The Rest of the Story

On the second day we went to California Adventure Park. We got a picture with Lightning McQueen and Mater. Carsland is being built, but it's not done yet. The kids were pretty excited to see these two, though.

We spent quite a bit of time in Bug's Land. They had fun rides for the little kids. Nathan and Aaron liked the lady bug spinning one and the bug bumper cars. Ali was doing pretty well with these rides and thought she was a pretty big girl.
 

The rest of the day was a little off-kilter. First, Ali decided she was done and threw a great fit, so Ryan took her back to the room to have a nap. Then Aaron got tired and headed back to the hotel with Grandpa. That left Nathan and I to ride a few rides. We really liked Soarin' and I LOVED Screamin' - the roller coaster. We had some fast passes and I rode it three times in a very short amount of time. I think I could do that all day. Nathan had a corn dog and big drink, so he was happy even if he couldn't ride some of the rides because he was too small. I felt bad that Ryan didn't get to do as much that day, but he was a good sport and we were all happier for the rest.

Ali had fun in the hotel room moving the stroller to wherever she needed to it to be to get into things. She is very resourceful and hard to keep up with in even a small hotel room.

Unfortunately, Aaron got sick on Friday night, so he wasn't able to go into the park on Saturday. Grandma stayed with him while we took Ali and Nathan for the morning. We took Ali to see the princesses, but since Nathan wasn't so keen on waiting in line and seeing princesses, and Ryan wasn't too keen on riding any rides like the teacups that were close, I took Nathan to ride rides and Ryan took Ali to meet the princesses. I guess she was really cute. The pictures sure are cute. Ryan is a good day to take his little princess to see some others.

Nathan and I had a good time riding some of the rides in Fantasyland like the teacups and Dumbo. We were on the Pinnochio ride and it stopped and they had to come get us and walk us out. I actually liked that one better in the light than the dark lights they had for the ride. 

We went over to California Adventure before we headed back to the hotel so we could get a plane from the gift shop over there. Nathan and Aaron were holding on to their money until the last day to buy their souvenirs. Since Aaron didn't get to come with us, Nathan chose a couple of things that he thought Aaron would like - a lightsaber and a Goofy plane sucker. They were perfect. Nathan chose a model plane that he had to put together and a Mickey foldable hairbrush.

We went back to our hotel and then we all took a walk so Aaron could at least get out for a little while. He was feeling better, but had a slight cough still, so we figured it wouldn't be the best thing to take him around a bunch of people. We split up later and Ryan took Nathan and I took the little ones on the monorail. Aaron wanted to do that and it wasn't too crowded, so it worked well for us. Ali was pretty tuckered out. It was a busy three days for her.

We tried to get to bed fairly early because we were up just after 5 am to catch our shuttle to the airport. The kids were so good on both flights. It was a fast, fun adventure. They enjoy remembering what we did, looking about pictures, and talking about when we are going to go back. I think Ryan and I need a few years to recuperate, but I'm sure we will visit again.

Goofy's Kitchen

On Friday, the first thing we did was walk over to Goofy's Kitchen for breakfast. On the way there we had to stop and take a picture on the Mickey Mouse benches. Goofy's Kitchen was a happy place for everyone. Not only did the kids get to watch cartoons while we were waiting for our turn, we got to eat all we could of yummy food - breakfast food as well as desserts and other fun things, and we got to meet some characters. Nathan got their autographs, and Aaron even warmed up to a couple of them, particularly Pluto in his chef's hat. Ali was especially cute with Princess Aurora- Sleeping Beauty. As soon as she saw her, she grabbed Nathan's autograph book and held it out for her to sign. It was very cute, especially since she had wanted nothing to do with any of the characters the day before. Outside in the lobby was a cute car that Ali and Aaron each got in and drove.
 

Disneyland 2012

I'm finally getting around to posting our Disneyland pictures. Needless to say we had a great time! We have been home for nearly four weeks and the kids still talk about it all the time and ask when we are going again! There were a few rough patches, but those memories fade and just the fun memories remain. This may take a few posts, so here goes... 

We flew out on Wednesday evening. The kids were so excited running around the airport getting ready for their big adventure!
 

 When we arrived in Long Beach we waited outside for our shuttle to take us to our hotel. It felt so good to be in warmer weather. After we arrived at our hotel, Ryan and Todd walked down to McDonald's and brought us back a late dinner. Happy Meals on the floor were gobbled up! Everything tastes better at Disneyland! We were right across the street from the entrance to Disneyland and that night they had a fireworks show that we could see from in front of our rooms. The kids were so excited to see the fireworks and to get to go to Disneyland the next day.
 

On Thursday morning, we got up and walked across the street. We were able to get in the park an hour early for Magic Morning and got to see some of the characters. Nathan had a book to get autographs and would ask them to autograph it for him. We tried to get some family pictures with some of the characters, but Aaron was only interested in Pluto (because he was a dog and he loves dogs), and Ali was pretty much scared of every character that had a head on it. She didn't seem to mind the princesses or real people, but she wasn't as thrilled to see Mickey as we thought she would be. I guess he's better from a distance.
 

We started the day in Tomorrowland where Nathan and I got to ride what turned out to be his favorite ride, Star Tours. Aaron was too little and Ryan wasn't interested, so he and Dad went on Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, which ended up being Aaron's favorite ride. Aaron and Luke met a Storm Trooper outside, which they thought was pretty cool.

The rest of the morning we spent riding other rides like Nemo's Submarine, Autopia, and Space Mountain, which is my favorite. Aaron and Nathan both hated it and said they were never going on it ever again. I hope they grow up and like it or I hope Ali will like it because if not, I'm a loner on that ride since Ryan doesn't ride it, either. It was fast and dark, and I can understand how Aaron and Nathan wouldn't feel completely safe because they are so little, but I sure hope they like it when they are older!

On Autopia, Aaron and Nathan had a great time driving cars. They were pretty much enthralled with everything and thought it was all so cool. It was a beautiful day and not too busy, so it was fun for the kids.
 

We ate lunch at the Pizza place in Tomorrowland and then we headed on. The little ones fell asleep in the stroller, which was good. Ali was tired and pretty overwhelmed with all of the people, things to see, and the excitement. She took a little nap in the stroller with Jake while Nathan, Aaron and I rode the train around the park. Aaron was especially excited about this ride. Ryan got to ride Indiana Jones, so he had one adult ride at least.
 

Nathan was very brave and went on Splash Mountain, and then we all took it rather easy and went on the Winnie the Pooh ride. When we came out we say Tigger and Pooh. Nathan was excited to get their autographs, but Ali and Aaron still weren't too excited about the characters. 
 

All of us in front of Sleeping Beauty's castle heading into Fantasyland. We got to ride the teacups and walk around a bit. We were pretty much done for the day after that. We had gone on quite a few rides. Nathan was brave and did some of the bigger ones, but wasn't so sure he liked it. Ali slept a lot and Aaron hid in most of the pictures. He is actually in this picture below, but you can only see a part of him hiding behind Ryan. It was a bit of overload for him. :)