and then my [sister's] life flashed before [her] eyes.

I asked my sister to write out her life flashing before her eyes, and she delivered! You can see this post and other life observations on her blog here. You'll notice that I added a couple extra pictures, and that I picked the ones with my daughter in them. 

The other day, my sister blogged about what she hoped/thought she would see if her life flashed before her eyes, then instructed me to do the same after I commented on it. I'm going to try to do the same now.

- Waiting all day at the hospital for Eiley to be born and then finally getting to hold her.

- My wedding day. I just started to list way too many things from it, so I think I'll put those in another blog.

- That perfect summer day when we went to the beach, rode bikes, got frozen yogurt, and barbecued.
- That random summer night when we tried to pass out sandwiches to homeless people in the Back Bay and got pulled over briefly by a cop because he thought the sandwiches were drug paraphernalia.
- That perfect winter day in Kentucky where we had a snowball fight, drank hot chocolate, watched Faerie Tale theater, and played Scrabble.
- That perfect winter day in Virginia when school was canceled, so Andrew came over for watching HIMYM, kissing, going to the mall, and dinner at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront.
- Andrew and I sitting on the couch at my old apartment and him telling me that he'd had dreams where we were getting married and I was holding our daughter.
- Late night talks with Robyn Boyd (not any specific ones, but there have been so many that I'm sure I'd have a picture of it in my mind).
- Emmy punching me in the stomach when she was 5 and I was 8 because she was mad at Tiffany (this isn't a happy memory, but it's always been so vivid that I'm sure it would come up at the end of my life).
- Experiencing a huge summer storm while camping in Lake Havasu and watching people try to take pictures of the lightning... then watching them realize how it's next to impossible to take pictures of lightning (this was before digital cameras existed).
- Watching one of the counselors and 2 of the little girl campers at Royal Family Kids' Camp dance to "In Your Presence" by Charity Von. 
- I'm sure that I would picture at least one of my fancy birthday dinners with my dad. I think this year will be our 21st year of doing that, so there would be tons of memories to choose from.
- Watching the sunset in Mexico while doing devotions with Andrew.
- Going with Eiley and Emmy to take pictures during Eiley's mini-monthly photo shoots.

- One of those days when Andrew and I go to Busch Gardens and Zaxby's. Those are always wonderful!
- Seeing my dad walk my sister up the aisle and watching Jeff openly weep upon her entrance.
- Vahdan giving me a toast and singing to me on my 28th birthday.
- Going to Haiti with my mom and getting to hold babies at an orphanage there.
- Watching Disneyland fireworks.
- Taking long walks in Newport Beach with various friends.
- Having a HIMYM party on Monday nights at the Canal House and crowding my green couch with a bunch of my favorite people.
- Having a Bachelor/Bachelorette/Bachelor Pad party every Monday with Andrew.
- I'm certain that I would see something random that Emmy had instigated (Scrabble at Downtown Disney, Tabitha's birthday scavenger hunt, various theme parties, etc.).
- The April Fool's Day when my mom almost convinced me that there was an ejector seat in the car or the one where our parents surprised us with a night at the Disneyland Hotel.

That seems to be a lot and I'm sure I wouldn't see all of those things, but it would be great if I did.

Pulchritudinous Places #2: Disneyland

You may have already gathered from a portion of my Father's Day post that I love Disneyland. This is half because I have oodles of happy memories associated with the place and half because it is just awesome. Things I love about Disneyland:


1. Rides. They're not as exhilarating as what some other parks offer, but they are significantly more magical. Favorites: Space Mountain - galactic lighting and a fun soundtrack make me feel like I'm in a 70s Sci-Fi show (in a good way). I've always longed to see this ride with the lights on. Maybe someday. Sigh. Splash Mountain - When I was in middle school, my cousin and I rode Splash Mountain five times in a row and we were completely drenched by the time we returned to our families. So fun. Plus I love the story, even though the characters vaguely promote racism.
2. Ambiance. Depending on where you are in the park, Disneyland sounds like polka, excited children, happy squeals and screams, calypso, fake birds, real birds, ragtime piano, whiny children, trolley bells, bluegrass, splashing, and automated ride instructions ("Permanecer sentados, por favor"). It smells like waffle cones, chlorine, barbecue, popcorn, water on hot cement, cows, churros, and faint cigarettes. It looks colorful, pristine, cheery, impressive. It tastes like chicken tenders, because that's all I tend to get there. And it feels like home.
3. People watching. Everyone goes to Disneyland. Sullen, gothic teens, families, large groups of Chinese tourists, couples on honeymoons, college friends, nerds, cool kids, rich people, poor people who have scraped and saved for this special day. Everyone. I could sit on a bench for hours watching a sampling of the world pass by. One time my dad and I sat on Main Street for about a half hour. A trolley horse had pooped, and we watched everyone react. It was hilarious. Mothers dramatically pulled their children away. Teens pointed at it like it was a science project gone wrong. For a while, a pile of poop was the star of Main Street. Humans are fascinating.
4. Shows. Fireworks set to cheesy inspirational music! Movies projected onto walls of water! Neon monkeys dancing on boats! Snow (okay, soap suds that only kind of look like snow) in Southern California! 3D Michael Jackson saving the world from scary Anjelica Huston through the power of music, dance, and a rainbow shirt! Billy, Billy, Billy, and Billy! 

Billys!

5. Exercise. Okay, I pretty much covered everything in the last four points, but I hate even numbered lists, with the exception of a solid top ten. Therefore, my ridiculous number five is that you get a lot of exercise walking around Disneyland without really feeling like you're exercising. Cool, right? Yeah.


In conclusion, Disneyland is awesome and you should go to there.