Disneyland!!!

We had the most amazing time last week in Disneyland. People aren't kidding when they call it "The Happiest Place on Earth." I hadn't been there since high school, and experiencing it as a parent was just so much fun! The weather was beautiful (mid-high 70's), and the whole place was still fully decorated for Christmas which was stunning! You can see Sleeping Beauty's Castle in the photos below, but it was far more amazing at night with all of the lights.

 The kids both loved going on rides. Grace was MUCH more of a dare devil and wanted to do all of the big rides including Space Mountain, Matterhorn, and, her favorite, Splash Mountain. And no one really wanted to go on the tea cups with her because she spun them so, so fast! She was literally green after going on them with Lindsay one morning! Charlie, on the other hand, liked only a certain type of rides...those that didn't go too fast or too high, and didn't have any characters popping out. There were only a few rides that fit into this category, but eventually we did find some that he liked. His very favorite was Toy Story Mania, but because of very long lines, he only got to do it twice. He also loved Dumbo, the Tea Cups, and Autopia. Jeff and I took turns taking the big kids on rides during the day, but one night, we snuck out with Ryan and Lindsay and did OUR favorites! It was so much fun!!

 In the background, you can see the one roller coaster we talked Charlie into going on. Afterwards he said, "I didn't like. I'm not ever doing that again. Not ever!" I'm guessing that by the next time we make it back to Disneyland, he'll be ready!

 Sweet Olivia spent a lot of time watching everyone else on rides, but she was such a good sport about it! She did get to go on several of the smaller rides. Her favorite was definitely the Winnie the Pooh ride. She flapped her "happy hands" and squealed through the whole ride!

 She even became a stroller napper!

The kids also had fun meeting many of the characters. It took Charlie awhile to warm up to them. He was SO afraid of seeing Captain Hook, and of course, that was the first character we saw! After that, he was very wary, but he did eventually enjoy meeting some of his favorites like the Pooh friends and Woody and Jessie from Toy Story. One of my favorite memories from Disneyland as a little girl is collecting all of the characters autographs, so we got the kids autograph books, and they, too, had fun getting everyone to sign it.

 Liv wasn't such a fan!

 We discovered Micky's Toontown after being at Disneyland for a few days, and it was a big hit with the kids!

 We stayed at The Disneyland Hotel. It was AMAZING! Every little detail was "Disney" but not in a cheesy way. The headboard below is a perfect example. The fireworks and stars were small lights that the kids loved to leave on at night. It also played "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes" when you turned it on. Magical!!

This is by the pool at the hotel. You can see the tower we stayed in in the background. (We could watch the fireworks at night from one of the rooms!) You can also see the Monorail water slides which the kids had a blast with! So fun!

 We watched a truly magical parade one evening. The kids were mesmerized...even Olivia! (Well, Charlie was after we finally convinced him that Captain Hook wasn't in the parade!)

 One final highlight of the trip was the food! I had a lot of anxiety going into it about whether we'd be able to safely feed the kids gluten-free food. It turned out that there was absolutely no need to worry. There were extensive gluten-free options and everyone we talked to was really knowledgeable about cross contamination. I even received a personal phone call from one of the head chefs to find out how they could meet our needs. Those Disney folks know what they're doing!

Gluten-free Mickey Mouse waffles...

 and pancakes!

It was absolutely an amazing trip! Thank you so much, Grammy and Bop, for such an extravagant and generous gift!! We will all enjoy the memories we made for a very, very long time!