Spring Paloozah, April 2012 part two---DISNEYLAND

Be so proud.  The blogging streak continues...

let's talk about DISNEYLAND.

I don't care what anyone says, it IS a magical place.  True story. I'm not going to do a lot of captions, b/c I don't think they're super necessary.  Just know, we ALL had a blast and feel like it was one of the best rash decisions we've ever made.

Speaking of rashes... kidding.  Just kidding.

No, let's talk about another great decision---we heard a tip to stay at a hotel within EASY walking distance to the park.  We did just that and have NO regrets about that decision.  That was so nice to not have to pay for parking, and then be able to easily "stroll" over to the hotel for naps mid-day.

Anyway, enough chit chat. Let the games begin! 

Since we took a SUUUUPER early flight on Monday morning (left my parents house at 4:00a.m.), the kids fell asleep in the rental car on the way to the park.  Hallelujah.  We were glad, b/c we knew it was going to be a full day.

We are here! We are here! We are here!

the quintessential photo op in front of the castle.  not the greatest picture of our crew, but we checked it off the list.

flashback to two years ago...

(yes, I do realize I look like a target employee with my khakis + tennis shoes.  oh dear.  notice Tillie's shirt is the same one that Cal is sporting this trip.)  If you want to see more pictures from our trip two years ago, feel free to click here.  Good times.

Back to current day:

Cal was in heaven here.  Obviously.

The Buzz and Woody arcade ride was fun, we did it twice---but honestly, the lines were RIDICULOUS.

These kids are obsessed with Carousels.  But, really, what kid ISN'T?!  

I couldn't decide which to post of Tillie and Aaron, so I did both.  My blog.  My rules.

I thought Calvin looked so cute as he walked around.  

He is Mr. Independent these days, so he didn't want to ride in the stroller ALL that often and no way did he want to hold my hand---so I kept my eagle eye on him constantly.  I can see why now some parents write with Sharpie on their kids' backs all essential information if they get lost.  Next time I'll probably do something similar.  

This boy loves his Jazz hat.  Really, I think I've talked about his obsession with hats in general---but this one with the Jazz bear is probably his favorite.  I don't think it has ANYthing to do with the fact that his dad often sports a similar one.  No way.  Oh, wait...

Tillie was just soaking it all in.  She was just so pleased the entire time.  It was pretty fun to watch her.

Speaking of hats... Cal loves pulling it down really low.  We love to make fun of him for it.  He laughs. We laugh.  Good times.

Parades and the like...

Love her cutie wave.

Who doesn't LOVE a parade?! It was funny to watch the crowd go wild with every approaching float.

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!  Whoa. How's my face?  Scary mom.

I loved how these two agreed to hold hands if they weren't going to ride in the strollers...  So sweet.  These two are pretty good pals.

Day Two.

Auntie Lizzy let Tillie borrow a Cinderella costume to take.  It was a little long, so she opted to wear it in spurts through out the day.  It's hard to climb on bars and rocks with a ball gown---duh, mom!  

I thought she looked darling.  She LOVED wearing it.

again, too many favorites, so I'll post all three.

attempt at a group shot.  weak, but what can you do?

Okay, speaking of MULTIPLE pics of ALMOST the same thing... I'm gonna do it again.  Again, my blog. My rules.  But, seriously, this was one of the BIG highlights of the trip.  Calvin is IN LOVE with Woody.  Like, really.  In love.  So, of course we were on the prowl for him.  We found him randomly walking down the little street in California Adventure and Cal ran right up to gave him a hug (not the norm with this little boy, but he didn't hold anything back this time).  Woody (or rather, the person hiding in the big costume) was ABSOLUTELY DARLING with him.  Check out the play by play.  (Aaron grabbed his phone and recorded a video of it too.)

I guess Woody was on his way to a photo spot, so we ran over and got in line.  Woody was cute and remembered the kids and pointed over to where he'd just hugged them.  They were both so giggly and happy.  It was so sweet.  I mean, check out Calvin's grin?  Too fun.

Okay, the hits keep on coming.  I'd seen on my friends' blog (hey Kelsi & Landon!) about a Princess Breakfast that you can do----and it was darling.  I'd never heard of it before, but they do both breakfast and lunch with the princesses---IF you have reservations.  We happened to be there over the NATION's spring break (apparently), and the lady on the phone told me that this week we were there had been booked weeks in advance (like, really, you can book up to 60 days prior to your day. hello.).  So, she said there was a small small small chance that if we went between certain hours for both breakfast and lunch that we MIGHT be able to get a spot.
We ran over there for breakfast. No such luck.
So, we tried again for lunch.  Talked to the lady again.  Waited.  Waited.  And, amazingly enough, we were able to get in (there was a lady who wanted to fight me for a spot, saying, "Um, excuse me, I believe we were here before this girl.  We should get a table before her..."  I was like, "Oh, I wasn't trying to... eh..." And, the worker gal piped in and said, "No, she was here for breakfast too.  She gets a spot first."  I felt silly but THRILLED OUT OF MY FLIPPIN' MIND!  Luckily, as we were going down, they got a table too.  So, everyone went home happy.  Gotta love Disney Drama Mamas.

ANNNNNYWAY, the lunch was darling.  Tillie, of course, was thrilled!  So cool to have so many of the princesses RIGHT there interacting with us.  Here are a few of the photos we took:

What a good dad.

Calvin was his usual shy self and wanted to avoid eye contact (see what I mean about how fun it was that he threw his inhibitions to the wind and ran to Woody?). It was too sweet.  That boy is too cute.

again, I love the eye contact avoidance.  hA!

Cinderella isn't Tillie's most favorite princess in general (she likes them all equally for different reasons), but this Cinderella was the cutest with her.  Maybe it was because they were twinners?  Or maybe it was because Matilda is super darling. Who knows?!  Anyway, Tillie wanted to show her a battle wound she'd acquired a few days earlier.  Cinderella was cute and did a little "Bippity Boppity Boo!" move to help her knee feel better and made Tillie (and all of us) laugh and laugh.  That was pretty quick on the draw, in my opinion.

Cal wanted in on the "bippity boppity boo" action and opted to show her a battle wound of his own.  Too funny.  (again, still avoiding eye contact.)

Auntie Lizzy painted Tillie's nails before we left like Minnie Mouse, so OBVIOUSLY we had to show her.  Again, these characters are pretty cute with the kids.  Here's a little play by play with her reaction:

Another few attempts at a family photo. 

We had to bribe Cal to smile with the Woody doll (another great thing we did was WAIT to buy their one souvenir until the very end, so we could hold it over their heads the entire time.  good one!).  It worked!

Now that you've memorized our mugs... here are a few more photos to end off the day.

I am in LOVE with It's a Small World.  Mary Blair, the head artist for this ride, is one of my artistic heros.  We went through a few times so I could take a billion pictures.  Of course, most were dark, but I don't care.  She was amazing!  I love all the details in this ride.  Luckily for me, the kids didn't mind ONE BIT going through again and again.

We headed to the Carousel for one last go round.  Look how tired we all look.  A tell-tale sign is that Aaron's hair starts getting fluffy at the end of a long day.  I love it.  

Finally getting their coveted souvenirs at the very end of the night.  They were pleased as punch and kept saying, "Thank you! Thank you!"  Calvin chose a legit Woody doll (the hat comes on and off, which is his favorite part).  Tillie chose a mini Little Mermaid doll with rubber clothes you can change (teeny tiny parts and it is a PAIN to change their clothes.  oh well!  she was/is happy about the decision).

Any day that ends with fireworks is a happy one.

This was no exception.

Good times all around!  We HEART (pun intended) Disneyland!