Adventures in DISNEYLAND!!!

Welcome to DISNEYLAND!!!

I've been holding off on writing this entry because I knew it was going to be extremely time consuming and my life doesn't spare much time for things like that nowadays haha. So let's go back in time a bit to the day after Evie's birthday party when we did a road trip to California! Oh my gosh, where do I begin?! It was fabulous! Absolutely amazing! Everything I dreamed of and more! Our kids are at the perfect age to enjoy the magic of Disneyland and we had the time of our lives watching them experience the magic firsthand! Everything was exciting, and stimulating, and they tried so hard to keep their eyes open for every single minute of it! Well, they failed at that a couple times (hehe) but that was just fine with Mom and Dad! We just held our sleeping babes in our arms while we went on a couple rides together until the power naps ended!

Passed out cold!

Even Austin couldn't hold out any longer....

We drove straight to the ocean that first day and had the perfect beach day! Both kids were in heaven, but Evie was enchanted the most! She would not let me sit down for a second! She wanted to be out in the waves the whole time, running wild and free through the sand! I was enjoying watching her wild excitement and didn't complain ;). She looked so dang beautiful in that little blue sun dress with her brown curls wisping around her face in the wind. It was the perfect moment. Meanwhile, Austin discovered a clam and began what became a day long pursuit of clam hunting. He dug little swimming pools for them to swim in and took them for rides on his little toy boat. It was seriously the sweetest thing ever! We were all so dang happy and nobody wanted to leave! Oh and I almost forgot to mention the bubbles! we brought a giant bubble wand to blow bubbles on the beach and the kids had a blast chasing them around in the gentle wind. I can still smell the sea and hear the sound of the crashing waves mixed in with the unhindered giggles and squeals of two very happy children. PERFECTION.

Oh how I love this man and the life we've created together!

My happy place.

I remember the first time he experienced the ocean and was too small to stand in the waves by himself. My baby boy is growing up!!

Ready to get her digging on!

Run away!!

Beach babe :).

Digging for clams!

Be still my heart....

Love  my girl!

Daddy and Austin running away from the waves! There was such a refreshing taste of freedom in the air!

Blowing bubbles with my babies in the sand.

Evie girl's turn...

My boy on a mission; digging for clams.

My heart soars when I'm near the ocean and experiencing it with our children makes the whole experience complete. This is happiness.

My baby girl. She's getting so big, but she never strays far from her Mama :).

Wild and free....

My handsome boys.

I love how Evie's hair gets so curly in the California humidity!

After the beach, we checked into our awesome hotel! It looked like King Arthur's castle and was so much fun to explore! It took us a while to get checked in, luggage unloaded, and dinner figured out (we ate at the cafe right next to the arcade because Austin thought it was so cool!) and by the time we did it all, we were exhausted! All that fresh air and sunshine really took it out of us! Evie slept with Mama and Austin slept with Dad; both kids thinking this was the greatest thing ever! They both snuggled right up to each of us and fell asleep soundly. We couldn't  have planned it any better!

Our awesome castle hotel! They had a shuttle service to and from the park and everything!

The next day we woke up bright and early for a fun filled day at Disneyland!!!! We got there before the park opened every single day and were glad that we did because it was way less crowded at that time! We were able to hit up all the rides in Fantasyland in just a couple hours! Fantasyland was our jam. Evie was obsessed with Dumbo and Austin was loving the carousel along with Mr. Toads Wild Ride (surprise, surprise...).

Our little fireman HAD to stoop and see the Disneyland Firestation in Downtown Disney! And as luck has it, it was right next to the bathrooms! SCORE! This was our first trip with a potty trained kid so knowing where the bathrooms are is VERY important!

Jumping for joy! We are at Disneyland!!

The A-man on his trusty steed that he named "Peaches" hehe!

I can't even count how many times I heard the sweetest little voice say, "Evie wide Dumbo! Evie wide Dumbo!"

Getting crazy on the teacups! Mom's favorite!

Mr. Toads Wild Ride was even wilder with Austin driving! ;) It was so fun that we've read the book The Wind in the Willows countless times to Austin :).

Churro break! Disneyland's churros are to die for and makes the whole park smell divine!

We spent the entire day just living life through the eyes of our children and it didn't get any better than at the Character Breakfast!

We did more hugging and kissing characters than we did eating breakfast, but that was okay with us!

TIGGER!!!

Meeting Max! Evie's squished little face is priceless haha!

Chip and Dale were our favorites! They hung out with us for the longest time, teaching the kids crazy dance moves and playing "poke the nose" with them. The kids thought this game was especially hilarious! :)

HUUUGS!

Austin's face when Eeyore snuck up on him while he was eating breakfast was priceless!

Eeyore! Evie developed an intense love for Winnie the Pooh characters on this trip. She made us ride the Winnie the Pooh ride over and over and over until Austin was begging to stop! haha!

Cinderella's Fairy God Mother was another fun one!

Dancing with Dale!

Lovin' on Eeyore!

Playing the "I've got your nose" game!

Isn't she precious?!

So many hugs for these guys!

You can't tell me this girl wasn't having the time of her life!

More hugs for Tigger!

Snatching some breakfast while waiting for the next character to appear around the corner!

All of Evie girl's dreams came true the second she met Minnie Mouse! She was in awe! I cried because her face was so priceless! I knew what a big moment this was for her in her sweet little life!

Minnie must have sensed how important this moment was for baby girl because she took Evie for a little walk down the street! Just the two of them!

The greatest moment at the happiest place on Earth! Another PERFECTION moment!

LOVES for Minnie!

Saying goodbye was a very sad experience :(.

She didn't want to let go of Minnie's hand....

One more hug!

She just couldn't stop hugging Minnie!

Day 2 of Disneyland was just as awesome as the first! We felt like pros as we weaved in between crowds and snatched fast passes for all the longer rides and got our kicks on all the kiddie rides along the way! Even Mom and Dad got to use the "kid swap" passes so we could ride the adult rides which made Daddy very happy :). Last year we didn't fully understand that whole concept and missed out in that area. We also used our Park Hopper passes this day and spent some time over at California adventure! Cars Land was pretty cool but besides that, there wasn't much the kids could do because of height restrictions.... But we got to experience the show FROZEN Live at the Hyperion and it was incredible! Both kids sat quietly in our laps, completely in a trance, clinging to every word and song. I couldn't hold back the tears when I watched Evie start singing along with Elsa in her famous "Let it Go" solo. I watched in awe as her chubby little hands mimicked Elsa's hand gestures and her sweet little voice sang her heart out! Okay, cry was an understatement. I was bawling! I guess you could say the magic of Disney was getting to all of us haha!

Riding the Cars ride and having a great time!

Mater's Junkyard was another fun one!

All my childhood dreams came true when I met Sleeping Beauty! She has always been my favorite princess!

We ate too many Mickey Beignets to count and it was totally worth it! Yummo!But all the junk food must have been getting to Austin (our super healthy eater) because he asked for a caesar salad for dinner that night! Yes, he is a strange kid in that area haha!

Giddy'up horsey!

Standing in line with the cutest kids in the world was actually not difficult at all! Again, I was happily surprised at how good they did and how smoothly it all went!

Day 3 at Disneyland was a little different because we met up with my College best friend (Susie) and her husband and new baby! They live in San Diego now so it was a quick drive for them to meet us! I haven't seen my best friend in forever so this was a special treat! And to be walking around together with both of our kids at Disneyland was nothing short of a dream! Baby Wayne wasn't a big fan of the noisy rides, but not many babies are. So we spent more time hanging out and enjoying the other things Disney had to offer. Since this was our third straight day at the park, we weren't bothered by this at all. A slower pace was just what the doctor ordered! We spent a couple hours eating lunch at the Mint Julep and talked while our kids took naps. Then we hit up some more rides and a couple hours before the parade, we found front row seats and staked our claim. Josh and Brian took Austin on a couple more rides since the parade was a while away, while Susie and I sat on the curb with our babies and had a nice chat! Evie chased ducks around and Wayne played on the blankets. Another moment of PERFECTION!

Exploring the Disney Railroad was a really cool experience! The train wasn't up and running yet for the season so we got to explore it and talk to the conductor all about the history!

Just look at that boy's cheesy grin! He was in little boy heaven!

Feeling pretty cool in the Conductor's seat!

Our final day at Disneyland did not disappoint! We were just sad that it was almost over :(.

More Mickey Beignets because we were obsessed!

Our last spin on the tea cups! I can't even count how many times we rode this ride.....

The whole gang! This girl means the world to me and she was my greatest friend and ally in college. Spending the day together in the happiest place on Earth meant the world to me!

Poor baby Wayne wasn't sure what to think about everything.

I still couldn't believe I was standing in line with Susie! We fell back into our old ways like we hadn't missed a day!

Except we had babies and husbands with us.... haha!

Talking with friends made standing in line much more fun!

Our kiddos were fascinated with baby Wayne!

Waiting for the parade to start! Look at those tired faces! That's how you know it was a fun day!

Playing with the baby!

Baby Wayne attacks!!! haha!

When the sun finally went down and the parade was about to start, Josh and the boys came back with a bag of "co-TT-on candy" as Austin adorably called it :). He had been asking for it every single day and we promised him we would buy him a bag to eat while we watched the parade. His happy face did not disappoint! We said goodbye to our friends before the parade began because the baby was tired and wasn't going to enjoy the loud music that was about to ensue. Then we watched in awe as our minds were blown by the Mainstreet Electrical Parade!! There were two sweet Grandmas who sat next to us and were having the greatest time watching the facial expressions of our kiddos! They were in awe and kept screaming, "WHOAAA!" and "WOWWWW LOOK!!" But of course, these expressions weren't able to be captured because every time the Grandma would try to take a picture, Evie would stick her finger up her nose! Seriously child?!! 

Enjoying our first Disney parade! Last year the kids were too small and were having meltdowns by 3pm. So we were all pretty excited about this!

Waving hello to all the characters!

Happiness is..... :)

Wow, that was Disney in a nut shell! I wish I could do a better job at writing down every single special moment that happened and every expression and adorable phrase that our kids uttered but I just don't have the time! So I'm hoping the phrase, "A picture says a thousand words" does me some justice! We went home late that night after the parade completely exhausted but happy and woke up the next morning sooooo sad :(. Our vacation was over! Life was about to go back to normal, the magic was about to end, and all I could do was cry. Yup, I cried again. Josh had to hug me while I was packing up our bags and promise me that we could come back and play again soon! Who's the kid here in this situation?! haha! I know I sound insane, but this trip brought out the best in all of us. We were so incredibly happy :). So now, to keep the excitement alive, I am working on our next grand Disney adventure! Stay tuned!! :)