California Adventure

On Tuesday we went to California Adventure. I love this park, it isn't as busy as Disneyland and the day just seems so much more relaxed. We started the day by meeting Ana and Elsa and Leo was star struck, he has the biggest crush on Elsa. It was funny because he wanted nothing to do with Ana. We also got to ride the Monster Inc. ride which Leo was terrified of and watch the Frozen sing along show. Quinn was so happy to see the show but she really wasn't sure about meeting Sulley. 

 

 

 

I had to hold Leo to get the picture because he wasn't getting anywhere near him. 

Quinn was finally able to ride the Cars ride. She was so excited and we had a blast. It was such a fun ride and she was smiling the whole time. You can't really see her in the picture because she is so small but she loved it. I think we all had a blast! 

 

The fact that they serve beer in California Adventure makes it a great place. After a little bit of exploring the park we took a break and the adults had some drinks and Quinn set up a little bed for herself. Leo, Finley and Braxton were snoozing during this time. I love making memories with the kids on these vacations. We had so much fun and Quinn is always cracking us up, like in this picture! 

I love Quinn's face in these pictures. Leo looks terrified but I promise you, he loved it. I love that Braxton and Quinn got to meet the princesses together. 

 

 

We could not get Leo to smile but he was so excited all morning to meet Elsa. 

 

 

I loved Finley's Minnie outfits. She was just so cute and easy the whole trip. 

Leo loves Monster Inc. the movie so we thought he would love the ride. He was fine until we went to get on the ride and then he freaked out. He tried to get off and then just decided to sit there and cry the rest of the ride. This time Quinn loved it. I love that ride, its so cute! 

 

Leo was not interested at all. 

 We were so excited that Quinn was big enough to ride most of the big people rides. We took her on the elevator ride and it was a blast. She was so nervous before the ride but I am pretty sure she loved it the whole time. After the ride was over she said "I am NEVER doing that again!"We had lots of laughs and were so proud of her for doing the ride!

 

 

Han literally fell asleep while waiting in line. 

Her and I finally got to ride the Nemo Jellyfish ride I have wanted to ride the last 2 times we have been. She was so funny and loves the rides that make her lose her belly. 

 Leo loves the carousel rides and all the kids wanted to play in the fountain next to the ride. It was so cold at that point and we just kept yelling at the kids to get away from the water. But we got some super cute pictures of Leo.

 

 

 

 

We ate a lot of Churros on this trip. I saw a guy wearing a shirt that said "I am here for the corndogs and Churros", I have to get one of those before our next Disney trip. I tried to get a cute picture of Quinn eating her  Churro but instead I got these pictures... at least I tried! 

 

 

Watching the parade, we never are in pictures together anymore. 

 

 

Leo's reaction to Lightening McQueen and Tow Mater. 

 

 I love the parade at California Adventure. We had great seats and Han had the great idea of bringing a blanket today so we were all comfy and had a great time dancing with the Pixar characters. 

Riding on the Mater ride. He was a happy boy!  

 

I believe the sign in front of this said "no climbing", Uncle Han lifted them up there and then said "they didn't climb, I put them up there." So I got these super cute pictures! This was Leo's favorite ride I am pretty sure. He smiled the whole time and had the sweetest laugh. We loved it so much that on our last day we walked over after the Disneyland parade and rode it one more time before our trip was over. 

 

I love this picture of him, he looks so sweet waiting to meet Lightening McQueen. 

 

 

 

Cars Land at night is the best part of California Adventure in my opinion. We spent the last part of our day there and then grabbed some burgers before heading over to watch World of Color. Quinn wanted her picture with the beads. We enjoyed the lights, visited the Cozy Cone for treats and just had a blast! 

The night was finished by watching World of Color. They had a new 60th Anniversary special and it was great. It is an amazing show and the kids love it. We had an amazing day at California Adventure and I already can't wait to go back. I really do love that park! Quinn and papaw finishing up the evening at the Condo. 

Disney is good, life is good! 

Disney Day 1 and 2

So the day before we left for Disney we got a big snowstorm. Luckily we have great neighbors and they brought all their kiddos over and helped to shovel the driveway and sidewalk. Quinn and Leo just liked playing on the hills of snow. We are going to miss our neighbors and the beautiful Utah winters. 

While Dave and the big kids were out playing in the snow I started getting Mickey mouse pretzels ready for us to eat. Since we were leaving for Disney in the morning we needed to get in the spirit. 

 

Like always we got a late start to our drive to Vegas to meet my parents. We finally hit the road around 10:30. Then after stopping to get food and Dave a new pair of sunglasses (about 20 minutes away from our house) we were on our way to Vegas at 11:30 (only 2.5 hours later than our goal departure time!). We turned Leo's seat around so he could face forward and he loved that he didn't have to break his neck anymore trying to watch the DVD player. The kids did great in the car. This was Finley's first long road trip and she was a trooper, I think she is going to fit into our traveling family just fine. About halfway through Utah we hit a snowstorm and had some bad roads. Thankfully, Dave was driving and I just ate popcorn and relaxed. Quinn asked about every 30 minutes if we were almost to Disney, so that was fun. 

We finally got to Vegas after only stopping one time and the kids were so excited to see Grandma and Papaw. It is funny how now when my parents first see us they totally ignore Dave and I and just go to the kids. Than about 5 minutes later, they are like "oh hey Melissa!" 

We kept it low key and grabbed dinner at the hotel and then the kids and I went to the room to go to bed. My mom, dad and Dave had fun gambling and hanging out. We got up first thing in the morning, grabbed breakfast and then we were on our way to Disneyland! 

 

 

 

These 2 love each other! Every time we talk to my mom on the phone, Leo says "papaw, papaw!" 

We drove straight through to our condo and didn't really hit very much traffic. We got all settled in and then went over to Downtown Disney to grab some dinner and watch the fireworks. I just love Disney and as soon as we get there I am so excited! Unfortunately the fireworks were canceled due to the high winds but we would get to see them the next day. The weather was much cooler than we were ready for so that was a little challenging but we made it work. Late Monday night, Julie, Han and Braxton got in and Quinn was so excited. Now we were all ready to head to Disney the next day. 

We got up bright and early and went to the park. Han made us have to wait at security because of all his cameras and we had lots of laughs during the trip about it. Really, day 1 at the park was great. Quinn was big enough to ride Space Mountain and she loved it, she actually road it twice thanks to the parent swap. The park wasn't too crowded so we got to do a lot. We started the day on Dumbo of course and that just sets the mood for the whole day. We ended up finding a great spot for the early parade that we snagged for the night time parade as well. It was a little more difficult to keep our spot for the evening parade but we fought off all the people wanting our spot and it was great! The kids absolutely loved both parades. I love watching how excited they are. I think the parades are my favorite part of Disney. The fireworks were just amazing and I am happy we were able to watch them and we were so close to the castle. They even let off snow from the lights and it was great. It was a long day but it was magical! 

 

 

 

 

 

Watching the parade. I loved Fin's Minnie outfit. 

I was afraid she was going to fall out so I held her bar the entire ride! 

Waiting in line with papaw. Like I said, the weather was a little cooler but we made it work.  

 

I love this picture. Finley was so sweet the whole trip and got a little spoiled with being held the entire time. 

 

Han became really good at photo bombing many family photos. 

  

The girls loved meeting Cruella. 

We finally got to walk through the castle. Every other time we have been there it was closed for renovations. 

 

I love that my parents were able to come with us. We always have a great time when they come to visit. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love Quinn's face, every time she got to get her pictures with a character she smiled like this. It is the sweetest. 

It is hard to tell in this picture but Leo is covering his eyes. He didn't like any of the dark rides but he didn't cry. Just sat there with his eyes covered the entire time. 

Day 1 at Disneyland was a complete success. We ate a lot of churros, rode many rides and made the best family memories. Now we were ready for Day 2 at the parks and California Adventure! 

Disney is great, Life is great!