liquid to cook out of it, without it burning.  If you're unsure, you can always do the fork check. 

When it's done, it should look like this...

And then fluff it with a fork so it looks like this!

And please, try to wait a little before tasting it, because that stuff is HOT! 

I hope I haven't totally changed the way my dad cooks his rice.  But for what it's worth, he has tasted it, and given it his seal of approval.  It's not exactly like his, but it's pretty darn good.

Enjoy!

Her First Report Card

A couple of Sundays ago in church, our pastor was talking about having role models, and imitating little children - about 2-3 year olds.  So he started picking out kids from the congregation, asking how old they were.  He asked how old Cami was, and I said 1 (you can listen to it here, and the part I'm referring to is at about 3:45).  He went on to a few other kids, but Kendall noticed that he didn't ask about her.  So she tapped me on the arm and said, "Mama, tell Pastor Paul I'm 3!"  I said Okay, but then she poked me again and said, "Tell him NOW!"  I told her I would wait until church was over to say anything about it.

As soon as Paul gave the benediction to dismiss us, she said, "You need to tell him now that I'm 3!"  So we made our way over to him and told him.  When we did that, of course, she was super shy and acted like she didn't know why we were telling him she was 3.

On Thursday, she got a card in the mail from Pastor Paul.  I think this picture says the rest...

Tearjerker

Do you watch American Idol?  No?  Well, so far you haven't missed much.  Simon's not on this season, and I almost decided not to watch because of that.  So far, the judges have been WAY too nice to some of these people trying out, and Grant and I truly miss Simon's comments.

I will say, though, that I'm glad I did decide to watch this season, because if I wasn't watching it, I wouldn't have seen what I saw last night.  If you didn't see this, didn't hear about, whatever, here's the clip.  I was literally sobbing as I watched this.



Everything about that scene is touching - the story, the love, the dedication, the music, the voice, the way Steven Tyler talks to Julie, the tear falling from Randy's cheek.  I hope this guy makes it far.

Sisterly Love

After breakfast this morning, I got Cami out of her high chair and I cleaned up the kitchen. Kendall was sitting in the recliner, and then I heard her say, "I gonna read to you Cami, come sit in my wap (lap)." Somehow Cami got in the recliner - not sure if she climbed or if Kendall pulled her, but whatever.

Kendall then started reading her the "Demon Bears" (that's apparently how she says Berenstain).

Life

Story Time with Kendall from Kelly Spear on Vimeo.

Sorry...

If you're reading this, chances are you're somewhere cold (even my friends and family in Florida are!), so I really hate to rub it in, but we just got back from the beach. And it wasn't one of those too-cool-to-wear-bathing-suits days (like so many days are here), either.

And before the beach, we went to a resort close by to have brunch. Outside. Looking out across the ocean.

I'm really sorry.

So as long as you promise not to hate me, enjoy some pictures...

Kendall Speak - Part 8

I overheard Kendall "reading" to her babies: Once uponce a time, there was a baby named Jesus. And Jesus name was God. Does that make you happy, baby? Aww, baby still cryin'. You stop cryin' baby, and wisten to the story.

*****

We're at my mom's house, and I heard Cami crying in the play room, so I went in to see what was going on. Grant and Kendall were putting together a puzzle, and Grant said that Cami was trying to steal the pieces. He gave her one piece, and I was holding her, then she started pointing to the puzzle. I said, "Awww, Cami just wants to do the puzzle like her big sis." Kendall said, "You can do the puzzle, Cami. Just don't steal!"

*****

I was dropping Grant off at his mom's house, and he was dancing in the driveway as we pulled away. Kendall started laughing at him and said, "Daddy's a funny guy. I wuv Daddy."

****

We were getting ready to go out to eat with my parents, and my mom put on this really pretty blouse. Kendall came up to me and said, "Did you see Grandma's clothes? Is she going dancin'?"

****

Now that we're home, Kendall's revisiting all of her gifts she got here for Christmas and her birthday, one of them being a guitar from her BFF "Mookie." We currently don't have batteries for the guitar. She just said, "Mama, you been thinkin' 'bout goin' to Target? I think we need to get battwies, cause I need them for my 'tar, cause I need to pway muzic. So we need to get battwies fwom Target."