Disneyland

The kids finally earned enough rocks to go to Disneyland! (We have a giant jar and the kids get little rocks each time they do their chores. So we told them as soon as the jar was filled, we'd take them to Disneyland.) The kids worked hard and totally earned it.

We got to California Thursday afternoon and decided to get out at the beach and play for a while before heading to our cousins' house, where we were staying. Levi carried this sponge around for most of the trip. He found a sponge in the garage as we were getting in the car, and wanted to clean stuff with it, but it was filthy, so I gave him a new sponge to bring. This kid sure is quirky! Can't remember why he's so sad here, but there he is with his sponge...
On Thursday evening, we stopped in at Peter's grandma's house to pay a visit. It was great to see her.
On Friday we woke up bright and early to get to Disneyland before too late. We got there at about 8:30, which gave us the chance to get on some rides without even waiting. We went on Dumbo first. The kids loved it, of course. I'm glad we hit Dumbo first. It always seems to have a long line, but we waited maybe 5 minutes. See how Levi is holding the map? He would not let go of it! And I don't mean just holding it. He had to have it unfolded and out in front of him everywhere he went. He ended up walking into a few poles during the day as a result :)

Next we went on the Teacups (which the kids loved) and then on Matterhorn. I thought the kids might be a little freaked out, and boy, were they! They did not like being in the dark or going super fast! We had three crying children after that and decided to scrap Space Mountain for the day, even though I had already secured fast passes.

One thing we had to do was the Jedi Training show. None of the kids wanted to volunteer, but they all loved watching the show, especially Levi. It's probably a good thing Levi didn't volunteer, because he would probably want to join the Dark Side. He was stoked when these Storm Troopers showed up.
And he about died when Darth Vader arrived. He was so excited to see his "hero" onstage!

Darth Maul was in a pretty bad mood.
It was a great show. Funny and entertaining, and these kids fought their hardest! It was really cute. Levi was in heaven.
We spent the rest of the day torturing the kids by forcing them to go on The Haunted Mansion, Thunder Mountain (just Jonah and Eden), and The Buzz Lightyear ride. Only Levi cried on the Buzz ride. They liked Autopia, the rockets in Tomorrowland, the Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Disneyland Railroad, the Carousel, Peter Pan, Storybook Land boats, and Small World. It was a good day to go. We didn't wait for more than 10 minutes for most rides. I think we waited a half hour for Peter Pan and that was the longest. Here is the view from the Tarzan tree house.Actually, the thing we waited the longest for was for Eden to see the Princesses. Eden and I waited for an hour while Peter and the boys explored Toon Town. At first I was wondering if it was going to be worth it. Wow, yes it was! Eden was pretty patient, considering the situation, and she was thrilled when it was finally her turn! I have to say, after all that waiting, even I was thrilled to see the princesses!

First, she got to see Mulan. She was mesmerized. Eden told her, "You are so beautiful!" It was cute. Next, she met Belle. Belle was super friendly and talked with Eden for a few minutes.
Last was Tiana. Tiana talked with Eden for a few minutes as well.
Check out that grin. Eden was so thrilled!

A little bit later, as we were walking by the castle, we spotted the Fairy Godmother, so we stopped to get a picture. Then we saw Ariel, Cinderella, and Prince Charming walk by. Ariel was right in front of these two. They didn't stop, but Eden was so excited to see a few more princesses. We got to see a little show with the cast of Princess and the Frog. Eden noticed that it was a different Tiana and said to me, "Mom, there are TWO Tianas!" Observant little girl!

All in all, we got to do everything we wanted, besides Splash Mountain, which was closed. I think the kids might have liked that one, even though there is the big drop. The kids were mostly freaked out by the fast and dark rides. They had a lot of fun though, and we definitely got it all in in one day. I would not have wanted to go back the next day! We were tired! We wanted to stay for Fantasmic, but Jonah was falling asleep by 8:30, so we decided just to head back.

I asked the kids what their favorite rides were.
Jonah: Pirates of the Caribbean and It's a Small World
Eden: The Princesses and the Teacups
Levi: The Teacups and the Jedi Training

The next day, we went to Grandpa and Grandma Packard's for a quick visit before heading for home. I didn't get any pictures, but the kids had fun seeing their great-grandparents. I just love being at my grandma's house. It almost feels like another home to me.

It was a quick trip, but fun. We played really hard!