Disneyland

Just so we have an understanding...I had this ridiculously long blog about our trip and it got DELETED! I almost cried. So if this one is missing some details, blame my disappointment with Blogger.:) Okay, here we go.

I hate preparing for vacations. By the time we're ready to go, I'm pretty much a frazzled mess. BUT...I LOVE vacations! I love the driving and the snacks and stopping in different places and the arriving! I love all of that. This trip I learned how much I love sharing new things will my cute little family. Kris had never been to Disneyland before (Grandma either!) so getting to watch him when we went for the first time was awesome. I thought it couldn't get better. BUT...going with Annie was ten times more awesome! For me, Disneyland is this magical piece of my childhood. Getting to see it through her eyes was an incredible experience for me.

We left on Friday night and headed to Phoenix. Saturday we drove to Banning, CA and then Sunday we drove on. It was Kris and I, the girls and my Dad (Grandpa is also a lover of all things Disney!). Sunday we met Grandma at LAX (Grandpa H. decided he didn't want to come). Let me just say...I HATE LAX! We parked in the wrong terminal -- totally my fault -- and ended up having to take the shuttle bus to the right terminal. Poor Grandma had to walk all over the place with us. She was a trooper.:)

Here's my plug for our hotel. It was freakin' awesome! We stayed at the Homewood Suites by Hilton. It was about a mile and a half from Disneyland. They had free breakfast buffet with things everybody loved, and the extra bonus was that 4 of the nights they were there, they had dinner! The staff was AMAZING. 12005 Harbor Blvd., Garden Grove, CA. I totally recommend it!

Sunday night Kris and I left each of the girls with a grandparent (Annie with Grandpa, Emily with Grandma) and we went for date night at Disneyland! We hit all the grown-up rides we wouldn't get to go on the rest of the week. Kris's favorite was Big Thunder Mountain. My favorite, of course, is the Matterhorn. Kris decided he would NEVER go on Space Mountain again. It was like a salmon in a tuna can. Space Mountain + 6' 4" = NO FUN!:) The best part of the night was when he said, "I could totally see us coming here every year." SCORE!:)

Here's the rest of our week in short form:

Monday: Disneyland with the kids and grandparents.


Emily and Grandma enjoying breakfast. Emily LOVED Grandma!

Annie enjoying a blueberry muffin.:)

Thank heavens for electric wheelchairs! Yes, that's a leg in Grandpa's basket.:)

One of Annie's favorite rides from Monday was the teacups. Every time we walked by them after she had ridden on them, she would yell, "Teacups! Teacups!" She also got to go on It's A Small World (a hit!) and Alice in Wonderland.

She thought looking like Mickey Mouse was pretty great.

Annie couldn't stop looking at Mickey. I think this is one of my favorite moments. There is nothing better than watching a kid who really believes that is THE Mickey Mouse. She was in awe.:)

Enjoying ice cream on our way out!

Who doesn't look great in Mickey ears?!

Tuesday: San Diego!
Monday we had a little problem with one prosthetic leg. It finally broke Monday afternoon (after business hours, of course), so we didn't know if we'd get to go to San Diego on Tuesday like we had planned. Here's my plug for the Hanger office in Orange - AWESOME! The prostheticist had it fixed in 15 minutes and was super nice about it. It was early enough so we could head south for some shopping and seafood!

Kris and Annie at Seaport Village.

There was a Mama Duck and all her babies crossing the sidewalk. Annie thought that was pretty great. She followed them across the sidewalk, whispering, "Quack, quack, quack."

Eating at Anthony's Fish Grotto. My FAVORITE seafood! Best clam chowder in the world. Just sayin.'

Wednesday: Disneyland, part 2

We discovered the Toy Story parking lot on Wednesday. It was MUCH more convenient for two old fogies that couldn't walk too far.:) Both Wednesday and Friday morning we had the best bus driver! He even let Annie drive the bus.

Everybody went on Pirates, Haunted Mansion and Jungle Cruise. Annie loved them all! We all got soaked on Pirates, thanks to being on the front rows. Grandma got it the worst.:)

Annie got to see a bunch of her favorite characters on Wednesday down on Main Street. She saw Minnie, Donald, Chip, Goofy and the Queen of Hearts.

Wednesday night we got to go back to Disneyland, Kris, Annie, Grandpa and me. We got all the rides in Fantasyland done. She did so good on all of them, even Snow White, which was kind of scary. Then we went on Nemo. While we waited in line, we'd ask Annie who she was going to see and she'd yell, "Nemo!" She loved it!

Thursday: Beach Day

After a long trek to Long Beach (bad decision!) we drove down to Newport Beach to play in the ocean. Annie and Emily both loved it!


You can't see her face very well, but she's grinning from ear-to-ear!

Our dirty feet.:)


Friday: Disneyland, part 3

We tried to wait in line on Wednesday to see the princesses, but seriously...the line and the wait were ridiculous! Friday morning we got over to Princess Fantasy Faire before it even opened and waited for about 30 minutes. We were in the beginning of the line and didn't wait very long at all! Annie got to meet Snow White and Cinderella.


After the princesses, we went to see Tinkerbell (Annie's favorite these days!). The line for that was pretty long, but thankfully, Annie made some friends in line! She played "Ring Around the Rosies" with a little girl named Lily, and talked with another girl, Hayden, both 2 years old. It was so fun for her!



We went and saw Billy Hill and the Hillbillies. My kid has some rhythm.:)




Friday night we did World of Color. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! This was the icing on the whole week for me. Watching Annie was more fun than watching the water and lights. There was lots of "Ooooh" and "Aaaahh" and "Oh wow!" from her and it made every penny we spent on this trip SO worth it!