There are just some feelings that surface no matter how old I get. I get that giddy feeling whenever I'm riding up a ski lift for my first run of the day, every day when I pick up Matthew from school, when my husband comes home from work, and of course, when we round the corner on Harbor Boulevard in Anaheim California and see DISNEYLAND.
Here are the kids Sunday morning dressed and ready to find a church in Anaheim. Of all the wards we could have attended, surprisingly, we ended up in cousin Scott's ward on accident! What a fun surprise!
Christina and fam hosted our family for a CRAZY Sunday dinner at her home. With Uncle Bob and Aunt Sandy, Todd and Celene and kids, Mark, Scott and Kelly and kids, and her own kids, coupled with my kids, Tiff's kids, and Mom and Dad, it was so FUN...and loud. ;) Thanks again Christina!
Monday: Disneyland
Then Heidi, my new BFF got us some AMAZING passes that saved us all HUNDREDS of dollars! We love you, Heidi! What a gal! She even gave us some passes that allowed us to walk onto any ride we wanted. The lines were short enough that we used them when the line promised to hold us back 20 minutes! We felt so spoiled!
We had an especially large crew this year...Mom and Dad, Jenn and Michael and their kids, Tim and Tiffany and their kids, and of course, our crew. What a party!!!
Waiting on Main for the rides to open...even the candy store was fun!
Mom and Dad
Jenn and Michael
Tim and Tiffany
Kim and Ashley (John?)
The babies were PERFECT the whole time:
Daniel:
Tiffany and Kate:
and Bess-a-boo, sick the whole time (threw up her lunch!) but still content to sleep in her stroller most of the time:
We were the first riders on Splash Mountain. Now, note to others: If your smallish children haven't been to Disneyland before, and are somehow tall enough to ride Splash Mountain...DON'T GO THERE FIRST. It's one of my favorite rides in the park, but we dragged little 4-year-old Matthew, and 4-year old Elizabeth on the ride, and it spoiled them for the day. They were scared of EVERY ride after that. UGH!
In fact, one of the funniest moments of the day was on Star Tours with Elizabeth. Just as the ride starts (it's a movie in a "moving" chamber, so it feels like you're actually moving through space) Elizabeth screamed out "No! I don't want to go down!" Tiffany leaned over and tried to tell her that it was only a movie, but she cried out, "but MOM! I
feel things!" At least we could get them calm on our driving sprees!
Jenn and Aaron lead the pack:
Dad takes the wheel:
Joshua:
Ashley and Adam:
Another funny moment came on California Soarin'. Dad was trying to buckle his seatbelt, and Michael "reminded" him to be sure and "thread" his seatbelt through the little strap between his legs. Now, of COURSE that little 6-inch strap is reserved for very small children to keep them in place on the ride, but Dad didn't realize that, and this very "grown-up" guy was trying to thread his seatbelt down between his legs to the "hidden" strap...meanwhile Michael is nudging everyone around him to look at Dad as he strapped in. Finally, in frustration Dad said, "I can't get this thing" and Michael said something to the effect that it was for "all you little avaitors." We are still teasing Dad about that.
Tim practices his skills on a less-threatening L.A. freeway:
our little "honeys"
Mr. Toad's wild car:
On the last ride of the trip, we raced to the Matterhorn and as the man asked us how many were in our group (there were 6 of us) he motioned us into the lanes where you wait for the car to arrive. As we all paired off, I came to the realization that my little sister Tiffany was paired off with Jennifer's husband, Michael. I said, "oh, you're going to have to ride with Michael" (realizing that you straddle the seat like a motorcycle, almost) and said..."awkward!" I sorta chuckled under my breath, and Tiffany, looking over and realizing I was right said difinitively "I am NOT riding with Michael." She grabbed Abby, Michael's daughter who had wanted to ride with me and said, "come on, Abby. You're riding with your dad." Of course Abby didn't want to, and put up a little fit, all while we were laughing and laughing at the comedy of the situation. Fortunately the people in front of us listening to the exchange thought it was pretty funny, too!
As we rode the Matterhorn, John took Matthew to see the Tikki room. At the end of the birds' performance, they said, "and now we're going to do a trick. We're going to make all of you disappear..." and Matthew looked up at John and started to cry! "I want to go see Mommy." I guess he never got over the fear after Splash Mountain!
All in all, we have to agree; It is the Happiest Place on Earth!
