Disneyland

Six hundred and seventeen pictures later we are back from a very magical trip to Disneyland! Posting was postponed because I thought I lost my camera! I realized that I left my camera with over 600 pictures on the bus on our way to the airport! I was devastated! We quickly called the company to see if it was still on the bus. Thankfully it was, and another added blessing my parents flight got delayed two hours so my dad had ample amount of time to wait for the bus to make its round back to the airport! I am so grateful that it was able to make it home safely! I have been treating the card like gold since having it back! I do not want to lose these pictures! Taelee's first time to disneyland four years ago got deleted, and i was devastated! Needless to say I am very grateful for these pictures!

I LOVE DISNEYLAND!!! I have so many happy memories of this magical place! We went almost every year growing up. I am so grateful that I now get to share this magic with Stephen and our own kids! We decided to take this trip to celebrate Stephen being done with his two jobs!!! It was quite the celebration!

The flight went really well! We had a flight right during nap time so I was a little worried. Our kids fight sleep when it's not in their own beds, but they did awesome! ...

...Kingston finally gave in on the bus!

After we got to the hotel we hung around and waited for my parents to arrive. The kids were bouncing off the walls with excitement! Not only were they excited to see the Tower of Terror, Grizzy Bear Run, and Radiator Springs from or window, but they were thrilled to get to see their Nana and Gonka!! Once they got there we headed to Downtown Disney for some dinner!

Kingston with all his loot from Getaway today!

Already enjoying this sweet time with their Nana and Gonka!

Kingston always crosses his middle fingers on his left hand, so sweet!

We love the Rainforest Cafe! It is such a fun atmosphere, and they made me a killer custom vegan no fat pizza that was AMAZING! The kids had a blast! We sat right next to this beautiful fish tank and enjoyed every minute of it! The kids were pretty exhausted by the end of dinner (hence Kingston's arms behind his head!) I thought the kids would be so tired they would just crash...on the contrary! They thought it was play time back at the hotel! There were a lot of tears and broken up sleep! I was impressed that the kids shared a bed which I never thought would happen! The other nights went a lot more smoothly!

Our first day at he park wasn't done the "right" way (you'll see what that is further down). It felt a little weird not taking pictures by Mickey and not going in on the left, but we wanted to get as much done before the park closed early that night! We headed straight for Space Mountain to find it not open yet so we went to Nemo instead. It was perfect! Taelee and Kingston loved it! After that Space was open so we zipped on three times! Taelee LOVED it! It was one of her favorite rides, and she road it a total of five times thought our trip!

We love It's a Small World! Don't let it's bad wrap fool you! They have redone it and it is awesome!

I LOVE DISNEYLAND! I definatley went snap happy! I felt like the crazy camera lady, but I just couldn't resist! I love all the details they put into each attraction, I love the beauty, I love how clean it is, but most of all I love the magic!

Taelee loves Tarzan and especially loves the music! I asked her the other day if she liked it because she thought Tarzan was handsome. She got all embarrassed and said "moooommm!!" I thought it was cue! She was really excited to see his tree house!

    

After Disneyland closed we made our way California Adventure for the rest of the night.

We had some very long days and wore the kids right out! Kingston gave into sleep a few times which was great!

The next day we did all day in California adventure. We hit Cars Land first since it's new and pretty busy we wanted to try and beat the crowds! It was good we did because the line for fast pass for the new cars ride was about twenty minutes! After that first rush it wasn't bad at all! It wasn't too crowded at all the whole time we were there. The longest line was maybe 30 minutes! It was an awesome time to go!

Cars Land was AMAZING! Have I mentioned I LOVE Disneyland!! They really did make it feel like you were going for a walk down Radiator Springs! It's all in the details!

Kingston was thrilled to meet Mater and McQueen!

King Triton's Carousel was a hit! She had the choice to ride on a dolphin, a whale, a sea horse, an otter, or seal. She couldn't choose just one so she went on it a couple times!

Kingston loved all the characters from a distance, but was pretty timid around a lot of them when it came his turn. He would hand them his book and run. He did however really like the really soft ones!

Jumping Jelly fish was another one of her favorites! She got off and said, lets fast pass it! It was one that we could have just stayed in our seats since there was no one in line, but we got off and back on four times!

I despise that Farris Wheel! I thought it was a great Idea to go on the swinging ones...haha yeah right! I was bawling and clinging to my seat, no exaggeration! The kids on the other hand loved it! And I quote Kingston as it started swinging, "WHOA BABY!!!!!" It was the highlighted phrase of the trip!

Redwood Creek is an awesome wilderness playground for the little ones! They had a blast running around!

Just looking at this picture makes me cry! I was so proud of her! They had a zip line for kids 40 inches or higher. We asked Taelee if she wanted to go and without hesitation she said yes! I was nervous because it really jerked when you got to the end. You really had to hold on! She is super timid about stuff like that even the swings! So I was worried that she wasn't going to hold on and fall and crack her head! She wasn't afraid at all and went right up when it was her turn. She did it like a champ! Her face was priceless, she was so proud! So was I!! The tear jurker is when she told my mom the story I shared with her awhile back...I went running (I am not a runner!) and when I was getting really close to the end I was having a really hard time. I didn't want to stop so I started saying out loud to myself, I can do it, I can do it! I told her that sometimes we do hard things and we just have to tell ourselves we can do it! She remembered that story and she told my mom, "so I just told myself I could do it, and I did!" So extremely proud!

No matter how much time passes, whenever these two are together they are instant buddies!

She was excited to send a few postcards to her friends!

That night we went to a Mexican restaurant in Downtown Disney. Yummy food, and best of all they had a balloonist (is that what they're called?!) We were in awe at these amazing creations!

We stopped at the Lego store before heading back to the hotel...amazing Lego creations!

The kids were tuckered right out! Kingston didn't last but 5 minutes before he was out! Out, but still gripping that dino tight! She crashed on my shoulder shortly after!

Our last day was truly magical! We took our traditional pictures by Mickey!

Walked in on the LEFT side!

And we were greeted by the cast members as we walked down Main Street!

 

Best of all we celebrated my birthday! I never new how good it felt to be told happy birthday thirty plus times in day! Disneyland sure knows how to make you feel special!!

But none of that compares to the magic that was brought to THIS little girl that morning! We went over to Pixe Hollow to meet the fairies! Lucky for us Tink was there with her twin sister Periwinkle! Earlier this summer Taelee left a Note for Tink, and Tink brought her back some special treasures! Ever since then she has loved the fairies even more. When we found out we were going to Disneyland she was sure that the fairies would play hide and seek with her! I told her that she could ask, but they might not be able to because everyone else was waiting too. When we got in the fairies were so sweet! They played right into her little imagination! When Taelee asked Tinkerbell to play hide and seek she said yes and played so sweetly with her! They didn't rush us, but let them have their sweet moment together! It was so amazing, and I am so grateful they take time to make those memories for our little ones! This is something she will remember forever!!

Did I mention, I LOVE Disneyland!?

A tad bit of pixie dust got into our eyes!

 

Kingson loved seeing Tigger, Eeyore, and Pooh! He was so excited when he saw Eeyore he wouldn't stop saying, "eeeeyooor, eeeeyoooor!" like a donkey! 

It was supposed to look like I was flying, but the photographer forgot to zoom out! Regardless, my inscision worked hard to get that picture so it must be documented!

He didn't like the hats at all! I'm not even sure how we snapped this picture because he would rip them off as soon as we would put them on!

Disneyland parades are a must see! They are so amazing! The kids were in a trance while watching all the beautiful floats and dancers. I thought it was so sweet how she would wave at all the characters as they went by! Her favorite was when Ariel came through with her fin!!

Last up was Toon Town! We were just going to skip it, but boy I am glad we didn't! Taelee was so excited to see where Mickey and Minnie Mouse live! I love that everything to her is REAL! I love that Disneyland makes it feel that way for us too! She was quite worried that Minnie's house was closed! I told her that she was remodeling and repainting so she was embarrassed because it was such a mess! She said, "that's ok, I can help her paint!" it was fun going through Mickey's house to meet him at the end!

We ended this trip with a beautiful firework show!

We got up bright and early the next day to catch our bus for the airport. It was such a wonderful trip filled with very special memories! I am so grateful for Stephen who has worked so hard these last couple of months, making this whole trip possible!

The beautiful sky the morning we left!

The kids let their balloons go to have Tinkerbell save them for our next visit!

After taking this picture I got the message "memory card full"...couldn't have been more perfect!

...that is until I forgot it on the bus!!!