Disneyland, The Happiest Place on Earth!

We visited Jana and Joe and their family for the blessing of Kellen and decided that since we were half-way there we might as well go to Disneyland. We got a screamin' deal (and we all know that is the most important thing when traveling with me) and actually had a very nearly perfect vacation. We talked about leaving Avery home with Nanny, but decided to take her, and boy was I glad, I needed a buddy while waiting for the fam on so many rides and she ended up being the perfect companion.

We hit the ground running. We arrived at 8:45 a.m. to find out that the park didn't open until 10:00. We were actually not even the first car in the parking garage, but we were in the first 20. Morgan and Shelby jumped out and ran to get our tickets (we were meeting a friend at 9:00) and the rest of the kids and I waited to park and ride the tram in. We headed right for Pirates, Splash Mountain and the Haunted Mansion. Then on to Indiana Jones and Big Thunder Mountain. Jaxon and Avery and I spotted a few characters and took a ride on the Tom Sawyer Riverboat.

Jaxon loved the paddle wheel and the fact that he could ride three levels up. Do we look scared? I think Halle pulled it off. Our little actress.

We wondered if Avery would be afraid of the characters...she wasn't. It just seemed that I was not fast enough with the camera. She would run in and hug and be out of there before I could even push the button. She also was not into waiting in line. When we saw Pooh bear she ran in hugged, waited in line for approximately 2 seconds and then butted in line to hug again. Sorry kids!

We had a great time in Tomorrow Land, despite the drizzle. We took advantage of the short lines and rode everything. We loved Buzz lightyear and Nemo. Morgan and the big kids loved Space Mountain and Star Tours.

Brock was hilarious on the Autopia cars. He could not get the hang of pushing the pedal and driving at the same time. He had such a lne up of cars behind him. He would go about 10 feet and then stop and then go 10 feet and stop. Finally the nice worker man jumped in to help. When we asked him about his experience he just looked at us and confidently said, I was a good driver.

While some of the more adventurous riders were doing their thing the rest of us took every opportunity to have a snack (yes dad, I know you are proud). Halle couldn't wait to find a spoon to eat her pudding so she just went whole hog.

One of the highlights of the trip had to be the Jedi training session. Both Shelby and Brock got picked to be trained so it was very exciting. So exciting in fact that we came home with two light sabers as souveneirs. I promise those things didn't look so big when we bought them, but after carrying them through the rest of the day, and trying to pack them in the van, and then realizing when we got home that the boys can't even swing them in the house we stand corrected, they are big.

Shelby was a natural. She was very serious about defeating Darth Maul.

I don't think Brock smiled at all until the whole thing was over. He tried so hard and was so into the whole thing. I still wonder if he knew it was all pretend.

We had such a big day, and so much fun that when we went to the Cheesecake Factory on the way back to the Hotel both Avery and Jaxon fell asleep before they even brought out the food and we ended up just taking everything to go and left without cheesecake. Tragic!

We started day 2 at California Adventure. The crowds were so thin that we could get on anything we wanted to, even ride them twice. They loved the River ride and the "fifty foot drop". Jaxon's favorite thing the whole day was the sprinkler park. He would have stayed there all day if everyone would have let him.

Avery and Minnie, what can I say. Avery loves Minnie. She sleeps with 3 different versions of Minnie every night, she can survive 12 hour car rides if Minnie is there, she can even make it through 3 hours of church if she knows Minnie will be there too. I was thrilled that I actually was quick enough to get this shot. Too Cute!

We had such a great time. The kids had so much fun and it was really fun to see the different stages of Disneyland. Shelby and Brock were just old enough to enjoy the adventure and thrill of the rides, Halle and Jaxon were so excited and just overcome with the magic of it all (Halle, while watching the firework show was the only one around laughing, oohing and aaghing and clapping, but she didn't care, she thought it was the best thing ever). Morgan was the best dad ever as he was game for whatever the kids wanted to do and do again. Avery and I were just content to watch the joy and enjoy the moments. What a blessing this trip turned out to be and what a great memory we will have.