On the road bright and early. Luckily our kids sleep really well in the car. They slept quite a bit of the way and actually did really well on their first long drive except for one episode of car sickness.
I think we had time to lug the suitcases up to the hotel and sit down and the kids had their swimsuits on. It has been a long winter. I almost think the hotel pool was as big a draw as Disneyland.
It was a beautiful 80 degrees when we arrived and so perfect for swimming.
The kids are still in the beginning phase of swimming. Ella has had swimming lessons so she is feeling a lot more confident. Seth on the other hand feels very confident even though he doesn't really know what to do in water. Luckily he still thinks tubes and water wings are awesome.
Dang, that little boy has a bad case of cute face! He was so excited to wear his buzz lightyear swimsuit that Grandma got him. The only reason they got out of the pool was to eat dinner and they begged to get back in after.
The hotel breakfast buffet spoiled our kids rotten. They were asking for pancakes and french toast every morning after we got back home. Too bad they had to settle for groats and cereal.
Ella looking so cute and ready for her first day at Disneyland! She is in the process of growing her hair out like Princess Aurora.
Is there a better way to be welcomed into Disneyland than riding in, bucking bronco style, with Grandpa. I think not. The kids were so mesmerized and we had hyped it so much that they were almost silent just taking it all in.
Ella getting her first glimpse of Aurora's castle.
The Sword in the Stone has been one of our family favorite Disney movies so they had to give it a tug. Rob couldn't resist quoting "I don't want the wart for my squire!"
The it's a small world ride was a nice way to ease into "rides". Seth started to pick up on the lingo and heard us talking about "drops". Before going on any ride he would ask if there were "drops" on it. I don't think he knew what it meant until we went on Pirates of the Carribean. After that it was all cleared up for him and he concluded that he was not a fan of "drops" anymore.
We were so bummed that Seth chickened out on saying hi to Woody and Jessie and a little surprised that Ella was so into it. They visited with us for quite a while and Woody even borrowed my camera to take a few shots.
The Buzz Lightyear carnival ride at California Adventure was a lot of fun. Seth enjoyed it because his hero Buzz was in it and he got to shoot things in 3D. What's not to love? Plus it was so fun to have the whole family together, minus Chad who had to work, boo!
I think the older I get the more spinning is going to bother me. But for now I love it!! We took it easy though so the kids wouldn't throw up on the first ride of the day.
Of course they had to go again.
Climbing into the Finding Nemo submarine ride. It was really well done with video streaming across the water as you sailed past. Seth got a little scared during it but came through just fine with the help of Grandpa and Grandma.
We stopped for lunch and the kids were so excited to get going that they barely touched their food.
When Grandpa brought over the vanilla honey cupcake suddenly everyone was hungry again.
We happened to catch Minnie Mouse as we were walking by.
Ok this little Bugs Life ride was such a fun idea. You get to ride in little take out containers and animal cracker boxes. The kids felt like they were little bugs.
Seth and Daddy enjoying the ride, mostly Seth.
Yay another spinning ride this time Ladybug themed.
Churro break! These kids are focused when it comes to snack time.
After the slowest most boring ride at Disneyland we had a great surprise, Aunt Rachel finally arrived from North Carolina!
While the "big kids" were on California screaming Mom and I took the little kids on this cute Carousel.
We returned to the hotel for naps and dinner and then came back to ride the other Buzz ride at Disneyland. Seth thought he had died and gone to heaven. A giant animatronic talking Buzz and more laser guns! The best part was after the ride when we told him we were going to do it again the next day. Sheer joy!
Dad, Rach and Chelsea took off separately to do some rides and Mom and I flew solo with the kids to watch the fireworks. On our way to find a spot for the fireworks I realized that I had lost 2 of our park hopper tickets ,which I had shoved in my back pocket (stupid idea) when Rob handed them to me as he left the park to take a nap. It ended up being a total nightmare and I spent the next hour and a half at guest services trying to figure out the number on our tickets and calling everyone else in the family to match numbers up to find the missing ones so they could issue replacements. Needless to say we totally missed the fireworks and both kids were asleep and we only had a single stroller. I got a really good workout that night carrying Ella back to the hotel, penance for my thoughtless action. I don't know what I would have done if Mom hadn't been there.
Day 3Mmm breakfast buffet again. Sometimes you realize that you didn't get enough of a certain item and your sister has some extra and she isn't paying attention. After this particular morning Seth was so covered in syrup that he had to change outfits.
As we headed for the Buzz ride we caught the tail end of his little meet and greet.
I think they were more thrilled by the ride than seeing some guy in a Buzz costume.
Even Ella enjoyed trying to shoot Zurg and his minnions to steal back the batteries they had stolen.
Ella, about to experience a princess lunch at Ariel's Grotto.
Ariel was so sweet and they had a nice chat. Mostly about how they had matching outfits and their favorite colors.
Group shot minus Mom who was taking the picture.
This is the sea star roll that Ella thought was so neat.
When they announced each Princess, Ella would stand up and try to catch a glimpse. We were at the end of the room so we had to wait a few minutes for the princesses to come to our table. It gave Ella a chance to watch the princesses and build up a lot of anticipation, which she loves.
Hail to the Princess Aurora. Ella had a good question for her when she came by. "What color of dress was your favorite when the fairies were changing it from pink to blue?"She replied that she actually liked them both.
The dessert tray was really cool. This was the one Ella and I shared. It had this giant conk shell made out of white chocolate. Ella sincerely believed you could hear the ocean in it. Even the Ariel was edible.
Rachel and Chelsea used the conk shell as a prop and things got a little out of hand.
The jungle cruise was more our speed. The kids liked it so much I think we rode it 3 or 4 times over the course of our visit.
Day 4
Here is Ella in her Minnie ears ready for her last day in the Magic Kingdom and at the magical hotel with its breakfast that magically appeared every morning.
Prince Seth checking out the cool armor. He had to occupy himself somehow while Ella went through Aurora's castle 2 more times. It was very cool inside and we almost didn't take the time to go in.
Ella loved the little Cinderalla scene in the window of the Bibbity Boppity Boutique.
The Casey Jr zoo train had a huge line but it was one of the few rides we hadn't been on and the kids wanted to experience it, monkey style.
You know we had to hit Buzz a couple more times before checking out.
Aunt Chelsea with her Seth-a-boy.
The return drive home actually went very well. Wearing the kids out during the day paid off. They slept almost the entire drive home minus a stop for dinner.
2 comments:
Way to blog! Love you guys.
What a fun trip! You took great pictures and your kids looked like they loved it! Lucky to have your family come and be able to help things run smoothly. Is it going to be an annual tradition?
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