Christmas Eve and Disneyland 2014
For the third year in a row, we went to Disneyland with the family. This is a fun tradition that just keeps getting better every year. I grew up going to Disneyland multiple times a year and both Brother and I worked there. Despite that, it never seems to get old and it seems even more fun now through the eyes of our kids.
As usual, we got up early and opened some presents. My brother had a giant photo of Koa printed on wood for my parents. Aaawww…we all still miss him.
Once we arrived at Disneyland, the tram, ticket line, and getting into Disney’s California Adventure were easy. Our first stop was to get a FastPass for the Elsa and Anna Meet and Greet.
Then we headed out to Cars Land for a fun ride on the racers. 
The single-rider line was empty so we all hopped on quickly and still ended up in the same cars together and racing against each other.
For a tasty snack, we headed over to the Cozy Cone. 
We shared a pretzel bread cone filled with chili, cheese, and Fritos (of course!).
It’s one of my favorite treats at DCA and big enough to share.
At Bugs Land, we rode this funny caterpillar ride that takes you through a giant watermelon and animal cracker box. They both had yummy smells inside.
I like how Little Alice can barely see out of the car in this picture.
The best part of being at Disneyland together is that we get to watch KK and Alice interact. KK is starting to understand what it’s like to be the big kid and held Alice’s hand down the street.
Alice just wanted to do everything KK did. SO cute.
What’s not surprising is that when it came time to meet all of KK’s favorite characters that she shied away. This was the best photo we could get of her with them. What’s funny is that as soon as we got out of the room, she said “I want Elsa and Anna”. *sigh*
She also was not a fan of Santa again. Oh well.
For lunch, we feasted on fried chicken, green beans, and mashed potato.
Both kids ate very well.
On Main Street, everything was decorated for Christmas – including the castle.
KK also said “hello” to Chip and Dale.
During nap time, we rode the newly refurbished Thunder Mountain. Not much was changed aside from the addition of more explosions inside.
The carousel was a hit for everyone. Alice especially enjoyed it and cried when the ride was all done.
On the Casey Jr. Ride, we passed by the new tiny model of Arendelle.
Ever since I was a kid, a big part of our day at Disneyland is scoping out the perfect spot to watch the parade. This year was no different and Brother came prepared with a blanket to sit on this year. We all took turns sitting around while the others wandered around. The kids loved hanging around on the street and KK had fun dancing and twirling in the street before the parade started. You’ll see it at the end of the video below.
The best part of Christmas Time at Disneyland are all the extra twinkle lights around the park.
The Christmas Parade is also a favorite – even for Jesse. 🙂
Here is “It’s a Small World” all lit up. It’s pretty gawdy but so cool at the same time.
They also have all the dolls and scenery decorated for the holiday season.
We also stayed long enough to watch the fireworks and snow.
This part gets me all choked up every year. I know, I’m dumb.
What a fun day at the “Happiest Place on Earth”. I hope we can keep this tradition going.
http://youtu.be/0m4nCmtR4fc
Here’s a video that Brother put together from the day. We had a blast – oh, and so did the kids. Heh heh.
One year ago today, we lost Koa to kidney failure. At times, it seems surreal that he’s actually gone.
I think about him daily and wonder what kind of trouble he and KK would be up to if he was still around. KK loves watching videos of him and looks at the painting on our wall when she eats dinner and often says “it’s Mama and Koa”. I’m still amazed at how patient he was with her.
I get a little choked up when I run along parts of McCovey Cove or when we drive past Fort Funston. We sometimes talk about getting another dog. I know we’ll never be able to replace him and will it be weird to get another shiba?
For PoPo’s funeral services, we went down to Southern California for a long weekend. We drove down on Friday morning and went straight to the viewing at Rose Hills. It was a long drive (as usual) but we lucked out with a smooth ride and not too much trouble from the toddler. 
Here we are at the truck stop and the video below is our selfie video in the car. Jes was being a papa bird taking the pits out of the cherries for the baby bird.
On Saturday morning, we all got up early to get to the funeral service. The family had put together such a nice slideshow that ran at the beginning of the service.
We all share stories about PoPo with the congregation and soon it was time for the burial. 
The whole ceremony and service was really nice and we all had the closure that we needed.
Here they are “watching” a YouTube video together. So cute…
On Monday morning, we took our time getting up and Kumquat even had enough time to go play at the park nearby. 
We had a smooth drive up to SF with no traffic and we also stopped at Gilroy for some outlet shopping and dinner. So, we ended up getting home around 9pm instead of the estimated 5pm time. Oh well. At least it was a good weekend.
PoPo was very special to Jesse since she was very involved in his care when he was a baby. I met her a very long time ago at a family function back in 1995 when she was still living by herself and was a fantastic cook. Little by little her health declined until the family had to move her to a place where she could be taken care of 24 hours per day. At that point, she was still rather independent and going to church down the street. Around that time, she still recognized her family and I remember one wedding that we went to in 2005 where we had our last real interaction with her. Here is the 
Eventually, she needed a higher level of care so she moved to a different place. Here was the one and only time all four generations were together. It was in 2012 around Christmas again. It was the last time Jes and I saw her.
Our department got a new therapy dog from Canine Companions and she had her first day today. Her name is Trinity and she’s a labrador+golden mix. I met her this morning on my way to the cafeteria and we got to hang out for a bit in the hall. As I walked away to buy my coffee, I nearly lost it. Tears began to well up in my eyes and I had to take a moment to regroup. I guess I still miss Koa. I guess this therapy dog will be good for not only the patients but for the staff too.
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