Legoland

When P asked me what I wanted for my birthday I knew he wasn't ready for my answer.  He suggested a weekend away, doing something fun, or just going somewhere to sit by the pool and chill. I requested to go to Legoland. Huh? We have documented SS's Lego obsession and she has been pleading to visit the Mecca of everything Lego. Somehow life got in the way, even though we had two free tickets last year.  We also have not been blessed with a ticket fairy, a magical creature who asks where you want to take your kids, then provides tickets to said places.  SS surprised us by waking up on her own, beautiful smiles and everything at 6:20 a.m. Unheard of for our daughter on a Saturday.  Not only that, she requested and ate breakfast.

When we go to Knott's it's all about the rides and Snoopy. We were concerned that SS would think of the park as a place to just see Lego models, and we were right on the money.  SS tried a few rides, but her attention was on the models. Probably also trying to figure out how to land such an amazing job.  Getting paid to play with Legos. Unlike Knott's the price tag for Legoland is too much to invest on season tickets, just so SS can admire the models year round.   

Disneyland has been on SS's wish list, especially after being bombarded with ads for Cars Land. Tickets for a weekend will run us about $600, never mind food, lodging and souvenirs. After today's experience we are not sure we want to pay so much just to have SS spend all her time in Cars Land and It's a Small World. Damn you ticket fairy! SS's driving was disastrous.  The video of her on that red go cart is hilarious.  Then at the end of the driving course the kids are prompted to go to a kiosk to get their driver's license with their names and picture. Oh goodie, then the parents take it to the register and have to shell way too much for the silly license.

This picture cracks me up, because at the helicopter ride SS did not want the police chopper, she insisted on the fire fighter chopper. We thought she was going to make a beeline for the firefighter, but when she realized it was a woman, putting on lipstick (in full gear no less), she gave her a disgusted look and settled for the cop.  Come on SS, tell us how you really feel.

This time I got a taste of being SS's passenger and it was one scary ride. Neither one of us is volunteering to teach her how to drive.

P made sure to shave his head early this morning, he just hates a sweaty head with that much hair. SS watched him and said "Mama, I love it when Baba shaves his head. I love how he looks." You and me SS, I'm right there with you. 

Thanks to Grandpa SS knows all there is to know about Star Wars, and was she excited to find out that there's a cool exhibit at Legoland. SS with a miniature Darth Maul.

I'm not a Star Wars fan, and there's only two characters I know. First is R2 D2 and SS gets a kick out of my fondness for the robot.

Then my IQ dropped thirty points when I saw Wicket the Ewok.  

The rest was all about SS and Baba, as they were speaking a language I do not comprehend.  Our bad girl with her bad boy Darth Vader.

Funky looking Darth Vader, too wide, but SS was smitten anyway.

Now this is more like the real thing.

The icing on the delicious Star Wars cake SS had been happily eating. This X Wing model is (for now) the largest LEGO model created. It weights 23 tons, consists of more than 5,335,200 LEGO bricks, and it took 32 model builders more than three months to create. Yikes.

SS really enjoyed the Chima movie in 4D, and it didn't bore us either, a bonus.

A trip to Europe is on my bucket list, and among my must sees is the Eiffel Tower. It's a pipe dream, but it's something I have wanted to do since I was a child. P has never ruled out said trip (as when he wins the lottery), but has always been adamant that France won't be one of our stops. Not sure what his deal is, but he won't consider it. Next year I have a big birthday, a milestone birthday and I hinted I might want to realize my dream (nah, not going to happen). As we were approaching this model P whispered "There you go, the closest you are going to get it." He is lucky there were too many witnesses, and his daughter was with us. Otherwise he would have found himself overboard and unable to come up for air.