11.28.2011

Disneyland {a.k.a. our life's savings}

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This year we chose to travel to Disneyland with the family for a weekend of dancing, singing, fun and memories.  My niece's get to go to Disney each year in November to dance and/or sing in Disneyland.  Therefore all the family usually makes the trip to see them preform.  In years passed we've been unable to make it work, but this year we made the plunge and decided it would just take the place of Christmas gift's and such.
Well, we had a blast as one might expect and here's the proof to share and make everyone else jealous.  I'm so thankful we got to go and the kids had a wonderful time.  The drive home was long and not the greatest, but the trip as a whole was lots of fun and totally worth the effort.
Here's the trip through my iphone lens, prepare for picture overload, as if you would expect any less from me.
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First thing on Thursday evening walking into the park.  See Mickey and Minnie, Check!
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Tommy going on Thunder Mountain.  He loved it!
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Waiting for "World of Color".
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Friday morning walking to the park.  We turned a double stroller into a triple, clever huh?
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First stop, California Adventure.
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Toy Story
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Carousel, Max loved it!
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Churro #1, the first of many.
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Lots of line waiting
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My favorite picture of Miss Lo.  Love those baby blues!
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Finally, Zonked out!
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Where should we go next?
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Classic nose picking picture.
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Seeing lots of staples around the parks.
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Deep fried Chimichangas.  The lady selling them told us they deep fry these things for 10 minutes.
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Dragging ourselves back to the hotel.
The next morning, Saturday, we took our time getting up and going.  We were getting ready and starting to walk to the park when Tyler had to leave for the Football game that most of the guys were going to.  ASU just happened to be playing over in Cali that same weekend so the boys were thrilled to be able to go to the ASU game instead of another day of Disneyland.  So I was all alone to push the double stroller all the way to the park, and then throughout the entire park for the day.  Needless to say, I was tired before I even started.
First stop...
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...waiting for the girls to dance at California Adventure.
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Kate singing with Miss Jenee's Musical Theatre, then...
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Gracie getting ready to start the show.  She was so cute and did such a great job.
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Next up was Abbie.  Too cute for words.
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Then, a little Monsters Inc. and Playhouse Disney
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Lunch at the Carnation Deli with Yaya.
Then off to the Mother's lounge to change diapers and
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for the first time ever, Lola went poopoo on the big girl potty.  It was just the right size for her, she loved it!
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Then we walked past Sleeping Beauties Castle and "One Republic" was set up to play for the Christmas Day special that they were taping.  Hope went off on her own to go see the show while I snuck into a few shops.
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It was freezing out so we bought Max a new hat and even some jammies to wear under his outfit.
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We went into Toon Town, of course!
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and even rode on some rides that I have never even been on.
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Took some fun pictures and then snacked on ice cream sundaes while waiting for "Fantasmic" to begin.
After the show we headed over to main street to do a little souvenir shopping.
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I went ahead and got a silhouette done of the little's as my souvenir to remember this trip by.  I love it!!
Then we were able to meet up with daddy in Downtown Disney and head over to the "Ride Makers" store for the kids to pick out what they wanted.  It's the same idea as a Build-A-Bear only it's a build-a-car.  Tommy wanted nothing else.  Then once Toms had his we decided Lola would probably love that as well, so that was her special treat to take home.
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I must admit, these were a lot cooler then a stuffed animal that we already have a million of.
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We of course, walked through the Lego store and window shopped our way through Downtown Disney before heading back to the Hotel.

All in all a great time, exhausting, but great!
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The next morning we all planned on meeting for a late Brunch at Mrs. Knott's.  It was cold and rainy.
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The whole gang waiting for our table.
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Max going to town on a jelly packet
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This was only half the table.  I felt sorry for the waitress.
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Photo Op before heading home.
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Hitting the road.
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Trying to keep the kids entertained with glow sticks, it didn't last long.
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Capturing our frustration as the kids were not happy driving home.  They weren't interested in anything.  Movies, pez, coloring books, music, food.  It was a long drive to say the least.
But alas, we finally made it home.  Like 7 hours later.
It was so much fun, so happy to have been able to make the trip.  Here are a few more pictures from the weekend to wrap things up.
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Thanks for the Memories Disney!  See you in another three years.

5 comments:

Jen said...

Great Post!
Making memories like these are the best :)

Jill said...

You bahhahhaa in that pancho baahhaaaa going down the log ride bahhhaa made me do this out loud BAHHHHAAAAAAAAA!!!!

Flippin hilarious

Cynthia said...

It looks like you had an amazing time! We feel like we SHOULD take our kids to Disneyland because it's expected. And that's why we haven't. I have no doubt it would be fabulous but I fear the car ride. We drove 8 hours to see my BIL and his family and I about killed the kids by the time we got back home. I know exactly what you mean by 'frustrating car ride'. LOL!

Anonymous said...

Looking at the pictures made me realize what a fun time we really did have. It wasn't crowded, we got to ride everything we wanted more than once or twice, the kids were good...I could go on and on. I'm so glad you guys chose to come!

Love ya...Amy

mandyface said...

Oh man am I jeals!!! I NEED a dland trip stat. Your pics are great, looks like so much fun!