Disneyland 2014

We enjoyed breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen with some of his fun friends. The food was yummy and the selection was playful, of course! In addition to Mickey Mouse pancakes, omelets, and bacon, there was mac n cheese pizza, jello, cookies, and a full sundae bar! Look at Elias in this picture! He is so adorable I can't stand it!

We were so glad to see Jasmine! Just that morning Hazel said, "I hope we see Jasmine today." Little did she know that we've wanted to see her for six years, since Lily was three.Well, that was our lucky day! Jasmine said that magic carpet is the fastest way to travel and that her gold pointy shoes do not pinch her toes.

Dog kisses!

The Mickey waffles are so cute. Carter got his fill of bacon and actually left some on his plate. We didn't think bacon would ever be left uneaten on any of our kids' plates!

Isn't she a cutie?!

 Disney and Lego. What a great mix!

I really thought it was going to come out. I was shocked that it didn't! 

 Didn't come out for her either, but she sure tried.

 Teacups!

 Elsa and Anna!! This was a significant meeting. Hazel loves Elsa. In fact, Hazel turned into Elsa a few months ago. She sings her song, does her dance, wears her dress, and her hair (which is allegedly turning white like Elsa's) is worn in an "Elsa braid" nearly every day.  I stood in line for over two hours to see these young ladies. Only when Hazel is a mother herself will she understand what that means and why I did it. She loved talking with Elsa and Anna. Hazel shared her wisdom that we should get to know someone very well before we agree to marry them, and Anna agreed wholeheartedly.

It was a treat for all of us to meet these sisters. They shared some wisdom with us: be thankful you have siblings and spend time with them. Good advice. Notice that Anna is holding Elias' hand. She was smitten with him. Seriously. I couldn't believe how long she held his little hand. All I can say is, Kristoff had better hurry up and marry her because she's baby hungry!

New discovery at Disneyland!...the Mark Twain ferry. I had never been on it. Aaron and the kids went on it while I stood in line to see the Frozen sisters and Lily fell in love with it! So we went back and rode on it. It was a relaxing ride that allowed us time to dance and play together. 

The Swiss Family Robinson moved out some time ago and Tarzan moved in. The kids liked the climb.

We love the Tiki Room!! I thought it would be a good place to sit and nurse Elias...but it was way too colorful, musical, and fun for Elias to be bothered with nursing! Elias loved looking around and taking it all in.

Two words: Dole Whip. My mouth is watering now. 

 Astro Orbiter!

Hazy took this picture of Aaron and Elias!

Winnie the Pooh!

We really liked Star Tours. My cute Carter looked all over the park and finally decided the R2-D2 ears were the ones he wanted. I was secretly glad he chose those ones because I thought they were fun and cool too!

 

 Carter and Lily were brave to go see the storm trooper. We watched the Jedi Training show and liked it. However, Hazel was pretty concerned that Darth Vader was there! She was worried that he was going to come get us. Luckily, all those little kids fought him off and we were safe. 

We loved Carsland!!! The rides were fun and the details all around Radiator Springs were true to the movie and so fun to see in person.

They were good at maneuvering their big tire.

 She's gonna get Carter and Lily!

Silly fun!

I love this picture by the southwestern landscape. We loved Radiator Springs Racers!

I like this. :)

Gettin' cozy at the Cone!

On the second day we met up with our good friends, Tyson and Raschell and their precious new baby, Roger. It was really a treat to see them and I was especially excited to meet their baby. He is an adorable tiny version of his daddy. We used the phone to snap this picture of Elias and Roger on the bed. I'm kicking myself that we didn't get a proper picture of all of us together.


Raschell and I love Tower of Terror. I was excited to introduce my big kids to it. Unfortunately, they didn't love it. They didn't like the "weird" stuff at the beginning. Yeah, the Twilight Zone is "weird" but I love the drops! Carter held on to his hat the whole time!

She loves this ride! We all like it, actually. We went on it a bunch of times. It makes us think of our cute cousin, Amy.

Hazel became good friends with this sea horse while the big kids went on Screamin' over and over and over and over again! This is her sea horse. She managed to ride on it all but one time. 

 Ghirardelli chocolate and ice cream shop, I love you.

My kids adore big soft pretzels. What could be better than a big soft Mickey pretzel?!

Exhausted, that's what we are after 12 - 14 hours! Carter zonked in the front seat, Hazel in the back!

 Whew...after a long, fun day in the park.

Ghirardelli again? Yes!

This boy is so funny and cute! He got a little chocolate ice cream on his face...then it became funny to put more on his face. We got a laugh!

Have you seen "It's Tough to be a Bug"? I love it! It got a little intense for Hazy so I took her out. But Aaron and the older kids thought it was great. I wish I had seen their faces and heard their expressions when they felt the bugs crawl by!

Cutie bug!

Oh my word! This ride was the winner for us! Carter and Lily couldn't get enough of it! Before we'd even get off the ride, Carter would say, "Again! Again!" The park wasn't busy, and between the fast passes and rider swap, the older kids got to ride it about 15 times. So much fun!

Lily, me, and Carter on Screamin'.  Once he found out where the camera was, Carter liked making funny faces for it. Look at this one!

While waiting for a Screamin' fast pass time, we discovered that we also love Goofy's Flight School! That wacky roller coaster is fast and fun...and Hazel loved it! We went on it over and over again!

I love Paradise Pier! We spent a lot of time and created so many happy memories here on this trip. This image will always conjure feelings and memories of fun time with my husband and kids. It was magical.

My Disney-loving sis, Jen, recommended the soup in bread bowls on Pacific Wharf (among many other wonderful things!). We enjoyed walking through the little bakery tour and seeing how all those bread bowls were made.

 Yummmm.

This store has such a great name! This is Elias at Disneyland when he was in my tummy.  I was about 18 weeks pregnant.

This is Elias at Disneyland when he was outside my tummy! He was 4 months old on this trip, and such a great little traveler! He rode in the stroller and spent a lot of time in the carrier. He loved looking around at all the colorful things, and slept well on me.  

 I don't usually give advertising for products, but I've got to give a shout out to my JuJuBe BFF diaper bag and this Ergo carrier. (Thank you, Debbie!) They are the best! They made Elias and me very comfortable on those long days in the park. The JuJuBe diaper bag fits a lot in it, but it's not so big as to be cumbersome. It has a bunch of pockets so everything has a place instead of being a jumbled mess. The opening of the bag is big so you can easily see and reach everything inside. I love the backpack feature because it stays put instead of flopping all around. You can switch the straps for a shoulder one, but I opt for the backpack every time. You can put this thing in the washing machine. Plus, the fabric is cute! I'll use this bag for day trips long after I leave the diaper bag phase.  The Ergo carrier is easy to put on and take off by myself, it's comfortable for me and baby, and it has two handy pockets on the front (one is zippered) so I can leave my bag behind and only take the necessities. I can even walk around and nurse discreetly with this carrier. It rocks! If you're in the market for either a diaper bag or a carrier, you'll be happy with these ones!

Toon Town is cute and just makes me smile! Carter is usually the driver, but this time he generously let his little sister drive. He pumped the gas, of course.

His little soft cheeks...oh! I could die! Every time I looked down and saw this precious face I felt so lucky to have this baby! I'm a lucky mommy to carry him around Disneyland.

Minnie Mouse was a sweet hostess. It was good to see her again! You can't see them, but Hazel has sparkly pink Minnie shoes on under her dress. They have a pink bow and a little heel. They're quintessentially Minnie...and Hazy! They're Hazel's staple shoe.

You may have observed, while perusing these photos, that Hazel wore her Elsa dress every day in the park. Which isn't unlike home life. She wears it nearly every day...all day...to carpool, to the grocery store, everywhere! It was difficult to get our hands on this dress, and miraculous, really, that we got it after months of searching, just in time for her birthday. Thanks, Raschell! After four days in the park, it was ready for a wash! You should have seen the water in the washbasin! Black! Let me tell you, we got our money's worth out of this dress!

Mmmm!

Yummy!

Cold and good!

"It looks good but I bet it's not as good as milky!

This trip was so magical and truly a blessing for our family. The hand of God was involved in getting us there. I'm thankful we could go. We had so much fun together! I'll never forget it!