California: Day 8

Day 8: Friday the 19th

Last time I went to CA, I swore I would never go to Disneyland again. Ever! My stepdad was thrilled since he has been preaching for years about Disney being the least family-friendly, family-oriented company in the world. I admit that I agree to some extent, but I grew up on Disney and I can't stay away. Disney is my drug dealer, and I am all about their pixie dust.

Last time we went it was New Years Day, and we hoped that by going the week before Thanksgiving Break officially started, we would get on more than 3 rides and be a little more comfortable than sardines. We wanted to go earlier in the week, but my mom was busy until Friday, so we crossed our fingers, sold our souls (and checkbooks) to the Disney devil and ventured out.

It was crowded, but not Disney crowded. Lines were about 15-20 minutes. Not bad. It was a bit chilly that day, so maybe it scared the locals away. Translation for Non-Californians: It was about 60 degrees.

Steven had to work that day and Seth was leery about joining the Sisters Club as the lone male, but we talked him into it. Did you know that no one likes to be around me and my sisters, except for Steven and sometimes Jeff (even he can't take us on a regular basis)? Isn't that sad? We don't mind, but we do worry about a sister-in-law ever trying to chisel a place for herself in our world. We are mega obnoxious when we combine forces. Sorry, off on a tangent. Back to Disney...

This Disneyland trip reminded me that I am not only still addicted to Disney, but I am now back on good terms with them again after a far more magical day than I had two years ago. My kids are the perfect ages for Disney right now, and they loved every minute of our visit. We went on everything, and thanks to the cold, no one was riding Splash Mountain. They let us stay in our log and go twice in a row. That has never happened to me at Disneyland, or any amusement park actually. We planned to leave at 9 or 10, but didn't get to our cars until 11:57, 3 minutes before closing. We couldn't seem to drag ourselves away from the fun.

Here is just a glance.

All the Christmas lights and decorations were up. Santa and Mrs. Claus were there with live reindeer.

Dumbo was the most anticipated ride. We got it out of the way quickly so that we wouldn't have to keep hearing what color elephant everyone wanted. Pink for Chloe.

Purple for Alyssa. Notice the cardigan was not pictured the previous day (in the wash), but is now back.

Green for the boys.

This little critter never caused any trouble all day.

I finally talked Luke into going on one ride with me. He is shy around me, which makes me so sad. He agreed to ride Peter Pan with Seth, so I jumped on too. Later in the week he did come and lay on my lap for awhile, and it made my whole trip. I wish I lived down the street like Aunt Kristen.

Here is a fun question. Which sisters look the most alike? We always get different answers for that one. What is funny, is that the two who look most like my mom hardly ever get told they look like each other. And the two who look the most like their dads (different dads) get told they look alike all the time. What do you think? From left to right we are Kelly, Kristen, Valerie and Me. And if it makes a difference...none of us wear our natural hair color. Three of us go darker, and one goes lighter. Oh, and I love this picture, by the way.

This picture is a blurry mess, but I had to show you that Captain Eo is back!!! I used to watch Eo about 5-6 times per visit. I couldn't get those 3D glasses on fast enough.

This next series is my favorite! I was in front of Kristen and Alex on Thunder Mountain. I turned around and snapped the first picture before we took off. Then I decided to just hold my camera up behind me and snap away while we rode. It was dark and I couldn't see if they were even in the shots. I was sure I would get nothing but a blurry mess. I was so excited when I saw the cute pictures that resulted.

The castle was all lit up for Christmas. We wanted a picture. You have to get a castle pic at Disneyland. They had it roped off and they were making people pay a photographer to take their picture.

We decided the new policy was annoying and we ran up and snapped a picture really fast. Terrible picture. Perhaps that was our bad karma for cheating Disney out of an extra $20 they so desperately needed, but hey, we got our castle shot. Rebels!

Small World looked awesome too

And this would have been the cutest picture ever taken, but my camera is no longer capable of taking a picture at night. Even with the blur, I still love it. My kids won't go anywhere near the characters.

The Haunted Mansion is The Nightmare Before Christmas from Halloween to Christmas. So much cooler than the regular Haunted Mansion. It even smelled like gingerbread. The kids loved it, and for the rest of the day Alex asked for Jack Skellington Mouse Ears after every ride. Once he got them they stayed on his head for about 4 days.

Chloe chose Minnie Mouse.

Alyssa got cute hoop earrings with a birthstone Mickey Mouse dangling, and Luke got a Toy Story Astro Blaster. I love theme park souvenirs!

After souvenirs, we loaded up our sleepy mouseketeers and got about 5 feet from the park before they were all dreaming Disney dreams.

Oh, and even though that picture of Alex is the perfect happy ending, I can't resist showing you what just walked in my computer room. No Shave November has concluded, and the guys at Seth's work all agreed to shave in a silly way for December 1st. So now I am married to this guy...

What you can't see, is that he dyed that ridiculous mustache black. What you can't smell, is that he threw on some cologne to come present this new look to me. As though 70's cop was gonna be my thing? I had a good laugh, but now I want the goatee back, or even the beard. No more messing with my facial hair. But he does smell good, I'll give him that much.