California, Days 4 &5

Day 4- Tuesday, September 25

Back to the park we went, bright and early.  Our passes allowed us one "Magic Morning" in the park, where you get admittance into Disneyland one hour early.  The park normally opens at 10:00 in the Fall, so we were allowed in at 9:00 a.m. and were standing in line at 8:30.

Our view of the Halloween decorations as we waited in line.  I love Fall and Halloween!

As soon as we were in the park, we spotted the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland.  My kids don't even really know who he is, but the twins loved any character and were more than happy to go meet him.

Goofy was right next door and had a very small line, so we went over to meet him next.  I love how my kids love giving all the characters hugs.  Seriously the best part of this vacation for me!

A huge for Mitch too!

Group shot!  Goofy lived up to his name in all the photos he was in.  I watched him with several other people as we waited in line and he made sure to do something Goofy during each photo.  Love it!

I love the princess castle.  It is one of my favorite things about Disneyland and one of the icons I remember the most from Disneyland as a kid.  It just makes the whole place feel so magical.

We covered a lot of ground this day in Disneyland.  We went on so many rides and enjoyed so many fun things.

All my kids love the carousel.  It was a fun, "short line" ride to hit when the twins couldn't ride on a big ride, or when we didn't want to wait in line for something else.

Loved Mickey's Toon Town!

In the dog pound!

Love this shot of Mitch trying to pull these weights up.  He was really trying with all his might.

Having a sit down in Goofy's house on Goofy's chair.

 While at Goofy's house, my sister found this piece of paper on the ground.  It was some family's "plan" for the day, step by step, with the wait time, duration of the ride and even how long it took to walk to the ride.  Fascinating.  Looks like they got a lot accomplished.  It's good to be organized in Disneyland, that I agree with.  But I was happy with our "just go with the flow" flexible plans.

 Me in front of my favorite ride as a kid.  I LOVE Pirates of the Caribbean!  "Yo ho, yo ho a pirates life for me!"

The teacups are a classic Disneyland but  can't do rides that spin constantly.  Just thinking about that ride makes me sick.  Luckily, it doesn't bother Ben and he gladly rode it with the kids.

While waiting for them on the teacups, my parents and I ducked into a gift shop.  Dad found the perfect hat for himself... :)

 Early afternoon, we ran into Ben's sister and her family.  They have been planning a trip to Disneyland for months as well and just happened to book their trip on the exact week that we went.  We were so glad to run into them a few times during the week.  We stole cousin Stella for an hour or so to ride Peter Pan ride with us.

Then we met up with the whole Williams family and rode "Pirates" again together.  A week with so many fun surprises for the kids.  Chloe was shocked to run into Stella!  So fun to see their reactions to all our surprises that week.

 The kids had to try their hand at Sword in the Stone.  They almost got it out.

 There's that determined face again...

My favorite picture from the whole trip.  Look at Mitch's face!  That little boy could ride every ride at both parks and loved all the roller coasters.  He was giddy on Thunder Mountain and squealed and giggled with delight each time he rode it.  He rode on Space Mountain (the roller coaster in complete darkness) and did great.  But of all the rides he didn't like, it was Splash Mountain.  I do have to admit it's an unsettling feeling going down a big cliff while not being strapped in to anything.  Personally, I love that ride, but after riding it himself, Mitch said, in his cute little speech impediment voice, "I'm neva eva widing that wide again."  (Translation: I'm never ever riding that ride again.)  And he didn't.  But he didn't cry or anything.  He was such a good boy all week.

It was fun having kids old enough to ride all the rides, and fun having kids young enough to enjoy the magic that the park had to offer.  Chloe and Mitchell were fearless.  They rode every big roller coaster and loved it.  They begged to go on the big rides over and over.  And then I had my "babies," who made it possible to feel like kids right along with them.  Seeing them wide eyed with wonder at all of the magic was such a treat.

That night we stayed for the evening Mickey Mouse Parade.  It was fantastic.  I was tired and originally just wanted to head back to the hotel, but my dad and Ben talked me into staying.  I was so glad I did.

 Aladdin dancers

 Loved Rupunzel  from "Tangled."

My kids loved the parade.  The twins waved at everyone who passed by them and were completely enchanted with everything.  The Chipmunks, Chip and Dale, came over to them during the parade and gave the twins high fives and Lexi snuck in a quick hug.

We finished off our 12 hour day with dinner at Denny's.  The kids slept long and hard that night. 

Day 5- Wednesday, September 26

After two full days in the parks, we needed a break.  A day of relaxing at the beach was how we decided to spend our "off" day.

We had heard good things about a beach in Dana Point- Doheny State Park beach, so we drove the 45 minute drive there.

After being there just 30 minutes or so, we decided this was not the beach for us.  It was a steep beach and the waves were big and rough and were crashing right on the shore, which posed a danger hazard for the kids.  We couldn't let the kids touch the water without being right next to them and sitting anywhere near the water wasn't an option.

Grandma and Papa with the grandkids

Since the water was too rough, Uncle Neil helped the kids build a sand castle.

It didn't take us long to decide that if we weren't even going to let the kids play in the water, there was no point in staying at that beach.  We decided to pack up and find another beach.

We had to wake Papa up before we left- his napping made him oblivious to our exodus.

We hopped on Pacific Coast Highway and drove around in hopes of finding the perfect beach.

We finally found one in Newport Beach.  We had to hike quite a ways down a paved road to the beach, but it was a gorgeous beach with calm waves.  Perfect for kids, which made it perfect for us.  And it wasn't crowded at all, which was awesome.

My Grandma flew to California with my parents and stayed with my mom's favorite cousin who lives in Southern California.  Grandma and cousin Sandy met us at the beach for a few hours.

Mitch loved when Papa and Ben buried him in the sand.

Ahhh, the relaxing life of Mitch!

The twins decided they needed to be buried just like big brother.

We had such a nice, relaxing day at the beach.  As fun as Disneyland had been up to that point, being on your feet in the hot sun for 10-12 hours a day is down right exhausting.  It was nice to have a day of sitting, relaxing and no standing in lines.  My kids loved being at a "warm" beach, which they've never experienced before.

The only downside of the day was that I burned- no, torched- the part on my scalp.  Ouch!