So after my parents' visit, we headed off to Disneyland for our 2nd Annual Disney Adventure! This time we had my parents in tow. We left for Arizona on May 24th as soon as Jason got home from being on call at the hospital the night before. He was so excited to go, he did most of the driving (despite his busy night at work)! We stopped off at Davis Monthan AFB in Arizona to spend the night and then we were off to Disneyland the next morning.
Jason and Caleb getting in some play time before we cram ourselves back into the car!
8 hours later, we finally arrive at the greatest place on Earth (well maybe it's 2nd to Disney World, but we wouldn't know - we haven't been there yet)!
The girls are excited to get to Disneyland!
I think Jason was more excited than the girls (he usually is though)... ;)
Mom and Dadroo are right behind us (we couldn't seem to lose them...) ;)
Jason and Caleb on their way into the hotel to check in
Kristin and Katie are dressed and ready to go!
That night we spend the evening in Downtown Disney to eat dinner, do a little shopping and catch some of the fireworks display from outside the park.
Jason, the girls and Dadroo watching the fireworks
Jason, me and the kids
My Grandma-poo, Momroo, nephew Jonathan and Kristin
The next morning, we all tried to get up early and out the door as soon as we could. We let my Grandma sleep in (like she likes to do - since she's such a night owl like myself). I'm sure we exhausted my Mom with our speed walking on our way into the park! But we were too excited to walk at a more comfortable pace!! :)
Caleb is ready to go in his new outfit from Downtown Disney
Jason, me and the kids with Donald Duck after entering the park
Us again
Dadroo, Mom and Jonathan
1st stop (not my favorite of course): King Triton's Carousel
Kristin, Caleb and I on the carousel
Kristin on our next ride -Dumbo's Flying Elephants
Me and Jonathan
My Dad and Jason didn't seem to notice that they had put on the same shirt until after we arrived inside the park. Awkward... ;)
Jason and the girls on a mad dash for Finding Nemo Submarines
After riding the Finding Nemo Submarines, we rode Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Pirates of the Caribbean and Splash Mountain before heading back to the hotel for brunch.
Me and Jonathan on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Me and Kristin (Kristin wanted to go on this ride over and over - it was one of her three favorite rides - the others being Splash Mountain and Pirates of the Caribbean...just like her Mommy).
Jason and Caleb
Jason on the Pirates of the Caribbean
Mom, Dad and Jonathan on Pirates
On Pirates
Jason and Kristin on Splash Mountain
Me and Kristin on Splash Mountain
Jason after getting splashed
After a few rides, we headed back to the hotel on the monorail. We had reservations for a character brunch at Goofy's Kitchen. Mmmm...yummy!! All of the food was amazing!!!!! It was so yummy, we went back the next afternoon for brunch again!! Afterward we went back to the room to pick up Grandma and get her something to eat.
Kristin, Jonathan, Mom and Dad on the monorail
Goofy getting our table ready (or pretending to anyways)
Kristin and Katie with Chip
My first round of food (the eggs benedict were frickin' delicious - along with everything else!!)
Katie enjoying her food (she ate more food than she normally eats in a week!!) ;)
Kristin with Alice (Jason looked like a giant next to her! She had to be like 4 feet tall or something!!)
The twins enjoyed their food so much they forgot all about their matching shirts!! ;)
Jonathan with Dale
Katie repeatedly chased after all the characters wanting hugs (I think she wore them out...or just annoyed the heck out of them)!
Caleb and I on our way back to the park on the monorail
Me and my little cutie
Next - we had an appointment for Kristin at Bibbidy Bobbidy Boutique (where girls get their hair and nails done). For over $200 you can also get the full princess look that includes the gown, crown and shoes)! Yikes! Way too much money!! We would have made an appointment for Katie too (who'd have LOVED it), but she wasn't old enough. Poor little poopsie. We'll have to make her appointment next time!
Kristin ready for her appointment
Picking her hairstyle (Thank goodness she chose the cutest one - fairy tale princess. The other two were Disney Diva and Pop Princess - blah!!)
Kristin - before.
Katie enjoyed watching Kristin be made into a princess
Why doesn't she smile like that when I comb her hair?! All I get out of her are tears and a lot of crying!!! Rrrrrr....
Getting her nails done
Next - makeup (spoiled brat!!!). ;)
Last - some fairy dust (some messy glittery shimmer stuff)
She's all done!
Waiting to see Tinker Bell
Kristin and Katie with Tinker Bell
Grandpa Neil putting more makeup on Kristin (is he trying to make her look like a hussy or what?!) ;) How cute....
Much to my disappointment, we headed back to the room soon after meeting Tinker Bell so we could change into our swim suits and take a dip in the hotel's Neverland Pool. Did I mention we had just had Kristin's hair done??!! Argh!!! Less than an hour after Kristin's $50 hairdo, her hair was drenched in pool water. Rrrrrr... This has Jason written all over it!!! ;) Oh well - we had fun anyways. I love their pool-sized hot tub! I was so excited to be able to soak in it this time! Last year, I was pregnant and didn't want to chance cooking my fetus by taking a dip in the overly hot water!
Afterwards, we got dressed again and headed back to the park. We squeezed in a few rides (mostly the Buzz Lightyear ride where my Dad and Jason tried to outdo eachother's scores) before dinner. We ate at one of my favorite food spots in the park - Bengal Tiger. We had a few skewers of grilled meat, chicken and veggies, a jalapeno cheese stuffed pretzel and giant rice krispie treat for dessert. Then we took in the fireworks display before riding Pirates of the Caribbean three times in a row up until the park closed.
Some of the fireworks display
Me, Kristin and Caleb on our way out of the park
Jason and the girls taking their time leaving the park. We weren't ready to go!!!!
Within 5 minutes of getting into our room, all of the kids were fast asleep!
Katie
Kristin
Caleb
The next morning Kristin got a wake up call from Mickey Mouse and we were up and getting ready for another day at Disneyland. I was slightly exhausted, but that's okay! We rode a few of the same rides from the day before plus the Haunted Masion (which I don't really like because the girls are scared and keep their faces smashed into our sides)...and then I'm ashamed to say - that we went back to Goofy's Kitchen for brunch again (yikes)! It was just so yummy - we had to go back a second time! We all loved the food and the kids liked getting more one on one time with all the fuzzy characters (and Alice too).
Kristin getting her wake up call
Day 2 - the all too uncommon family picture
Katie making a run for Pluto
Kristin getting some lovin' from Pluto at Goofy's Kitchen9989////
Katie dancing with Goofy during his little chef number
Goofy coming by for a visit with the girls
Poor Dale - Katie could not seem to leave him alone! And to top it all off - she smeared some of her ice cream onto his apron when she went to hug him (she was so excited to see him again that she must have forgotten she was holding ice cream)! Oh well - it's a good thing it only got on his apron and not on his fur!!
Trying to eat while I tend to the kiddie-poos.
Caleb does not approve of the 5 foot tall dog patting his little noggin!! ;)
Kristin and her Grandma Christie and Grandpa Neil back at the room to pick up Grandma, get her some food and take a little break
Jason taking time out of his busy Disney schedule to w"rest"le with Jonathan. Is this normal for a 31 year old guy - or is there something wrong with him?? I'm starting to wonder... It may just be a male Capra thing. ;)
Kristin, Katie and Jonathan with Minnie Mouse after entering Disneyland a second time.
The kids with Donald Duck
My cute little Grandma watching Caleb for us while we rode Splash Mountain.
uJason at the top of the waterfall on Splash Mountain. This is where Jason, Kristin and I got stuck for a good minute or two (right before we were about to go over the waterfall)!! Of all places to get stuck!! I started getting a little claustrophobic and I had my eye on the stair steps right beside me (it's always good to have a backup plan)!
All the girls (and Caleb) waiting for the boys to ride Indiana Jones after we rode it.
I think they liked it!
Me and Caleb waiting to get on the Jungle Cruise
Caleb showing off his trading pins and lanyard ;)
Me and the little guy making faces on Jungle Cruise (this ride has never been one of my favorites). The driver are usually funny, but the ride itself is a little slow...
Hey! He's supposed to be making faces with me!!!
What the frig' is that thing??!! ;)
I don't know what it was, but they Kristin and Jonathan didn't seem to like it!
Kristin and her Grandpa Neil riding Big Thunder Mountain...AGAIN!
Jason doesn't have much of a stomach for any ride that whips him back and forth! ;)
After a few more rides, we headed over to the Golden Horshoe to watch a little comedy show and drink root beer floats (they're the best floats ever)!! It doesn't seem like we did a whole lot this day. We did far less than we would have if we had been on our own. We felt too bad to go too fast with my Grandma and Mom in tow. At least my parents felt like they did more than they usually do at Disneyland (since their mean children dragged them all over the place with no relief in sight)!! It also felt like we didn't do much because it wasn't quite summertime yet, so the park closed earlier than when school is out - which really stinks because we wanted to go to Disneyland before school got out, so we didn't have to fight the huge crowds. We just ended up getting shorthanded with the early closures and fewer firework days and no electric light parade. :( Sniff sniff. I think we'll go during a school break next time and just fight the crowds. I like staying in the park until midnight - not 9 or 10pm!!! It made the days seem SO much shorter!!! We finished out the evening with chowder in sourdough bowls in New Orleans and then we rode a couple of times on the Pirates of the Carribean (I mostly love the Pirates ride because we can all ride together as a family at the same time and no one is too small (or frail) to ride on it.
The next and final day, we headed over to California Adventure after eating some breakfast in Downtown Disney at the Le Brea Bakery (way overpriced simple breakfast foods). California Adventure definitely takes 2nd place to Disneyland, but we thought we'd at least see a couple things there before spending the rest of our last day in Disneyland. We rode Soaring over California (which was actually pretty interesting) and the new Buzz Lightyear ride. We went over and watched the Interactive Crush show (from Finding Nemo). That's one of our favorite things to do in California Adventure (we actually got to finish the show this time - last year it was cut short because there was an earthquake during the middle of the show)!
The girls with Sully from Monsters
After the Crush Interactive thing, we headed back over to the better side...Disneyland!! Jason, my Mom, the kids and I waiting at the castle by the wishing well while my Dad took the monorail back to the hotel to pick up my little late rising Grandma. Then we had to hurry over to New Orleans Square because we had reservations to eat at the Blue Bayou!! Mmmmm!!!! It's a restaurant inside the Pirates of the Caribbean and I love it!! It's overpriced, but it's worth it (at least I tell myself that)! Our favorite thing on the menu is their Monte Cristo sandwiches with veggies, salad and rolls! The sandwich is so big and greasy that we have to share it!! I don't know if I could handle one all on my own!!!! Eek! Then we finished out our late lunch with the Flying Dutchmen cookie boat! Mmmm hmmm...
Kristin wearing her Pirate menu
Jason and our Flying Dutchmen cookie boat!!
Afterward, we rode Splash Mountain and then we took a ride on the Mark Twain steamboat. With all the times I came to Disneyland as a kid, we never rode on it! It isn't amazing or anything - I'm just surprised I never rode it before!
Me and my little Caleb-poo waiting to get on the Mark Twain
Next, we headed over to Tomorrow Land to ride the Buzz Lightyear ride...over and over and over... ;) Jason and my Dad continued their race to see who could win the most points. Those silly boys!! I went in a couple of times too. I was happy about my score - sure that I had finally beat Jason (or at least my nephew), when Jason finished with the number 2 slot in the ranking (he was top space ranger of the day and #2 overall)!!! Dang blast that boy! He's always trying to outdo me...and everyone else and everything!!! ;)
Pleased with my score...until Jason crushed my pride... ;)
My Mom, Grandma, me and the kids (except for my nephew) sat out a couple of times while Jaosn and my Dad went back through the Buzz Lightyear ride. I can only handle so much laser shooting!! ;)
Kristin and Katie entertaining themselves while we wait for Jason and Grandpa Neil
My Dadroo coming out to visit in between rounds...
Jason is very pleased with himself!
He has a talent for shooting Toy Story toys with a laser gun!!! ;)
Since the park was closing so flippin' early, our night came to an abrupt end. We took our time walking as slowly as possible to the park exit. Our three days were over. Sniff sniff. After we left the park, we moseyed through Downtown Disney. We took one last look inside the Disney Store (which is amazingly much better than the Disney Stores inside any mall) and then we ate a very late dinner at the Rainforest Cafe before spending our last night in the Disneyland Hotel. Did I mention how much we love staying at the Disneyland Hotel?! It's like you never leave the park your whole stay!! There's something about the atmosphere that makes it so much more enjoyable than when you leave the park grounds to stay elsewhere. We love it! Even though it's a bit overpriced - there's no going back to Best Western (like Jason and I did the summer after I graduated from college)!!
Walking through Downtown Disney
Kristin and Grandpa Neil waiting for our table at the Rainforest Cafe
The next morning, we all got showered and packed up our cars at check out time. We spent a little more time in the hotel gift shop (not wanting to accept that we actually had to leave). :( I was sad to leave the park and even more sad because we were going to be heading back to San Antonio and my parents were going to be heading back up to Washington. Sniff sniff... We dragged the morning out a little longer by eating at a local IHOP for breakfast. After that, we sad our goodbyes and we were off. :(
Jonathan and Caleb (seconds after Jonathan asked if he could buy Caleb for $1, so he could have a brother/cousin of his own. Aw...
Kristin and Katie taking one last look at the Neverland Pool from our room's balcony
Katie was being unusually sweet this morning... :)
We drove 8 hours to Ft. Huachuca in Arizona (where we stayed the year before on our way to California) to stay the night in billeting and headed out the next morning after breakfast.
Me and the kids ready to leave Ft. Huachuca
We got in a little later than Jason's usual bedtime, so he could go to sleep and wake up early the next morning for work. Poor Jason! How exhausting!! Oh well - he's a big manly man - I'm sure he can handle it... :)
Now I have to get caught up on all the little things we've been doing between June 1st and now and I'll be set to go! Now I'm only 2 months behind! Argh...
