Oh boy! Oh boy! Oh boy! We're going to Disneyland!
Tyson and I decided to take the kids and go celebrate our anniversary in California.
We arrived on December 1st to this -
Fun, huh? Even a Christmas tree! We booked a condo (Suite Escapes) instead of a hotel this time and it was great!
It was so nice to spread out into 3 bedrooms, plus this one had lots of fun extras, like dress ups and toys in the kids room.
And a welcome basket with food when we arrived! What is it about travel that always makes me so hungry? So that was greatly appreciated. The trade off was the condo was too far to walk and difficult to come back to for naps.
Wednesday, December 2, 2015 - Disneyland
We're here!
The sad news is Tyler's not feeling well and spent a chunk of the morning in the stroller.
The good news is, Uncle Matthew came and joined us for the day!
Each of the kids can pick out one souvenir from the parents. Tyler chose to build a lightsaber. Lydia chose a Queen Elsa dress (and bought the accessories with her spending money).
Kate choose a Rapunzel dress. Solely because it's her favorite color, purple.
This is Lydia at Disneyland.
Going, going, going!
And she climbs on every possible thing that is climbable. Seriously. This is only one of the examples.
This is Kate at Disneyland.
Thursday, December 3, 2015 - California Adventure
Today we went to California Adventure Park. None of us had every been there. It was cute, had some good rides, and fun characters. And it wasn't too overwhelming with too much to do, so I caught a taxi and took Kate back to the condo for a nap. She wasn't feeling well either.
Lydia was feeling great though! So she gets to star in most of the pictures.
This was Lydia's go-to smile when posing for the camera on the trip. No matter how I tried to coach her otherwise. Oh well, it'll be endearing when we look back, right?
Tyler perked up a little here and there.
Friday, December 4th, 2015 - Disneyland
One more day is Disneyland. Kate likes princesses - a lot, actually. But when it comes to meeting them, she was so shy! Credit to the princesses who tried really hard to engage with her, but she was not having any of it.
And guess what? Aunt Kristen got to join us today!
She was fun and a great help! Because do you know how helpful it is to have an extra adult when there are constant potty break demands?
She even wooshed Lydia to the bathroom and back just in time to get on the paddle boat and see Tiana (Lydia's favorite princess of the month)!
And boy, was that cute! Since we were on the boat, there wasn't a line of other children vying for the attention of the princess, so Lydia got to spend the whole time on the rail with Princess Tiana, waving along to all the people on shore.
Priceless.
And we loved Tom Sawyer's Island! Disneyland themes it more pirate-like right now, because that's what's popular, but it will always be Tom Sawyer's Island to me. It was so fun to explore and rest, away from the crowds.
The most precious jewels you'll ever have around your neck are the arms of your children.
:: sigh of contentment ::
You know why else it was fun to have Aunt Kristen along today? Today is our 11th anniversary and my sister stayed with the kids back at the condo so Tyson and I could come back to Disneyland and go on a date!
We rode the Matterhorn and put our names on the waiting list for the fancy Blue Bayou restaurant inside the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. We stood in line for the Haunted Mansion, but about halfway through realized we would miss our dinner reservations. So we back tracked through the line and when people looked at us quizzically, I explained, "This ride just looks way too scary. Too scary! We're leaving." When we were out of earshot Tyson busted up laughing at the looks on people's faces.
The restaurant was yummy, the atmosphere was awesome, and when we finished, our server escorted us to the front of the line for the ride.
Afterwards, Tyson and I sat on a bench, resting our feet and chatting, while Disneyland emptied for the night. It was a good anniversary!
The Rest of the Trip - Oceanside, CA
We spent the next few days down in Oceanside with my Justin and his family. It's always fun to see these guys -
I love that you can come to the beach even in December in California.
Lydia and her cousin, Levi.
Levi dancing with the ocean.
Then, two days before we were to head for home, the sick bug hit Lydia too. It takes a lot to get her down, so this was bad. And the truth is, Tyson and I hadn't been feeling that great either on the trip. But when we look back on this, these are the memories we want to remember - the fun experiences mentioned above.
Yes, we all ended up getting sick, one by one, and couldn't enjoy our long-awaited trip to it's full potential, but that means we'll just have to have a re-do, right?
I'm still grateful for the good moments and fun pictures and the times we will say, "Remember when...!"
So that's how I am choosing to blog about our trip. :-)
