Huzzah for summer!

Ah, summer... when students are not at school, when teachers can read a book or dip in a pool, when it gets hot enough in Phoenix to fry an egg on the sidewalk.... fun times! In fact, I've been having such a good time that I've neglected to post anything for some time. :-( Sorry about that, loyal readers! Thank Veronica for nudging me out of my stupor. (I'll be posting my answers to the meme she tagged me with shortly). First, however, since my last post was about our imminent departure to Disneyland, I'll start with that. I've been choking down reluctant spoonfuls of crow ever since we returned (feathers taste so awful!) because I did, in fact, have a splendid time at the Magic Kingdom. I've even been admitting that to people who ask about it. Does this erase my years of aversion to Disneyland? Not quite... I still have a few bones to pick with the philosophy of "Your Dreams will Come True" being fed to little kids. And I still don't like pink or the Small World ride. But I feel a little less reluctance to going there than I did before. :-)
Part of this, of course, comes from going with great company. Not only was HH along, but my dear sister in law Stacy, her roommates Liz and Vangie, the irrepressable Josh, and of course Candace and Nathanael. Candace and I have been to Disneyland together 3 times now: 1) in college, with someone who shares a first name with a famous duck. Good times! 2) after college, when I was newly dating HH (24 hours or so newly) and C & N got engaged. Hard to beat a trip where your good friend gets happily engaged! 3) This recent time, as married couples. Excellent times! I suppose it will be time to add #4 when we each have ourselves some offspring. :-) Plus, on this trip, my baby brother and my former student Kristy also came by. Fabulous times!
The other part of enjoying Disneyland, for me, is the nostalgia. I love nostalgia. It's one of the few things I enjoy about getting older... more stuff to be nostalgic about. So one of the highlights of our trip was something that I loved as a little kid- the Electric Light Parade. I was sad when it was discontinued in the 90s, and thrilled that it was put back in the California Adventure park. Watching that, with the funky music, the spinning snails, the caterpillar and his hookah, was such fun! HH even got me a mint-chip ice cream cone to make the experience even better. :-) Other nostalgic highlights were the Tiki Room (another favorite when I was a kid) and getting to ride the monorail. Stuff like that makes me realize why I will take my kid to Disneyland someday (though not as often as the aforementioned Veronica :-) - because there is a certain special-ness to Disneyland (where else do you get to ride a monorail?) and because then they can have their own nostalgia-fest someday. It's a bit strange, thinking that I'll be able to shape my children's experiences in their childhood, and thus indirectly control what they someday feel nostalgic about. I'm going to try my best to give them a kick-butt childhood! :-) And a part of that will definitely include the Haunted Mansion, Matterhorn, and Tiki Room.
S0, the crow eaten, the humble pie consumed, and the rental car returned to its roost: I did enjoy our trip to Disneyland!