Disneyland Tradition-Part Two

Growing up we had a family tradition of going to Disneyland at Christmas time. Unfortunately that ended years ago, but we are happily starting it back up again. My sister, mom, the kids and I went and had a BLAST.






Before children I went and it was fun, but now seeing it all over again through my kids' eyes is amazing. Noah LOVED everything except for the dark tunnels (on the kiddy rides) and the fireworks. He thought they were going to come down and get him. His favorites were the trains, race cars, and boats. Shocker! Lauren danced and smiled the entire time through "It's a small world". I was even able to sneak away and ride on the big kid rides. My faves are Space Mountain, Indiana Jones, Pirates and Star Tours. And the parade was truly magical. I even got giddy! Noah was super excited when it (fake) snowed and Lauren watched every minute of it. I just stared at both of them as they took everything in. What a gift!














At first I thought it may be a little much taking them but Noah did great all day, Lauren took two naps in her stroller and we stayed from dusk till dawn. I guess it really is the happiest place on earth!



Before leaving the park I stopped to take it all in. So many old memories came to mind, but I am thrilled to start new ones for my family and I. The chill in the air, smell of yummy treats, sparkles from the millions of lights, Mickey Mouse ears everywhere, and of course the charm of Main Street made for an unforgettable trip. Goodnight Disneyland..until next year...

A visit from Dede

Michael's dad was here from Maine and we had such a great time. The trip did start off a little scary. When Tom (aka Dede) arrived he wasn't feeling well and the left side of his face went numb. We were of course worried, so we took him to the ER. Fortunately they diagnosed it with a non threatening illness. He has Bell's Palsy. I never heard of it before, but I guess it goes away and is treated with medication:). Thank God!

One night we went to an amazing Italian restaurant called Mama Mia's. Everyone speaks the language and the food is out of this world. Every time we go Michael "thinks" he is an Italian. He made friends with Francesco (the owner) and now they act like brothers! Brings back great memories from our trip.

The trip included a visit to the Midway Carrier, the car museum at Balboa Park, Coronado Island and of course the zoo (our favorite). One good thing about living in a big city is there is a lot to do!










We love spending time with Tom. Noah cried when he woke up yesterday and there was no Dede to be found. Hopefully we will be visiting him and the family in Maine next year.

Busy weekend....

The weekend started with a baby shower on Saturday for our cousin Teresa. We enjoyed playing games, eating great food and hanging out.






Sunday was Lauren's 1st b-day party. I still can't believe she is a year old. The party included a pinata, homemade posters (by Auntie Jaymee), a jumpy, and a beautiful homemade cake (by our baker Nikki). Everyone was having fun but Lauren:( She had a meltdown when we sang Happy Birthday. Guess that's what I get for taking her nap away!









My cousin Lu came to visit from Colorado and she was here in San Diego for two days. Yesterday we spent all day at Sea World and had a blast. Then we enjoyed a yummy mexican dinner in Old Town.




Now I am off to catch up on some chores before the kiddlings wake up! Have a great week!

Halloween fun!

Happy late Halloween! It's been quite some time since I went trick-or-treating and wow is it fun going door to door getting free candy:) We spent Halloween with my family in Corona and had a blast.




Nana made scary cupcakes
Noah put out all the fires on Monterey St.
and Ms. Lauren hopped around as happy as could be My sister was the doc on call in case anyone overdosed on chocolate. Even Ruby the dog enjoyed Halloween as the Witch of the house
Michael was a skier and he took it so seriously he went to Colorado:). We missed him, but knew he needed a vacation.

Fire Update

What a week! San Diego is some what getting back to normal and the fires are under control. Thank God. At one point I thought our neighborhood was in danger. The skies are starting to clear up and people are making their way back home. Thanks again for your prayers. They were felt! Copy and paste the link below to see some amazing photos taken from the past week.


http://flickr.com/photos/boiani/sets/72157602638964612/show

San Diego Fires

Our phones have been ringing off the hook and I decided to update our blog with the current fire situation... just in case I don't have a chance to contact you.

There are 10 fires burning in and around San Diego county as I speak. Several of our friends have had to evacuate. Our old church "The Rock" as well as Qualcomm Stadium (which is across the street from Michael's work) are being used for evacuation centers. We are located off the 8 and the 15 freeways and as of right now we are not in any immediate danger. Thank God. The closest fire is about 20 miles away. The weather is supposed to be getting better here in the next couple days.

If the fire gets worse and hits us we only lose "things", which I can easily live without. One good thing is we'll have much less clutter:) God will keep us safe and will protect us no matter what the outcome is. We will keep you guys posted if anything should change. All in all we're doing good so there is no need to worry!!!

Thanks again for your concern and prayers!
The Donegans

Oma's Pumpkin Patch

We took the kids to Oma's pumpkin Patch and had a blast! We enjoyed the hay ride, petting zoo, hay maze, and the pumpkin patch itself. Lauren swung happily as Noah played trucks in the dirt. This was of course his favorite thing to do. Gotta love boys! The Hay Ride was fun except for the fact that is was super stinky when we drove near the millions of cows. Luckily it was a short ride:). Noah picked out a pumpkin for him and a baby one for Lauren. All in all is was a successful day at the patch!

Summerpast Farms

I was debating (as I usually do) if I should get the kids ready and head out to Summerpast Farms with one of my moms groups. Lauren was already cranky and Noah was being a terrible two. I said what the heck and decided to chance it. It's always a gamble. Either one of four things happen: Lauren is pissy & Noah is happy, Noah is pissy & Lauren is happy, their both pissy or (if I am REALLY lucky) they are both happy. Today was a good day. Lauren was fussy, but she at least let Noah and I have a good time at the Farm. I can now say that I am glad we went. I don't always say that:)


Summerpast Farms is nestled in the green rolling hills just outside of San Diego. You feel like you are somewhere in Maine, not in California. Rocky the Rooster was hanging out, Sam the cat was lounging around and the scent of the flowers was amazing. The weather was 70 and overcast which is my favorite. It definitely feels like fall. I was in heaven. And so was Noah.

A visit from Aunt Honey and Uncle Maurice

We were lucky enough to spend Saturday afternoon with Michael's Aunt and Uncle. They live in Marbelhead, Mass and they have the best accents ever. Of course Michael's accent always comes out when he's with family:).

We went downtown to a place called "Little Italy". They have streets filled with Italian restaurants. Aunt Honey was born in Italy so it was a perfect place to eat. We enjoyed our meal together and suprisingly enough the kids behaved (for the most part).







We drove to La Jolla and showed them the beautiful homes and ocean. We were lucky enough to see (and hear) the seals on the cove. The day was perfect, but the drive home could have been better. Lauren absolutely lost it (due to teething and being tired). So we hurried back to their hotel and they were able to escape the chaos. Lucky them:)

All in all it was wonderful to spend time with Maurice and Honey. They have been married for 51 years and still are going on strong!!!

Trains, Carousels, Bubbles and Standing Up

Noah and Lauren had their first train ride. We went to Balboa Park here in San Diego. It is a HUGE park with museums, fountains, parks, etc. Noah LOVES trains so we thought we'd take him on one. Of course it is pint size, but absolutely perfect for kids. He of course loved it, but Lauren could really care less. A little later Michael took Noah on a carousel. I think Michael enjoyed it more than Noah. I opted to hang out with Lauren, even though it looked like great fun. Lastly there was a bubble lady blowing life size bubbles. Noah laughed so hard when one hit him. He kept hugging Michael and kissing his cheek. This was Noah's way of saying thank you. We came home and Lauren decided to start pulling herself up from a sitting position. How exciting for her, but definitely not for me. It seems with each milestone comes more responsibility. Now I have to keep my eye on her 24.7 as well as Noah. And to think this is just the beginning:) Here is Lauren very happy that she accomplished standing up on her own. Just waiting for the next big thing...