disneyland!

Get comfy and grab a snack. This is one super long post.

Two happy kids starting out on what ended up being a 13-hour drive.

We drove down to California on Thursday (all day). The kids were outstanding during the car ride. Colin didn't throw any tantrums. He even took a nap. Kate slept/ate/smiled pretty much the whole time. The kids slept well at the hotel too, but I did not. Colin ended up in bed with the rest of us, and after I got kicked in the gut a few times I ended up curled up on the foot of the bed. We got up early Friday morning so everyone could take a bath before meeting our friends at the gate at 8:30.

Riding the tram from the parking garage to the park. That's Fake Aunt Pauline holding Kate.

At the gate waiting to get in. This is my Fake Cousin Amy. (The daughter of Fake Aunt Pauline, one of my mom's best friends.) Amy drives the floats in the parades at Disneyland/California Adventure. Because she is awesome (and an employee), she used her Disney Magic to get all of us in for free. Thanks Amy!

We made it! Here's the classic picture in front of Mickey. Well, to the side of Mickey. There were too many people trying to take one right in front of Mickey.

Our first stop was Toontown. I hid in the back of the play area at Goofy's house and fed Kate while Colin played on the toys. He was so excited! He couldn't stay in one place for very long.

He was having a great time running around and discovering the different toys to play on. "Mom, a watermelon! Climb on box?" etc.

I love his cute face poking out of the jack-o-lantern.

Next we went to Mickey's house to see the Mouse himself. Thankfully the lines weren't very long at this point, and we only had to wait a few minutes.

These are the photos that the helpful Disney person took. Thanks helpful Disney person!

Colin wasn't afraid of Mickey Mouse at all. He ran right up to him and hugged him around the leg. He even said, "Hi Mickey!" It was adorable.

Colin was so interested in looking at everything that it was nearly impossible to get him to look at the camera. We still tried taking some pictures.

This piano contraption played music, so Colin climbed up to try and push the buttons. He couldn't sit on the seat and reach the keys. And he fell off when he tried to get down. But it must have still been fun because he talked about playing Mickey's piano all day. He also talked about Mickey's washing machine, but I didn't get a picture of that one. Guess that makes me a bad mom. :)

While Nana and Pauline and Kate checked out the store, Colin and I checked out the cars. Once again he was so happy and excited about playing with the cars that he wouldn't look at me for the pictures.

Goofy and Pluto came out and wandered the streets. I didn't get a picture of Colin with Goofy because he just ran up and hugged Goofy before I could get the camera ready. He tried talking dogtalk to Pluto, but Pluto didn't respond.

Colin played in the jail...

...and was enchanted by the fountains...

..and tried opening a teeny tiny door.

And then he drove another car. This time he smiled for the picture.

He liked the mail boxes because he could turn the knob to make them talk all by himself.

Colin still gets scared when he hears loud noises, and there's one door in Toontown that makes a loud scary sound when you pull on the door knob. Colin was walking towards the door when another child pulled on it. The noise scared Colin who turned on the spot and ran back to me with huge eyes. "Scary door! Mama, scary door! No no no!" I laughed and hugged him and kind of wanted to pull on the door again just to see his reaction.

We went on It's a Small World after we left Toontown, and Colin loved it! His eyes were so big as he looked around. He was so quiet during the ride, and I think that's because he was just taking it all in. We had a boat all to ourselves, which I don't think I've ever experienced before.

Would you like some child with your hat?

Colin and Nana rode the Carousel. It was hard to get a picture as the ride is a spinning ride. My mom took this first one.

Next we went on the Winnie the Pooh ride. Colin was once again in heaven. It was so funny to watch his face as he looked around.

Pooh Bear and Eeyore were waiting for pictures right outside the ride, and Colin again showed no fear as he ran up to get a hug.

The kind Disney person took my camera so I could be in the picture too. I kind of wish she hadn't, because now I'm in the picture too. Boo.

A picture of Kate and I. She's spitting, naturally.

We went back to our hotel at noon so the kids could take a nap. We stopped at the Company D store with Amy so we could do some discount shopping. The Company D store is for employees and they have a bunch of stuff that is at least 50% off of the regular price. I scored some hats for the kids and I at 75% off, which means I only paid like $4 for each.

Here's Princess Kate wearing the tiara that Pauline bought for me. Apparently, you are supposed to be called your majesty and whatnot by the operators when you are wearing it on certain rides. I didn't wear it long enough to find out.

Princess Kate with Pirate Princess Minnie Mouse. Maybe not my favorite version of Minnie, but it was super cheap at the Company D store. And I do like pirates.

Colin didn't sleep for very long, but he did rest and then he was ready to get going again. Our hotel was 5 miles from Disneyland. We got in the car around 3:30. We got stuck in traffic on the freeway. We got stuck in traffic on the streets in Anaheim. We weren't allowed back in the parking garage. We were directed by street signs 5 blocks away to a different parking lot. We waited in line for 30 minutes to get on a bus (a real bus, not a tram). We arrived at Disneyland at 6:00, just in time to see that the Pixar parade that Amy drives in was ending. Awesome.

Here's Colin trying to see the last few seconds of the parade.

The sun went down pretty soon after we got back to the park. Colin and Nana and I rode a few rides in the Bugs' Land area of California Adventure.

We had to meet Pauline and her daughter Ruth back at Disneyland, so I loaded Colin onto the stroller so we could book it.

We went on Buzz Lightyear when we got back to Disneyland. Colin loved shooting the gun and watching all the flashing lights. We also went to the Tiki Room while my mom went to a store on that side of the park to pick something up for a friend. It was late, but Colin really liked that the birds and the flowers sang to him. But while we were waiting in the courtyard for the show to start one of the tikis right next to us started talking and it freaked Colin out.

We watched the fireworks from our parking lot far, far away. That was probably better for Colin, since loud noises tend to freak him out. The end. Bye bye Disneyland!

On to Saturday's pictures. Yikes! What a goofball. This is what a child looks like after he's been forced to stay up until all hours of the night in a crowded amusement park.

Colin might look like he was being an adoring big brother here, hugging his sister and smiling for the camera, but really he was trying to get away from her.

Colin still loves bath time, even when it's in a strange bathtub with only complementary coffee cups to play with.

Fat Face was awesome in the car. She was such a good girl—she hardly fussed at all. She spent most of her time either sleeping or grinning like an idiot.

Our hotel was down by Knott's Berry Farm, which is about 5 miles away from Disneyland. My mom's grandma's house is right by Knott's Berry Farm. It's one of the few houses in an area that is mostly big stores, fast food places, and the freeway. My mom remembers coming here as a kid before all of the stores were built. We stopped to take a picture of Kate Leone and Ruth Leone in front of Sarah Leone's house.

We made a potty stop at my mom's friend Alison's house. Alison had her granddaughter Corinne with her. Corinne is about a month older than Colin. She took to him right away, sharing her baby dolls, following him around, and trying to hold his and and give him hugs.

She even snuck a kiss. Aww. Who wouldn't want to kiss that face?

Saturday night we went to my cousin Chris's wedding reception. It was fun to see my aunts and uncles, especially my uncle Paul because I haven't seen him in about 15 years. My Aunt Laura, who is ready for some grandkids, loved playing with Colin. She took him out on the dance floor and followed him around as he showed her the lights. She was all he could talk about in the car the next day. "Dance Aunt Laura. See lights. Aunt Laura nice." I forgot to rotate this picture. Sorry.

I let Colin eat a cupcake. He was a mess, but a cute one.

My mom's younger brothers Paul and William. They were bored.

Sunday morning we got up early and headed for home. At the end of an exhausting 4-day trip, Colin still managed to smile in the car.

This was taken about an hour before we got home. Colin was getting cranky, so I pulled out the big guns—stickers from In-N-Out. He plastered them all over his legs and was once again happy.

I think that's it. I'll probably remember some other stories later, but I really wanted to get this blog done and out of the way!