The 12th Birthday Surprise

AE_SimonBirthday

On January 21st we celebrated Simon's 12th birthday with a small family gathering and the next morning I woke him up at 3:30am and told him we were heading to Disneyland.

Obviously we don't go this big every year for birthdays.

It was a last minute decision (well, a least a week before decision). A decision to do something silly and fun and spontaneous and special. Making it happen. While in Southern California the week before for the PLAY event and spending the day at Disneyland there seemed like nothing better than to organize a surprise one-on-one trip with Simon to head back down again.

He thought it was a pretty good idea too.

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I'm a big believer in one-on-one time. Obviously a trip is one thing, but even just an ice-cream date or a bookstore or any time spent when it's just two of us.

Growing up I got to take a few one-on-one trips with either my Mom or my Dad and it was always really special to have that time. I have a brother who is 15 months younger and a sister who is 4 years younger. Two trips that stand out include a trip to Hawaii with my Mom and Grandma and a trip to Japan with my Dad on a business trip when I was a freshman in high school.

This was Simon's second time at Disneyland.

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This time it was all about Star Tours and Cars Land.

He's a major fan.

We were there for two days and purchased Park Hopper passes so we could go back and forth between the parks. And as you'll see below, Aaron and his oldest son met us down there to help celebrate Simon's birthday trip. They were a great match in terms of interest and pace and they did some things on their own and we did some things on our own.

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This was Simon's first time on the Cars ride and he was so, so excited. If you haven't had a chance to ride this one yet it's just so fun but the line is really long. We were able to get a Fast Pass on the first day to come back later in the evening and that made the line significantly shorter.

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Then we discovered the awesomeness that is the Single Rider line which enabled us to ride a bunch of times in a row. With the single rider line there's definitely the chance that you won't ride together (we ended up in the same car with me in the back and Simon in the front a couple times and once in separate cars) but it makes it so you can get in more rides vs. waiting an hour in line (or more) for the ride.

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Because we stayed at one of the Disney hotels we were able to enter Disneyland an hour early one of the mornings. A bunch of the characters were available right at the entrance when we came in and Simon wanted a photo with each. Loved having them all in one place like that.

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I didn't take too many photos this time. I did take my big camera but I mainly just used my phone to catch shots here and there.

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The warm temperatures and the blue sky was an awesome change from the grey and fog we've been having here in Oregon.

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And because it's California he got to swim at night.

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Love you Simon! So happy to celebrate you and all your awesomeness. Thanks for loving the magic too.

And just in case you are wondering, Anna stayed with Katie during this adventure. They had their own special one-on-one time that included a lot of playing "hair salon" and testing out make-up. Those two were kindreds from day one. She'll get her own one-on-one adventure in the future. 

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41 thoughts

  1. sa says…
    02/03/2014

    This is an awesome way to celebrate that particular birthday! I still remember the 'special' birthdays that my mother made for me.

    Reply 0 Replies
  2. Kathy P. says…
    02/03/2014

    How wonderful to have that one on one time together. This is something Simon will always remember.

    Reply 0 Replies
  3. Donna M says…
    02/03/2014

    What an awesome thing to have been able to do with Simon:)

    Reply 0 Replies
  4. Chrisy@GoodNorthCoastLife says…
    02/03/2014

    He's going to remember this trip for the rest of his life :)
    Great job Mumma - way to go in creating some amazing memories.
    Taking my daughter and husband to Disneyworld is on my bucket list, and because we're on the other side of the world, it's probably going to be a once in a lifetime trip. I'm lucky to have experienced the magic of Disney when l was 16. It's hard to explain to them what all the fuss is about !! :)

    Reply 0 Replies
  5. debi says…
    02/03/2014

    What an awesome adventure! Happy Birthday Simon!

    Reply 0 Replies
  6. Carolyn HP says…
    02/03/2014

    What an awesome adventure! So happy for such special celebrations that you & Simon will never forget! Loved travelling when I was young no matter how short the trip! Happy belated birthday dear Simon! Enjoy 12!

    Reply 0 Replies
  7. J3SS1C4 says…
    02/03/2014

    I have to say this is awesome! What a great surprise to wake Simon up to! I hope he had an awesome birthday :)

    Reply 0 Replies
  8. Jennifer says…
    02/03/2014

    Amazing. I can't believe how big he's gotten. What a special trip for you guys. He'll have such great memories!

    Reply 0 Replies
  9. Jana Oliveira says…
    02/03/2014

    Happy Birthday to Simon it's been amazing to believe he already 12 and we follow this blog and saw him so young.

    Reply 0 Replies
  10. cindy b says…
    02/03/2014

    AWESOME Ali... that one on one time is definitely something special.. I wish my mom would have done that with me. Trying my best to do with my own kids!!

    Reply 0 Replies
  11. sharon says…
    02/03/2014

    What a special treat for Simon! Certainly a birthday he'll always remember. I was at the Play! event and loved what a beautiful day we all had at Disneyland. So glad you "thunk it over" and decided to return to PLAY again but this time with your very own special person - makes it all that much more fun seeing it through the eyes of a child. After seeing your pictures, though, I know I'll never ride that Cars ride. :)

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  12. Cassie says…
    02/04/2014

    How perfect! Thanks for sharing!!

    Reply 0 Replies
  13. Sarah says…
    02/04/2014

    You are an awesome mum!!

    Reply 0 Replies
  14. Kirsty says…
    02/04/2014

    What a beautiful surprise and so special ..

    Reply 0 Replies
  15. kat-in-texas says…
    02/09/2014

    Happy Birthday Simon!!! Hope y'all had a BLAST in Disney!!!

    Reply 0 Replies
  16. Project Life® 2014 | Week Four | Ali Edwards says…
    03/19/2014

    […] Most of the journaling for this week came from this post: The 12th Birthday Surprise. […]

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