disney

Truly, this place is the mother of all amusement parks. I can almost see how people spend so much money here. Almost. It's been 3 years since our last visit.  It was time. Yes, I am 7 months pregnant, but it was time. I decided it would be easier to go while pregnant than with a newborn...but I'm not sure now that the logic made as much sense as I originally thought.

We had enough in gift cards to pay for all of us to get in. Thank goodness kids are free until 3 years old! Thank goodness my parents came for most of the first day (also getting in for free)...that was such a help. Thank goodness Disneyland is such a magical place!

Now, because I have a free shutterfly book if I order in the next two days (seriously! The things I will do for a free shutterfly book! I don't know if it's worth it!), I have been quickly scrapbooking our entire year, and especially our trip....and will post the "pages" below.

Some highlights:
*The utter joy on Tanner's face when we walked "into" Cars Land. And, conversely, the utter terror on his face when we saw Mater, DeeJay, Lightning McQueen, and Red... Tanner is used to the die-cast cars, and the fact that these ones were large and talked was a little much for him.
*Going on Heimlich's chew-chew train tons of times, and not even having to get off.
*The light crowds on our first day. We never even had to get fastpasses...all the lines were under 10 minutes. (The second day was substantially more crowded. I would get fastpasses while they were on one ride, so even the long lines didn't slow us down much.)
*Seeing the shuttle Endeavor fly overhead while at California Adventure.
*Being pushed around in a wheelchair the first day. That was nice since it was 91 degrees (both days).
*Playing "spot the Mormons" and realizing just how easy that game is.
*Watching the parade on Main Street. Well, watching Tanner was way more entertaining.
*The irony of everything breaking down. World of Color malfunctioned so we only saw the first 5 minutes. Toy Story Mania broke down twice, once while we waited and once while we were on it. Screamin' broke down with Emma and Spencer on it. Splash Mountain broke down while they waited to get on, and finally decided to try again the next day.
*The Halloween decor. It is amazing! And they have a petting zoo set up there right now. Tanner thought watching the sheep "go potty" was the most amazing thing he'd ever seen.
*Spencer got his FIRST EVER blister. That's not really a highlight, but I think it's amazing enough that he made it 33 years without a blister on his foot, that I had to document it.

We went to the beach in the morning before driving home. Emma was out past the waves with Papa and with Spencer, and Tanner played in the sand like a champ. Those beaches where I grew up are so beautiful and fun, and I love to see my kids have the kind of fun I remember.

Until next time.