bye bye, bug's land

would it be a weekend if we didn't make it out to rope drop at least once?

for the long labor day weekend, we decided to head out on that monday.  we figured it would be busy, because it was also the end of pixarfest and one of the final days before the bug's land area closed forever.  and there were quite a few people already there as we parked, got through security and made our way through the turnstile at california adventure.  not to mention, it was a wonderfully cool and overcast morning.

now that the bean has overcome her fear of the dreaded loop on the incredicoaster, it's become her favorite way to start our disney days.  we made our usual beeline towards the pier, but as we got closer we noticed that the ride wasn't running and there were no people waiting in the queue.  bummer.  the cast members were turning people away and didn't have an estimated time as to when the ride would be up and running again, and so we decided to head back the way we came and go through bug's land towards the guardians of the galaxy ride.  since it wasn't crowded yet, i figured it was a good time to snap a few farewell pictures.

i'm going to miss these popsicle stick benches.  wouldn't it be cool to have one of these in the back yard?

it seemed that everyone else had the same idea as they realized that the incredicoaster was down, because we actually had to wait about 20 minutes for the guardians ride.

by the time we got off, it was time for our fastpass to radiator springs.  yeah, we're total creatures of habit because this seems to be our usual routine nowadays.

as we walked through cars land, we caught the first signs of the halloween overlays.  yes, already.

our next fastpass was for toy story mania, so back to the pier we went.

the old lady wanted to grab one last "ants on a log" churro from bug's land before we crossed over into disneyland.  we took one final glance up at the four-leaf clover as we munched on our treats.

the water play areas are what we'll miss the most.  this is where i used to take the bean when she was little on those hot summer days...we'd pack extra clothes and put on bathing suits and board shorts and just spend our time here giggling and cooling off in the water that sprinkled down on us from overhead.

the bean didn't want to be in the picture but volunteered to take it instead.  bye, bug's land.

here's a super flattering picture of all three of us.

over on the disneyland side, we caught the horse-drawn trolley that took us from the beginning of main street through the crowds up to the castle.

our next fastpass was for space mountain, but check out the standby time even almost three hours into the day:

we wandered into frontierland to look in a few shops and it was fun to tease the special friend with this picture, where he totally looks like a fashion blogger.  in his gilligan hat.  LOLOLOLOL forever.

big thunder mountain was our next stop, where we caught a glimpse of the progress over in the star wars: galaxy's edge area.

we decided to have some skewers from bengal bbq, which we hadn't had in awhile.  the bean decided to try the pork belly skewer, which looked pretty delicious.

i went with my usual safari skewer...bacon-wrapped asparagus.  yum.

the beef and chicken skewers weren't very pretty, but the old lady assured me that they were super tasty.

and i tried the hummus trio, which was super disappointing.  the hummus was just not yummy.  at all.  and it got stuck to the lid and kinda looked like poo.

the bean talked us into a ride on the jungle cruise, which we hadn't done in awhile.  we sat up front and she pointed at the carving in the boat, which we don't usually get to see.

by then the park was super crowded and the sun had finally burned through the cloud cover.  it was just before 1:00, and we were satisfied with all we'd squeezed in.  so we headed on out of there and made our way back to the car, and on the way we spied poor rapunzel, who must've been dropped by someone as they scurried from their car to the tram.

while it can be a little challenging to get up early for our rope drop mornings, it's always worth it.  there's no traffic on the way there, we usually get pretty good parking spots, getting through security and the front gates is always a breeze, and we get to do all of our favorite rides and attractions before the crowds arrive.  it's a total win.

the elfette's last hurrah

can you believe it - this is my very last "pixie the elfette" post EVER!  i can hardly believe it myself.  and of course, she spent her final days with us doing all sorts of silly things.  one morning, we found her set up on the table with a fun little trick she must've found on youtube (click on that link if you've never seen it before, because i don't have a video of my own to share):

all those trips back and forth to the north pole are pretty exhausting.  she decided to throw on a robe and slippers and kick back when she got home one morning.

we never did get around to putting the star on the tree this year.  and so i suppose she decided to take matters into her own hands.  she put on her best dress and perched herself up there - although when i posted this picture on instagram, a couple of friends pointed out that that top tree branch looked rather, um...phallic.  oops.

from the looks of it, she's about as good on a pair of ice skates as i am.  fell flat on her bum, she did.

on christmas eve eve, she was actually all set up with her apron on and the ingredients for cookies all laid out in front of her.  but then she realized that it was actually going to be her very last trip to our house, so she sat down at the computer and wrote her final goodbye note.

it's probably hard to see it from that picture, but it says:

i have spent five wonderful christmas seasons with you and your family, and it has been so much fun watching you grow up from one year to the next!  you are such a smart, kind, funny and thoughtful girl who no longer needs an elf to report back to santa.

next year, when i go back to work, i will be assigned to a whole new family - bringing their wish lists to the north pole, watching over their kids to make sure they aren't misbehaving, and doing what elves do best.

i'm really going to miss you, your sister, your mom & dad, and even molly!  now is the time to give me one last hug and say goodbye.  don't forget to put me back in the same spot afterwards, just like always.

merry christmas!!

i love you,
pixie

now, i wasn't there or anything, but i'm gonna say she got pretty choked up as she wrote this all out.  she wasn't really expecting to feel some kind of way, but she did.  that pixie is one sentimental elf.

the next morning, i found that the bean had actually woken up rather early (unlike the rest of the week, because winter break always means sleeping in, amirite?).  she was sitting at the table working on a drawing, and when i went to her to say good morning she looked at me with big ol' crocodile tears glistening in her eyes.

and then i knew she had already read it.

"mom...pixie's leaving.  you have to go see what she said in her note," she said.

after i went over to look at the note, i turned back to her, smiled, and she flew into my arms and let it loose.  she cried for a few minutes, and it was hard for me to hold my own tears back as i explained to her that this was a good thing.  we sat down and talked about how she had been around for a long time, how the bean had grown into this big girl who knows right from wrong and how to be kind and good, and how pixie could really help a new family's kids learn those same qualities.  and being the bean, she nodded and agreed with me and then turned back to her drawing.  i should have taken a picture of it, but it was her own farewell note to her beloved elfette complete with a really good pencil drawing of her in her final pose.

much later, she and her sister and i gathered around for that last hug.  first, the old lady:

and then it was her turn.

she tried to hand her to me, but i was busy taking pictures of the whole thing so i blew her a kiss instead.

then they put her back into her chair...

and gave her one last kiss.

bye, pixie.  thanks for five years of fun and silliness and laughter, and thanks for letting us use you as the bad guy when we needed some behavioral assistance.  i'm not gonna lie, i'll miss you.  it'll be really weird next thanksgiving when you don't come back.

maybe send us a postcard from where you end up next...yeah?