January Family Adventure Part I: Disneyland!

Ever since the last time we went to Disneyland, we've wanted to go back. So a year or so ago, we decided to start saving pennies. Like, a lot of them. Between our saving and Nate's parents being extremely generous, January was our month! The kids knew we'd been saving for a long time, but they didn't know we were anywhere close, so we decided to surprise them! Nate stayed home the day of and we packed our heads off until it was time to go.

On the way to pick Addison and Bryn up early from school. We were so excited!

The kids were thrilled and we headed off down the road. Nate and I put together the sweetest road trip book ever to keep the kids busy and get them pumped on the way down, and it actually did the trick for quite awhile.

They each had a map of Disneyland and California Adventure inside so they could get the lay of the land.

They also had maps of landmarks we'd see on the way down. When we saw a landmark, they got to put a sticker on it. There were colored dots on each of the landmarks, and when we reached one, they got to unseal a page that was sealed by the corresponding color. Very high tech.

Here's an example of a page they got to unseal. On one side it listed a certain land in Disneyland with all the rides in that part, and on the other side there was a corresponding coloring page. This one was sealed by a red dot. I am highly impressed with us. And let's be serious, Nate did most of the work.

We made it to St. George, fluffed our buns at Grandma and Grandpa's house for 30 minutes or so, and then hopped back in the car for the second half of the trip. All told, it was really, really long. But the kids were champs, and we were glad we got all the driving over with in one day and were ready to hit the park first thing in the morning.

Prepare for picture overload.

DISNEYLAND

FANTASYLAND

It was sunny. And Nate was wearing shorts (the rest of us wished we were.)

The sword was still stuck in the stone.

On our way to the big kids' first ever roller coaster: Space Mountain. We learned a few things about preferences. Addison is all about fast, high, and wild, but does not like things with scary bad guys or spooky ambiance. Bryn is the opposite. No thrill riding for her, but she could shoot Emperor Zurg all day without batting an eye. Space Mountain was one of Addison's favorite rides. Bryn, not so much.

Familiar?

Blast from the past: Disneyland 2011

Nate wins father of the year for going on the teacups with the kiddos. He was a champ and even spun them around really fast. He was slightly green around the gills for most of the day, but claims it was worth it. Conveniently, I had to feed Asa at the time.

Waving to Grandma, Grandpa and the kids on Alice in Wonderland. Can you see them?

Asa did a lot of this. He was a champ. Disneyland is a tough place to be as a baby.

Aunt Deb and Uncle Mike and one of Grandma's long-lost cousins joined us.

Riding the train.

Dumbos! An all around fave.

The three big kids and Deb and Mike.

It's a Small World (nice photobomb, Mike.) They still had Christmas up, by the way.

This was probably my favorite, and Asa's too. So many fun things to look at!

Bryn's hat got around.

Leah at Sleeping Beauty's castle.

Pluto and Pluto.

TOMORROWLAND

Addison and Nate rode the rockets together.

Autopia. This was a favorite. Leah wanted to go on it again and again! She got to drive all by herself!

Nate and I scoped out star tours to see if it was too scary for Addison. We went ahead and let him go, and it was one of his faves.

Space mountain, time #2. Addison rocked it. Nate had to sit out because of the teacups.

I love their hat choices.

All the kids with Grandma and Grandpa. So many fun memories that the kids will have forever!

BUGS LAND

Bryn and I laying waste with the roly-poly bumper cars.

Leah got lost in Bugs land, waiting in line for this very ride, the caterpillar train. Pretty much the worst feeling ever as a parent or grandparent to lose your child in Disneyland. Luckily we found her quickly, thanks to an extremely organized Disneyland staff and a good Samaritan park-goer. We held onto her extra tight after that!

CRITTER COUNTRY

Leah loves Winnie the Pooh and was thrilled to go on his ride and meet him and his friends, all though up close, she thought they were a little scary. In her defense, they're pretty darn tall.

This was a nice place to have lunch and run around for a minute. Addison has a duck on his head!

And Bryn fulfilled her life's dream of touching a duck! Truly the happiest place on earth.

Waiting our turn for Winnie the Pooh

Splash Mountain. It was so fun.

ADVENTURELAND

The tiki room! Had to take Bryn to see the singing birds. We got a dole pineapple whip, and found that they are overrated, which was too bad.

HOLLYWOOD LAND

We watched the play Aladdin. It was so cool! And the kids all enjoyed it, which surprised me. It also was a quiet, cool place to snack and sit and stealthily nurse Asa in the dark.

Like I said, Bryn's hat got around.

Such a great picture! Deb, Mike, Grandma and Grandpa

CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE

This ride was the one we went on most. I don't think two hands have enough fingers to count the number of times, in fact. The girls, Bryn especially, LOVED it!

King Triton's sea carousel

There's a baby care station in Disneyland and one in California Adventure. It is wonderful! Private space for nursing, changing tables, high chairs, a tiny potty, baby supplies. It is the one serene place in the whole park. Asa and I were extremely appreciative.

CARS LAND

The new Cars land was awesome. The rides were fun, and the ambiance was so neat. It felt like you'd stepped right into Radiator Springs! It was especially cool at night when it was all lit up.

Waiting our turn for the Radiator Springs racers. I think the fright took years off poor Bryn's life, but the rest of us really enjoyed it.

Racing with Aunt Deb and Dad.

Addison felt so cool on the Mater ride. He got to ride all by himself because he's seven. I got to ride with Bryn and Leah and we laughed our heads off. It was really fun.

Forget the rest of it - the kids had so much fun swinging around on/eating (Asa) these beads in cars land, they would've been happy with just that.

Mater himself

We were quite impressed with the red rock, which is saying something, because we've seen a lot of the real thing. It looked so real!

We got to watch our first Disney parade. It was spectacular. Disneyland pulls out all the stops pretty much all the time. Addison wasn't wearing a shirt under his jacket because he and I had just gone on Grizzly River Run with Grandma, and he got completely soaked, despite Grandma's careful planning with ponchos.

Almost our turn on California Screamin'! I should mention that one night we got the kids in bed and Grandma and Grandpa let Nate and I sneak back to Disneyland all by ourselves! It was magical! We bought a Christmas ornament, had a piece of glittery chocolate cake and went on all the really weird fantasyland rides and determined that Snow White is, by far, the worst. Then we finished it off on Indiana Jones and left after the park was closed. It was so much fun. Thanks Mom and Dad!

Bribery while Mom and Dad were on the roller coaster.

We went to a family dance party right at the end of one of the nights. It was called "Freeze the Night." It was totally jumpin'. They shot out confetti snowflakes and foam bubbles that looked like snow. Super loud, super fun, super sensory overload. We danced our heads off and then went home and went to bed.

A different night, we saw fireworks just as we got to the parking garage.

It's always fun to stay at a hotel. The kids do really well. And we were all exhausted every night. The second day, we woke up and Nate asked me, "do you feel like you just did two rounds of WWF with 'The Punisher?'" I died laughing. Lots of walking and kid-hauling = extremely sore Nate and Michelle.

Here are the girls showing off their souvenirs. Both of them went with Ariel-related toys. Addison got a Buzz Lightyear Astroblaster.

Breakfast at Denny's