We're Back!!!

Disneyland was so fun. We had a wonderful week and now I'm gonna go into detail. It may be more detail then you want to read, but this is my form of a journal, so I want to remember everything. Indulge me please.


Day 1: California Here We Come!

Our flight was great. The kids were well behaved and it was very uneventful. That is what I call perfect. After we checked into our hotel, we headed off to Disneyland to get a few hours in before the park closed. Immediately we lost Jackson. We had been putting our stuff in the locker and started walking down main street when we realized he wasn't with us. We turned around and it took a bit to find him, but he was across the street, looking for us. You could tell he was panicking and when he heard me call him and came running. He cried for a while, and I had to carry him up main street, but then he was fine and stuck to me like glue the rest of the vacation. We know how to start our trips with a bang.
After that it was on to the Matterhorn. This ride proved to be too much for my sister. She had been fighting a tummy bug all day and sat and watched us on the rides, but the pull of the Matterhorn was too much for her to fight and she decided to join us. She regretted it for the rest of the night and had to have my parents take her back to the hotel. That left my little family to explore Fantasy Land. Of course we had to do the Tea Cups. All the kids agreed that they were too old for Fantasy Land.

Day 2: Disneyland


We had the opportunity to have breakfast in the park with Minnie and her friends. It was a nice buffet and the kids were able to get autographs from several characters.


Once breakfast was over, we ran to Space Mountain before the crowds got there. We walked right on and everyone said it was their favorite ride. After that, it was on to Adventure Land and Frontier Land. Poor Ellie wasn't tall enough for the Indiana Jones ride, so Grandpa took her to Tarzan's Tree House and the Pirates of the Caribbean. We all really enjoyed Splash Mountain, although we looked ridiculous in our ponchos. I was sure glad to have them since the temperature was only 70 and that isn't warm enough to be wet.
My favorite part of the day was meeting Goofy and Gepeto. We had worn our Batmans save Disneyland shirts and Goofy was fascinated by them. He kept pointing to them, so I explained that our name was Batman, but he didn't believe at first. In Jonathan's autograph book he wrote "Really?" Then he marched over to Gepeto to drag him over to meet us and hear our tale. So Gepeto starts pulling on Jonathan and testing him to see if he'd make a good puppet. So cute.



We also got to meet Mickey, which is one of the hardest characters to meet. The kids were thrilled.
That night, Andrew got Leigh's stomach bug and went home early. We hoped no one else would catch it.

Day 3: California Adventure

We spent the entire day in California Adventure. Starting right off with a bang, we went on the Tower of Terror. Jackson was not happy about it once we got inside, but he was the one who suggested we go on it. I LOVED IT!!! After the ride, we had to calm Jackson down by buying him some ice cream. Once he was calm, we went to Soaring Over California. What a neat ride. Then it was off to see Aladdin. That was a great show. Almost like a Broadway production.
Around 5:00 pm my parents took the kids back to the hotel to swim and have dinner. That left Leigh, Andrew and myself to to the adult rides. Too soon I became exhausted and had to call it quits. I was so sore and tired.
On a side note, while eating dinner at the Pilots Grill, we were entertained by a real mouse poking in and out of the wall. I kept throwing bits of fries at it, which was grossing my sister out, but I thought was funny. I know, gross.

Day 4: Princess Ellie's Birthday



Ellie celebrated her 6th birthday in the park. That morning she received a beautiful princess dress so she could wear it when she met the other princesses at Fantasy Princess Fair. She looked so pretty and she was thrilled with her dress. When we arrived at the park, we went to City Hall to announce her birthday and receive a birthday button. Then she received a surprise call from Goofy. He knew her name and told her to have a happy birthday. So cute.



Then it was off to the Mad Hatter so the kids could by their hats. The all looked really silly, but so cute. After that we split up. The boys went to Jedi Training and the girls to Fantasy Princess Fair. The boys had a great time and learned how to battle with Darth Vader. Isaac was selected to go up and battle. He was thrilled.
Ellie got her face painted and learned how to bow and dance like a princess.





Then she wanted to meet the princesses. We stood in line for an hour and a half, but she finally got to meet Cinderella, Belle, Snow White, and Jasmine. She thought it was worth the wait.




The rest of the day was pretty low key and we said farewell to Disneyland. We were sad we never received any "Dreams" but we loved the park.

Day 5: So Long

Friday we spent the morning swimming and packing. We went to Dennys for breakfast where the kids got the cutest balloon animals. Then it was off to the airport. A great time was had by all, but we sure missed Gavin. We have a goal to be back in 5 years with Gavin and I want to stay at the Grand Hotel in the park. We'll see.

More pictures to come once I get my parents and Leigh's pics.