Disneyland--Long Post!

We just got back last night from our trip to Disneyland.

On Sunday we left after stake conference and headed out to Disneyland. Any road trip with kids is long if you ask me. We were finally there in the evening and got settled in our hotel. We stayed in our timeshare in Newport. It was a great place and such a beautiful city. We got everyone to sleep and overall everyone slept well during our trip (especially me), so that was good. On Monday we woke up and got ready for our first day in Disneyland. Since our whole budget thing we debated whether to even go on our trip, but since we had already set aside the money, we decided to go for it. But we were careful not to go over. We ate breakfast in the room--we had cereal and oatmeal, then we made peanut butter and honey everyday and brought some chips and cookies for lunch. It actually worked out great and we almost liked it better than buying lunch because we didn't have to decide where to eat. We just found a table, sat down and ate. Some other things we did were bring our own water bottles in and we just refilled them each day. For souvenirs, we told our girls (minus Hattie) that they had $10 in quarters. If we had to get after them on the trip, they would lose quarters and what they had left, they got to buy something. That worked pretty well. We did give them an extra $5 each so they could get a stuffed animal at the end with their leftover money. We figured it was worth the good behavior all week. They all did so well in Disneyland which made it so nice. Ellie bought some cotton candy and a Piglet, Eliza got cotton candy and a little Pooh bear and Libby got a really long pencil and a Remi stuffed animal.




She was so funny about her money. She didn't want to spend all $10 at once. She would ask how much something was and if it was over like $5 she didn't want it because she didn't want all her money gone. We ate one meal (dinner) in the park and limited ourselves to just a couple treats. It worked out perfectly and we still had a great time.

This seemed like a perfect time of year to go. We hardly waited in lines at all and the weather was beautiful. Monday was the longest we waited in any line and I can only remember like two rides that were around 20 minutes. The rest were less than that if any wait at all. We walked right on Splash Mountain, Space Mtn., etc. It was great! I am trying to remember the highlights so I don't forget...

On Monday we got all ready and in the car and we realized it was an hour earlier than we thought. The time changed and we knew that, but the clocks in the room were an hour off! We had a good laugh over that!

The first ride we went on was Alice in Wonderland. Then it was off to the teacups and then the Matterhorn. Libby wouldn't ride, but Eliza rode with Brian, then Ellie wanted to go with me. She was excited before we got on, but as we were getting in, she just screamed and cried! I felt terrible for making her go, but it was really too late to get out once it was moving! Once we started she turned her head and I put my hands over her eyes and she was fine! She didn't make a peep the whole rest of the ride. It was funny.

As we were on it though, I couldn't believe I was taking her on that ride! It is fast and pretty rough--especially for a two year old! Libby was a bit gun shy on a lot of the rides and wouldn't go on them--especially if they were dark. We kind of had to fib to get her on some like Peter Pan and Mr. Toad, etc., telling her they weren't dark because once she was on, she liked them pretty well. Other highlights...Eliza got to ride up with the "driver" on the Storybook Land ride. She enjoyed that. We also LOVED Haunted Mansion. I hadn't been on it since they changed it, but it's really cute. Libby wouldn't go on it, so we had to take turns, but Hattie and Ellie did. We ate at the Village Haus for dinner, then we watched the parade. Libby was so excited to watch all the parades and she loved them. They are always so wonderful and this time was no exception. My girls really enjoyed waving at the characters and having them wave back at them. We left after the parade and headed to the hotel. Oh yeah, we also got to ride the new Nemo ride. It was really well done. We enjoyed it. Libby didn't like it because it was dark and loud. We figured maybe she is claustrophobic or something. I just figure everyone has certain likes and dislikes and we can't force her on anything! We also saw lots of people while were there...we saw our neighbors--didn't know they were going. We saw the Lorenzanas from WW Ward, the Gosses from our ward and of course the Pribyls who we know would be there. We didn't see the Headricks at all, surprisingly, even though they were there the same three days we were! I think Jason was trying to avoid us. LOL!

On Tuesday, we went to California Adventure all day. Our first stop was Soarin'. Brian took the oldest three and I waited with Hattie. We took advantage of the Ride Switch on lots of the rides and it was great not having to re-wait in line. So I rode that when they were done. Libby and Ellie didn't love it, but Eliza did. From there we did a lot of other rides. Brian and I took turns on California Screamin'(again--just walking on!).

As I sat waiting for the ride to start, I was thinking to myself, "What am I doing?!?!" I can't believe I went--it's been forever since I've been on an upside down coaster. Brian and the girls watched me "blast off" and I did just what the ride says--screamed!! I felt kind of silly on some of the rides by myself with no one else to scream with. I found myself laughing out loud thinking about that! It was fun though. We tried the new Toy Story ride--that was fun getting to "shoot" at targets. Libby's favorite ride was the Jumpin' Jellyfish.

I went on it once and that was enough with my fear of heights! Ellie really liked that one, too. We went on Molholland Madness several times, but every time I went around the corners at the top, I imagined falling to my death as those turns are so fast and tight. One loose screw on the car and I'd be a goner. We also did the raging rapids while we were there. I hesitated, not wanting my girls to be wet and cold the rest of the day, but we figured what the heck...They didn't end up getting that wet when they went with Brian.


I went next with Eliza and totally covered up in Brian's jacket and hat, so I was safe! We grabbed some pizza and ate while we waited for the parade to come. It was a Pixar parade, so we saw all the characters from those movies. It was another great parade and my girls loved it. We left after the parade and headed back to the room. After that day, my back was hurting! Brian and I took turns pushing two kids in the stroller or holding Hattie or Ellie. We got our workouts for sure!

We spent our last day in Disneyland. We went straight to Peter Pan so we could be sure to ride it. We love that one for some reason. We also had to take turns on Autopia. None of the kids could do it themselves, so we had to take one and switch until the oldest three got to ride. Brian and I got to ride Space Mountain. I forgot what a great ride that is! Again--I was laughing that I was in the front screaming by myself. All the pictures that are taken on the rides are of me screaming! The girls got a kick out of that. We met up with the Pribyls and Lorenzanas for dinner at the Mexican food place by Big Thunder. It was fun to visit for a minute. From there I took Ellie and Libby to watch the parade again and Brian took Eliza and Hattie on the steamboat. Hattie fell asleep so he brought her to me, then he took Eliza to Splash Mtn. again (for about the 10th time) and then they rode Big Thunder a few times before closing time.

We didn't really see a ton of characters. Eliza got her picture with Alice, the Mad Hatter and Minnie.



Libby got one with Minnie when Minnie snuck up behind her. Ellie and Hattie didn't want anything to do with them except the princesses. On Wednesday we watched a cute princess show over by Small World. It is in this big amphitheater and before it started they got to decorate little paper crowns. Ellie sat next to this boy--probably an older teenager--dressed up for the show and she totally let him help her decorate and he put some of the stickers on her ears to look like earrings. Then when they were done (we were watching from a few rows up in the seats), she gave him a hug. It totally made us laugh that that didn't scare her!




Brian wants to have a membership here one day.


On Thursday morning, we went to Crystal Cove beach. The girls played in the sand a little bit and we let the waves crash over our feet, but it was way to cold to play in it! We brought our lunch and ate there, then headed back to the hotel to pack up. We stopped at the Shake Shack and shared a couple of shakes.

It might be the best shake I've had. It was a double chocolate chip shake. It has tiny chocolate chips in it. Yum! We packed up and headed out. We drove by the Newport Temple first.

It seemed to take us a while to get home and with the loss of an hour, that made it about 9:30 before we got home! Ugh.


What happens when you turn your back and the waves come up higher than you expect!


This about summed up Ellie's opinion of the ocean.


Think I ought to sinch up Ellie's pants some more?!


This morning no one wanted to get up. But we did. Brian had a vendor fair he needed to be at (one reason we came home early) and Libby had a field trip. Unfortunately, Libby decided this morning that she didn't want to go on the field trip unless I went. Talk about major guilt!! It was kind of last minute that we decided we would even be back to go, so there wasn't time for me to figure out babysitting and such to go. I felt bad. I tried to talk her into going anyway, but she wasn't going for it. She was nervous about having to go around with someone else's mom or dad. Understandable, but hopefully she'll get over her shyness someday! So I dropped Eliza off at school and we came home and I did laundry and unpacked, etc. It always feels weird to me to be home after a trip. It's like the world kept going but I stopped and now I am back on board and have to get all caught up again. Brian thinks I am weird for feeling that way, but I do!

Tonight we went to the Derrick's house for an Edward Jones new FA (financial advisor) social. It was mostly for new FAs, but they invited everyone else (I think). Lori made a great spread of food--soups, rolls, desserts, etc. It was all delicious and it was fun to meet new people and the kids had a blast playing/running around with some of the other kids.

Here are some random pictures from our trip.