Saturday, July 7, 2012

The happiest (and most exhausting!) place on earth...

Warning:  This post is full of lots and lots of pictures!!!
We kicked off our California vacation with 3 very fun and very exhausting days at Disneyland. It was the best Disney trip ever because all of the kids were old enough to really enjoy it, the weather was just about as perfect as it gets in Anaheim (not too hot that is...) and we had enough days so that we weren't stressing about "getting it all in".  My Mom joined us on the first day, which allowed Blaine and I to take Bella and Ezra on some of the bigger rides together. 
All of the kids went back and forth between pure exhilaration and pure exhaustion. Cali caught about a 20 minute snooze in the stroller but Ezra's nap was truly impressive.  
 He fell asleep on Dad's shoulders...
 Then slept through the super awesome and super noisy parade...
And slept through much walking around...
 
And stayed asleep while we met Donald Duck...
And Mickey Mouse...
 And Minnie Mouse...
And well, he was sleeping so long and hard that we just couldn't resist messing around with him a bit.
He didn't miss it all though...here he is with a scary storm-trooper...
And hitching a ride with Dad.
 We loved Thunder Mountain...
And the updated Star Tours was really awesome!
After a good night's rest, we were ready to hit the ground running at CA Adventure.  
And Ez was awake for all of the characters we met there...And boy did we meet a lot of them!  Cali was totally enthralled in meeting the characters.  She wanted to hug and talk to every single one of them and was mad whenever we had to leave.  It was so fun to see her eyes light up at the sight of each one of them.  
We ate lunch with most of the princesses at Ariel's Grotto.  The kids were thrilled with their personal visit with each princess.  I was worried that Ez might be a little bummed that it was all princesses but he just kept saying how "cute and sweet" they all were...he's my little Casanova for sure! 
Even though they were exhausted, they still wanted to swim in the hotel pool.  Cali must have gone down this slide a bazillion times!
 And nothing says welcome to Disneyland better than Mickey Mouse chocolate dipped rice crispy treats!
As parents, we were so proud of how well the kids saved their money to help pay for Disneyland.  They helped earn this vacation and I hope they will always remember it as a time that they had Mom and Dad's undivided attention in a really fun setting.  

4 comments:

alison said...

it looks like you had a GREAT trip, I can't believe how big your kids are getting!

Haley L said...

Even though I'd already seen the pics, I still feel like Cali looks OLD in all the photos. I'm just so grateful you came home after such a great trip. Thought I was going to have to call in the troops to retrieve you. ;) Oh, and tell your hubby I need him to make some of those Rice Krispie treats dipped in chocolate!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the update. Looks like a fabulous trip. Totally funny pics of Ez sleeping and you messing with him. Ha! Love you all. aunt linda

Melanie said...

too cute--love all the pics! SO glad we got hang out at the beach and spend some time together!