Disneyland 2011

We celebrated James birthday and our 7th Annual West Family Disneyland Vacation this December. It was our first semi-real vacation for the year, at the end of the year. How sad. We packed light (one large suitcase and one diaper bag) for 4 days and 3 nights at the "Happiest Place on Earth."

The agenda was pretty open. A little Buca Di Beppo (that I have not frequented in years!) with the whole fam. Unfortunately it's hard seating a party of 11, wha? I'll keep that in mind before I have 6 more kids. We ended up sitting in two adjacent booths. Totally unfair when your own brood takes one booth. But MIL was accommodating and jumped right in to help. I love her for that!

Speaking of brood. It's funny how three kids completely rocks your world. First its the whole three-carseats-don't-fit-in-the-back-of-the-Honda-unless-you-throw-your-hip-into-the-door-to-shut-it-so-all-three-carseats-squish-like-sardines, then it's the one-booth-for-you-one-booth-for-everyone-else, then it's the you-gotta-get-your-own-Embassy-Suites-Suite-cuz-now-you-gots-lots-of-cryin'-kids. Not that I'm complaining about any of it, I'm just saying it's cra-zay, as Britney would say.

On Friday we hit the park early. Well, kind of. Our whole fam was ready at 7:30am and the kids basically knocked our adjoining suite door down to get to grandma, only to find they were still sleeping. Uhm, hello? DISNEYLAND peoples! I did not drive all this way to sleep in!

It was a beautiful day in Disneyland! I was worried because the night before the LA area had hurricane winds! Breezy, cool, and a bright, hot sun during the day. By mid-afternoon the sun would lose its heat and cool down. Thank goodness for the black Friday deals I got on kids jackets!

Madison has no idea who these characters are.

My favorite area of the park is Frontierland. That's where they have the Tiki Room. My favorite, favorite attraction. I could sit there all day long and slurp Dole Whip Floats and be happy! James and Michael were at this Gun attraction for at least a half hour, if not longer. Boys. And their guns.

In California Adventure we hit up Toy Story. James had been asking and asking and .... to go. We we waited the hour or whatever it was to get on the ride. Jacky loves his grandma.

After you get off the ride you can usually get in a photo with Woody or Buzz. James was so excited but disappointed when he saw Woody wasn't there. My SIL, Lisa, was a nice extra pair of hands.

California Adventure was under construction for Snow White and Cars, two new attractions. Most the park was closed off. A Debbie Downer for sure. We still got to see Bugs Life, Aladdin, Monsters Inc, and the Phineas and Ferb Show. 

I still can't believe I have three kids. It's amazing that you can find out you are pregnant AND going to have a baby all in the same year!

We hyped James up for his birthday dinner at Blue Bayou, the restaurant inside Pirates of the Caribbean. Madison conked out (not seen). We laid her out across two chairs and she slept thru dinner. Here is my little birthday boy. A big 4 years old!
 

Sometimes you just gotta do what it takes to get everyone in a photo. James was mad at me for making him do this. They don't tell you it's only the "Happiest Place on Earth" when you pump them full of candy, buy every toy in sight, and let them freely roam the streets.

 At the end of the night, logistics was always an issue. See, when you only bring one stroller for the baby and plan to rent two strollers at the park, that leaves you with a load of junk, a stroller you have to fold up (babies can not ride in the stroller on the tram to and fro the parking lot from the park), two sleeping kids and four arms and one vehicle that only seats 5. That means you gotta work a whole lotta magic. Luckily I had some in my pocket and we made it back to the car without losing a child.

As coincidence may have it, Mike's uncle and aunt were also at Disney the same days we were. That is his cousin Payton on my lap. She is 5yrs old and the cutest little girl ever!

P.s. See that white snowman in the stroller, right there in the middle above Jack? There's a funny story about that snowman caramel apple. You see, I waited about an hour to get that snowman. The caramel apples at Disney are a delicacy. Really. A delicacy. Jana will tell you. It's so sinful. They are $10 a piece. So imagine it's like eating gold. It's so expensive you just want to look at it and not eat it. Every morsel is precious. Well, I was waiting in line and the cashier tried to sell me the last snowman that had broken ears. Oh dangit. I got ahead of myself. See this snowman isn't just any old snowman. He's got a Mickey Mouse hat with ears instead a tophat. And it's real delicate like, like it could break off just breathing on it. Well, since they are $10 and all, I didn't want a broken snowman. If I was going to pay full price I was going to have one completely in-tact. I made him walk across the store to the other cashier station to get me one that was absolutely perfect. So he did. I'm sure the 30 people behind me were completely annoyed. After I cursed myself for buying 6 apples total (only one snowman), I held the snowman super duper carefully the entire walk down main street to meet up with the rest of the fam outside the park.I mean VERY. CAREFULLY. I dodged people left and right like it was a football and I was trying to score a touch down. If you've ever left the park after 9pm, you know the madness I'm talking about.

When we get out, I told my MIL the whole story, etc. etc. So she picks it up and starts looking at it, she grabbed it by the end of the stick and used her wrists to look at it up and down. Well guess what? The flick of her wrist did that poor little Mickey Mouse ear in, and it broke off! Oh the fury! All that work, that worry, over a stupid ear! To have it broken right before your very eyes, before your very hands, in your very control! Ah! I deserved it! So after discovering I was mad with myself I decided what a fool I had been. Word to the wise: tear off the Mickey Mouse ear hat and save yourself the trouble!