Disneyland=Heaven

So our latest trip to Disneyland was by far the BEST EVER. Now, I am a serious Disney fan. This trip turned me into a Minnie Mouse ear wearing, crazy fan. I sang, skipped, laughed and cried my way through the park and I'm not ashamed to admit it. 

Now to tell you about THE TRIP:

On Wednesday we packed up and took Lucy to school. The weather forcast showed rain for the two days we were going to be there so after dropping Lucy off we headed to Sports Basement and bought me a great hooded jacket. Then we took the babies to the Leininger's house.  Lindsay, bless her forever, was kind enough to watch the babies. They had so much more fun playing with Aunt Lindsay than being dragged around and unable to do anything at D Land. Danny and I turned to each other throughout the trip so happy that they were having fun and we weren't carting them around. It really made the trip a vacation for us.

Here we are on the tram into the park. Lucy saw this pic and asked if I was scared. Nope. Just so excited I could hardly stand it. We got there an hour early and were standing in the front row of CA Adventure when the park opened. With Cars Land being so new still the cast members walked us slowly through Radiator Springs and began the line to the Racers ride. We were within the first ten people on the ride-it was well worth the wait. We were ecstatic!

 My favorite pics of the trip.

 Lucy LOVED Radiator Springs. When I was pregnant with the babies she went through a real Cars phase and we watched it constantly.  She and Grandpa Greg have lots of Cars inside jokes. It was really fun they could go to Radiator Springs together:)

After a bit in CA Adventure we went over to DLand. Our first thirty min. was spent meeting characters that were hanging out around Main Street. It was the perfect way to enter the park. Goofy took Ruby by the hand and walked her all the way around the circle introducing her to the other characters around-adorable.

 These girls had a riot meeting people together. Lucy tried to help Ruby feel comfortable meeting the princesses and succeeded-both girls just beamed and loved it.

 Ruby meeting Cinderella was a BIG deal. She LOVES her. The parks weren't very busy (we never waited in line long and often just walked onto rides) and while walking by the castle we saw Cinderella over by Snow White's wishing well.  This wonderful girl really spent some time visiting with us and happily hugged Ruby as much as the child wanted. She was so sweet. By the time our visit was over Snow White and her Wicked Stepmother had come by as well. We got autographs and hugs from each and then Lucy went to throw a penny into the well. Snow White excused herself from chatting with someone else and came over and gave Lucy a tutorial on how to really have a wish come true. It was adorable.

While we explored CA Adventure a bit, we spent most of our two days and Disneyland. Becca was unable to do the serious rides so she often helped out by taking Lucy and Ruby on a kid ride while the adults ran off to Indiana Jones or Space Mountain. Space Mountain is my FAV and I got to do it three times in a day! Bliss.  See Mom's badge? It was her birthday on the second day and she LOVED all the cast members wishing her a happy birthday. It was so cute:)

I loved spending lots of time with my big girl. I sometimes worry that Lucy gets lost in the bustle of keeping up with her sisters so it was super fun to have one-on-one time with her in our favorite place. When I asked her what ride she was most excited about she said Dumbo. Really? I replied. Yep-Dumbo was her first Disneyland ride and she says it will always be her favorite. 

 

We caught Tiana, Naveen and Lewis signing all their songs in New Orleans square. It turned out to be a highlight from the trip!

 When we were kids we always skipped the parades. While everyone else sat at the parade we did all the big rides with no lines and thought we were very clever. I am now someone who stakes out a parade spot and watches the parade. In fact, they are one of my absolute favorite things about Disneyland.  This year we got an awesome spot with plenty of space for the whole gang. I was surprised that most of the onlookers just watch quietly The dancers and characters are exuding energy and enthusiasm and get nothing from the audience. That was not true of us. We clapped, sang and screamed the whole time. The characters LOVED us. We got high fives, and waves from every character that passed. It was AWESOME.

 Danny went out to get fastpasses for us and sent me a text of this pic. Just chillin' with a Storm Trooper.

 Doesn't get better than this.

The joy of this trip is that Danny has promised me we will be Disneyland people. He has committed to me that he will take us to Disneyland once a year.  I look forward to it:)