Disney Characters

By far my favorite part of our trip to Disneyland was for the kids to get to meet the different characters. I really wanted Claire to meet some princesses, and was so glad to see that they have a new place where you wait in line and can meet 3 princesses. We got there just as they were changing so Claire got to meet 4. She was very happy. They were very gracious, and so sweet to the kids. They would talk to them, and make them feel so special. Owen was thrilled to meet Mickey Mouse, and Winnie the Pooh. I just love that my kids totally believe that these are the real things. It makes me wish I could be young again, and the smiles on their faces were worth the sore feet, the long lines, and the over priced food. I would do it all again just to make their dreams come true.

Disneyland Day 3

Our final day at Disneyland started out very early. We had heard that in the past the park fills up very early on New Year's Eve, so we were at the park by 7:30, and didn't leave until after 12:00 am. It was a very long day. The good thing about going that early is that there weren't a lot of people yet, so we got to ride quite a few rides. I was determined to take Claire to see the princesses, so we did that in the morning before the wait became crazy. She was in heaven, right along with Owen. We had a great day riding some rides again, and taking it slow. We had a nice lunch at New Orleans Square, and got to visit with quite a few characters. The kids did great, but I was very worried about them making it till midnight. Gratefully we had lots of help, so we rented a third stroller for them to sleep in. Grant woke up in time for the street dance and fireworks, and I'm pretty sure Claire saw the fireworks, but Owen slept right through them. We had a great time ringing in the New Year, and were very happy to get into bed that night. We had a wonderful time at Disneyland - thanks mom and dad for a fantastic vacation. My kids will remember it for a lifetime!

Disneyland Day 2

When I woke up, and looked outside, I knew it wouldn't be the greatest day at Disneyland. I was happy we had decided to go to California Adventures since they have tons of inside shows. We started of at Soaring Over California. I had to stay with Grant so my mom took Claire, and Chad took Owen. Of course, they didn't want to go, but Claire actually loved it, after she told my mom she was going to throw up. After that we went to quite a few shows. The biggest mistake was the Bug's Life show, which had our kids literally bawling by the time it was over. They are big spiders, bees, and basically, it is a little scary. They loved the Aladdin show which was in a huge theatre, and was an actual play. They did a fantastic job on it, and everyone loved it. By far the highlight of the day was going to see Playhouse Disney Live. The kids got to interact with the puppets on the stage, yell, and sing, and have a great time. It was also a great place for them to get to dry off for a little while. We didn't make it to many rides with the weather, so we called it a day, and went back to the hotel to dry off, and have some down time.

Disneyland Day 1

We finally made it to Disneyland, and the kids couldn't have been happier. First of all I have to say that I never in a million years thought that my child would be wearing a leash/backpack. However, I knew that the amount of people in Disneyland, and his sense of exploration, would make it necessary so I felt good about him not being lost. Owen actually did great, and didn't have to wear it that much, but it made me feel good to have it. He had 2 other cousins who had them on too, so he actually thought it was kinda cool.

We had a great first day at Disneyland. Claire was so excited to see the castle, so her Grandpa took her there first - right after our family picture wearing matching shirts. On a side note, my parents didn't have said shirts, and I am still curious why - that picture will be coming soon. We then headed to the carousel - which Grant absolutely loved, and then took them on Mr. Toad's wild Ride. Not a bright idea for our first indoor ride. They both came out not to happy with us, so the rest of the day we had to literally force them onto the rides. I'm sure people thought we were mean, but hey we were in Disneyland, and they weren't going to get this chance again for a long time.

We spent most of the day exploring the little kids rides, with our top favorites as Small World (my favorite because you got to sit for like 10 minutes), The Teacups, and the Carousel. We were ready to go home after watching the Christmas parade, and getting to see the beautiful decorations all lit up. We went back to the hotel where my mom had dinner ready, and then they shooed all the adults back out the door to go back to the park while they watched the kids. It was fun to go without our kids, and I got to go on my favorite ride - Indiana Jones. I loved that all the signs said you shouldn't ride while pregnant, but my midwives gave me the go ahead, so I had some fun. We went on rides we knew the kids would hate like Pirates, Thunder Mountain Railroad, and Splash Mountain - which Chad did not want to go on, but I didn't give him much choice since when you go at night there isn't a line, and we basically walked on. We were the first adults to call it quits, and we so ready for bed that night. You honestly can't deny that there is such a thing as the magic of Disney after spending a whole day in Disneyland.

Christmas Day and our time at Grandma GG's

Christmas day was spent playing the WII, eating more food, and enjoying our family. We had a wonderful turkey dinner, and stuffed ourselves like usual.

The day after Christmas my parents found 3 babysitters to come to the house and watch the kids while we all went out to dinner at a restaurant called Simons in Sacramento. You bring in your wild game, or fowl, in the morning and when you come back in the evening he has it all prepared for you. It was delicious. We had venison and duck, and I have never had it so good. It was also nice to have an adult night out without all the kids and craziness.

The next day Roy, Cody and their family left, plus Heather, Aaron and their 2 kids, so the house became much quieter. We went to church then had a nice relaxing day to recoup before we left the next morning for Disneyland. We decided to stay at Grandma's that night so we put the kids to sleep on the living room floor. I'm not kidding, there was a T.V. going, and people talking through half the night, and our kids were so tired that they fell asleep by 7:00, and didn't wake up until well after 8:00 the next morning. They were so tired, but much happier the next day.

We left Monday morning for Disneyland, with two very excited kids. Claire made up a song that went something like, "I'm going to Disneyland and I'm so excited, yeah, yeah, yeah." They didn't quite understand that we still had a long drive ahead of us, and wouldn't be going to Disneyland that day. They did get to see the fireworks as were getting into our hotel room, so that made them very excited for things to come.

Disneyland Revealed

My parents decided this summer that they were going to take all of us to Disneyland for Christmas. The kids were not to know, and they wouldn't find out until Christmas morning. I was soooo excited for this part of their Christmas morning. My kids have grown to love Disneyland by watching America's Funniest Videos every Sunday. They always flash pictures of the castle, and all the rides, and my kids have decided that is the place to be. My parents gave us all a box, and had us all open them at the same time. The kids didn't really understand what it was, except for a few of the older ones. I finally looked at Clarie and Owen and said, we are going to Disneyland. Claire jumped up, and gave her Grandma and Grandpa a big hug. Owen, cried because he thought we were leaving right them and he wouldn't get to play with his new toys. Once we assured him that wasn't the case, he was very happy. Grant didn't know what was going on, but he was happy to shake his candy filled candy cane, and enjoy the chaos. Heather made these cute Minnie Mouse bows, and gave them to all the girls, Claire can hardly wait to wear hers.

He Came!!

Claire and Owen were very concerned that Santa wouldn't be able to find us at Grandma GG's. They actually cried at our house when I took the Christmas tree down the day before we left. I honestly didn't want to come home to the mess. Owen felt better after he called Grandma GG, and made sure she had a tree. So, they were very happy to see that Santa found them on Christmas morning. We had to drive over to Grandma's house, so we got there, to find everyone waiting for us. We let the kids loose, and there was wrapping paper everywhere. Claire got a new Barbie and a Barbie house, Owen got a jumping race car and some tools. Grant got a new blanket and a train so he could play with Owen. Santa also brought our family a WII, which everyone was excited about, and a few games for each of us to play. We had a wonderful Christmas morning, and as always I had so much fun seeing the joy in my children's faces. It makes the craziness of the holidays all worth it.