Disneyland - May 2013

We had an amazing trip to Disneyland provided by Nana & Papa! Lyla talked about going constantly for months before the trip, and kept asking what it would be like, telling us who she would see, etc. We stayed in a big house that had darling rooms like the princess room with a castle bunk bed. Lyla had a blast playing in the room with Aunt Cassidy and the Grossarth girls- they played dress ups, barbies, even created a girls club with a secret handshake. It was so nice to spend a week with our cousins who we rarely get to see and the kids played together really well. It's so nice when they are all sharing and having fun instead of fighting and crying!! After our long 14 hour drive, we were excited to spend 2 days at Disneyland. We had spent months preparing and thinking of every little thing that would make the days easier, and it all went better than I had expected. Of course the kids got really tired and had meltdowns, and we didn't stay super late at night,  but they loved everything and it was so amazing to watch their excitement at the magic all around them. My favorite moment was riding the Ariel ride in between my two little angels and holding their hands while they watched in awe. Trevor's all-time favorite ride was the carousel- he would beg and beg to ride the "neigh" (the horses) and his face would light up with the biggest smile the whole time. The kids loved the shows and parades and were excited to meet lots of princesses and other characters. Here are a bunch of pictures from the fun week.

The drive down went pretty well, although Trevor struggled the most. We put on lots of movies and finally convinced him to keep the headphones on so he could hear. Pretty soon, whenever he wanted a movie he would say "Hat! Hat!" which is what he calls the headphones. 

There was a fun playhouse in the backyard along with a pool. Both of my kids got their fingers stuck in the door of the playhouse and got nasty cuts, but other than that it provided hours of fun!

It's sweet to see the expression on the kids' faces when they met Jake

The whole group: (Lyla was having a moment so she's hugging my legs)

Best buds:

Not a great picture, but the Peter Pan ride was probably their favorite. We ran there right when the park opened to avoid a long wait!

We went to Mickey's house since Trevor loves him! We had baby Ruth who wasn't very happy, Lyla was feeling grumpy and needy, but Trevor was amazed and couldn't take his eyes off Mickey. He kept touching him and giving him high fives and he refused to leave until we carried him out. So sweet!

My sister Alyssa was such a huge help during the whole trip, and as usual we had so much fun together. Love her!

We ate dinner at Ariel's Grotto- Lyla loved meeting the princesses and I was proud of her when she asked me why some of them weren't very modest. Glad some of the things we've talked about have stuck- she's been more willing lately to wear shirts under dresses or jackets on top instead of always running around in her skimpy little outfits. :)

At one point in line, I was holding Jeanne's sweet baby Abigail and standing with 4 of the other kids. My mom and sisters started laughing at how it looked- me with my huge belly, holding a newborn, standing by 4 kids age 5 and under. I'm definitely glad that life isn't THAT crazy!

Lyla tried to pose just like Jasmine did with her foot out in front. 

Lyla asked Belle if she could have a hug

We got a leash for Trevor because he loves to run away. We didn't use it as much as I expected, but it definitely was useful.

Trevor's favorite - Snow White

Lyla's favorite - Rapunzel

We lucked out to find Woody- another favorite of Trevor's. He carries his little Woody and Buzz toys around all day. 

Trev stole Jackson's Peter Pan hat and prince charming toy. 

We wrote our phone number on the kids' arms just in case we got separated. Looked kinda silly but at least Trevor was entertained.

We spent most of the time in lines eating snacks- at least Lyla did. That girl loves her snacks!

Darling little gals!

In between the 2 Disneyland days we relaxed and went swimming. Then the day after Disneyland we drove to Huntington Beach. It was windy and a bit chilly, but Lyla loved it!! She loved running from the water and building sandcastles

Oh I love my sweet, spunky girl