California Adventure Part 3: June 26-28, 2013

Disneyland! It was only a few months prior to this vacation (while we were all in the depths of boards study) that we decided we wanted to take the kids to Disneyland. I try not to discuss it too much, or complain, but residency is tough. And if residency is tough, then studying for boards is hell. There were weeks when the kids would only see Nic for about an hour or two here and there. So we decided that a fun family trip was in order, and what better place to do that than Disneyland. 

As we started looking at a Disney vacation I got pretty stressed out. First of all, we were going to June. The busiest time of the year. Second of all, there seems to be a science of how to get on rides with the least amount of wait time/how to save money while in the park/how to maximize the fun factor/how to avoid park fatigue/how to underwater basket weave while juggling a nursing baby and making pixie dust fly out of your ears. People take their Disney vacations seriously. Mostly, I just wanted it to be a good experience for everyone. The kids. Nic and me. Everyone. 

The good part is that I think we succeeded. It was the busy (and hot), but we worked it out so that Nic and Mason would get up early (Sage and Jonas needed the extra sleep to make it through the day happy) and they would hit all the rides before the lines got too long. Then once the rest of us got there, we would take turns getting fast passes and rider switch rides for the bigger rides with Mason, while the other person took Sage and Jonas on the rides they could go on. It worked out perfectly. We stayed in a hotel within walking distance from the park and just took it easy. Sure, we didn't go on all the rides, but the kids found some of their favorites and we tried to just stay relaxed and easy going about the whole thing. Looking back, I wouldn't change a thing.

Possibly my favorite picture taken while at Disneyland. We were on some sort of spinning ride in A Bug's Land.

I ordered these dress aprons for Sage off of Etsy before we came. They worked out so perfectly. She could look down and see that she was dressed like a princess, but they weren't hot and she could easily take them off during the day if she wanted to. Totally worth the purchase.

Mason's first ride was the Lightening McQueen Racers ride. His second was Tower of Terror. He LOVED tower of terror. He told me he kept wanting to ride it to "help his braveness", but then he would get off each time and say "it didn't work! That was still creepy!" That didn't stop him from wanting to go again and again.

His face cracks me up. Nic went on this ride multiple times with him, but the one time I went on it I found myself worrying about him being too scared the entire time. It was pretty scary!

The big ferris wheel in California Adventure was a hit with all the kids.

At some point in the middle of the day I would put Sage in the stroller and hold Jonas while I walked around and she fell asleep. I know some people say you should go back to your hotel for naps in the middle of the day, but I knew that wouldn't fly with her. So she would fall asleep and I would find a shady spot to sit and nurse Jonas. He usually fell asleep too and we would just sit in the shade and take a little nap. I think this way pretty key to the enjoyableness of our time there.

These pictures just make my heart happy. They are so peaceful.

The walk to the park from our hotel was a little less than a mile, so most of the time we ended up with all three kids on the stroller. I think they are so cute.

Jonas spent some time in the stroller as we walked around, so I tried to get creative with things to keep him occupied. He was teething and loved to chew on toothbrushes. So I tied on to the stroller. It worked out well.

First character sighting. We didn't wait around to meet too many characters. We just waved from afar if there was any sort of line.

I love this picture. This was taken right before the World of Color started. I had heard great things about this and made sure we got our tickets early. I'll be honest, I actually teared up a little during the performance. Especially during a scene from Wall E. Nic admitted he did too during a scene from Up. Disney is awesome.

 

Happy kids.

Mason's early mornings with Dad allowed him to meet more characters.

Mason really wanted to try Jedi training. I don't think he had any idea what it actually entailed (It wasn't until we got home that he and Nic watched Star Wars together), but he thought fighting with a light saber was cool. So we spent some time and made sure we got a spot front and center so that he would be picked for the training. He was the first picked! I think he was a little shy/confused while he was up there. And when he fought Darth Vader he wasn't entirely sure what to do, but afterward he said it was awesome and that made it worth the wait.

 

Sage, Jonas and I on the Jungle River Cruise. We rode this while Nic and Mason went on the Indiana Jones ride. Of course I kept Jonas securely on my lap until we reached near the end when I let him get up and look out of the boat...right in time for the elephant to shoot water right into his face! Ha! Good thing he is such a sweet baby.

Mason's other favorite rides were Space Mountain and Star Tours. He came out of Space Mountain every time totally rocking out to the music. This is picture of him driving and rocking out. He ended up picking a Space Mountain t-shirt as one of his souvenirs.

He really did like it, despite the look of sheer terror on his face.

Classic Dumbo ride.

Classic Teacups ride.

 

We did wait in a short line to meet Merida.

She spent an extra long time with Sage, spreading out her dress and chatting with her. Sage was completely enchanted.

And they also spent a good amount of time admiring Jonas's red hair!

Nic had heard about the Bippity Boppity Boutique from a secretary at work and had mentioned that we wanted Sage to do it. I read up on it a little and saw how expensive it was and thought, "well, she won't even know what she is missing so maybe we should do it when she is older." Well, we were in line to go into the park on the first day and Nic asked me when her appointment was. I told him I didn't think we should do it and was pretty upset that I hadn't scheduled her appointment! Lets just say by the time we got to the front of the line I was on the phone with the BBB and scheduled Sage's appointment for the following day. I'm glad he had me do it too. She loved it.

They did her hair, make up and nails. There was lots of sparkles and jewels and pink and kiss blowing. She ate it up.

My little princess.

In an effort to cool off, we did spend some time indoors checking out all of iron man's suits.

These pictures sum up these two's relationship. They really are each other's best friends. They fight every now and then, but they love spending time with each other best of all. They make each other laugh and are so tender. I hope they feel this way forever.

One of my favorite parts of our time here was the parades. They would seem to appear out of nowhere and were always fantastic. It gave us a chance to sit and relax for minute, while being completely entertained.

 

 

If you can't tell by my face, I thought they were magical.

And so did Sagie.

On our last night we stayed for the fireworks show inside the park. Again, I may or may not have cried.

Mason's Thoughts on Disney:

• Loved Space Mountain and Tower of Terror
• Excited to be picked first for Jedi Training
• First up and last to bed every day and loved every moment of it
• Walked away with a light saber and a space mountain t-shirt and a key chain

Sage's Thoughts on Disney:

• Loved the tea cups and lady bug ride in A Bug's Land
• Saw lots of her favorite characters
• Loved the Bippity Boppity Boutique
• Loved the parades
• She chose a Merida doll and  a big princess pen as her souvenirs
• She cried when we left for the last time.

Jonas's Thoughts on Disney:

• Rides were fun. Some made him laugh and others made him nervous.
• Fireworks and parades were awesome
• It was hot and he was sweaty, but he never complained once
• He got lots of attention for his red hair
• He reaffirmed our suspicion that he is in deed the world's sweetest baby
• He is bringing home a Pluto dog whose nose he likes to bite 

Nic and My Thoughts:

• It was totally worth it.

And thus concluded our California Adventure. We drove home half way to Las Vegas (through 120 degree weather), and then after detouring around a major accident outside of Vegas, made our way the rest of the way home. Traveling with kids is a lot of work. I now have an appreciation for the my parents and the trips they took us on as kids. It really is totally worth it, though. I adore our kids. I hope by traveling we can make memories that they will take with them forever.