Disneyland Day 3

 Monday morning we woke up nice and rested.  We took Daddy to work and came back to the hotel to get ready.  We said goodbye to Grandma and Aunt DaNae and made the hour drive to Disneyland.  I found a parking place right off the freeway without any problems and we rode the bus into the park.  Adam and I had a blast and were there from about 11 to 4 I think.  It was a great way to keep busy and have fun while Daddy was working hard for us.

When we first got the the parks we went into CA Adventure and went to the Disney Jr show.  Adam was a little cranky at the beginning of the day because he was tired and he also fell while jumping on the bed.  It took some convincing to get him to go to the show and to stay there but once it started he liked it and became more himself.  

Hiding in Bug's Land

We rode Monster's Inc again and checked out Bug's Land before going over to Magic Kingdom.  We did lots of fun things together.  We rode a horse drawn old time fire truck from the entrance to the castle.  We took the train and Adam used that time to take a nap.  

For a bit he could spread out but then the train got crowded and I had to hold him

 Adam loved driving the cars.  I let him be at the steering wheel and he was in heaven!  

We had to ride it twice and he was so excited to get the driver's license they handed out.  

They are still in the diaper bag and when he sees them he gets so excited and wants to show it off.

Waiting in line for Buzz Lightyear

 On the Carousel together.

 I had a blast playing around with my little man.  He was so much fun to watch as he experienced such fun things.We left before the parades because we were tired and we wanted to at least have a chance to beat some of the traffic.  We picked up Daddy from work and had a fun relaxing night together... or at least as relaxing as it can be with a 2 year old in a hotel room... I do like the idea of a suite next time...

On Tuesday I had thought about going to the park again but decided it wasn't worth it.  Adam and I just relaxed after taking Daddy to work and packed up.  Once we checked out of the hotel we went to Target where I found some Mickey shirts for a lot cheaper than they had been at the park.  When we picked up Daddy from work we drove the car down to San Deigo to head for the airport and found a Panera Bread to stop at for lunch!  We all got to fly home together and it was Scott's first time flying with Adam.  He was pretty good after such a long and crazy trip and with his first layover/ change planes in Phoenix.  It was a very fun last minute trip and I'm so glad Scott convinced me to go.

Disneyland Day 2

 Sunday was our shorter day at the park, but it was also the day we caught up with some characters so I have a lot of pictures anyway!  We had a bit of a late start with everyone trying to get ready and being so tired from the day before.  Once we got out we went to Magic Kingdom and Pluto was right inside the entrance.  There were some other characters too, but Adam wanted Pluto.  

Our Turn

Adam, Pluto, and Dad

Waving goodbye

 Then Scott, Mom, and DaNae all went off together to ride Splash Mountain so Adam and I ventured off on our own and went on the Finding Nemo Ride

Waiting to get into our submarine

Checking out the world under the sea

 We then went over to Toon Town to check out the area and meet some more characters.  We enjoyed the rides from Bugs Land better but Adam loved climbing into the cars and pretending to drive... 

 Then we saw Goofy!

Big Hugs!

Two Goofy Guys!

 Then we headed over to Mickey and Minnie's house.  Adam wanted to check out Minnie's house first.

 He thought her bed looked pretty comfortable!

 He just loved giving the characters hugs!

 Mom had to get into the picture too!  Hey it's Minnie!

Then it was time for Mickey's house... It was bigger and we had a wait a little at the end, not very long but Adam got a little antsy, plus everyone else was ready for us, but we had to see Mickey so we went quick

 Once we were done with Mickey I had to convince Adam to leave the cars... 

 We all met back up and went on Pirates of the Carribean.  Adam wasn't the biggest fan but besides that he was really hot and we got a little worried about him.  Silly me thinking in Jan we would want long sleeves so I didn't pack short sleeves and we were all so hot.  We took him to the first aid station.  He had a slight temperture but not too high so we sat with him in the shade for awhile and got some water, snacks, and Tylenol in him and we were ready for more adventures.  We were back at California Adventure so we went to Bug's Land and rode some more rides and even got to see Flick!

I think that was about the time we were ready to call it a day.  We may have gone on Tower of Terror again... we went 3 or 4 times on the trip... did I mention that is my favorite ride.  I love the going up and down and not knowing when it's going to happen!  We did walk into some of the shops to see if we could find shirts/souvenirs but didn't see anything worth the money they wanted for it.  By that time the lines to get into the parks were really really long and we were tired so we just decided to call it a day.  Adam fell asleep in the stroller so Scott and I walked back to the hotel to get the car.  Since Adam was asleep I walked a little further and sat with him waiting for everyone else at Bubba Gump Shrimp.  We had a yummy late lunch/dinner and then made the drive back to our other hotel where Scott needed to be for business the next day.

Even though we were all so tired after our 2 day trip we had a ton of fun!  It was neat to watch Adam get excited to see things and it was crazy to know how much he didn't get to see that he would have enjoyed.  He loved the Buzz Lightyear and Monsters Inc ride.  He was a good sport going with different adults so the rest of us could go on some of the big rides.  Adam and I went by ourselves the next day and it was nice to know that I was staying with him the whole time and there was no splitting up but at the same time I love the big rides... So I guess there needs to be some of each for a great trip!

Disneyland Day 1

 Now is the fun part...  DISNEYLAND!  Saturday morning we woke up and got ready to go to the park.  Our hotel was about a 15 min walk from the park so we brought the stroller and got started.  Once we got to the park we went to California Adventure and took Adam to Cars Land.  

Walking with Grandma!

Grandma and Adam got in line to ride Mator's tractors while Scott, DaNae and I went on one of the big rides.  We finished and got back and they were still in line... Cars Land was pretty popular!

Almost to the front of the line

 That was the only ride we did in Radiator Springs... the lines were just too long and it wasn't worth waiting with Adam.  The Racers Ride would have been neat but Adam wasn't big enough to ride it.  It did enjoy taking pictures with Mator and Lightin... But those were on Mom and Scott's phones so I will have to see what I can find later. (All the pictures I take automatically get stored in google + making them really easy to put on the blog... but making other pictures a little harder to put on.)

 We liked Cars Land but I think Adam had more fun in Bug's Land.  There were lots of perfect rides for Adam and just had a blast going from ride to ride.  (Plus it was right next to Tower of Terror and that is by far my favorite ride ever!)

 Red was out for a visit.  We had to try twice to get a picture... the first time Adam wouldn't go for it at all, but the next time we saw him the guys were nice enough to turn off the noise and then Adam had a blast seeing Red... this kid sure doesn't like loud noises!

 Scott and Adam went back to the room on Saturday for a nap and the girls headed over to Magic Kingdom to go on some of the other fun rides.  Here we are on It's a Small World... they still had the Christmas stuff up in there which was a little weird but it was fun.  We also went on some of the other big rides before getting a good seat for the pixar parade in CA adventure.  Scott and Adam joined us after the parade and we all ate yummy Sourdough bread bowls for dinner.  We checked out a few more rides and got back to the hotel pretty late the first day.

I've been thinking of a few things that I would do differently for Disneyland next time and the first is not to go on a holiday weekend!  Sunday was the Tinkerbell half marathon and the park was so crowded...plus we were so tired from the first day that we didn't do as much with the second day. I would also stay longer... Adam and I went a third day, but that included a long drive cause we were back by Daddy's work.  So I want to go like Monday-Friday on a regular week that isn't very crowded.  And having a place to go for a nap for little ones, or just taking a rest is very important!  All that being said we did have a blast and can't wait to go back!  Adam asks about it a lot!

The Beach

 So Adam doesn't really like the beach... not at all.  On Friday we woke up at the hotel and helped Daddy get ready for work.  We dropped Daddy off at the work and then we went back to the hotel to get ready ourselves.  Once we were ready and it was time to get out of the hotel we had to figure out what to do.  We decided to head to the beach and found a fairly quite spot.  We parked the car, got out and walked down the stairs towards the beach.  Once we got close and took our shoes off Adam put his hands over his ears and would NOT take them off.  We walked out toward the waves and I let go of Adam's hand to get my phone ready to take a picture.  Next thing I know he is back to the stairs and trying to leave. 

 I brought him back and we tried again... he just still wasn't very sure about the beach and didn't want to go near the waves.

I picked him up and held him close while I let the water hit my feet and he was ready to get out of there.  So after just a few minutes we left the beach and went back to the car to search for something else to do for the day.  We found a park to play in near Daddy's work and played there after having lunch with Daddy and before going back to the hotel for a nap.

That night we waited for Grandma and DaNae to drive in and then we all drove up to Anaheim so that we could wake up near Disneyland.

Last Minute Trip

In mid January Scott left on a business trip on Monday and was supposed to be coming back on Wednesday night.  On Wednesday late morning Scott called to say that they were asking him to stay for another week and he wanted us to join him out there.  I sometimes take a little time to get used to new ideas and sudden changes but within a few hours we were on board and a fun trip was planned.  Grandma and Aunt DaNae joined us and we spent the weekend at DISNEYLAND!!!!!  I bought the plane tickets for Adam and I to fly out the next day and I laughed a little when we were checked in as we bought the plane ticket....

We started Thursday morning finishing packing and making sure that we ate before it was time to head to the airport.  When we took Scott to the airport on Monday Adam was very sad that he didn't get to go with Daddy on the plane... that day I never would have guessed that he would get to ride a plane a few days later.

Watching the planes - in little boy heaven

On the plane

Ready to go and see Mickey and Daddy

The New Year at Home

 We finished our Arizona trip with a long drive home.  Once we got home it was so cold that we stayed inside and played with our new toys.

New blocks

Mom builds it and the excavator knocks it down

With some help from Adam

Helping Mommy build a little pantry for the kitchen.  After 5 years of living in our place I finally realized that I should buy a pantry to help with storage.  We are now working on the rest of the house and trying to get in clean, organized and decluttered.

Castles and Coasters

 Mom had a groupon to take the family to a fun center. 

 Adam loved the little kids rides and just went on them over and over again.  

He even found a little friend that he went on the rides with.

Grandma and Scott

 While I was with Adam the rest of the family went and stood in a long line for the go karts.

 Adam was excited to go on the bumper boats with Uncle Brain

 On our way out of the park we stopped at the zip line and the ropes course.  

Scott on the zip line

Aunt DaNae

Adam eating goldfish and watching from below