pixie dust is powerful

after we'd all had a chance to shower and get pretty again, we checked out of our room and headed downstairs to have some breakfast.  happily for the bean, we ended up at the hotel's character breakfast.  she was so excited to have some face time with some of her favorite disney peeps.

when minnie caught sight of the teen's new phone case, she picked it up and showed it to someone she thought might be interested:

and he loved it so much, he demanded to have his picture taken with the teen - after somehow managing to ask her without saying a word as to where she'd found it (amazon, of course).

pluto was really...affectionate.  with all of us.

and the bean surprised us by going up to the "stage" at the front of the restaurant to join in the dance party.

outside in the lobby, the teen reenacted a scene from our last trip to paradise pier hotel (yes, this picture is totally out of order, but do you really care?).

since the hub's super duper value annual pass didn't work that day, he decided to head on home while the rest of us stayed to play in the parks.  i know, i know - i was slightly crazy to even consider this after my extra early morning and, oh, i don't know - running 13.1 miles.  heh.  but i'd promised the bean that we'd go, and so we went.  plus, when else would i have a great excuse to actually wear that medal anywhere?  the attention whore in me was gleeful at the idea of rocking the bling for the rest of the day.  the teen and rock-ell decided to hit up disneyland while the two of us headed over to california adventure to ride some of her favorite rides.

after riding the monsters, inc. ride twice (shockingly, it was wide open with no more than a 3 minute wait), we heard some music coming from the stage right behind us.  and when she saw the show going on - "mickey's dance crew" - she decided to continue the dance party and joined in the fun.

afterwards, we got to say hello to the mouse himself.

it's just not a trip to california adventure without sitting through the disney junior stage show.  and after it was over, the bean was totally stoked to see the title character from "jake and the neverland pirates" just outside, posing for pictures.

bling bliiiiiiiing (those earrings are part of the new stella & dot spring '12 collection, and i dig 'em).

after a spin on the "little mermaid" ride, even the bean was pooped.  "mommy, my legs are wanting to go to sleep," she said.  ha!  and i sure didn't need to be told twice.  i'd been ready to go after round 1 of "monsters, inc."  so i steered her through the grand californian hotel - a nice shortcut back to paradise pier, where our car was still parked - and gratefully sank into the driver's seat to head home.

of course, the bean fell asleep within minutes, and because it was my lucky day, there was zero traffic and we were pulling into our driveway in no time.  i scooped her out of her seat, hobbled into the house, collapsed onto the couch, and dozed off for a well-deserved nap.

oh, and by the way - here are the official results from my first half marathon:

i'm not gonna lie - i am damn proud of that finish time.  i was hoping for 2:45!  and when i crossed the finish line, the clock was somewhere around 2:38 and i was even happy with that.  not to mention, i'd taken the time for pictures along the way.  imagine if i'd just gone straight through without stopping?  man.  and just look - i came in #2479 out of 11,000ish people (the number above doesn't include the men who ran)!  i don't know what "age grade" means, but i don't care.  and now i have a time to submit for the disneyland half in september - maybe i'll move up a corral or two!

and it wasn't till i was almost home that i remembered something - i'd left my race shirt with the wings pinned to the back hanging on the bathroom door.  gah!  i texted the teen and then called the hotel, but had to leave a message for their lost & found department.  i'm sure it was a crazy weekend for them, so i just hoped for the best.

happily, they did call me back two days later to report that my shirt and wings had been set aside and i could pick it up anytime within 90 days.  yippee!

besides, let's face it - we all know that it probably won't be much more than a week before i head back down for more disney fun.  heh.  at least this time i have an excuse to go.

i swear, i didn't plan it that way.  promise.