Christmas in Disneyland

I know it's February but I finally have all my pictures from Disneyland ready to post.  First of all, I need to thank Jessica and Brian for taking most of the pictures I will post.  We took our camera but Jessica just always had hers out and it took better pictures, so thank you to the Quigley's.  

And we also need to thank them for getting the whole family together for our trip to the "most magical place on earth."  Somehow they were able to convince us all to head out of town for Christmas.  And, as much as we all love the traditional stay-at-home Christmas, I know we all had fun.  So, hold on and enjoy all the pictures as I take you through our adventure!

Day One:

The Sunday before Christmas, we woke up early and headed to the airport for an early flight to Portland. 

(thank you to the Wright Family for being our taxi to and from the airport)

After our layover in Portland we headed off to LAX where we took a long drive, on a bus, to our hotel. . . as you can see this was a really LONG day of traveling, but Charlize did so good.  We are so proud of how patient she was and especially how well she did on her first plane ride.

Day Two:

Monday morning we woke up early again to eat breakfast and head to the park.  We were really excited to go until we stepped outside and saw the rain- what a sad way to start your first day of vacation.  But, we decided to get on our rain gear and head out anyway.  Much to our surprise, the rain was a blessing in disguise.  It kept a lot of people away and made the lines much shorter :-)

Poor Jocelyn was the only one without a raincoat,  but she did really well sporting the garbage bag!

Adaline, Colt and Hayden not letting the rain get them down 

Grandma and Hayden so excited to be at Disneyland! 

Hayden and Charlize all geared up for some fun

Once we got to California Adventures our first stop was Cars Land. 

 I know for a fact Hayden wasn't the only one really excited to go there.

 Hayden couldn't wait to meet Lighting McQueen but Jessica said once we got up there, he got a little shy and just couldn't believe he was standing next to him!

Here is Hayden with his coveted Piston Cup.  After being at Disneyland for a week, we asked Hayden what his favorite ride was and he said, "The Lightning McQueen ride and I even won a Piston Cup!"

I think my favorite ride was also the "Lightning McQueen ride"-- it was lots of fun to drive through 

Radiator Springs and then end it with a race.

Family Photo Op:

Touring Cars Land:

Grandma feeding the little ones--I think she never got tired of it, and they were always grateful!

Right before we came to Disneyland, Charlize had a doctor's appointment and she measured 23 pounds and 32 inches.  This was great news for me because I knew there were a couple of rides we would go on with a height limit of 32 inches.  The Tow Mater Ride in Cars Land had just such a height limit.  I was so excited to take her on the ride:

Waiting in line 

This was Charlize's first carnival-type ride so I think she was a little nervous but overall I think she had fun!  It was a good first ride and really prepared her for the rest of the rides that week.  She did really good:

After Cars Land we headed over to Paradise Peir for more rides.  On our way we found our first character-- Donald Duck:

 Jocelyn doesn't look happy here but this was her first character meet, she figured it out fast and enjoyed every character meet after this.  

Charlize, on the other hand, didn't like her first visit and still didn't like it by the end of the week.  She looked like this every time I took her to meet someone.  Sorry Charlize!

Then we met Jesse from Toy Story:

We were the last group to meet Jesse before she had to go on break so they let Hayden hold her hand and walk her back to her dressing room.  He had so much fun escorting her through the park.

One of the girls' favorite rides was the carousel; Charlize kept saying "wee" as we rode around.  I think they rode this at least three times that week.

While at Paradise Pier we also got to meet Buzz Lightyear:

Just hanging out deciding what to do next:

We decided to hit some rides and a 3D movie in Bug's Land:

Bug's Land had so many rides that the girls could go on and they had so much fun, but their favorite one was spinning high in the air in the cracker box.  Just look at how happy they are:

Riding with Grandpa in the caterpillar:

The boys playing bumper cars:

Then, to top off our first day at the most magical place on earth we caught the Pixar Play Parade:

Waiting for the Parade to start and enjoying some cotton candy

And the show begins:

Waving to Mater:

Before heading in for the night we decided to take one more spin around Cars Land:

Day 3  

Merry Christmas:

Tuesday morning we woke up early again to get a good start on the day.  

Poor Charlize crashed the night before we could get her in pj's so she woke up in old clothes on Christmas morning but that didn't stop her from enjoying her gifts.

Here is the gang all ready to enter Disneyland for the first time:

First stop was Tomorrowland.  

We were able to get on the first few rides without any wait--what a good way to start the day.

The trip wouldn't be complete if Nick didn't get to take a picture with Micheal Jackson, Captain EO

Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters

Autopia Car Ride

Then it was off to Fantasyland. Grandma and Grandpa took Charlize to ride some rides in Fantasyland while Nick and I rode Auopia.

When we met up with them later, my dad said that Charlize had so much fun on Dumbo that we had to go again.  

Before we came to Disneyland Nick kept talking about how much he enjoyed the Pirates ride and he 

was really excited to take Charlize on it.  So, we made our way to New Orleans Square for a special daddy-daughter ride.

Another snack break for the girls:

They are so cute!

For Christmas, Hayden got a certificate to go to Ridemakerz to make his own car so we took a break from the rides and headed to Downtown Disney:

The girls had fun too-

Hanging out in Downtown Disney:

Grandma and Grandpa bought the girls little Minnie Mouse purses and they really

 enjoyed packing them around:

The highlight of Christmas day was going to our character dinner.  We met so many characters and had lots of yummy food.  Thank you Mom and Dad for paying for all of us to go!

Meeting Pluto

Charlize discovered gummy worms and I think that was the highlight of her night! 

And then we finally got to meet Minnie!  

Charlize just loves Minnie Mouse--it is her favorite toy to pack around, her favorite shirt to wear and one of her favorite shows to watch. . . I'm just not sure how she felt about a life size Minnie.

Colt and Adaline

 Hayden got to give Minnie a kiss.  This was the first of many kisses for Hayden that week.

 Luke and Jamie

Brian and Hayden

Grandma and Grandpa 

The Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland 

Hayden kissing Mulan 

Charlize meeting Dale the chipmunk 

Alice in Wonderland 

Charlize and Nick meeting Goofy

After dinner we caught finally made it to the Captain EO show.  Grandpa and Hayden look great sporting their 3D glasses and here is Nick pulling some Micheal Jackson moves-

 When it got dark we headed over to watch the Fantasmic water and light show in Frontierland.  Charlize was dressed in warm pajamas and bundled up tight in her stroller so . . . she ended up sleeping through it.  But, evenyone else enjoyed the show.

After the show, Grandma and Grandpa took the little ones back to the hotel for bed and the parents got a free night out on the town:

Day Four:
After staying up late in the park and then wrestling Charlize in the wee hours of the morning, Nick and I decided to sleep in.  Most of the gang got up early again to hit the rides but when the Wrights finally made it out the door, we saw that Colt and Addi slept in two.

So, the five of us headed off to Disneyland to hit a couple of rides on our own before we met up
with the rest of the group.
Here we are riding Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage in Tomorrowland.

And riding the Winnie Pooh ride in Adventureland:

Right after we got out of the ride, we were able to meet Eeyore and Pooh:

Eeyore decided to hide behind me after Charlize got upset; I'm sure who was more scared of who!

Just look at those happy grandparents!!

For lunch we decided to stay in the park and catch a comedy show in Frontierland. Brian was picked to be a part of it and they sure picked right because Brian is one of the funniest guys I know:

After lunch, the long-awaited moment arrived . . . heading to Toontown to meet Mickey Mouse-

 Waiting in the really long line as we weave through Mickey's house and into the barn

 Mickey, Daddy and Charlize

 Colt and Adaline with Mickey

Mickey with Hayden, Jessica and Jocelyn

Hayden only had a few characters he said he really wanted to meet and Mickey was one of them.

Even thought Christmas had officially passed by this point in our trip, it still felt like Christmas in Disneyland and it just wouldn't be complete without a Christmas parade:

Charlize was taking her nap during the parade but Hayden and Jocelyn really enjoyed it.

And then it was time to meet the princesses:

 Cinderella- the prettiest and sweetest princess we met

 Snow White

And Mulan

Day Five:

Thursday morning we woke up early again to make the most of our last day at Disneyland.  After packing up our hotel rooms we headed off to the park and decided to head to

California Adventures again to hit a few new rides.

Monsters Inc. ride:

Little Mermaid Ride:

Golden Zephyr:

Charlize liked this one. . . I guess she has one thing in common with her mom!

 The cute little girls:

 "Okay, Okay, Jocelyn, how many kisses are you going to give me?!"

Grandpa and Hayden sporting their Cars hats

Don't they look great:

Nick and I didn't get to go on the Ferris Wheel but Grandma and Grandpa took the grandkids on it.  They had lots of fun and would wave to us every time they came around.

 Nick, Ashley, Jocelyn and Jessica

 Before heading off for the long bus ride to the air port we went for one last family meal.
The girls enjoying their play time together:

 After a long week, it was finally time to say good bye to Disneyland.  We were a little sad to go but ready to be home. We were greeted with happy faces when we got home, so thank you to the Wright's, again, for picking us up so late at night.

The next morning, we celebrated Christmas with both the Warren's and the Wright's.  If you missed that, check the post right before this one.

We hope you all had a great holiday season and are enjoying 2013.  Check back again soon because we have a lot to report on for January and February 
See you soon!