DISNEYLAND

I grew up going to Disneyland every few years. It was a part of my childhood, so of course I have that nostalgic feeling about it and love to go back. Jonny's first trip was as a 26 -year-old. We took  10-month-old Julia and played there with some of my family. I knew Jonny would enjoy the park, but I wondered if he'd love it like I do, even without the childhood associations. Well, maybe it's because Jonny is a kid at heart, or maybe it's just because Disneyland is wonderful and magical, but he loved it and became just as big a fan as me. Naturally we couldn't wait to take our kids there. (At 10 months Julia wasn't much of an active participant!)

That time finally came! A few months ago we decided Julia and Gabe were old enough to enjoy Disneyland and not be too ridiculous waiting in lines. We booked a trip for September and left it a surprise for the kids. During the summer I made sure they had an adequate Disney education, thanks to my brother Drew's complete Disney DVD library. They had no idea we were going anytime soon, but they were privy to the fact that Disneyland existed and that it was awesome. (I showed them pictures of Julia there as a baby. And we watched a parade on YouTube. Thanks for the idea and link, Sarah!) So one Sunday after church we packed up the car and headed to California - they thought we were just going to the beach. (Which they were extremely excited for.)  We actually stayed the night in Primm, about 2/3 of the way there. When Julia saw the hotel all lit up at night like Christmas, she said it was so beautiful and she wished we could stay there forever. Little did she know where we were headed...

We left early the next morning and drove the remaining three hours to Anaheim. (Yikes, Evy cried two of the hours. We were all very relieved for this leg of the trip to be over. Next time we won't split the trip and we'll drive straight through. I'd rather get all the driving done at once! That's what we did on the way home and the 10-hour drive was not as endless and painful as I had anticipated.)

When we arrived at our hotel just down the street from Disneyland, the kids were ecstatic about the room and the bunk beds. We eventually pried them away from the wonders of the hotel room (A mini fridge! A sink inside and outside of the bathroom! Julia couldn't get enough.) and set out on "a walk to see what there is to do around this town." Then we proceeded to stroll right into Disneyland and waited for them to pick up on where we might be. They noticed familiar characters on signs and posters, but it wasn't until we were actually in the park, past the big Mickey on the hill at the entrance, and onto Main Street that Julia realized where we were. Her initial reaction was one of slight confusion, but as soon as were at the castle she was jumping with joy. Gabe thought it was pretty great too. And then the fun began.

Since big trips sometimes require multiple pictures, I have written a post for each day. Looking at all the pictures has me wanting to plan our next trip already! It really was that fun.