Right after Thanksgiving we packed up the van and took a long road trip, but an exciting one at that! Our destination: Disneyland! Thankfully we were able to stop in Vegas and stay with Andy and Whitney over night to rest up and not have the drive be so long. The kids actually did really well, they watched movies, napped and colored and read books. We also had a few extra stops along the way to break it up a bit and stretch our legs.
We arrived at Disney on Saturday afternoon, parked the van and loaded up the stroller. We met Phil and Sherry and entered the Magic Kingdom. It was great to finally be there. It was so crowded and busy but that didn't slow us down. We hit a few rides that wouldn't be open come Monday. Casey Jr. was our first ride. Christian was so excited to ride the train. Next we got on a boat and took a ride through the Storybook. It was so fun to see both Julia and Christian point and talk about the things they were experiencing.
Grandpa trying to steal a bite of Julia's Mickey bar. They were are first one's of the trip. Everyone LOVES Mickey bars!
Layne and Christian in the Tiki Room. Christian just sat there watching in awe at the whole show. His favorite were the drums and the totem poles that talked.
Ready to storm the castle! He was my little prince charming and my knight in shining armor for the night
While checking out the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique, Christian found a few swords he wanted to buy. Grandma was nice enough to buy him one. He loved hit things and everybody with it. He wouldn't let go of it. I love the above picture. He found a knight and walked up to him and wanted to put his sword in his empty hand. So we did!
Our first day at Disney was so fun. I loved the spirit of Christmas that was all around. The kids loved everything!
We woke up Sunday morning and our elf, Jingles, made a surprise visit. He brought the kids some new Disney shirts to wear on vacation. He came a long way to bring those and the kids were so surprised. We decided to go to church and while I was in the shower getting ready, Layne and Christian were running around having a sword fight. Christian slid across the bed spread and knocked into the end table. So all I heard was a lot of crying and Layne said he needed my help as soon as I was done. So I quickly hurried out and low and behold, Christian had a hole in his head. The bleeding was stopped but it looked deep. We went to church and while there I just kept looking at his head thinking we need to go have it looked at. So Julia went to downtown Disney with gma and gpa, while Layne, Christian and I headed to an urgent care. Christian knew what was coming and he was a little nervous. It was another helpless moment in our lives. But Christian did great and had 2 staples put in and was ready to go!
We were all starving by the time we were done so we headed off to an early dinner. It was so good. Then we hung out and looked at shops and let the kids run and get some energy out. To say our Sunday was relaxing was an understatement.
The rest of the week was a blur but we had so much fun. I'm not sure what day we did what thing but I will just post the fun we had. It was so great to be able to spend time with each other and especially gma and gpa Cromwell. We always have so much fun and it's certainly nice to have a few extra set of hands!
I do know we spent most of the Monday at California Adventure. Layne surprised us with a breakfast at Ariel's Grotto. Julia was able to see all the princesses in one spot. Christian was a little nervous and I don't think he quite knew what to do when he first saw Aurora. Belle was the best, she was so cute with Julia and gave her a big hug.
Christian meeting Goofy for the first time. He would stand a little ways away from each character at first and just inch his way closer. He was so cute with all the characters.
A quick group shot with Tower of Terror in the background. Christian loved The Little Mermaid ride, I think he went on it 3 times. He loved to point out the Sea Witch! We even got to go watch the Aladdin show. It was perfect because it was right at Christian's nap time so he fell asleep on my lap for most of it. We also stayed to watch the Pixar Parade. We love Buzz and Woody!
The rest of the week we spent it in the Magic Kingdom. We got in early and got a few shots of the castle before all the crowds gathered. We also had another great breakfast and got to meet some more characters. Chip and Dale, Eeyore and Minnie were there! It was a big breakfast to start the day off right.
These guys loved the tea cups!
We got in line to ride Small World but then saw a very short line to see Merida from Brave. So Julia and I got in line. She had been wanting to see her most of all out of all the princesses! She even had her Merida shirt on that day! Merida talked and talked to Julia and asked her lots of questions. Julia was in heaven, you could just see it on her face. She got a big hug at the end.....she was a happy camper!
All Julia could talk about was getting to be a princess for a day. Gma signed her up for an appointment at the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique and boy was she excited. They did her hair, some make up and even painted her finger nails. This was the highlight of Julia's trip. She couldn't stop grinning! It was a fantastic day to be around a little princess!
Over the next few days we hit rides, ate more Mickey bars, and met some fun characters. Christian loved Tigger and gave him a giant hug. I got to see Mickey so that made my whole trip. Christian was out cold for a nap but I had to wake him up to see Donald. He was grumpy and I don't think he remembered it but we got the picture, grumpiness and all! We traded pins and had a blast just hanging out together. We got a family picture on Main Street and ended the trip with the parade. The kids loved it and it was a great way to end our wonderful stay at Disney!
