Evie Turns 4 On Easter Sunday in the Happiest Place on Earth!! Try Topping That! ;)

How do I even begin to describe the best trip that ever happened?! I seriously dream about this trip on a daily basis just to feel that same feeling of peace and happiness that I had throughout that entire trip. It took me months and months to plan it, which just happens to be my favorite part! I think I have more fun planning vacations than actually going on them! Mostly because it requires creativity and lots of daydreaming :); both of which are my forte.

Day 1 (Wednesday): We got up early and drove to Caliornia. The drive was smooth and the kids did great! I think we've trained them well with all of our vacations because they travel like professionals now :). We drove straight for the beach, as is tradition, and it was a glorious day! The sun was out, and the air was fresh! We played in the sand, chased sea gulls, did beach side races, threw the football, Austin pushed his favorite truck around in the surf, and Evie made two little girlfriends who shared their food with her and they built sand castles :). It really was the perfect day, that only got better with some beach yoga! There is something so peaceful about the ocean and my body was dying to do yoga while watching the surf and closing my eyes to the sound of the gulls. Perfection I tell ya..... After we started getting tired and hungry, we headed for the hotel where we checked in, got ourselves settled, and headed straight for the arcade because that's where the kids always want to be! It's small and the games are so bad, but that doesn't stop them haha! Then we grabbed food from the hotel cafe and ate in bed before we fell asleep, full and drunk on life :). 

Day 2 (Thursday): The next morning, we woke up to an incredible sight! The Easter Bunny had come while we were sleeping and filled the kids Easter Baskets with all sorts of goodies and toys/crafts to play with while we were at the hotel, along with pool toys for the pool! It was like that clever Easter Bunny somehow knew our itinerary and knew everything we would need to make it a successful trip! ;) The kids were in heaven and so amazed that the smart bunny somehow found us :). I think they were a little worried that they would be forgotten about since we weren't home for Easter. It technically wasn't Easter yet, but we were glad he came early because those gifts sure came in handy on our trip! After all of that excitement, we walked down the hall to the hotel cafe for breakfast. The mornings in California are always a bit nippy until the clouds clear, so we took things slow and it was wonderful. Then we took the party out to the pool and spent the ENTIRE DAY swimming and sunbathing! I'm not kidding. All. Day. Long! There were plenty of kids to play with (most of them European) and the kids had a blast!!

Day 3 (Friday): Today was Day 1 of Disneyland and we were up early and ready to go! It was an amazing day full of nonstop fun and we enjoyed every minute of it! Austin struggled in the beginning which was confusing because he was soooo excited all morning and then got super grumpy once we were there... who knows with kids.... they're slightly nuts. On every single ride he kept rolling his eyes and telling us how boring they were. So I finally got tired of it and picked him up into my arms in front of the Small World Ride and bit his face! It surprised him so much, he started laughing uncontrollably! That's one way to lighten the mood ;).

See him trying to cover up the fact that he's smiling!

Now THAT'S the happy boy we know and love!

It just takes your crazy Mama to bring it out :).

We ate Clarabelle Cow's ice cream, spinned too many times to count in the tea cups, met TONS of characters including the big mouse himself, and even mixed things up at the end of the day by heading over to Tom Sawyer's island to play in the caves and find all the treasure! Yet another amazing day in the happiest place on Earth :).

As you can see, we were determined to inherit King Arthur's throne! ;)

check out all that loot!

The kids love toon town and all the characters wandering around!

Austin took his job as driver very seriously! He's getting so big it kills me!

My whole world right here :)

Mom's favorite ride of all time :)

My handsome mouse, waiting for the girls to come out of the bathroom :).

Window shopping is so magical at Disneyland!

And bubbles always make long lines better!

Inside Mickey Mouse's house, we saw a birthday cake and had to take a picture because Evie is turning 4 on this trip! So of course Austin had to hold up 6 fingers...... ;)

Day 4 (Saturday): We were exhausted and slept in! This day was purposely planned to be a relaxation/pool day just for this reason. So we slept in, played at the arcade, and then went to the pool for yet another day of swimming! It was overcast today which made it a lot colder and less enjoyable for my sunbathing, but the kids didn't let it stop them! They still swam all day long and jumped in the hot tub whenever they started feeling chilly. And then guess who came to join in on the fun?! Grandpa Nate!!! I had invited everyone in the family on this trip, but he was the only person with a job who could afford to come (surprise, surprise) so he was the only one who came! But it was actually perfect because he does better in small groups anyway :). After swimming all day and chatting all afternoon with Grandpa, we all showered and went out to dinner at the hotel restaurant. The kids did great and it was such a yummy, enjoyable meal. We talked and talked, and then later, wen to the arcade one more time to reward the kids for their amazing behavior. I swear, they are so much better behaved when we are on vacation! Then, we went back to the hotel room to let Evie open up her birthday gifts! It wasn't her birthday until the next morning, but we wanted to be able to get to Disneyland before the park opened so we could have even more time for fun, so she got to open everything early. And guess what?! Mom and Dad got her a BEAUTIFUL Princess Elsa dress and crown to wear to Disneyland the next day on her birthday! Grandpa gave her a pure silver dollar coin like he has done every year since each kid was born. It was a great way to end the night :).

such a quiet, restful morning and a beautiful sight to wake up to! My heart was bursting at every angle on this trip!

Opening up her presents!

One happy princess right there :).

Day 5 (Easter Sunday/Evie's Birthday): Happy 4th Birthday baby girl!!! Oh what a beautiful birthday it was! She decided not to wear her crown because it kept falling off so she asked me to wear it, and off to the shuttle bus we went for our last day of fun at Disneyland! This time with Grandpa! He hadn't been to Disneyland since we went my Junior year of high school, and even then, he didn't get to see everything or ride everything because Briana was young and too scared to ride much. He had also never eaten a churro before, or tried the amazing Dole Whip Ice Cream while watching the show in the Tiki Room! We had so much to show him and so little time!!

We had one more surprise up our sleeves for the birthday girl and it turned out to be even more amazing than I had imagined! And trust me, I daydreamed about this surprise dozens of times :). For Evie's special 4th birthday, Mom and Dad paid for her to go to the Bippidy Boppidy Boutique! This is where little girls are turned into Princesses by their own special Fairy Godmothers! My own inner child had died and gone to heaven just hearing about this! Grandpa took Austin to Toon Town while Mom and Dad took Evie on her special birthday date :). After check in, we sat outside the castle doors waiting. Then, a Fairy Godmother came out of the castle and said, "Where is Princess Evelyne?" Evie was in shock and couldn't speak. I spoke up for her and said, "Here she is!" Then the Fairy Godmother came over to her and in total character the entire time, introduced herself and told Evie about her big birthday surprise! I've never seen Evie speechless. Usually we can't get the girl to shut up! So this was a mouth dropping moment and I was trying so hard not to cry the entire time. Then the Fairy Godmother told us (the King and Queen) to follow her and Princess Evelyne INSIDE THE CASTLE!!! Inside was tons of fancy princess dresses and now it was registering in Evie's head why she got a beautiful princess dress last night for her birthday ;). Then she was given the royal treatment by getting her hair, nails, and makeup done! She got to pick out the hair style she wanted and even chose to add pink and purple hair extensions to her hair because if you know Evie, pink and purple are her favorite ;). While the makeover was going on, her Fairy Godmother chattered on and on about how princess Elsa was just here this morning getting her own hair done and how we just missed her! There was sooooo much castle gossip she shared while Evie just saw there in total awe. The only word out of her mouth the entire time was "Yes." hahahahaha!!! She said yes to everything, even if it wasn't a yes or no question! Seriously though, that just shows you how enamored she was in the moment! After her makeover was done, she was spun around in the chair and got to look into the magic mirror where she was told she is the fairest in the land :). Even Josh was taken back by all the magic and in that moment I knew I had topped myself this time.  Evie couldn't wait to go show Grandpa and her brother and then spent the rest of the day running around Disneyland in complete princess attire. True to Evie's nature, It didn't stop her from swinging from a vine in Tarzan's treehouse or doing anything her brother did.

Shyly meeting her Fairy Godmother!

Following her around to the castle entrance...

Entering the Enchanted Chamber!

One very happy Princess among all the Princess dresses!

Getting beautified!

Mirror mirror on the wall.... who is the fairest of them all?   PRINCESS EVIE IS!!

Prettiest girl in the whole world. My heart is full :)

This was possibly the most magical thing we've ever done at Disneyland!

Daddy and his beautiful twin.

Standing in line for Minnie's house

Having tea inside Minnie's house!

Mom's favorite, the tea cups!!!

Grandpa bought us some cotton candy!

It was so fun seeing Nate get into the Disney spirit! He was so happy and care free, just along for the ride! That's not what I am used to seeing come out of him, so it was nice to enjoy those moments with him

 This was such a magical day and we were so glad we got to share it with Grandpa! It was definitely a trip for the books! Grandpa even splurged on the kids and bought them swords and shields in the gift shop to take home and continue the fun! We didn't want to go home and ended up staying way later than we usually do. We kept saying, "Okay, one last ride!" which turned into one more and one more. We finally finished the night with Peter Pan's Flight and by then, the kids were basically comatose. Just the way we like them! ;) Back at the hotel, we said goodnight and goodbye to Grandpa because he was leaving super early the next day. And we went to bed happier than we had felt in months. Well, since our last Disneyland trip. We didn't want to go home the next day and the kids were very unhappy about having to pack up. But all good things must come to an end, right? And this trip was too good to be true, which meant that the ending was going to be more rough than usual. But it was totally worth it! Every. Single. Delicious. Moment. was worth it's weight in gold :).

Birthday wishes and kisses from her best friend of all time!

After being turned into a Princess, the first thing she wanted to do was visit Minnie Mouse inside her house and show her! When we finally got to the front of the line, the first thing she did was run a full out spring into Minnie's arms yelling, "Minnie Mouse! It's my Birthday!!!" Such a beautiful, magical moment for my mouse loving princess :).