Family vacations are the best. The anticipation as you plan and prepare. The excitement that builds as you dream a vision of what will be. The experiences and memories. The time spent together. It overrides any tantrum that is thrown or the lack of sleep or money that is spent on overpriced slices of pizza.
It comes back down to the memories. The moments, that may seem small or short lived, but those magical times where you just know you'll remember it forever.
That was our trip, just 3 weeks ago. Yes, it was to Disneyland so it's easy to say it's magical. But really, spending time with our family is truly my love language. And Disneyland made it that much better. We all had such an incredible time spending 5 days in CA. It made me realize I want more experiences, more moments, more time together (yes, that means saving lots of money but we'll get there!)
So off we went one early Sunday morning. The kids knew about this trip and helped plan out what they wanted to do, who they wanted to see and where they wanted to go. There is some fun to an element of surprise but I really loved having their input this time. I've never seen more excited kids!
The plane ride was a breeze compared to our typical 6-7 hour flights the kids are used to. 2.5 hours flew by (literally!) and with the help of 3 iPads and some movies we hardly heard a peep. Plus, not traveling with 3 car seats (thank you big charter bus for transportation) felt like we were leaving an extra child behind or something. It was a piece of cake managing 4 carry ons, 2 big suitcases and a double stroller!
We landed in sunny CA, boarded the bus and headed to the hotel. These kids were so good since travel days, no matter how long or short a flight may be, are still really long.
After even more waiting we decided to ditch the extra shuttle bus to the park and walk. It was a straight shot, just 2 long blocks from our hotel and got us there so much faster.
I have so many more pictures to show but tried to find my favorites. The weather was amazing all week, mid 60s, no rain and perfect for standing in long lines. Matt's mom came with us and we were so glad to have her. The kids adored their time spent with her, she was so helpful with the stroller or watching an extra kid or even going on rides that weren't her favorite (aka spinning, fast, difficult to board). And she really loves Disney! Making memories with her made the week so wonderful.
It was a busy afternoon with long lines so we split up and I took the big kids over to Space Mountain. Lucy was so wrapped up in excitement I don't think she really realized what type of ride she was about to go on and I tried to warn her but it wasn't until 30 seconds before we got on that she got nervous. Ha, poor girl screamed her little heart out but ended up loving it. And thankfully her big brother reached over to hold her hand the entire time promising her she'd survive at the end of it.
The little moments where the kids would just smile from ear to ear were the best. Seeing their faces light up on Dumbo or the carousel or Peter Pan makes all the planning worth it. Why is Disney so good at that?!?
And then....they crashed! Day 1 was long and tiring and everyone slept well that night!
Day 2 we declared our "rest" day - which really just meant we weren't going into a park but instead shopping and having a character dinner. Still lots of walking though!
The kids got to spend their money they had saved on souvenirs. Lucy found her big stash in about 10 minutes buying just about everything she saw. Carter methodically picked and chose, walked around thinking about all his options and still came home at the end of the week with money left over. So different!!
Simon loved all the Toy Story stuff. People keep asking us how it was taking a toddler to Disneyland and it really was pretty great. There was so much to see and keep him occupied, he learned pretty quickly how to hold our hand out of the stroller and mastered the art of napping in the stroller.
After a little break in the day to watch a movie at the hotel we headed back over to Downtown Disney for our character dinner. Again, Disney just gets it. A big buffet with food for both kids and adults, lots of fun characters, singing and dancing and plenty of time for autographs. Even our squirmy toddler did a great job going out (which is very rare these days).
We let the kids splurge on dessert that night so they chose 1 of everything!
Simon was terrified of the characters at first but after Pluto touched his hair, surprising him from behind he had a change of heart and just adored seeing them walk around our table. Thank goodness because the shrieking wasn't nearly as fun!
Another sleepy night for kids as we walked home but such a fun day. (more to come.....)
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