Disneyland - Day 4

Sadly, Friday was our last day at Disneyland. Bryce, the boys, and I went to Disneyland one last time, while Pa & Nana went on a fantastic solo day trip.

Standing by the flower Mickey:

  The favorite of the trip - Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters

  The carousel and bubble gun fights.

 Delicious Mickey Ice Cream

And fireworks viewed from our hotel balcony

We had a wonderful trip and it was so much fun to see Disneyland with the boys. While Cole sometimes acted like a sulky teenager and Jack was always sleepy due to the Dramamine we gave him for motion sickness, we still had a great time and enjoyed being together. It was lovely to spend time with Pa & Nana, and it's so fun to hear the boys talk about how they "lived next door" to them. Wonderful times!

Disneyland - Day 3 (A Break!)

On Thursday, we took a much needed break from Disney and went to the beach. We arrived just in time to explore the tidal pools, and found tons of amazing animals, including these little hermit crabs. So cute! (Kind of)

The sun was out, the water was spectacular, and we had an incredible time. I think this may have been my favorite day of the trip!

Disneyland - Day 2

Our second day was full of sunshine as well. The kids were absolutely loving having a joined room with Pa and Nana at the hotel, and would go knock on the door in the morning to say hello. We were staying right across the street from Disneyland, which made it so convenient to go back and forth. 

We spent the day at California Adventure. A large portion of the main entry had been redone since I had last been there, and I was amazed at how cool the new shops lining the road looked. Disney certainly knows how to create an atmosphere!  We spent all day riding the rides in Bug's Land, Cars Land, and on the Pier. 

We waited in line for quite a while for the arcade ride, but it was totally worth it to see everyone in their goofy glasses.

Later that afternoon, my parents took the boys back to the hotel for some swimming. Bryce and I had a fancy dinner at the Blue Bayou, and then rode all the "big kid rides" to our heart's content. Our favorites by consensus? Big Thunder Mountain and the Tower of Terror.  Yeeeeee!

Disneyland - Day 1

Our first day at Disneyland was beautiful. We ran through the gates and decided our first ride should be Dumbo, which we figured would be tame enough for Jack and not freak anyone out:

We then moved on to the Finding Nemo ride. Jack certainly was fascinated and concerned at the same time:

After that, we met Pa and Nana, and had a blast going on all the rides we could. Autopia, the rockets, the teacups - everything we could pack in. Cole and Jack particularly loved the Astroblast ride and we went on it over...and over...and over again. 

 

We knew that Jack would love the Jungle Cruise because of his fascination with animals, and we were right.

And everyone knows that the food is part of the fun. We enjoyed double-dipped corn dogs and delicious beignets and ate them until we were all covered in powdered sugar.

The boys picked out bubble guns, which made standing in line MUCH easier (and super annoying for the people around us). It was a wonderful first day!

On Driving

So let it be noted that we will not ever be driving to Disneyland in the winter again. Cross my heart. It snowed in St. George. SNOWED. However, the kids were incredibly awesome. We gave Jack a tube of animals...he played with it for almost 5 hours. FIVE. (All caps adds some drama.) 

We're Ready

We are so excited and ready to go to Disneyland! And most importantly, we've got our travel gear all set to go...

Unseasonable-ness

This winter has been weird. So little snow. I hate driving in the snow, but I like watering my lawn, so I'm a little fearful of the upcoming summer. We've had such high temperatures, we were able to spend an afternoon at Sugarhouse Park in January:

We also did a quick hike up Ensign Peak in February.

I love this last picture. I had asked the boys to give me their best "Disneyland" smiles. Cole complied with Mickey Mouse ears. Jack...not so much.

 Hiking in the winter?  Who knew?!