Disneyland!

Saturday we returned from a trip to the "Happiest Place on Earth"...Disneyland!! We left on Wednesday afternoon and spent Thursday and Friday at Disneyland and California Adventure. Then kids had no idea we were going. They knew we were taking a vacation to California, but not that we were going to Disneyland. When we woke up on Thursday morning we sat the kids on the bed and told them we had a special surprise for them and that we were going to Disneyland that day! Their faces in that first picture tell it all...they were so excited! Emma said, "and we can ride the tea cups?!" That was a really big deal to her! I have been telling them about all the fun stuff at Disneyland for months in preparation for this trip, so they knew what to expect. So, off we went. The first day was spent entirely on the go at Disneyland. We made it to the parade at 6:30pm and after that we were done! The kids were getting cranky and tired and so were Jon and I! But, we got a lot accomplished on that first day. We started off in Fantasyland and rode all the kiddie rides. Derrick was super excited to ride his first roller coaster in Toon Town. He just barely made it past the height requirement and had a blast! While we were waiting in line for that roller coaster Jon asked Emma if it was a fun day. Her response was "This is the best day of my whole life!" That of course made us laugh! This may sound cheesy, but I was almost tearing up a couple times just looking at the pure joy and excitement on the kids faces while we were there! It was as much an experience for Jon and I as it was for the kids! In the afternoon we went over to the Princess Faire and listened to Belle tell a story. Then before the parade that night we went back to the Princess Faire and waited in line to meet some princesses. Emma had on her Cinderella dress that day so she was really hoping to see her, but we didn't see Cinderella until Friday. When we walked around the corner both kids were so excited to see Ariel in her beautiful blue gown. Derrick ran right up to her and gave her a big hug! Emma was excited, but I think Derrick was a little more excited! So Ariel started talking to Derrick and asked him if he would be her prince and kiss her hand...he did! Then in the picture Derrick sat right down on her lap while Emma sat on the floor next to her! We were cracking up at Derrick and his "love" for Ariel! He doesn't even run up and give family a hug like that let alone a stranger! So we think Derrick likes red heads! :) They also got to meet and take pictures with Princess Minnie Mouse (generic, I know!) and Sleeping Beauty. It was very exciting for them! After that we wrangled our way through the crowds and into a spot for the parade. People started lining up for this at least and hour and a half before the parade was going to start. We were not doing that, so we found some kind people that let us squeeze in. There was a little girl in front of us that had a baby Belle wrapped in a blanket and after that it was in Emma's mind that she had to have one! They enjoyed the Christmas Fantasy Parade and were excited to see all the Princesses and Woody and Buzz. We went back to the hotel after that and Emma was up half the night crying because her legs hurt. She was in the stroller most of the day but we were still standing in line a lot. The next morning we woke up and were at Disneyland right when they opened at 8am. It was far less crowded at that time so we hit the rides we missed the day before. In just under 2 hours we rode the Matterhorn, It's a Small World, the Autopia Cars and Emma and I went on Space Mountain. I hesitated taking Emma on Space Mountain, but she did pretty good. She said it was scary, but she didn't cry! It was funny to me that she was screaming in a happy way on the roller coasters! I guess girls are just born that way! :) After all that we headed over to California Adventure. We didn't find this park all that exciting. We rode a few kiddie rides and saw a couple shows. Emma was very excited that she got to meet Cinderella after one of the shows. Derrick had the opportunity to meet Woody after that show, but didn't want to. Then we went to the Playhouse Disney show that had Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Handy Manny, My Friends Tigger and Pooh and Derrick's favorite, The Little Einsteins. Derrick was completely captivated by this show. To see the real thing (well, puppets) of all his favorite shows that he watches everyday was incredible to him. He was especially excited to see Big Jet from Little Einsteins! After lunch the kids were getting really tired so we were going to go back to the hotel and take a nap, but decided to just take naps in the car instead. We made a bed in the back for Emma and Derrick slept in my lap for about an hour and a half. After that we went back to California Adventure and lined up for the Pixar Parade. It started to get really cold and then Jon went and bought ice cream! Poor Emma was shivering! None other than Lightning McQueen led off the parade and I don't think I have ever seen Derrick so excited in his life! If you ask him what his favorite part of the trip was he will always say seeing Lightning McQueen! The Pixar Parade was really energetic and the kids really liked it. But, again after it was over we were done! We stopped at a store on the way out so Emma could pick out her baby and she chose a baby Ariel. We called it an early night and went to dinner at Cheesecake Factory. The last day there we stopped at the beach and then drove to downtown L.A. for some delicious food at Philippe's and Olvera Street...traditions in our family. If we are ever anywhere near L.A. we stop at these places to eat!
It was a fantastic trip and I already can't wait to take the kids back to do some of the things we missed! Jon would disagree with that, but I'll work on him and remind him of how much fun the kids had!
On a side note, Emma is sick again! I took her to the doctor today and she has croup and an eye infection. I feel so bad for her! At least she was not sick on our trip, but this weekend is Andrea's wedding and Emma's dance recital. But, she had a complete 180 turn around from this afternoon to tonight, so hopefully she will get over this fast! Sorry for the long post, but you know I had to write every detail! :)