Anaheim 2010

On January 13th we began our California journey. The 2 hour plane ride was a success. We bought 3 tickets for the 5 of us and ended up with 4 seats. Parker fell asleep shortly after take off and Makayla and Levi quickly played away the flight.

When we arrived in Ontario we picked out our rental car, got loaded up and headed to In-N-Out to meet a friend of Mike's from college and her 2 adorable boys, Isaac and Parker. We ate lunch at a nearby park and took the first of many pictures of the 2 Parkers.

After our bellies were full we loaded back in the car and started the drive to Anaheim. A short while later we were at our hotel and the kids were rearing to go. We could see the pool from our balcony and there was no stopping them...so despite the cool temperatures we changed into our swimsuits and hopped in the pool. Okay, so I didn't, but Mike took Levi and Makayla, with no floaties, by himself and it was kind of a bad idea. With Levi thinking he could swim by himself and Makayla wanting to play on the stairs by herself let's just say it was a short swim. The pool was heated but the air was a cool 65 or so and it was just to cold. We went back to our room, unpacked in no time were off to the grocery store and dinner.

Bubba Gumps

Not to long after dinner the kids were out. They couldn't wait for the night to be over!

Disneyland

Though all 3 kids slept through the night, the morning came to soon for Mike and I. The kids were up at 6am excited for Disneyland. We left our room at about 9:30am in search of the off site Disney parking lot shuttle, instead we ended up walking to the park (about 3/4 of a mile) we found out the shuttle was not open on Thursdays in January, and by the time we got to the park at about 10:30 this is what we looked like.



Levi was eager and equipped with the map. Makayla was asleep.



I was packing Parker who was also asleep and Mike was hoping this day would go smoothly :)

Since Levi is so tall he could ride everything at Disneyland except for Indiana Jones, so since Makayla was sleeping we started out with Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. HE LOVED IT!

Makayla awoke from her power nap just as they were getting off the ride and we bee lined to the Dumbo ride. (Last year the wait for Dumbo was about 30-45 minutes and we didn't want to do that again) To our surprise the wait was only about 5 minutes and to our complete delight we discovered that this was the norm in mid January. The longest we waited was for the Buzz ride and that was only about 20 minutes! Mike and I vowed to never again set foot in Disneyland during the summer!

We walked around Toon Town. Got some pictures with Mickey, Minnie and Goofy and rode a few more rides.

Mickey Mouse
2010

Makayla was a little shy when Levi got his picture with Goofy but while Levi and Daddy rode the roller coaster Makayla loosened up and got the courage to go say hi and did eventually give him a hug.

Levi ready to fight Emperor Zurg and save Buzz Lightyear!

After some more rides, a lunch break and diaper changes we started up again with Autopia.

Levi drove first with Daddy and Makayla as his passengers and then we took advantage of the child swap passes and Makayla got to drive with Levi and I. I'm hoping this wasn't a glimpse into the future... Makayla did not watch the road at all! Big brother even jumped in to save us a few times from what would have been some horrible whip lash.

Where was Parker you might ask? He was happy and content traveling in the front pack, taking an occasional nap in his car seat, and doing some great people watching. We couldn't have dreamed of better behavior from him! He went with the flow, ate when it was convenient and never cried!

HE WAS A CHAMP!!!

Makayla was also on her best behavior. As we began the day I had a little fear in my heart about her. She is independent and she likes to do things herself which is normally fine...but because Disneyland is huge and there are so many people I was afraid that she was going to need to be carried a lot in order for her not to get lost. To my surprise she did great! She did want to walk and she was very independent but it went well. She obeyed and stayed with us and followed her brother everywhere!

By the end of the day...the kids had walked everywhere, rode as many rides as we could fit in and were pooped, and mommy and daddy were pooped too.




These are the kids as we walked out of the park. You can tell they're pooped right?

California Adventure

The next day dawned bright and early again but this time we knew what we were doing. We spent no time looking for the shuttle and walked straight to the parks.

Again, Makayla fell asleep on the short walk and Levi was eager and equipped with the map.

Lightning McQueen and Mater were making the appearance so that was our first stop. Unfortunately my camera battery died on the way and so I didn't get any pictures of it.

We rode some more rides, had lunch and then found a seat for the Disney Playhouse Live show. Mike being the amazing husband and dad that he is ran back to our hotel during the show to get the extra camera battery!

When the show was over he was waiting right outside for us and we continued our adventure.

One of few family pictures where everyone is looking at the camera.

Makayla was content to do some rides and sit out for others but Levi wanted to do everything. He was tall enough to do most but there were a few that only Mike and I were able to do. You would think that The Hollywood Tower was one of these few, but no.

Levi did this ride! As we waited in line we chatted with the family in front of us. They had a 7 yr old girl who was terrified and not sure she wanted to ride. The mom was telling me how the previous year they had taken their boy who was 3 and he cried for 20 minutes afterwards. I was beginning to think this may be a bad idea but Levi wanted to ride and so we rode. He did close his eyes for a moment and held my hand the whole time but HE WAS THE MAN! I was so proud of him! He is turning out to be an adrenaline junkie just like his daddy and I. No tears, no screaming and he was ready to go again!

Next we watched another show type thing. It had Mickey, Woody and Cinderella. Can it get any better than that?

Makayla took this pic of Levi. Pretty good huh?

Then we found our spot for the Pixar Parade, got some munchies and enjoyed the time off our feet.

After the parade we caught a couple more rides but the locals with annual passes were coming in by the hundreds and the lines got line real quick so we headed out.

Oh, and how could I almost forget!

On the way out of the happiest place on earth with no meltdowns, no incidents at all on either day to speak of....

Makayla back flipped.... off the stroller... head first... onto the pavement!

TEARS! SCREAMING! CONCERNED MOMMY AND DADDY! DROWSY CHILD! TRIP TO THE NURSES OFFICE....and poor little sweet Makayla with a gnarly looking black eye!

What a way to end our 2 days at the park. I proceeded to carry all 30 pounds of her from the far end of the park all the way back to our hotel. She fell asleep about 30 seconds into our walk but would wake if I tried to hand her to Mike. Good thing I had some adrenaline flowing from her fall or I may not have made it!

We did however get back to our hotel and some college friends joined us for dinner and games!

It was a GREAT trip! (minus the black eye)