Disney Day 5

It's hard to believe our trip is essentially over. We had another great day, although I will admit we've been a little spoiled the past 4 days. We haven't spent a Friday at Disneyland the past several trips and we had forgotten just how much busier it is on the weekends. All the chaos of the crowds aside, we did get in a few rides, some super yummy food {best food day of the trip, fo sho - can you say Mickey shaped beignets and DIVINE salads in sourdough bread bowls followed by our most fave cookies in the park?}, a parade, and the new World of Color show!

The kids have been total troopers all week as we have dragged them through the parks. We are all exhausted ... especially me. We have not gotten home before 10 PM, and after the kiddos have been tucked into bed I've still had to download pics, post on my blog, and then work for at least an hour. AND I've gotten up early 3 days to run. Not that this schedule would be considered anything out of the norm, but I'm on VACATION, right?

We have loved our time here ... it was so great to be back at Disneyland after more than a year (our longest "dry spell" in years)! It was definitely a fabulous Christmas gift to our family and we will look forward to coming back a few more times next year to take advantage of our new season passes! What a blessing to have memories like this for our family!

P.S. Tomorrow will be back to just a *few* pics of our daily happenings this month - don't be too disappointed ;)

Disney Day 4

Well, we've spent another fantastic day at Disneyland and California Adventure! Only one more day and then it's back to real life ... which will be a complete and total whirlwind of kitchen regrouping {which, I am happy to report, is coming along - my dear friend, Beth, went by tonight and sent pics of drywall work being done and cabinets sitting in my kitchen waiting to be installed tomorrow *YAY*}, holiday parties, shopping, baking, and preparing for 2 weeks of company!!!

Today we did a lot of the same - rides, walking, characters, hand holding, and eating. We did add in a little shopping today (which I failed to take pics of ... I'll add pics of our new ornaments and girls' t-shirts tomorrow) and we enjoyed the Christmas Fantasy Parade! I really have to say that I think Disney has got the magic of the holidays completely wrapped up!!! It literally sends chills through me to spend time at Disneyland during the Christmas holidays. The snow falling throughout the park, the amazing music, lighting of the castle, fireworks, and the parade can not be topped.

Disney also had crowd control figured out. We were lucky to grab a spot for parade watching right in front of a popcorn cart and hour before the parade was scheduled to start. I can't tell you how many people tried to squeeze themselves into our space, but we held strong and the Disney cast members who were helping with crown control totally had our back. I can only imagine what they go through every day. The thing that kills me is that most people just act clueless {or blind} as they are trying to work their way into your compact space. Lots of people acting like they either didn't see us, were looking for their family down the road, talking to their group as they were crowding in, etc. In the end we kept every bit of our space and thoroughly enjoyed the parade!! We are not normally big parade going people but this is one we can't miss!! Most of the parade pics are blurry, but the poor lighting and cell phone camera flash weren't making for the best pics. Oh, well ... it was AMAZING in person ;)

Disney Day 3

Boy, next week will seem so boring with one or two pictures a day, huh? I've been snapping a ton of pics "on the go" during our trip ... so fun! They aren't necessarily the best in quality, but I'm so glad I have them :D

Today was a much more laid back day with less of an agenda - gotta have those kinds of days, right? We slept in {8:30 AM ... gotta love blackout shades} and then took our time getting around to much of anything! I went for a run while the girls took some time to focus on some of their homework. Kendyl & Cougar spent some time coloring and Steve checked his Fantasy Football, of course ;)

After a lazy morning, we drove down the Pacific Coast Highway into Laguna Beach where we grabbed some lunch at BJ's (one of our faves) and then crossed the street to bury our toes in the sand. Oh, do we love the beach!!! The kids played "Rapunzel" on an empty lifeguard tower, enjoyed a playground right there on the beach, and Cougar made a new friend.

After the beach we headed back to the resort to clean up and head to Disneyland. Our plan was to catch the parade and get in some rides, but by the time we got there the parade route was already PACKED so we ditched that idea and took advantage of the short lines while everyone else watched the parade. Brinley had some girls ask to trade pins which was so cute. Then we headed to It's a Small World - gorgeous at night especially during the holidays!! We had it "snow" on us twice and got to see the light show as the entire exterior was transformed with holiday lights! The perfect ending was that the fireworks show was overhead as we exited the ride ... awesome!! To cap it all off we got our favorite Disneyland meal - corn dogs! The cart at the end of Main Street never disappoints ;)

Disney Day 2

Loads of fun, tons of rides, lots of characters, a visit with Santa, and crashing at the end of it all!! We had fabulous weather and small crowds which made for a near picture perfect day in the parks :D Ashton & Kendyl both got the chance to star in the Jedi Training Academy show and kicked Darth Vader right off the stage! Cougar announced that EVERY ride was his favorite. Tomorrow we plan to lay a little low, let the girls get some of their homework done, stay close to the beach, hit the pool, and head to Disneyland for the Holiday parade and some rides in the evening. I'm just hoping that this growing congestion doesn't turn into something more ....