We Are Back from Dismeyland!

We made it back late Sunday night. We had a great time in Disneyland. The girls just loved it all. We tired them out, but they were really good girls anyways. I think we really tired my mom and dad out too.

We left here on Wednesday and headed down to Seattle. After spending the afternoon at the zoo, we went and found our "hotel." I had found a place for us to stay near the airport that included 7 days of parking so we could leave our car there while we were gone. It was cheap, and needless to say, it was not a great place. We had to get up at 4:30 in the morning to get to our flight, and Michael didn't sleep at all. It was noisy and uncomfortable. He was a tired guy. On the plane, the girls did great. Tegan slept almost the whole way and Kelby colored. We met up with my parents at the airport and they took us over to our hotel...which was the Grand California Hotel...the brand new one that was built with the new theme park. It was absolutely beautiful inside. It wasn't as "Disney" as the other hotels, but it was really fancy and amazing. It had an earthy, woodsy feel to it. Mom and Dad stayed at the Disney Paradise Pier Hotel which was across the street from our us. We checked in to our rooms and headed out to the parks for some Disneyland fun!

We didn't really know where to start. There were just so many choices...and the lines for the rides were really short! It was the perfect time of year because all the kids are back and school, but the weather was wonderful. Mid 80's was a bit hot for us Northern Washingtonians though. We went on little rides and big rides. Mom and Dad took Tegan and Kelby over to see Pooh and Tiger while we went on Splash Mountain (my personal favorite). Apparently, Tegan had the crowd's attention while she took her place on Tiger's tummy to sleep. I'll include the pictures soon. We hit the Tea Cups and the Dumbo ride...and of course the Rockets. Kelby loves those rides. She still got a kick out of those fountains too. By nap-time we were all exhausted. Mike rested with the girls in the room while my parents and I laid by the pool. Is everyone jealous? That evening we tried to fit so much in that we didn't get to eat dinner until after the park closed at 8:00, though we did get to see part of the Disneyland parade. Since we got up so early that morning, we were exhausted and went to bed right away. My parents went and bought us some peanut butter and jelly, so I'd have something to feed the girls. They are a bit picky, so it was nice to know we had something that they would definately eat.

On Friday morning we had our oatmeal and then went back to the park. This time we went to "Toon Town." Kelby got to have pictures taken with Minnie and Mickey. She rode on the kiddy rollercoaster after some coaxing. It tickled her tummy and she decided she liked it enough to back on it with Grampa. Tegan got to walk around and really enjoy the park this time. You wouldn't believe how much she loved all the characters! She just started saying "bear" in a cute baby-sort of way whenever she's talking about her stuffed animals...so of course, she pointed and called all the characters "bear" whenever we saw one. She wanted to go up and see all of them. We went back to the hotel early that afternoon to get some pool time in for the girls before they had to take a nap. Kelby loved the fact that there was a kiddy pool there...meaning a pool that is only about 2 feet deep. She could play in it without being too scared. Tegan liked the little squirting turtle fountain. It was a nice relaxing time. This time while the girls napped, my parents generously stayed with the girls so Michael and I could have some fun time alone. We rode all the fast, fun, new rides at the California Adventure park. There are some cool rides there including a really fast rollercoaster and a ride where you feel like you are flying over California landscape. When the girls got up, my parents came in and we showed them around the new theme park. It wasn't there the last time they were there. As the evening wore down, the park closed and we watched the Electrical Light Parade. We all loved the beautiful lights and music. Both girls were amazed by it. When the California park closed, we shuffled our way over to Disneyland to our special assigned viewing of Fastasmic. With our prize package we got special seating at the huge laser, light, water show. It was really neat for us adults, but a lot scary for Kelby. To calm her down, we went on more of her favorite rides before the park closed.

Saturday morning, we had to switch hotels. Our last night there was spent at the Disneyland Resort hotel. That was also a beautiful hotel. After the transfer of luggage, we made our way over to Disneyland and met up with my parents after a couple of rides. During nap-time that day, my mom stayed with the girls for their nap and Mike, my dad, and I went over to ride the fast rides. We rode the rollercoaster three times...until I was feeling a little sick. After just a few more rides, the girls woke up and we brought them back into the California park for dinner. We found a place that served popcorn chicken and happy face french fries...if you can believe it! Kelby thought that was pretty neat. The park closed shortly after dinner which surprised us because we didn't think it closed that early on a Saturday. After fitting in a quick viewing of the "Muppets 3D" show, we went back to Disneyland again. That day we had promised Kelby she would get to see "Princess Atta" from "A Bug's Life," but we never got to see her. Mike ran to find her a Princess Atta doll and then she is very happy. We didn't stay up until closing that night because we were all so exhausted. After one last ride on the tea cups and Dumbo with Grampa, we said our good byes to Disneyland and hitched a ride out of town on the Monorail.

The whole next day was ours because we didn't have to fly out of town until 6:00 that night. We took a leisurely stroll around the Disneyland Hotel grounds which includes beautiful waterfalls, Japanese Koi fish, and cool stores. Then, Kelby and I got our suits on and went down for one last dip in the pool. She was disappointed that the hotel didn't have the famed "kiddy pool" like the other hotel, but she settled for a dip in the hot tub. Then it was time to check out and we dashed off to find a beach. Kelby had so much fun at the beach. I did too! I rode the waves and got icky and dirty before the ride home in the airplane. It was a beautiful day on the beach. On our last trip, the day we went to the beach was dreary. This was so much nicer. Kelby played and played in the sand and waves with Gramma and Grampa. It is possible that the beach was her favorite part of the trip. After we washed up the girls (Tegan had rolled around in the sand and loved it!), we headed for the airport and said our good byes to my parents and sent them back to Billings. By that time, we were exhausted and ready to be home. The girls did great on the flight...Tegan slept the whole way and Kelby did as good as can be expected from an exhausted three year old.

Monday was a lazy day...Mike didn't have to go to work. We recuperated from the trip and now we are on to normal life. I am thankful for the trip...a celebration of a new beginning! Kelby and Tegan had a wonderful time....and so did I! Wouldn't it be nice if we could go to Disneyland every six months all the time! Bye for now.

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