The Second Half of That Disneyland Birthday Trip

Oh, y'all, I took a nice little blogging break there.  Sometimes when I fall off of the blogging wagon, it's hard to get my butt back up on it...especially when I know that I have a huge trip to blog about.  That last post took me over 3 hours to do.  This one, well, this one probably won't.

So, if you need a refresher, here's where I left off with day one of Olivia's 4th birthday trip to Disneyland.

The day after Olivia's birthday, we tried our best to get there early, but it's us, so you know that didn't happen again.  We met up with Sarah & the girls and her sister & her triplets right at the entrance and headed over to meet the princesses again {because we love them so}.

And then we headed over to see Merida {because she's my favorite}.

And since we were right there, we did It's a Small World again {because we really, really love that ride}. And I really, really love these girls.  

After letting David take a trip or two around the Buzz Lightyear ride {and get his picture taken with a Storm Trooper}, we headed over to California Adventure to spend a few hours.  It's always fun passing through the Main Street area on our way out because we inevitably run into a few of the Disney characters along the way.

California Adventure really is a lot of fun, even if it doesn't hold as much of the magic for me as Disneyland.  Olivia LOVES the Ariel ride {we seriously ride it multiple times in a row each time because the ride can accommodate so many passengers that there is rarely a line} and we LOVE seeing her interact through the Disney Jr Live on Stage shows.  This year, the show had characters from Sofia the First and Doc McStuffins!  We even rode one of the CarsLand rides a couple of times.

We got a sweet treat and rode the Monster's Inc ride {and David had an almost encounter with Sully}, Donald Duck's crew sang Happy Birthday to Olivia and I found my new favorite California Adventure ride in the Toy Story Mania ride.  {If that line hadn't been so long,  I would have ridden it over and over again!}

And, of course, we had to recreate this picture from last year.

Sarah and the girls took off after the Pixar parade and it was so sad saying goodbye to them, but we know we are going to be seeing them again soon which made seeing them go a little easier.  We love those precious ladies so SO much and we are so very thankful for their friendship.  Olivia could not ask for a sweeter little girl than Kendall to be her very best friend forever.  

After the girls left, we strolled back over to Disneyland because Olivia wanted to see the parade there, but once we got in and secured a spot, she decided that she wanted to go ride Splash Mountain again.  So ride it we did....two more times!  And, since I had never ridden Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, we indulged in that as our last ride of the trip.

We had such a fantastic trip out.  I just love that even though we don't live in California anymore, we are still able to go to one of my favorite California locales on a pretty regular basis AND that we are able to meet up with some of our favorite California ladies in the process!

Can't wait for our next trip to Disneyland {which may be sooner than later?!}

Another Flashback

Olivia came out of the bath tonight wearing her little pink cover-up with her butterfly hood pulled over her head and I swear it was like looking at my little 13 month old again.

➹ Now ➹

➹ Almost exactly 3 years ago ➹

➹ And back to now... ➹

♥♥♥

Disneyland is My Happy Place {errr, Olivia's Happy Place}

*Advanced warning, this post is long and winding and full of pictures.  Read when you've got some extra time on your hands.  

Oh Disneyland.  I just love, love, LOVE you.  I love the magic that happens the second you walk through those gates.  I love the excitement in my little girls eyes on each and every ride and meet & greet with the characters.  I just love everything about you.

I'm so glad that we were able to take Olivia back to Disneyland for her 4th birthday to meet up with her California bestie, Kendall.  Those girls love each other so much and they have such a special friendship even though we live so far away now.  I hope they are best friends forever.

We left the day before her birthday and I let her open up a sweet birthday present that my high school buddy, Natalie, handmade and sent to her.  It was filled with all sorts of goodies that her sweet daughter, Hazel, had picked out especially for Olivia.  That Natalie deserves Mom of the Year for sure...she not only made Olivia a purse, but she included my sweet Sydney girl too.  Thanks, Nat!!

➹ Olivia immediately filled her purse with her most prized possessions...the cheap princesses from her birthday cake! ➹

We had a pretty easy drive there with a few stops for lunch and potty breaks.  Our hotel was very nice and when they found out it was Olivia's birthday, they immediately started treating her like a royal princess.  They invited her down for a special breakfast the next morning where they made her Mickey Mouse pancakes and even brought her a birthday cake with ice cream.  Good thing she was going to burn off that sugar burst throughout the day!

➹ Her favorite thing is talking on the hotel phone! ➹

➹ Girl is obsessed with princesses and all clothing pieces that are "down." ➹

➹ The birthday girl in her new princess nightgown with her glorious bed head! ➹

➹ One of her favorite things she opened was a little mermaid doll with legs and outfits.  We got it, in front of her, at a garage sale the weekend before when we spotted the cutest headboard for Sydney's future twin bed. Maybe it was the anticipation of getting it? ➹

Love the sleeping Daddy in the background.

➹ Mickey pancakes! With sprinkles! And a fake smile! ➹

Our goal was to get to the Disneyland gates by 10:00 when the park opened, but let's face it, we are Michelsons and that didn't quite happen.  We were close though and we were excited to meet up with Kendall and see Belle right as we got in!

➹ Obviously Olivia's bed head didn't get much better.  In fact, I'll admit it may have even gotten worse.➹

➹ This isn't the first of these little flashback gems you can expect to get in this post.  You can thank me later. ➹

Almost immediately we went in to the Royal Faire to meet the princesses.  This was our third visit in the last year and it is the third place that they've moved the princesses.  Sadly, it's my least favorite.  Last April, the princesses were all outside so all of our pictures turned out great.  The ladies all interacted and spent a couple minutes with Olivia.  This time, they were moved to indoor rooms where it was dark and it just didn't feel as welcoming.  I know the girls still loved it, but, ugh, the pictures just didn't turn out that great.  

David is so great at spotting the different characters/princesses all over the park.  He will grab Olivia and take off toward them.  So, when we finished with the 3 princesses in the Royal Faire, we headed directly over to meet Snow White.  She was uh-may-zing!  Of all of the princesses we saw, she was the most energetic, interactive and genuine.  Olivia really got into hiding from the princesses before it was her turn and then jumping out and surprising them.  Most of the other princesses didn't quite get it, but Snow White was totally in on it and played right along.  Loved her.

➹ She also complimented Olivia on her pineapple shoes which just made Olivia's day! ➹

As you will start to notice from all of the pictures, we literally went from meeting one princess/character to another.  Next up was Peter Pan and the Fairy Godmother!

➹ These girls.  I just love them so much! ➹

We did manage to ride some rides that morning too.  We had to do the Dumbo, of course, and It's a Small World, which has become Olivia's favorite ride.   And, I think that's when we did Pinocchio, Snow White and Alice & Wonderland too.  {Forgive me for not getting our timeline perfectly correct.} And, while we didn't go on the spinning teacups, we did have to get our picture taken in one.

➹ Small World ➹

➹ Kisses for Katelyn!  We loved having her along...she was such a good little girl. ➹

➹ This year... ➹

➹ Last year...they look like such little babies. ➹

➹ Family picture! ➹

We ventured in to Toon Town to meet as many characters as we could, ride the Go Go Gadget Coaster and recreate a picture from last year!

➹ How do they grow so much in a year?! ➹

➹ Great capture, Sarah! ➹

Pretty sure we headed for Pirates of the Caribbean, the Haunted Mansion, Tarzan's Treehouse, the Jungle Cruise, the Winnie the Pooh ride and meeting Jasmine and Aladdin next.

➹ This was our first Jasmine encounter and WOW, I didn't expect that outfit to be the one she would be wearing! ➹

Kendall and Katelyn left shortly after, but we were so excited that they were going to be back the next day.  

After they left, we ended up riding Splash Mountain and then watching the parade.  We even got a Fast Pass to ride the Peter Pan ride after the parade.

➹ Took a picture of our photo up on the screen.  Love it! ➹

➹ I can't even. ➹

It was an amazing day!  We love those Pedersen girls and we love Disneyland.  You combine that with our big girl's fourth birthday and you have MAGIC!

Love her SO VERY much!

Stay tuned for Day 2 of our Disneyland adventure!