Disneyland!

So it has now been a month since we have been back. I still miss it and want to go back. We had an awesome time! First the flights were great, there were hardly any people on them so Seth got his own seat even though we didn't pay for one! The kids did great, slept some of the time, played nicely the other times! It was a great start to our trip.

When we arrived in Orange county we got our "MiniCar" ( a Mini van) and headed toward the beach! We got to Huntington beach and there was a Marathon going on- we found a place to park had lunch at a Mexican restaurant and then walked down to the beach. I don't know what I was thinking but I didn't have the kids change into shorts or swimsuits:( so of course they got all wet and sandy and ended up in their shirts and undies! It was cute. They had a great time. Seth would run towards the water and then when the waves would come towards him he would turn and scream as he was running from the waves. Of course they got him every time! Only one times did they make him fall down! Mikayla started out with a paper towel on her eye because during lunch she got lemon juice sprayed into it! She would not take the paper towel off no matter what. She was still running around and having fun! We soon learned that her and a paper towel on her eye would be a reoccurring thing!

So after a few hours there we decided it was time to go see Mickey's house! We thought it would be a quick trip but we didn't take the highways and it took us like an hour and a half! But the kids got a nap in and that was even better! So we came to the Disneyland entrance and Mikayla got all excited- Seth was sleeping! we went to our hotel Paradise Pier and checked in! My friend Samm from high school in Montana came and met us! He works for Disney and made this the best trip to Disney EVER!! He got us into the parks for free every day, he let us use his discounts on souvenirs and he got us an awesome deal on the hotel room! Plus I got to see a very good friend that I haven't seen in 11 years!

So after we checked in and got our stuff up to the room Samm took us to the park to show us all the fun stuff! We got in and Mikayla said "Wow this is where the Princesses live, it is beautiful"

First we saw Chip and Dale and for those of you who can not remember how to tell them apart I learned a new little tip- Chip has the black nose like a chocolate Chip and dale has the red nose! Seth loved them- he was giving them hi-fives and just having fun with them! Mikayla did not want anything to do with them- she was "afraid" of them! So she sat in the stroller and waited! Then she saw a little girl wearing a princess dress and she wanted one- we asked where you find them and Mikayla said "the castle" so we went into the castle and sure enough there was the princess head to toe store! She wanted the Jasmine outfit and shoes and wand and crown and purse and gloves! Thanks to Samm's discount we could get it all for her and still have money for the next 3 days!!

Next we went to Mickey's Toon Town! Mikayla loved it in there- we got to go in to Goofy's house and play on the playground, we went into Donalds house boat and blew the horn. Next we went into Chip and Dales tree house and looked out at the whole Toon Town. Next was Mickey's house that was fun to see all of his stuff, they had a telephone for him, and a garden and a dog house for pluto. She did not want to go to Minnie's house because Minnie was outside and she didn't want to meet her! We did meet Pluto and Seth thought that was great! Mikayla loved driving all of the toon cars too.

So after seeing all of that we went back tot the hotel because we wanted to eat at the Japanese restaurant there. We had to wait for them to open so we went to the little movie area! It was cute they played old Disney movies and they had little beach chairs set up for all of the kids!

We had wonderful Sushi and a lot of fun! They brought me out a plate of fruit and an Orange shaped like Mickey for my birthday!

We went back to the park and decided to take the monorail because it was different and fun. Samm got us the spot up front with the driver- it was so cool! We wanted to see the fireworks this was going to be the only night that they had them so we waited and waited and both kids had fallen asleep, and it was getting cold so we went and asked when they were going to start and they said "No fire works tonight" so we were bummed but tired too so we decided to call it a night!

Monday morning Mikayla and Billy had woken up not feeling well:( But they didn't let that stop them! We went to target to get some cold medicine and some breakfasts- we thought we could save some money by eating breakfast in our room- they had a mini fridge so we could get oj and milk and fruit! We just bought oatmeal for the kids they love it and it is so easy to make in a hotel! We went back to the hotel to wait for the parks to open! This time we went into California Adventures because we had an appointment to eat with the princesses at 11:30! We had about an hour to do things before lunch so we went to see the Playhouse Disney show- Mikayla loved this she got to see Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Handy Many, Little Einsteins, and Tigger and Pooh. It was a fun show we got to sing and dance and interact with the puppets on stage! Both kids loved it:) Then we went on the Monsters Inc ride and Mikayla did not like it- she loves the movie but not this ride~! Seth did- infact Seth loved everything we did!

Then we went to eat with the princesses- I was so excited! We ate at Ariel's Grotto and first we got to meet Ariel- Mikayla was shy at first but when she talked to Ariel and Ariel could talk back she was so happy and ready to meet the rest of the princesses! We had a wonderful meal too- Fruit and cheese trays, salads, and bread to start. Billy ordered the seafood bowl, I had steak and the kids had spaghetti and meat balls. First we met Princess Belle she was very nice and kind to Mikayla and Seth just smiled at her. Next was Princess Aurora, My Mom and Sisters favorite princess, she asked where we were from and we told her Aurora Colorado- Mikayla thought that was really cool. I don't know why it just now hit her, we have told her many times that we live in Aurora! Next was Cinderella, she was very happy to see "Jasmine" and Mikayla was kind of taken back by that but she answered most of her questions. Last was Snow White, she was the best princess that we met that day. She was exactly like the movie sweet and quiet and very nice. The food was great and it was amazing how the ladies stayed in character. It was so much fun for me and Mikayla. Seth was just in awe of the pretty girls and their big dresses! Billy had fun too, I think he just wanted to throw them off and see if they would slip out of character! They didn't:)

After Lunch we thought we would go on some more rides. First we went on the toy story ride. It was a 3D ride that you sat in a cart and got to shoot virtual balls at targets. Buzz and Woody and all of there friends were there. Mikayla was afraid at first but once she saw how much fun it was and that there was nothing scary she loved it!! Seth of course loved it from the very beginning! One of the best things was how many rides Seth could go on! There were only 5 that he could not go on!! We had such a great time! Of course we rode another carousel and went to visit Mater and Lightning McQueen. I think that may have been Billy's favorite:) Seth wanted to Drive them and couldn't understand why he couldn't get in!! Then we decided that we needed to go back and take a nap and then swim and get some dinner and go back to the park!

Seth took a really good nap on his big boy bed and Mikayla watched TV. Daddy took them swimming and I met them after grabbing some snacks. Seth was crazy and not afraid of the water it didn't matter if he fell and went under the water or anything!

Then we got ready for dinner and went to the California Pizza Kitchen, we have those here in Colorado but have never gone. It was good and we had fun! The kids were still a little tired but we wanted to go back to the park and see it at night. So we started walking back and noticed that the crowd leaving the park was huge- we didn't know that it closed at 8pm that night:( But Mikayla had fallen asleep in the stroller already so we just turned around and went back to the hotel to sleep!

The next morning we got to get in the park early! We knew there would be a line for the Nemo ride. I guess it is the same Submarine ride from forever ago but they just changed the story and you see Nemo and his Dad and Dori and some adventures that they go on. It was fun. We took it easy this day. We were all kind of tired and just wanted to look around. It is amazing how much detail they put into everything!! Mikayla really wanted to go back and swim so we got lunch and went swimming. They had so much fun and I just relaxed in the sun it was nice!! I really wanted to see the pixar parade so we had to be back to California adventures. We found a nice little bench and sat and waited for the parade to come! We had some corn dogs for dinner- they were huge and really good! I took Seth on a spinning ride because he wanted to go so bad!! Then we got some Cotton Candy and suckers and then he sat still and was happy! Mikayla loved to see all of the floats and people from Cars,Monsters inc, Nemo, Incredables, Toy story and a bugs life!! It was awesome there were not a lot of people so we didn't have anyone next to us or in front of us!! All of the characters could come up to us! Woody from Toy Story even told me Happy Birthday from way up on his float!! It was awesome!

Our last day was my Birthday!! We were meeting some friends who live in Colorado and were visiting Billy's old boss. They came and we had a great time riding all of the little kids rides. I remembered some of them from when I was little. We rode Dumbo 3 times, the carousel 3 times, Mr. toads wild ride, Alice and wonderland, all of the little ones! Mikayla hated the rides that were inside (all but 2) that is why we rode dumbo 3 times. Seth would throw fits if he could see the ride and not get on right away!! It was fun. We got to meet Fawn and Tinker Bell in the Pixi Hollow and then we got to meet more Princesses! First we met the same Snow White from Lunch and she remembered us! Then we met Belle again, and As we were leaving Belle Jasmine came to switch with Snow White, that was the only princess that Mikayla really wanted to meet and the guy wouldn't let us go back! I was so sad:( I asked him if he could at least take our book to her to sign and then Samm went and took a picture of her! After that we met another Ariel, this was my favorite because Seth wanted to get down so bad so I let him walk and I thought he was going to run out of there but he walked up to Ariel and she bent down to him and he leaned in to her. I said oh he wants a Kiss. So she gave him a kiss on his forehead and he was in heaven. He did not want to leave her. She loved him too she was telling all of the pother princesses that they would want to leave their prince for him as soon as they gave him a kiss. Well he did not want a kiss from anyone else. He went to Mulan next and gave her a hug but he did not want a kiss. After we left he wanted to go back in and see her again! The coolest part of it all was that Samm knew Ariel and that they play volleyball together! So Mikayla thought and still thinks that it is so cool that Samm knows a real Princess! They had a princess store here and that is where Mikayla got her Belle Dress. I am happy to report that this Dress is worn everyday and has not fallen apart!! A much better deal than the Jasmine outfit.

Samm wanted Billy and I to be able to ride all of the rides that the kids were to small for. So he sat with the kids and we rode on the California Screamin roller coaster, Space Mountain, we got to ride the Mailboomer twice. Then we were going to ride the matterhorn but it was shut down for a while and Seth had woken up. So we went to the shops and got some souvenirs for the people back at home and then went to bed!! It was a fun trip. So much fun!

The last story I have to tell is on our flight home after the layover we had a mean flight attendant- she yelled at us for wanting to put our kids in car seats... but she was announcing the other attendant and then she said "and I am Ursula" and Mikayla said really loud "UH OH- why is the bad guy on our plane?" It was so cute we were laughing so hard because Mikalya looked like what are we going to do- I need Prince Eric to kill her!! Great ending to a wonderful vacation! We are going back- or maybe we will go to Disney World!!