A Happy Home is Filled with Love and Laughter: DISNEYLAND

DISNEYLAND

Beej & Chris

Okay, we know we just went to Disneyland this last December.....but once you go, you just can't stop going! It is just too magical! BJ's work has been really really busy lately. He has moved into a lead position and has taken on a lot more at work. I am still working about once a week, but we have been trying to get pregnant for over a year now and we had just recently gone through a miscarriage. So we decided that we needed to get out and get our minds off of things and have a fun family vacation. The last time we went to Disneyland it was BJ's first time going as well as the kids- so we spent a lot of time with characters and riding the little kid rides. So this time, we made sure to get BJ to ride all of the famous big kid rides that he didn't get to do before. Plus, both of the kids grew and were able to ride rides they weren't able to before. It was just much needed and so much fun!

We decided to save money (since this was such a spur of the moment thing) and drive to California instead of fly. We left at 1 am and got there around 10:30 am. The kids did awesome. When we woke Kaylee up to put her in the car for the drive, we found that she had a fever of 101. Thank goodness she just slept most of the way there and got it all out of her system.

We booked our hotel and park passes with Getaway today and got a few great deals. Once we got to the hotel, and saw that Kaylee was doing really good we decided to give the park a try.

It was just as magical as before. We immediately saw Aladdin and the Genie and Kaylee ran up to them to get a picture. Connor started out a little nervous, but ended up doing pretty good with the characters.

Connor was in heaven with all the Toy Story

Finding Nemo ride

Connor and Kaylee loved carrying their autograph book around with them. Connor signed a lot of his pages himself.

We made a point to go to the Disney Junior Show in California Adventure. We were asking one of the workers that had a "Ask me about Characters" where we could find the Toy Story Characters and she started suggesting places for us to go. She suggested going to the Disney Junior Show and walked us to the front of the line and had us walk right in like we were celebrities. It sure made our day start out great.

The kids loved the show. They had puppets perform different shows that the kids have seen on tv (Jake and the never land pirates, Sofia the first etc).

We then found a great spot for the parade in California Adventure (which was awesome)

The kids both crashed, so we sent BJ to go ride Soarin over California

The parade had characters from Monsters Inc and Toy Story- Connor's favorite

Yep two year old's don't care where they lay down and throw a fit ha ha

I loved how Kaylee would twirl around and hold up her dress everywhere we went. Such a cute little princess

'Wishing well'

We sat and watched a little 'Tangled' play (instead of going back to the hotel everyday. We sat and watched a lot of shows and parades to give us some quiet time. Some days it worked out okay, and some days we should have gone home for a little nap ;)

We heard a little secret...that if you stay after the play than you can meet the characters for a picture. Only a few people stayed so we didn't have to wait very long at all.

Don't ya love how Kaylee wears mommies sunglasses? ;)

Kaylee and Daddy had their hands up the whole ride

When we got back to our hotel we found this. The kids loved it

We used our magic morning and got their early enough that we could see them cut the rope and open the park up for the day. Everyone RAN into the park...including us :)

Daddy was such a good sport and entertained Connor a lot in the lines. He would "Steal" Connors ears or eyes and Connor would "Steal" daddies right back.

We loved how many fantasy rides we could ride in that magic morning. It is definitely worth it!

The many attempts of mom trying to get pictures of dad with the kids...

Hey- finally got a clear one with Kaylee and Dad

Kaylee loved checking to see if she was big enough on every ride. She felt so special when she got to ride some "big" rides that Connor couldn't ride.

This is out of order- but this is when we got the car all packed up the night before we left for our trip

and this is the night we left. Notice Kaylee has a throw up bowl for her just in case.

Kaylee riding Splash Mountain for the SECOND time in a row. This girl is so brave

Mom riding Space Mountain all by myself while Daddy was with the kids. I definitely don't like Space Mountain as much during Halloween.

Mommy and Kaylee riding the Cars ride. She was just tall enough

Waiting for the light show at California Adventure

Mom had sore sore knees, so we took a long break in the hotel one day to rest up.

The kids had enough of the "magic"

We finally realized that a naptime was in order in the middle of the day, so mom could rest her knees and dad and the kids could take naps (okay okay, mom took a nap too). Everytime we think we can go and go the whole day without a break. But it is always better if we take time in the middle of the day to get away from the park and rest.

Each of the kids picked out a toy to take home. Kaylee got a Doc McStuffin's doctor bag, and Connor got a Monsters Inc. Flashlight. They both still LOVE their toys and play with them all the time.

On our way home! Each of the kids had a little container right next to them with toys, coloring books, and other little activities to entertain them. BJ made them each cookie sheet activity tables where they could put their food, coloring books, or cars for Connor. The "tables" made it a lot easier for them and I am glad we brought them.

We also had 5 presents for both kids that we used for the "emergency- they kids are crying" moments to make it through the drive. Mom ended up sick on the way home with a fever of 101 as well. We only stopped twice though and made it home safe and sound. It was exhausting, magical, and oh so fun!