california 2013

A week after we came home from Europe my parents took us to Newport and Disneyland for a week.  It made transitioning back to real life a little easier.  Sending Wes to work every day was hard after being with him all day every day, so this trip was a lovely little dose of magic and fun with our girls.

There was an amazing swimming pool.

 And there were trips to Disneyland.  Upon entering the park the first day, Alice and the Mad Hatter grabbed our girls and took them dancing.  I think it fueled our Halloween obsession with being Alice and what a welcome into the park it was.

 Why is it that the first ride always has to be Dumbo? It just has to.  

 We loved having cousin time.

 The spinning teacups with Dad who makes sure we go extra fast.  I don't know if I am getting old or what, but I just don't have the stomach for it anymore!

Meeting characters was the highlight for Lily. We loved Merida.

 It's a Small World with the whole crew.

I was so excited for Lily to meet Rapunzel.  She has been obsessed with her for quite some time.  We usually can't leave the house unless we are wearing Rapunzel shoes or a shirt. The girl was star struck.  I was just tickled to see her so happy.

 I love to be in Disneyland around October.  Everything is so Halloween festive and it makes it extra special for our little Halloween lover Halle.  The Haunted Mansion is decorated like the movie "The Nightmare Before Christmas" which is one of her favorites.  We were so happy to see Sally and Jack waiting outside the ride.

We had our first taste of beignets and loved riding all the rides.  The favorites were Splash Mountain and Pirates for Halle.  Lily loved the Winnie the Pooh ride, swore she would never go on pirates again and loved Dumbo.  

And this little dream was manna from heaven.

It was a fantastic first Disney day that left us wanting more. 

The next day brought a big milestone for our family.  Wes felt well enough and actually had time to get back on the court.  It was a big deal after the last two years and everything cancer has taken away from him.  It was nice to see him take something back and I may have shed a tear or two.

We also went to Corona Del Mar and our little girls fell in love with the beach.  It was then I realized I would totally be okay living in California, the beaches, weather, and scenery are just gorgeous.

 The next day brought more Disney.  We arrived early to have breakfast in Ariel's Grotto with all the princesses.  The girls dressed up and Halle had been dying to see Ariel.  They could barely eat, they were so excited for which princess would be announced next.

 This day was extra special because aunt Andi drove down to spend the day with us.  All the kids wanted to sit by her on every ride.  A magical place made even more magical!

 I don't know how many times we went on the Ariel ride.  Good thing the line was super short.  By far it was the most favorite ride.

 It was hilarious to sit with miss Lily on the car ride.  She is known for her independence and she was totally sure she could drive this thing herself.  I pushed the gas for her and each time the car bumped into the rails keeping us on the track she would get this panicked look on her face and finally turned the wheel over to me halfway through.  I was laughing so hard the whole way.  Sometimes they just need to learn for themselves that they can't do it.

We had soup bowls and a Tiana encounter in New Orleans.

Teacups, the matterhorn, and cream cheese pretzels were how we spent the rest of the night.  I love these pictures.  The looks on my girls faces are pure joy.  We truly are happiest at Disney. 

We said goodbye to Andi that night and were so happy she spent the day with us.  We are so blessed to have such fantastic aunties.

 We had one more day of Disney and the first thing on the list was meeting Tinkerbell.  Lily had been whining and whining about meeting Tinkerbell.  Every time we showed up at Pixie Hollow it was closed.  Her little Disney dream finally came true.

We spent some of our morning in Disneyland and then a good chunk of time in California Adventure at cars land.  Grandpa waited in a huge line for fast passes for the infamous cars ride.  Cars Land is really phenomenal, I wish my girls liked that movie more because they really made it come to life.

For lunch Wes had made a reservation at the Blue Bayou.  It was my childhood dream to one day eat in that little place you can see from the Pirates ride.  For the longest time I could never figure out how to get there.  You may be tired of this word, but there is no other way to describe it than magical.  Halle still talks about it and Lily was asleep in the stroller under the table for most of it. 

 After that I mostly just put my camera away and enjoyed the day with my family.  Sometimes I get tired of looking at life through a lens.  It is nice to make myself put away the camera and stop worrying about catching all the memories and instead be part of the memories myself.

The girls loved spending time with cousins and grandma and grandpa.  

We have never been parade people, but after seeing how much Lily loved the parade in California Adventure, I made the commitment to grab spots for the Disneyland parade.  This may have been the highlight of my trip.  Lily was dancing, bouncing, waving, or squealing the whole time.  It was so much fun.

And then we rushed over to see world of color and were involved in a freak accident along the way.  An old man lost control of his motorized wheelchair and it plowed into a fairly overweight woman who then fell backwards onto Lily who was sitting in our umbrella stroller.  Lily was screaming and the stroller was completely crushed.  My mama bear instincts kicked in and somehow I lifted that large woman off of Lily.  Lily ended up being fine, but her stroller was not so lucky, the frame was bent and one of the wheels too. It was hard to push after that and it kind of put a damper on world of color.

The next day was more beaching with aunt Andi and food around Newport.  I really miss those lazy wonderful days.

 I dream about taking my girls here a lot.  Until next time California!  Thank you for a wonderful trip Mom and Dad, we are so grateful you bring us and our little ones along!