Just Another California Adventure Trip {Round 2}

Did I mention in my last post that our hotel was only about a half a mile away from the entrance to the parks?  Well, it was, and it was awesome.  It was so nice not having to park, and then load everything into the stroller, and then onto the tram, and then unload again for security.....and then basically do it in reverse on the way out.  So.Much.Easier just walking down the street and only unloading once for the security check.  Oh, and our hotel room was actually a suite, so the girls had their own room towards the back and they loved making a mess in it playing house in it.

➹ The parks didn't open until 10 {11 our time} and even though we planned on getting there 30-45 minutes early, the 7 am wake up call from the girls was just a bit early! ➹

➹ Sarah and I headed straight to {my favorite} Toy Story Mania ride while David waited in line with our passes to get Fast Passes for the highly coveted Radiator Springs.➹

➹ Seven minutes after the park officially opened, all of us {David included} were on the Toy Story ride.  We ended up riding it twice so Sarah could go ride California Screamin' by herself. ➹

➹ We then sent David over to ride California Screamin' by himself while we took the girls on the King Triton Carousel. ➹

➹ By the time we were finished with the carousel and got the girls seated for a photo op, David was off the ride and ready to move on to the next ride. ➹

➹ Jumpin' Jellyfish!  First time for Olivia!  Followed by a couple Little Mermaid rides....and then it was time for Cars Land! ➹

➹ The little girls weren't big enough to ride the Radiator Springs ride, so David and I took Kendall and Olivia while Sarah watched Sydney and Kate.  We only had about a 5 minute wait with the fast passes!  And, it was most definitely worth it! Olivia and I got to ride it twice because David switched places with Sarah and watched the little ones for round 2. ➹

➹ I think I took this one on Luigi's Tires. ➹

➹ After Cars Land, we went through the Bugs Life area and actually watched the "It's Tough to Be a Bug" 3-D movie.  It was cute and was a nice break from the warm sun outside. ➹

We also went on the Monsters Inc ride and watched the Muppets 3-D movie.  I have never been a huge fan of the Muppets, so it didn't do much for me, but I was glad that we were able to do something that we'd never done before.  We were also trying to do something to kill some time because we knew Sofia the First was going to be out posing for pictures and we had never met her before!

➹ Sydney LOVES Sofia, but she wasn't buying this version of her! ➹

We swapped out the kids once again so we could take the big girls on the Soarin' Over California ride.  Olivia rode it twice -- once with David and me and once with Sarah and Kendall.  She LOVED it.  I think it is one of her favorite rides there now.   After finishing that and seeing a few more characters, it was only around 4:30 and the parks were still open for a few more hours.  So, we decided to walk back over to Disneyland because why not. 

➹ On our way out of California Adventure. ➹

➹ Sydney fell asleep in the stroller on the way over, so we let her rest while we took the other girls to meet some princesses. ➹

We may have ridden another ride or two with Sarah & the girls before we had to say goodbye to them.  We stayed a little while longer and rode It's a Small World one more time...so glad we did it again at night when it was lit up.  And, I got a picture of Olivia in her Minnie skirt with Minnie Mouse on our way out!

We had SO MUCH fun with some of our favorite people.  If I haven't said it before, let me say it now.  I just feel so lucky that we are able to have these experiences with our girls!

Just Another Disneyland Trip {Round 1}

Even though it seems like we go to Disneyland all the time, we haven't been as a family since last May.  And, well, that's just no way to treat a season pass.  We lucked out that Miss Sarah and her gorgeous girls wanted to go in January and David's schedule allowed us to make a trip out there.

January was a great time to go because the park was not crowded at all, but a few of the attractions were not going on {like our parade, which is our favorite}.  It was still more than worth it to get to spend two full days with some of our favorite California people!

➹ The reunion! ➹

➹ Love their sweet friendship! ➹

➹ Not pictured: Sydney off to the side.  She's still not a fan of the characters. ➹

➹ We had never had much desire to wait the typical 45 minute wait to meet Tinker Bell since Olivia wasn't that into her.  But, over the summer, she became OBSESSED with the movies and so we were so excited to meet her this time.  We went to Pixie Hollow first and Tinker Bell was just the sweetest. She really set the tone for the whole day! ➹

➹ Silvermist! ➹

➹ Waiting for the carousel ride.  Sarah went and rode the Matterhorn while we took the girls to Pixie Hollow.  We planned on getting in line for the Frozen characters, but there was already a 2 hour wait and they weren't even there yet! ➹

➹ BFF Selfie! ➹

➹ Waiting patiently for Merida to come back from feeding Angus! ➹

➹ I mean, how sweet is this?! ➹

➹ A couple of goofballs. ;) ➹

➹ We saw Tiana on our way to Splash Mountain! ➹

➹ While Sarah took the big girls on Splash Mountain, we took the little ones on the Winnie the Pooh ride {twice}!  I love that there is hardy ever a wait for that ride! ➹

➹ Is this not the best picture?!  Olivia sat in the very FRONT!  And sweet Kendall was so excited to ride it and then ended up not liking it because she got so wet! ➹

➹ David and I took Olivia for round 2 of Splash Mountain while Sarah stayed with these three and introduced them to the Winnie the Pooh characters.  She said Sydney was awesome with them! ➹

➹ Sarah was a sweetheart and stood in the 90 minute line to meet the princesses from Frozen and so we took all the girls to go see Mickey's Magical Map.  It was a super cute show and the girls loved watching it and seeing some princesses singing songs from their movies. ➹

➹ Sydney is not impressed! Ha! ➹

➹ So glad the girls got to meet them.  They LOVE the movie! ➹

➹ Selfie with my sweet girl while riding Astro Orbiters for the first time. ➹

➹ We were so fortunate to be able to see the Small World ride with Christmas lights and Christmas decorations still up.  I hope we can go sometime at Christmas to see the whole park decorated! ➹

➹ We had a fabulous day and were excited for Round 2 at California Adventure the next day! ➹

Stay tuned for that one....

And I'll Be Shooting For My Own Hand

While the rest of the world watched the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games, we were busy doing what we do on a daily basis:  playing princess.  And, the princess of choice this evening was none other than our latest and greatest, Merida, from the movie Brave.  Olivia loves her.  {And she was lucky enough to go see the movie again this afternoon with her Nana and Poppy.}

I got her the Merida dress at Target last week {because I'm a sucker and} because I was starting to get sick of the Cinderella, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty story-lines that we have to play out while she dresses the part with the outfits we already had.

A few days after I got her the outfit, I saw an unraveled, red loofah sponge hanging in our shower and instantly knew it would be perfect Merida hair.  I instantly showed it to Olivia, cut it into a couple of strips and bobby pinned it to her hair.  She loved it, but it kept falling out and there's nothing I hate more than hearing her whine about her weave falling out.  ;)  So, I thought and I thought and when I organized her hair accessories the next day and found a plastic headband, I knew I had my solution.  It took a little convincing on her part, but once I had it done she was in love! 

It was fairly easy to do - I actually found another red loofah and unraveled that one and cut it into about four pieces, so I think I had about 8 pieces total.  I hot-glued the first piece right across the headband so she would have a little bit of bangs that would hopefully cover up her blonde hair.  The rest I sort of just pieced around so it would cover the sides and the top.  It's not salon-quality, but it's definitely cheaper than the $20 Disney version.

My dad fashioned a bow for her out of a twig from our backyard and some bakers twine and she could not have been more thrilled.  

King Fergus giving her some pointers.

I love my little drama queen princess.

David brought his iphone out and took some pictures of her and she started in on our favorite line from the movie {and audiobook}.  We were lucky to get it recorded.  Amazing!  You can also view it here.  

Hope you all are having a wonderful weekend!