vacation, all i ever wanted.

Last week when I packed up and drove to California out of the blue, we spent three of our days at Disneyland. Our first day was without Dave but with my sister and her two girls. I'm guessing the reason I didn't take any pictures that first day was because Dave wasn't there to help me with the girls. It's too hard for me to multitask at Disneyland! But I will have to learn to do so in the future if I want any pictures with my girls and their cousins they love so much! We didn't even get our traditional Lesue family picture on the L.

They have made some additions to Small World by placing some Disney characters in their appropriate lands. I didn't know how I would feel about Small World being changed at first since it is such a classic ride. But once I saw the changes, I changed my mind. I saw a picture of Alice and the White Rabbit in the newspaper the other day, so I thought I wouldn't be spoiling anything for anyone if I posted this one that I took.

This was after fall #1 of 2 by Gwen. She was running around while we were sitting enjoying a Mint Julep in New Orleans Square, fell on her face and cut her lip.

Then she decided to look at Dave's mouth and give him a kiss.


I found a hidden mickey, do you see it? Well, I actually found three during this trip. The second one was on Alice in Wonderland in the room where they are painting the roses red. There are paint sploches all over and one of them makes a Hidden Mickey. The third was in Haunted Mansion in the bride's room. It's on the face of a clock, but the light shifts, so you have to see it at the right moment. Needless to say, I was pretty proud of myself for finding three!

Gwen's second fall was much worse. When we were coming out of the tunnel after Buzz Lightyear she was taking off her jacket while running when she bailed, face right to the floor. That fall was much harder, lots of blood and screams and required a trip to First Aid. She was really good and even though her face was swollen for the next day, she bounced right back.

Speaking of Buzz Lightyear though, I got my personal best during this trip. The ride may or may not have stopped three times though. Regardless, I beat Dave every single time we went on the ride. I think for the health of our marriage I need to let him win once or twice.


On our second day, after saying goodbye to the Cobbs, we met up with The Whites. The girls visited the White Rabbit where Inez was apparently having the time of her life (please note her rolled eyes).




Gwen wanted this hat. I don't even think I'd want it if it were free, but it was $25! If I'm going to spend $25 at Disneyland, it will be on a bottle of water!

While waiting for the parade, the girls entertained themselves.





Day 3
We got to the park right as it opened at 8am and found Fantasyland pretty deserted. It was surprising considering the fact that they had Magic Morning at 7am. We hit most of the Fantasyland rides—we usually skip Snow White's Scary Adventure because it's scary, Pinocchio because it's scary, and Mr. Toad's Wild Ride because it's scary.

There's always something new that I notice when I'm at Disneyland. This time it was the carved wooden signs for the rides of Fantasyland.

Gwen thinks this door is just for her. She could play there all day and usually screams/cries when it's time to move on.





I asked Inez to show me how excited she was, and this is what I got.

The girls got to ride in the caboose of Casey Jr. all by themselves. We were actually on the other side of their bench, but they thought it was so cool.


I don't know why I love this ride so much. I just love all the miniature houses and villages.




This was the first time that Gwen saw Woody and Jessie. I think she was nervous with excitement!


Then Woody left right as we were getting near the front of the line. So we grabbed him for a quick picture, and this is what we got. Dave and I laugh so hard every time we see it. Could it be more awkward?

Gwen has much love for Jessie the yodelin' cowgirl.


Then Inez was off with Dave to ride Splash Mountain for the second time. She liked it the first time the day before and kept asking to ride it again.

While they were on Splash, Gwen and I found Brer Fox and Brer Bear. Gwen was a little nervous, as evidenced by her hands.


When we met back up with Dave and Inez, post Splash Mountain, Inez had crocodile tears running down her cheeks. Seems like the second time was not as fun as the first. My theory is that she knew what to expect with big drop and freaked out a little bit. She has decided that she won't go on that again until after she turns six.

Gwen being crazy as we waited in line to see Pooh Bear, Tigger and Eeyore.

Inez ran over to Eeyore as he came out, which was good since he left the line before we got to visit with him.

I love how excited Gwen is to see Pooh Bear.


Then came traumatic experience #3 for Gwen. It was finally her time to see Tigger so she was running up to him at the same time that he bounced and turned around. Well, he almost knocked her over because he didn't see her. She got so scared and just cried and cried. "Tigger" felt really bad about it, so we got a little extra time with him. It was so sad, but she got over it by the time we finished our visit with him.



One thing that made me so happy while we were there—besides just being at Disneyland—were all the flowers. They were so cheery, it was just contagious.



While we were eating lunch and enjoying the sunshine, Cruella De Vil came out and stood right by us, so we grabbed a picture with her. She is a funny character to watch and listen to and is always making these dramatic faces for the pictures.

Fantasmic ran all three nights we were there, but we only saw it our last night. After watching the whole show with eyes the size of saucers, Gwen turned to Dave after it ended and said, "That's a bad movie!"

Fantasmic image borrowed.
After three days, we were EXHAUSTED. It was so much fun though, and really what I needed. Warm, sunny California, away from the cold and snow, seeing and smelling the Pacific Ocean, and a few days at Dis with my little fam. It doesn't get any better than that.

El fin.