Disneyland!

We decided that we needed a break from our everyday routines and what better place to escape reality than Disneyland?  Nate and I hadn't been to The Magic Kingdom in 8 years which means that the kids had never been before.  Due to work, school, and finances, we were only able to take 4 days for the trip.  Two of those days were spent driving and two were spent in Disney bliss.
We left bright and early Monday morning.  Well, it wasn't exactly bright, but it was definitely early.

After a very long day of driving and a few unexpected stops, we made it to our hotel in Anaheim.  After we got checked in and unloaded, we were starving so we walked to a pizza shop on the corner and had some spaghetti with meatballs and cheesy pizza.  Then it was time to try to get some sleep.  I never sleep well in hotels and this one was no different.  We stayed at the Castle Inn and Suites.  It was comfortable enough, but all the small unfamiliar noises keep me awake.  I don't think Nate slept well either, but the kids were snoring away. 

The next day, before we headed to the park, I checked in with my classes and discovered that I needed to re-write a 5 page paper that was due that day.  So I quickly pumped one out in about 30 minutes.  I haven't gotten my grade back on it and I can't say that it was my best work, but hopefully it will do. I had more important things to get to. =) 

On our first day in Disneyland, we hit fantasy land, frontier land, and adventure land.  We rode the train around the park, which I had never done before.  I didn't know that they had all the neat things to see such as the Grand Canyon, the dinosaurs, and the inside of Splash Mountain.  The first ride we did though was It's a Small World.  It was so fun to watch the kids taking it all in.  This became Lilly's favorite ride and we rode it a total of 4 times during our visit.
We took all the kids on The Haunted Mansion, which they actually really enjoyed.  Some of the other things we did were Dumbo, the teacups, Peter Pan, Mr. Toad, King Arthur's Carousel, Pinocchio, Winnie the Pooh, Story Land Boats, Tarzan's Tree House, Pirates of the Caribbean, and The Jungle Cruise. Nate and I each took a turn taking Jonah on Splash Mountain.  Lilly went on it once and really didn't like the big drop, but Jonah absolutely loved it.  When I was riding it with him and we were coming up to the drop, he said, "Hold on Mom! Here comes the big skadoosh!"  Nate also took Jonah on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and he loved that too.  We also met up with a few characters throughout the day.  We decided to opt out of the Princess Faire where you get to meet all of the princesses because the line was never less than 2 hours long.  The girls didn't seem to care.  They got to see the princesses in the parade that night.

The beginning of our adventure!

Silliness with the Cheshire Cat

Not sure why they're making these faces.  They're definitely ready to take on It's a Small World. =)

In Tarzan's Tree House

Visiting Winnie the Pooh

Lilly and Eeyore.  She loved getting her picture taken with the characters.

The one and only Tigger!

Trying to pull the sword from the stone

Jayne really liked King Arthur's Carousel

Lilly did too!

Jessie the Yodeling Cowgirl

Lilly giving it a go with that sword in the stone.  Actually, I don't think she was pulling at all, just posing for the camera.

Jayne gave it a mild effort

And I tried really really hard! That thing is not budging. I guess I just wasn't meant to be the next king of Camelot. 

Teacup photo op!

The kids loved the stained glass window at our hotel.

We were having so much fun that we didn't even stop for lunch until 3:30 in the afternoon.  We walked across the street to Denny's and enjoyed a feast full of greasy food, chocolate chip pancakes, and even a strawberry milkshake.  After our lunch/dinner, we went right back to all the Disney fun.  We ended our night watching Mickey's Soundsational Parade.  It was full of music and elaborate costumes and plenty of Disney characters.  Lilly and Jayne waved at every performer and character that passed and several of them waved directly back at them and/or blew them a kiss.  The girls felt so special. 

I think we all slept a little bit better that night mostly due to exhaustion.

The second day was February 29th, Leap Day, and Disneyland was doing a promotion where they opened at 6:00AM and didn't close until 6:00AM on March 1st.  We got to the park around 8:30 and ended up staying until about 10:00PM.  We spent the morning in Toon Town, Fantasy Land and Tomorrow Land, had lunch at McDonald's across the street, spent the afternoon at Disney's California Adventure, and then spent the rest of the evening back at Disneyland.  We did all kinds of fun things including Roger Rabbit, Mickey's house, Minnie's house, Goofy's Go-Coaster, Finding Nemo Submarine, Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters, Alice in Wonderland, The Little Mermaid, Flik's Flyers, The Muppets 3D, Monsters Inc., It's tough to be a bug, King Triton's Carousel, Mickey's Ferris wheel, The Chew-Chew Train, and The Jellyfish.  We also rode some of our favorites again like Pirates, Small World, Dumbo, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and the teacups. 

Jayne spotted this blue whale on King Triton's Carousel and couldn't wait to ride.

Lilly chose this pink dolphin

The kids loved the statues of the bugs from A Bug's Life. 

When we got to California Adventure, the first thing the kids had to do was sit down, look at the map, and figure out a game plan.  So cute!

Ready for some 3D Muppet fun!

Jayne's favorite way to see the sights

Ready to ride Flik's Flyers

We met Tinkerbell and Terrance in Pixie Hollow

Lilly was excited to meet Tinkerbell.  In this picture she's listening intently as Tinkerbell explains where the other fairies are.  They were back in Neverland getting things ready for spring.  I sure wish they'd hurry up. =)

We had to ride Dumbo one more time

Climbing up on Goofy's Go Coaster

We explored Mickey's house and got to meet the Mouse himself

In Minnie's house, Lilly thought it was so cool that everything in her fridge is some sort of cheese.

Jayne was thrilled that we got to meet Minnie Mouse!  She could hardly stand to wait in line. 

We also found Pluto in Toon Town

We were lucky enough to catch Goofy as soon as he came out to greet visitors. 

For their souvenirs, we let the kids each pick out a mouse ear hat.  Jonah chose a pirate hat complete with a gold earring and scarf.  Lilly chose a pirate princess hat with pink skulls and crossbones on the ears and a tiara in the middle.  Jayne chose a classic Minnie Mouse hat. 

Jonah was being shy with Mickey.  Mickey and I tried our hardest to get him to pose for a picture, but this was the closest we got. 

Jayne, on the other hand, ran right up to him and gave him a big hug and squeezed his nose. 

Lilly loved Mickey too.  

 Towards the end of the night, we told the kids they each pick their favorite ride to do one more time.  Lilly chose It's a Small World, Jayne chose the teacups, and Jonah chose Pirates of the Caribbean.  We also enjoyed some Mickey shaped beignets and mint julep and one more ride on the train.  We got to bed very late on Wednesday night.  We left the park around 10:00PM.  Because of the Leap Day promotion, the park was getting crazy!  When we left, the plaza was full of people still trying to get in.  There were signs saying that Disneyland was officially full to capacity, so they were letting people in as other people left.  I was glad we were done.  We were all so tired that we could barely walk.  The girls hitched rides on Nate and I.  We finally got to bed around 11:00, then we got up again at 4:00 to head back to Utah. 
We all had a wonderful time and are still talking about it every day.  We can't wait to go back to The Magic Kingdom!