Disneyland!

I'm skipping the second week of January and the first half of week three to get right to the good stuff - Disneyland! Chris's parents very generously gave our family a trip to Southern California for Christmas, complete with a two day trip to Disneyland and California Adventure. The kids were beyond thrilled to wake up before the sun on Thursday morning and board a plane headed for the happiest place on Earth.

sunrise from the plane

mountain + low clouds

 When we left, Portland was a chilly 30-is degrees, and when we landed we walked out into the - gasp! - SUN and it was probably in the 70's by 10:00am. Sorry to gloat, but it was absolutely marvelous. After a stop at my Grandma's for lunch, we drove down to Anaheim to check out the cute rental condo where we'd all be staying. The next day we woke up early and got to Disneyland before it opened. I opted to leave my big camera behind, so no photos from day 1. But we had a blast riding the submarine, Autopia, the Matterhorn and Small World all before the place got busy. Lucy's favorite Disneyland ride was the Matterhorn - she loved all the roller coasters! Neither kiddo liked Pirates of the Caribbean (too dark!) and both had fun exploring on Tom Sawyer's island (I think they've renamed it the "Pirate Lair" but it will always be tom Sawyer's island to me!). After a quick stop at the condo for dinner and rest time, we went back for the fireworks and a few last rides. What a fun day!

Next was a trip to California Adventure. We didn't wake up quite as early, and there were already lines for many rides when we got there. Carol went right away and got fast passes for the new Cars land ride - good thing because I think they ran out soon after! Chris and I went on California Screamin' and took turns taking the kids on rides of their choice. Both liked the carousel (we did that at least 4 times) and the Ferris wheel. Lucy was a big fan of the Goofy roller coaster after she recovered from disappointment about being too small for the big one. We went on Soarin' Over California twice (Maryn's favorite), did the Ariel ride a few times as it was air conditioned with a short line, and finally used our fast pass on the Cars ride which was really fun, but I don't know if it would have been worth the 2 1/2 hr wait time without the pass.

 

  

 

  

 

  

It was really windy! Maryn is hunched down in the driver's seat, under Grandpa's arm :)

The next day Grandma and Grandpa drove home and we went to Chris's cousin Kevin and Katie's house for brunch. It was wonderful to see all of our Southern California family. The kids all played for hours while we chatted and ate delicious food, and I didn't think to take out my camera because we were just having so much fun. I really miss our dear family there, but am so grateful for every chance we have to spend together!