How To Get The Most Out Of Your Disneyland Visit

Are you thinking about planning a visit to Disneyland or Disney California Adventure Park? I'm sharing how we got the most out of our visit with some Disneyland tips, tricks, and ideas. 

This post is in collaboration with Disneyland. All opinions remain my own.

There's something about the word, Disney, that gets me feeling like a little kid again. Some of my favorite memories involve those classic Disney movies and iconic characters. It's been so much fun being able to relive some of those memories, and create new ones, with my own kids.

Our first big Disney adventure took place a few years ago when were still a family of four and had the pleasure of visiting Disney World. It's a trip that even though my boys were younger, my oldest still talks about to this day. Since Disney was such a special visit for us, we knew it was a no brainer to head to Disneyland and Disney California Adventure Park during our recent California trip.

I wanted to share more about our experience, some tips, tricks, and ideas in case you are thinking about planning a visit. I know that some people will have different opinions on things, which is fine, because everyone's expectations and experiences are different. Some thought we were nuts for only spending a day in the parks, and others cheered us on and encouraged us to make a memorable experience. I think it's about finding out what works best for you and the expectations you have for your visit.

DECIDING ON A TIME TO VISIT:

Deciding on the time of year, day of the week, events being held, or holidays approaching, can play a big impact on your trip. While visiting Disney is always a magical time, there are times out of the year where it's notorious for having more visitors. We decided to plan a visit on a weekday knowing that we weren't going for multiple days. This helped us to maximize our time in the parks. I am so happy that we did. It felt like a huge benefit for us because we didn't have to wait longer than 30 minutes for anything that we wanted to go on.

GETTING TO THE PARK EARLY:

You know what they say, the early bird gets more Disney fun. Ok, ok, that might not be exactly how it goes, but if you play your cards right, it can be relatable. Depending on your tickets, you might have the option to enter into the park an hour early before the general public does. There are certain days this applies to Disneyland Park (Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday). Here's my suggestion, go to the opposite park. Yup, while everyone else is crowding into the park that opened early, head to the opposite one a bit early than the general public (sometimes they allow you in 15-30 minutes ahead of time). We decided to head to Disney California Adventure Park on the morning that Disneyland Park had their early entry, and it was the best idea, ever! We didn't have to wait for much and had some great opportunities to jump from ride to ride. We got this awesome picture in front of the Mickey's Fun Wheel without people walking in front of us or crowding around. This might be one of my favorite family pictures of us!

DOWNLOAD THE DISNEYLAND APP: 

Downloading the Disneyland app is a big must. This is a huge life saver and essential for helping to maximize your trip. You can do everything from buying park tickets, seeing wait times, and also using your MaxPass. It's also instrumental in reserving your spot in the queue for certain Star Wars attractions.

BUY TICKETS ONLINE:

If you don't purchase your tickets through the Disneyland app, I would highly suggest saving time and buying them online. You have access to viewing the calendar to take advantage of seeing the ticket prices based on the day you decide to go. It also saves a ton of time from having to wait in line and get everything situated once you get to the park.

DECIDE ON GETTING A PARK HOPPER TICKET:

At first we weren't sure if we were going to be able to feel like we saw enough of each park and considered focusing on just one. Whatever you decide is best for your visit is completely up to you. I will say, we are so happy we decided take advantage of both parks, Disneyland and Disney California Adventure Park. We loved both of them for different reasons and each of them had something special and unique to offer. In fact, we started our day at Disney California Adventure Park and then made our way over to Disneyland Park. Then after the light show at the castle, we made our way back to Disney California Adventure Park for World of Color. Oh yes, we hopped around.

USE FASTPASSES:

I mean, who doesn't love cutting down on any type of wait time? That's what a FASTPASS will afford you. FASTPASSES are not eligible on all rides, but they are available on majority of the popular rides. Most of them you need to find the FASTPASS machines located around the general area of the rides to insert your ticket. Once you insert your ticket, a reminder will print out for you with a designated window for you to use your FASTPASS. You can bypass going to the machines with you purchase the MaxPass, which I'll cover next.

Here are the attractions that the FASTPASSES are currently eligible for.

Disneyland Park
Autopia
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Buzz Lightyear Astro Blaster
Fantasmic!
Haunted Mansion
Haunted Mansion Holiday
Indiana Jones™Adventure

"it's a small world"

"it's a small world" Holiday

Matterhorn Bobsleds

Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin

Space Mountain

Splash Mountain 

Star Tours-The Adventures Continue

Disney California Adventure Park

Goofy's Sky School

Grizzly River Run

Guardians of the Galaxy-Mission: BREAKOUT!

Guardians of the Galaxy-Monsters After Dark

Incredicoaster

Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue!

Radiator Springs Racers

Soarin' Around the World

Toy Story Midway Mania!

World of Color

It's strongly advised to check the FASTPASS availability on the app for the day you are visiting as some of the popular attractions have limited availability and FASTPASSES are not guaranteed.

USING MAXPASS TO GET YOUR FASTPASS:

Ok, that might be a confusing statement if you aren't familiar with how all of these passes work. I'll try to break it down for you. If you really, really, want to maximize your day spent at the parks MaxPass is an option. It comes at a price of $20 a person, per day. 

Here are the benefits to purchasing a MaxPass. It combines the ability to make FASTPASS selections from your phone along with unlimited access to Disney PhotoPass. To break it down even more, let's say you are in Disneyland Park but want to select a FASTPASS for Radiator Springs Racers (great ride by the way!), if you do not have a MaxPass, you would need to walk all the way over to Disney California Adventure Park to the area where that FASTPASS machine is. So really, what's MaxPass all about? Convenience and time saving.

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF RIDER SWITCH:

I love that Disney tries to make going on rides as inclusive as they can for everyone. It's going to be a surreal day when all of my kids are able to go on any ride with us. Right now we have A being able to ride on most things, little nugget still having some restrictions, and the baby, well he goes on what he can. Which I will say, was a great amount of things at both Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park.

So what's a parent or friend to do when you both want to go on but can't ride together? You take advantage of a rider switch. You let the attendant know you are going on but your other counterpart will be going on after you. They scan your ticket and allow you to jump back into a less crowded line and be able to enjoy the ride. We did this with several things and it worked out great. A was able to ride twice on some rides, once with and Eric and then again with myself. Or A went on with me and then little nugget went on with Eric. Everyone was happy and it all worked out. Some rides also have single rider lines where you can bypass a lot of the waiting time if someone is going by themselves. 

KNOW WHERE TO FIND CHARACTERS:

Another great thing about downloading the Disney mobile app is that it will indicate where the characters are in the park and at what time. You can select from the drop down menu, characters, and have all of that available to you. At times you will see characters walking around throughout the park. That was my kids favorite part. We'd take a bathroom break and all the sudden see them walking around. They'd run up for a quick hug or high five and be on their way. But, if you'd like to get a  specific photo, or a more one on one experience with them, this is a great option. You can also book things like character dining experiences to mingle with them.

PACK YOUR OWN SNACKS AND WATER:

I love that you are able to bring in your own snacks and water into the parks. With kids, it's almost impossible not to do so. You will still want to get some amazing Disney food and treats, but let's face it, when our kids want snacks, they want snacks right then and there. Coming prepared with some of their favorites and plenty of water to hydrate is so important. 

ORDER FOOD THROUGH THE MOBILE SERVICE ORDER:

Speaking of food, I also love that you can order food through the Disneyland mobile order service which will cut down on wait times. Another great advantage to saving time. You just walk up to the mobile order window, and pick up your food. You can take advantage of this at many restaurants inside both Disneyland Parks as well as the Disneyland Hotel.

BUY SOUVENIRS LATER ON IN THE DAY:

I'm sure it will be almost inevitable that your little ones, or even you, will want to bring something nostalgic home from your Disney visit. My suggest is to save that for the end. You don't wan to have to walk around lugging extra things or run the risk of your little one setting their prize possession down somewhere and losing it in the park. It also worked out for us, because our little ones were on their best behavior knowing they were working towards achieving something at the end.

BRING THE ESSENTIALS:

This probably goes without saying, but I can always appreciate when someone gives me a simple reminder that might spark something I didn't think of. If you haven't already figured it out, you're going to be doing a lot of walking. My number one thing is to make sure you and the rest of your party wears comfortable shoes. We also packed a few bandaids incase anyone got a blister or those mysterious ouchies occurred that need a bandaid right away. You all know the ones I'm talking about, right? It will also depend on the time of year that you go, but wearing layers may be helpful. It was beautiful during the day for us, but when the sun went down, we did put on some sweatshirts. 

If you have little ones, a stroller is essential along with a baby carrier if that's how you like to tote them around. We mentioned snacks and water, but since it's usually about the snacks with my crew, I figured it couldn't hurt to mention it again. 

Other suggestions would be to bring your camera (or you can opt out if you're doing the Disney PhotoPass), phones, chargers (especially if you're using the app, your phone will need some extra juice) sunscreen, hats, a backpack, and a notebook and pen if you want any character autographs.

ABOVE ALL ELSE, HAVE A GREAT TIME:

I know that some will want to accomplish absolutely everything in one day, in reality, I don't know that that's possible. I would encourage you to keep an open mind and know that if you are going with little ones things can be unpredictable (as I'm sure you already know). You can't control the weather, crowds, wait times, or any situation that is out of your control. Creating amazing experiences and having a wonderful time is absolutely doable in a day. Try your best to focus on having fun and creating the best memories with your family, even if things don't go as planned. 

Happy Disney adventures and I hope you found this information to be helpful! 

Top Things To Do In Barcelona

A while back (I was walking down the yellow brick road...not really but it sounded good there), Eric and his family went on a European cruise that set sails from Barcelona. They were only there for half a day before boarding the ship and he always felt like it was a city we could go back and explore one day. I've always heard such great things about Barcelona so when we came across flight deals that were almost too good to be true, we jumped on it. We actually had this trip booked before Baby C was even born. Remember when I shared ways to make travel more affordable...well, we still follow many of what I shared, and if you're smart about booking things, you can really make travel doable without breaking the bank.

We had a great time on our most recent trip to Spain and enjoyed what Barcelona offered. When I shared more about our family adventures in Barcelona I made a comment in my post about not being blown away by the city. I got a lot of messages about this asking why I mentioned that and wanting me to expand more. A lot of you wanted to know if it's a place I would recommend to visit. The answer to that is, absolutely!

Don't get me wrong, we loved being in Barcelona and the great memories it gave us, but there were just certain things about it that didn't give me that overall wow factor and feeling like a place we have to keep going back to. For example, when I travel to European cities I LOVE seeing the old architecture, cobblestone streets, and the real charm of a city. For me, Barcelona was more of a modern European city. Which also has its pros and cons as well. There is the Gothic Quarter you can check out and some amazing Gaudi buildings, but aside from that, the true European charm just wasn't there for me, personally. Several of the streets made me feel that if I didn't know where I was they could have easily passed for a 5th Ave. or Michigan Ave. in other major cities. But regardless, there is plenty to do and experience here and it was a great trip for us that created many amazing memories. There's always things you can take away from a trip, along with favorite sights and memories that become apart of it. Below I'll be sharing what some of our favorite things were that might be worth looking into if you ever plan a trip to Barcelona.

BEACH:

For my loyal readers, this is probably no surprise that it's at the top of my list. Let me break it down for you a bit, we love us some beach time. In fact, that was one of the key reasons that prompted us to visit Barcelona. We loved that the city is right there along with the beach. I kind of feel like every city should have this because it's the best of both worlds. We knew going into our visit the beaches we're not going to be the best in the mediterranean, but if we're by the water we're happy. They weren't bad by any means, but the ones right in the city (Barceloneta) are very touristy and lack a bit of landscape. We wanted to have more of a private feel and really, really enjoyed our beach time over at Montgat. It's about 15 minutes outside the city (depending on where you stay) and for us, we enjoyed the beaches a bit more and the cute town that surrounded it.

VISIT A VINEYARD: 

I shared a few weeks ago about our epic luncheon at a local winery, Bouquet d'allela. It's also located right near Montgat and something nice to do outside of the city. The grounds were kept perfectly and sat higher up on the mountainside providing a beautiful view. You do need reservations prior, and they only allow either one or two bookings for lunch, so I would recommend to plan a bit ahead of time and see what's doable. This ended up being one of our favorite things and some of our favorite memories. It's a smaller family owned vineyard but they make you feel at home and the wine and atmosphere could not have been any better.

PARC DE LA CUITADELLA (CUITADELLA PARK):

Barcelona has some fun parks to check out and this is one that was a great spot for us. It hosts the Barcelona Zoo, several museums, and row boating on the pond. We had so much fun floating and rowing around together. We all fit in one and I think it was maybe 12 euros for a half an hour. The parks can get very crowded on the weekends (as do most things) so if that's not your thing I would maybe consider another day. It was fun to people watch and see how many of the locals interacted. The boys had so much fun feeding the ducks and chasing around pigeons while we all strolled around the beautiful pathways and took in the scenery.

ROOFTOP VIEWS:

We saw some of the prettiest sunsets setting over the mountain tops that lit up with sky with all different pastel colors. After catching a few, we decided to scope out a rooftop restaurant or lounge to enjoy the views even more.  We decided on Alaire Terrace Bar which gave great views of the Casa Mila and also has seasonal live music. The views were so pretty, the food was good, the drinks were great, and they were so good with our kids that it was a win all around. Our waiter gave great service which makes the experience even more enjoyable. It's located on the 8th floor of the Hotel Condes de Barcelona.

TAPAS:

Can you even visit Barcelona and not try some tapas? I think not. We really enjoyed all that we tried and the atmospheres that came along with it. Our favorite was tapas 24, but really, anywhere you go you can practically get some sort of tapas. But, if you're truly looking to sit and relax and have the experience I would recommend going to a specific tapas bar.

FLAMENCO SHOW:

One of the days we were in Barcelona it rained off and on so we switched around some of our plans and decided to make a day of doing all things inside. We took our boys to the aquarium and visited some indoor markets which I will talk a little bit more about below. One of the things we decided to do was to see a Flamenco show. It was dinner and and a show and ended up being such a fun experience. We heard that most people don't recommend seeing a show in Barcelona but we're glad we did and decided to do what we thought would work best for us. That's the beauty of having your own travel itinerary. I love getting ideas from others but it ultimately has to come down to what you enjoy and want to experience. The show was entertaining, the food and drinks were great, and our boys also sat and were entertained by the show so it worked out well for all of us.

VISIT A MARKET:

We've always enjoyed different markets when we're traveling and seeing what the locals have to offer or some neat finds you come across. One of my favorites is still when my brother in-law found these great throw rugs when we were in Amsterdam and he strapped them to his bike as we were riding around. He somehow finagled them to fit in his suitcase and he still has them in his house today. Anyway, there are several markets in Barcelona if you would like to check them out. We went to an indoor/outdoor flea market, Encants Barcelona. There were so many antiques, books, gadgets, and really anything you could think of. We also visited the ever popular La Bouqueria food market. That was a sight to see. There were so many delicious, and exotic options there. For a few minutes I was a bit overwhelmed because there was soooo many things you could choose from. After we started walking around we picked up some big cups of fruit for the boys to munch on, we decided what rows we wanted to walk through and we quickly were able to navigate through things.

A WALK DOWN LAS RAMBLAS: 

This is a beautiful famous street in the city and probably one of the most touristy as well. It's also known for where a lot of pick pocketing take places, so guard your goods. I don't know if I would recommend to go out of your way to visit this street, but if it happens to be around some other areas you want to check out, then it's worth a stroll. 

LA SAGRADA FAMILIA: 

This beautiful temple has been under restoration and construction for years but if you're into Gaudi's work I would recommend to check it out. It can be very crowded so reserving your time spot would be a good idea. Even just taking a look from the outside the details are so pretty. There's still scaffolding around the outside so it's hard to get the full appreciation for it. We heard that some people either really enjoy seeing it or aren't so impressed. Again, it will all depend on what you're into.

PARC DE GÜELL:

Gaudi left a major impression on the city of Barcelona and his work is admired by millions around the world. There's a specific park that you can visit to see some of his most famous work. You can set up a walking tour, tour at your own leisure (what we opted for), and also purchase tickets for the look out area to get those infamous pictures. The park also had several playground areas that our boys enjoyed running around in. The grounds and scenery were so relaxing and beautiful. I believe there are tours that you can also link visiting Sagrada Familia and the park all in one, but with three little ones we knew we didn't want to make a whole day of it for them. It was cute because the boys thought we were in something from Dr. Seuss when we were in the park with all of the bright buildings and fun designs. I really think his lizard statue won them over though. What can I say, anything lizard related and they are happy.

Father's Day Blueberry Picking

Well, for once we were right on time with the seasonal picking schedule for blueberries after our strawberry picking mishap last week. I can't take credit for this one though. My dad wanted to go blueberry picking for Father's Day which sounded like a great idea, so we were all on board. 

The weekend was such a good one with extra relaxing and keeping things low-key since Baby C is still recovering from his surgery. He's been a champ and we are so proud of him. We also added a new furry (more like prickly) friend to our family that I'm excited to share more about with you. If you caught my insta stories (@beautifully_candid) you might have already seen the news. But if not, and you want to keep up with our fun, you can follow me there. 

Father's Day morning the boys brought Eric in their gifts and were in our room bright and early. I wish I could say that I spoiled him with an extra special breakfast with all the bells and whistles, but we decided to head to an earlier church service since we knew our day was going to be packed with fun, and time usually isn't on our side. Eric is such an amazing Dad. I could go on and on about how much he does for us and how he's the most amazing example for our boys, but what it all comes down to is, how much we are all blessed to have him. I am so thankful for him, and for him making me the mother that I am to our boys.

After church we headed to my dad's and grabbed some lunch before making our way to the blueberry patch. We really enjoyed where we went last year and decided to visit there again. The blueberries were large, fresh, and we love that they're organic. 

It started out as an overcast day but as time went on the sun was peeking through and made things extra hot. I feel like it never fails though. It's always soooo hot every time we seem to go blueberry picking.

I can't believe how big my little nugget is looking here. He's really losing that baby look and I'm not sure I'm ready for that. He was my extra squishy love boy like yesterday, and now, well, he's sassing people around (we're working on that) and having an opinion about everythingggg. He still tells amazing stories and has a sweet side that melts through everything, but man oh man, is he growing up right before my eyes.

I also can't believe how tall A is getting and how he really is a big boy now. I mean, look at them together with Eric. I usually refer to them as my little men, but it's moments like this that it really puts it into perspective.

On the other hand, we have our precious baby boy to experience all of these new firsts with and soak in his sweet personality and growing squishiness. It's amazing how motherhood (and parenthood in general) works like that. He was so precious grabbing at the bushes and then even grabbed onto my hat to steal it away. Smart little guy. I made an oops when I forgot his sun hat sitting on the back of the couch. I try to remember it all but sometimes there are things that fall through the cracks.

I love that I got to spend the day celebrating both Eric and my Dad, and having my sister there with us. It's nice to have these moments to share all together.

We took a few minutes to get a family shot, ok honestly, we only took four pictures (which to get a family shot with squirmy little ones is nothing). As soon as those four were done, this happened. Little nugget ran off to grab some berries and thought it would be funny to throw them up in the air and catch them in his mouth. Of course monkey see, monkey do, so A ran off to do the same. Then they got an idea to throw them in each others mouths, and well, there we have it, a clear depiction of how our outings usually go and some great candids that my sister kept snapping along the way.

After we finished picking 12 pints of blueberries, we headed back to my dad's to take a dip in the pool. The boys couldn't wait to munch on blueberries and we only dropped one pint along the way. Don't worry, they were salvaged and rinsed off extra well. 

I hope you had a great weekend and got to celebrate the special men in your life! 

Strawberry Picking, Well Kind Of...Not Really

You would think by now I would have learned my lesson about these seasonal fruit picking experiences. But here we are, another year and another almost (this time basically) dropped the ball. For some crazy reason I always tend to think that strawberries are more towards the end of June when in reality, several farmers told us they start picking early to mid May depending on the year.

Last year we were able to go strawberry picking for Father's Day, so in my mind, I thought we still had plenty of time. I guess because last winter was so brutal the crops started later where this year the winter was very mild and they started earlier. Clearly my farming/crop game is lacking and none of that even crossed my mind.

I also just noticed that A is wearing the same shirt from last year and I kind of love that. I must have this weird thing with their shirts going on because I dug back into the archives and the same shirt thing has been going on for sometime now. I'm so serious, none of this is ever planned. I guess I just like certain shirts on them and they resurface. Someone actually mentioned that they see us wearing the same things in some of our pictures, not in a bad way, but appreciate that we have real life moments and clothes that we actually wear and not to just take pictures in...anywayyyy.

Let's get back to the beginning with our attempt at strawberry picking. If you saw my random ramblings in my insta stories, then you might know a little bit about what went on. Let's see, this weekend turned out to be such a good one (which I will share more about in my upcoming favorites later on this week) but there was one thing missing...strawberry picking!

We have gone almost every year since I can pretty much remember. My parents would always take us picking, round us up for family pictures, and go home with way more than we could probably eat. It was an experience. Memories created. Tradition.

I've mentioned so many times before that it's something Eric and I have done with all of our boys now. Because of that, there was nooo way I was letting baby C's first strawberry picking experience not take place.

We got the boys together and put them in the car to head to a farm that I used to picked at as a little girl. Unfortunately when we got there they were closed and already done picking.  We hurried up and googled local places to see if we could try our luck anywhere else. We did come across another farm that wasn't too far away and made our way over there. We made it in enough time but they told us there weren't many strawberries left. And guess what? They were not lying. No joke, if we picked 30 strawberries that was a lot. And by strawberries, I mean, tiny ones that weren't really ripe yet, some that had holes in the back of them, some that we larger but green. Let's just say it was not our typical strawberry experience.

I mentioned that sometimes you win some, and sometimes you lose some. But in this situation, I'm not even considering it a loss, because even though it wasn't what we expected, or really what we hoped for, you know what happened...the boys had fun, Eric and I joked around about it, we still got some cute pictures, and the baby somehow managed to grab the smallest, and what I thought was unripe, strawberry, and get juice on his little outfit. It's not a strawberry experience if you don't wear it, right?

This trip comes with a story to tell and next year when he will be big enough to pick them on his own, we'll be making sure we go with plenty of time. I told Eric, listen, next year we're going at the start of the season and will finish off what we get and still have time to make it back out for round two. Hmmm let's see if I can hold myself to that one ;) 

A Day At The Alpaca Farm...And Guess Who's Spitting?

We recently heard about a local alpaca farm having an open house and as soon as I knew we could visit with them I had to go. I've always thought they were such interesting creatures and have been fascinated by them. Eric used to work with a guy that owned alpacas and would breed them. Let me tell you, apparently there is big money when it comes to alpacas.

You know I had to get the family on board with taking a visiting and seeing what it was all about. I love exploring new things with my little guys and seeing their excitement. We've been to tonsss of petting zoos and local places that have animals, but it's not every day you get to hang out with a herd of alpacas.

It ended up being a beautiful day and the weather was just perfect. I love when days are like that. Lately it's been so gloomy here that I'm looking back on this sunny day and hoping for many more.

Not knowing what to expect we all had our ideas of how the afternoon would go. Little nugget asked if we would be able to ride them and A was already talking about wanting one as a pet. He seems to want a new pet every week now. When we walked up the farm there was a woman spinning the alpaca wool into yarn. We loved hearing more about the different colors, textures, and a little more of the process before we went around back to see the alpacas.

The boys were beyond excited and of course wanted to touch everythingggg in sight as we walked through the barn. When we got to the back we saw two different areas where they kept the alpacas. The males were separate from the females and they only let them commingle during certain times (if you know what I mean ;)

We were greeted by these curious creatures with their big eyes and distinguished jawlines. They all brought a smile to our face in each of their unique way. We learned they are part of the camel family and in fact do spit like a camel does. Let me just say, we witnessed this first hand. It was actually really funny to see, and to hear. All the sudden one would start hocking something up and before we knew it they were just spitting away. Thankfully we all ducked out of the line of fire and they spewed their saliva on each other instead. Well, wouldn't you know the boys thought it was just the funnest thing to see (of course they did).

We all got to feed them, pet them, and hang out with them for as long as we liked. The owner was in there with us and another mother and her daughter joined us as well. My boys somehow managed to find a worn in the alpaca pasture that fascinated them for a bit while Eric and I talked with owner and asked a bunch of questions about how you farm them. You all know us, our wheels are always spinning. After finding out that you have to strap them down to file their nails often, keep certain ones separated at times, and sheer them like a sheep, I think it's safe to say we won't be in the alpaca market any time soon.

After we snapped a bunch of pictures with the boys the woman who was there with her daughter offered to take a picture of all of us. I knew this was going to be interesting when she commented that my camera was heavy (it's really not but it's certainly not a sleek cell phone). In a rare case scenario we all looked towards her, even the alpaca, and smiled. It would have been a great family picture until I was looking through them later on and realized she cut Eric's head off! I'm not holding any judgements because most people don't feel comfortable or know how to work a "big" camera, but poor Eric. We were cracking up. Of course the other ones his head actually made it into the frame everyone's over it and not paying attention. What I've learned when a stranger offers to take a picture for us is to just go with the flow. Whatever we end up getting we make it work. You can't blame someone for trying.

We finished up with our alpaca friends and made our way back through the barn and towards the car. One of the owners was talking to us about the baby and mentioned their cousin's daughter was born with a cleft lip as well. They were so sweet and gave us such kind words of encouragement and invited us to come back for their next open house. We mentioned the baby might even have his surgery by then so we'd love to come back and visit. We found the boys out front glued to the nice lady spinning wool and mesmerized by the process. They seriously would have sat out there with her all day if they could. We even joked that we'd be back in a few hours to pick them up.

Afterwards we stopped off for lunch and the rest of the day was filled with alpaca talk and reminiscing of our memories. The next day the boys seemed to have extra energy and were just all around ornery. I was trying to get some laundry done (because it seriously never ends) when one thing led to another and next thing I know I hear a bunch of spitting going on. I ran out of the room to find out what was going on and sure enough I see my two big boys tackling each other and spitting on each other. I didn't want to lose my cool but I can't say my voice was all kinds of calm and mellow. When I confronted them about it, they just looked at me and said, what? I said, why in the world are you spitting at each other??? That's gross!! With a smart little reply they informed me, well if the alpacas do it why can't we? 

Prayers everyone. I need them all. Life is never dull with a house full of alpaca spitting boys. I am glad to report that after a few days of the alpaca visit and the excitement wore off there have been no more incidents of spitting taking place. At least not for now.