We had a breakfast with some of the characters our first morning. The girls loved it! They got autographs, pictures, and enjoyed them visiting at their tables.
We took advantage of our early entrance and rode the toy story ride in which we wore 3D goggles and pulled a string on the back of our gun to launch balls and darts at different targets. It was tons of fun.
Then we rode the Ferris Wheel and I didn't realize we got on the swinging cart until it was rolling back and forth. I must admit, I thought the ride broke and we were falling down. I still can't believe we took our little kids and Brooke on it, but we ended up loving it. We did have to ride it again the last day just so we could go on the non-swinging cart and go up higher.
We all got fast passes for Tower of Terror so we took turns watching kids by the strollers and taking older kids on the ride. Steve took Andrea on the ride. Kaydence, D'Enna, Leah and Casen all went on the ride too. I can't believe the little kids went. It was terrifying. Kaydence was hysterical and Andrea was very weary of all the other rides after this. But we got some great pictures and made some great memories.
The first night we got to watch the spectacular show. We (Kayla and Tyson) and our family got stuck behind the lighting pole. But most of the kids were asleep or terrified anyway so we could see well enough for the adults.
During the middle of each day the kids wanted to go back swimming. They had so much fun running back and forth between the swimming pool and the hot tub with their cousins. We always swam with Camiile's kids and sometimes Markell's and Scott's. The last day we were able to get the kids to go on the slide and they absolutely loved it. Rachel had to go down without a life jacket, but she did great.
After swimming we hurried back over to the California Adventure Park to meet and great Elsa and Anna. The girls were so excited. We got to go into their castle with our group of girls and have our own meeting and then take pictures. The girls loved it!
The second day we went to Disneyland. We walked over with Grandma and Grandpa and Kayla and Tyson. We went on the tram, but we had to fold the stroller up and I didn't put anything in bags because it was difficult to get things out of the baskets. So we had to gather up all the random stuff that spilled out and stuff it into Grandpa and Tyson's backpacks. It was stressful for a few minutes but then it was fine. The tram drove around and above Disneyland so it was actually pretty cool.
We started off the day in Frontiere land and went on the yellow submarine. Then Buzz light year and shot all the targets. We headed over to Idiana Jones and rotated with all the adults between going on the ride and watching the kids. During that time the kids got to meet Jeanie and Alladin and eat lunch. We brought lunchables and sandwiches and snacks every day, so we didn't have to spend money on lunch in the park. We went on pirates, my favorite ride and then headed back for swimming. We actually celebrated D'Enna's birthday at Disneyland too. We ate cake on the patio outside their room and the kids swam. In the evening we all met back up at the Cars ride so we could use our fast passes for the awesome racing ride there. Andrea was able to go with Steve and I. She was a little apprehensive at first because of going on Tower of Terror, but she ended up loving it. We spent a little bit of time by the carousel and took pictures pulling the sword out of the stone.
Our last day in the park we started in California Adventure so the kids could go on the awesome Toy Story ride before the crowds got there. We also went on the farris wheel and the Ariel ride. But the main reason we started there was to go to the Disney Junior Puppet Show. It was pretty awesome. The puppets looked fantastic and they told a story from each of the famous TV shows: Mikey Mouse Club House, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Sophia the First, and Doc McStuffins. Stuff fell from the ceiling too. It was really cool. Disney really knows how to put on a good show. Then we headed back into Disneyland and went on some of our favorite rides with family members. The girls got their faces painted and we bought an awesome painting of our last name made with Disney characters. Everyone loved it so much that we decided to buy one for mom and dad as our thank you gift to them. We ended the night with a big boom by going on the storybook ride, the tea cups, the elephant ride, and the best part was riding Pirates of the Carribean and filling a whole boat with our family. We sang "Yo ho yo ho" at the top of our lunges. It was so awesome!
Sadly our Disneyland adventures came to an end, but most of us decided to hang around a few days more and spend time playing at the Howard Johnson Hotel and the beach. We were so grateful to have the wonderful vacation all together as a family before Grandma and Grandpa leave for their 3 year mission to Bulgaria.
