10 Years = Mickey

It's The Double B and Marie with Mickey and Minnie Mouse!!!

See. I told you it was worth the wait.

 I shall now give a thrilling account of the Double B and MaRetard's 10th anniversary trip to the most thrilling of all locations -- that Happiest Place on Earth -- Disneyland. You may or may not know this, but we spent our honeymoon -- exactly ten years earlier, as a matter of fact -- in Disneyland. So it was a homecoming, of sorts.
We just really, really love D-Land. All things Disney, actually. We are the exact people they market to, and it works wonders. We both just love the magic. We love Walt's dream. And when we hear, see, or read Walt say "To all who come to this happy place -- Welcome," one of us always cries. I don't want to name names. But one of us cries. I think the other one might tear up somewhere deep inside their soul, though. They probably just don't want to show it. Maybe.
Either way, it was so incredibly awesome to celebrate ten happy years as best buddies and partners and love birds together -- alone -- with that extra magic twinkling all around us.
This is us on Big Thunder -- possibly the favorite, but definitely in the top five for both of us -- on the first day. I just love Big Thunder. It makes me smile. And it makes the Double B laugh in a way that always makes me laugh, because he actually sounds a little gleeful. We rode Big Thunder five times, even once on the third day, when we were Disneyland dizzy and weren't sure if exciting rides were such a good idea anymore.

 And that classic of all classics, Space Mountain! We were glad we rode Space Mountain on the first day, because it broke down after that and never re-opened. We felt awesome that we made it -- like the few, the proud, the wise ones who rode it the first day. Have you ever noticed how often Space Mountain is broken down? All the time. Interesting.
You may notice my anniversary pin. I wore it proudly and got many well wishes. It made me happy. On the second day, the Double B started getting questions about why he wasn't wearing one, either. Pins are not really the Double B's style, though. The ladies at Minnie's Breakfast made him put an "I'm celebrating" pin on our bag, though. That was his concession. And it was a good one, too. After that, if anyone asked, he just held up the bag.
Ah. My Double B.

Let's discuss the Disneyland watch. I have always wanted a Disneyland watch. Now I have one. I am just that lucky. We are also very proud of our new T-shirts. The Double B got one from New Orleans Square that says "To Err is Human, To Arr Is Pirate." I got one from the Star Tours store that has a picture of Darth Vader and says "Who's Your Daddy?" Haha! Still crackin' us up.
 Autopia!
I worked so hard to bump the Double B, but there just seemed additional security this time trying to prevent me from slamming into my own husband. I did get a little nudge at the end, though. You can tell he feels victorious in his get away, though.

 Autopia says something like it's "the way of the future." What is future about Autopia, I want to know? Oh, well. Tomorrowland is not my favorite land, not really. Yes, it has Space Mountain. But it also has those rocket blasters that I rode for the first time since the third grade, when I rode with my brother Jon and made him so mad because I wouldn't let him go any higher then the lowest level. The Double B and I laughed at that story, got in line, climbed in while I told my charming husband all about how high we were going to go, and then spent the next two or three minutes in a very horrible panic attack because those things go SO HIGH and we were to big for the seats and there is NOTHING holding you in and we were going to die. I almost threw up. The closest near-barf I've ever encountered. But there was nowhere to throw up, because I couldn't lean over the side because I'd obviously fall out to my death. My eyes were squeezed tight, I was gripping the Double B's legs, and he was laughing. Then he was saying "Okay, really. Please don't throw up on me. Really, if you can help it." I begged the ride to end "Please end, please end, please end!" And then it did.
I survived.
I sometimes underestimate my own terror of heights. It is beastly.
This could be why I once more climbed over the log on Splash Mountain. It's all psychological, but that ride is like death on wheels. Death in log, actually. The Double B was a little disappointed, but not surprised. He then lost his hat on his solo voyage. Right after the picture clicked on the drop, his hat went flying off into oblivion. It is now resting in peace, singing "Zippity-Doo-Dah." It was the Double B's favorite hat, too.
Hehehe.
But I am not laughing at him. I am laughing near him.
We even rode Small World in K.J.'s honor, and saw all the new hiding places for Disney characters.
We ate the most amazing food. I love Disneyland cuisine, even though it is fifty million dollars a plate, it is so delightful. We tried several new things this time in the spirit of adventure. For instance, we had our first pineapple float at the Tikki Room stand and our first D-land corn dog. And let me just say right here and right now -- life changing. I have wanted one of those corn dogs every day since. We combined those for dinner one night as we watched Dumbo fly over the castle. DUMBO, PEOPLE!!! Amazing. I was truly amazed. The Double B could see that I was truly amazed. For real. Unfortunately, my buddy got a little sick after that and stayed a little sick the whole rest of the trip. But not me. That corn dog became a part of my very soul.
He really did get pretty sick, though. And stayed sick. I felt so bad for him. He was such a trooper. The awesome thing was, since we got to go a little slower, we saw just about every performance in Disneyland, which I have always wanted to do and which was totally awesome. We especially loved the college band and the patriotic singers.
We also tried the Jolly Holiday (delish -- one of the Double B's new fave's) and the Big Thunder Barbecue, which was tasty (also more favored by my sweetie). We stuck with two classics, Minnie's Breakfast (to quote BB "We will never go to Disneyland and not eat Minnie's Breakfast." It is really that important to him) and one of my favorites, the Blue Bayou. We saved that for Saturday night, and it was one of the most romantic and fun "dates" of my life. We were both cracking each other up and sharing some of our favorite memories from our ten years together. I felt truly, truly happy. I also got the $6.99 punch in a souvenir cup, because it had a Tinkerbell that glowed. After I ordered, I said "Sorry, dear, but I had to get the cup." He laughed and said "I knew you would. You're Marie." And he said it as a compliment. Tink and I glowed away through dinner and I was one happy camper. And my honey was, too. They even gave us a complimentary chocolate mousse with a lit candle for each of us.
Me and Minnie, when she was my breakfast host:

 I have two favorite rides in Fantasyland that are included in my top five: Alice in Wonderland and Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. Here we are on Mr. Toad's, which the Double B admits is totally awesome. We rode it twice, of course. Two words about the Double B: Smokin' Hot. I don't know how I got him, but I am not complaining.

 We got to do so many fun things, like see "World of Color," which I thought was great but the Double B thought was AMAZING. He is still miffed that I didn't think it was as awesome as he did. But people. I saw Dumbo fly over the castle. And that is going to be very, very hard to beat.
We road Soarin' three time, toured the new Cars Land (cute -- especially Mater's ride), and practically took a bath on Bear River Rapids with a charming family from New Zealand (two hours later I had to buy flip flops because my toes were still squishing water). We saw many BYU fans, searched every shop, visited for hours, ate a churro and chocolate caramel treats, BOUGHT ANNUAL PASSES *yes, we are that awesome*, and celebrated.
Celebrated each other. Celebrated that we are so happy together. Celebrated that we are willing to work so hard for each other and that it is paying off. Celebrated that we are more in love then when we started (if such a thing is possible -- which, amazingly, it is). Celebrated that we are closer then ever. Celebrated that we are different and it is totally awesome. Celebrated the family we have created. Celebrated our true and faithful friendship. Celebrated our teamwork. Celebrated ten awesome years together. Celebrated US.
And it was so, so, so, so, so cool.
I really love this guy.
And he really loves me.
Lucky us.
Here we are, heavy laden with gifts for the kids and my souvenir cup, saying "TTFN" to our very favorite vacation destination.
And now we're back.
Happy us.