Todai's

For Frank's birthday, we went to one of the kids' favorite restaurants: the Yellow Dude Restaurant, a.k.a. Todai's.

Cheap Thrills: The AirTrain again

Cheap Thrills: The Fish

Checking out the fish in Terminal 3.

Cheap Thrills: Dinnertime

Yum: dinner at Burger Joint, which has an outpost at the new International Terminal. "Hagubers (Katie's word for hamburgers) for everyone!"

Cheap Thrills: The Curvy Bench

This may have been the highlight of the afternoon: the old international terminal is completely deserted, and they had a fantastic time running along the curvy wooden benches.

Cheap Thrills: The AirTrain

We got to sit in the front of the AirTrain for a few legs of our journey, and the afternoon weather was just perfect.

Cheap Thrills: BART!

The adventure begins with everyone in high spirits on the BART from Millbrae to SFO.

Whee...the multicolor tunnel!

Fedora found an old tunnel made of tent-like material (I think we got it from IKEA), and the kids had a grand time crawling through. There was some, uh, disagreement about whether the right technique was walking or crawling.

Katie's turn through the tunnel. Ah, the simple pleasures...

A Belated Happy New Year!

Greetings to those of you reading this blog for the first time as a result of our New Year's email. Best wishes for a joyous and peaceful 2005 from our family to yours...

My LASIK experience

Frank got LASIK on January 5. See my separate blog for my account of the march towards 20/20 vision!

The front of the bus

We had a great time at Disneyland over the holidays. Here we are, picture courtesy of the monorail driver.

We got to sit in the front cab along with the driver because we happened to be in the right place at the right time in line. (I had seen people in the front car from the ground but had thought it was reserved for annual pass holders or other Disney VIPs -- fancy us getting to ride in the Exalted Car!)

Mickey, er, Minnie Mouse!

Katie was fascinated by the Disneyland characters, especially Minnie Mouse. She had several encounters with Minnie (who she insists on calling "Mickey Mouse"), including several time to have "hugs" and "nosies."

It's a Small World -- all dressed up for Christmas

Colin's and Fedora's favorite ride: It's a Small World, all dressed up for the holiday season. We thought the Disneyland "cast" did a great job of dressing the whole park up for Christmas.

Other favorites:

• Dad: Indiana Jones Adventure
  
• Mom: Soarin' Over California
  
• Katie: flying elephants, teacups, "Blue House", and the "riding the white horse"
  
• Colin: teacups, ladybugs, and the flying boxes (Flik's Flyers)

On the Mark Twain Riverboat

Here we are, on the Mark Twain Riverboat. Colin insisted we board the "big steamboat" but insisted on staying inside for about half the ride.

By the second day, we learned that there are a few attractions -- like the Riverboat -- that aren't crushed with lines, even by mid-morning. We got good at racing to the crowded rides right when the park opened at 8 am. Also, this was the first time I went to Disneyland where I heard the waiting crowd count down to the opening of the main gates.