The Happiest Place on Earth

A month or two ago we took the family to Disneyland; the happiest place on earth. With that kind of reputation I always suspect that my expectations won't be met when I visit, and thankfully, they were met or exceeded in most every way. All the kids were troopers as we headed west to California, an all day long trip. We mostly made it without confusing directions. We made a ton of fun memories together. 

• The girls rode Splash Mountain with me and loved it so much, but got sad when then saw that I lost my hat on the big hill.
• Peter declared his favorite ride was the haunted Mansion even though he shut his eyes and plugged his ears the whole way through.
• Riding Souring over California with the kids. So fun.
• Waiting in the Toy Story line with perhaps the biggest Disneyland fan in the world. She was there the very first day the park opened, and comes back several times a year all by herself.
• Eating McDonalds for dinner while watching TV in our hotel room. We're on vacation.
• Sleeping on the pull out couch while the kids got the comfy beds.
• Searching for the Athleta store and then the beach.
• It's a Small World.
• Wondering what to eat.
• The World of Color with sleepy boys, and the Fantasmic with 4 sleeping kids.
• Indiana Jones with Alyssa.
• The Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Room.
• Jungle cruising with the kids who weren't sure if they were seeing real animals and natives.
• Meeting Tinkerbell with the girls.
• Meeting Mickey Mouse.
• Tired ornery and sleepy kids on the shuttle bus home.
• No potty accidents in the park despite the close call in the Nemo submarine.
• Driving the Las Vegas strip on the way home.

Neither Becky or I had gone to D-land growing up with our families. I loved looking at her during our trip and thinking about how we were realizing a goal that we'd probably had since we were little: take your family to Disneyland. Considering the ages of the kids, I think we planned this one just right.