When you wish upon a star...

The day finally came, we were on our way to Disneyland!! So much love, effort, time and generosity was put in on our behalf to make this trip a magical experience for us. The boys had never been on a plane before (including Jason) so we were really excited about that. I was worried about the airport and security but it was all so smooth and easy. The boys loved the plane and had so much fun with their activity books from Usborne. The flight went really fast and it was exciting to take off and land.

Here is Collin on the plane

We met up with my parents that drove down to help us on our trip and we all headed to Downtown Disney to get Mickey ears! Here are the boys watching their Mickey ears have their names sewn on. I originally wanted Minnie ears since I'm the only girl in the family, but then I spotted the Disney Princess ears complete with tiara and a veil. I was SOLD! Disneyland is magical because it's the only place in the world you won't get strange looks for wearing silly hats with mouse ears on them!

Here are the boys with their ears. This is also a "Where's Nathan" photo. Can you find him among the Mickey's?? We made reservations at The Rainforest Cafe in Downtown our first night in California. It was a really fun place to eat! Every 20 minutes, a tropical rainstorm would come and the lights would get dim with thunder and lightning! The food was really good too!

We headed to our hotel and let the kids swim in the pool for a while. The next morning we were up at sunrise to get to Disneyland. It was worth it because we went on several rides with NO lines. Davin's keen eyes spotted Mickey Mouse himself as he entered the park the first day! We were the first ones in line to get his autograph!! The boys thought that was so much fun!

Thanks to Erin and the Unofficial Disney Guide Book, we knew about fast-passes and stroller passes and breezed through the park. The longest line I stood in was the Dumbo ride for 40 min. Incredible!! (I think we may have had a few Disney Angels with us too). The boys loved Space Mountain and the Buzz ride. We found lots of the Disney characters to sign the kids books too. Here are the kids with Buzz.

Fantasyland was my favorite part of the park. Taking my kids on "It's a Small World" made me cry. Watching them with their little Mickey ears and remembering being there when I was little was so sweet. It was so beautiful and magical!

Here is Collin on the ride. So precious... I loved Peter Pan's Flight and the Pinocchio ride too. I remember the end of the Pinocchio ride seeing a print of the blue fairy with the words, "When you wish upon a star, your dreams come true." I really believe that you can make something happen just by believing it can. You all know what I am wishing for... I want to be able to take my grandkids here someday.

Meeting Pluto

In front of the castle. Nathan (aka "Le Petit Prince") is not cooperating.

Mom on the Carousel

Splash Mountain was so much fun! They take a picture of you on the ride and Grandma just couldn't resist buying this no matter how overpriced it was! The second we saw it, my mom and I couldn't stop laughing. You'll see why... Just take a look at Collin's face... and Aaron's... and Davin's! So funny!

The fireworks show was amazing too. The music and choreography was fantastic. I loved the fairy's from Sleeping Beauty that kept turning the fireworks "Pink!" then "Blue!" It was all so magical. We were all tired after our first day but it was so worth it.

Day 2: Up at crack of dawn again... Don't want to miss anything! Our first priority was to get fast-pass tickets for the new World of Color show that evening. While Grandpa waited in line for that, we went on Grizzly Run Rapids and got soaked! The best rides at California Adventure were- Tower of Terror (scared Davin half to death), California Screamin' (the best roller coaster ride ever) the 3D Muppet show, Indiana Jones (Davin's favorite) and Soaring over California. (Grandma's favorite) They had a It's a Bug's life part of the park that Nathan loved. The benches were made out of gigantic Popsicle sticks and it was the scale as if you were a bug. So cute!! My mom and I went shopping and tasted Disney macaroons while the boys took the older boys on Toy Story Mania. (Apparently the longest line we ever stood in, glad we missed it!)

A is for Aaron

C is for Collin

N is for Nathan... So Cute!!

There was no D for Davin so he sat in the R for Rhodes

Nathan waiting to get on Autopia. I can't get enough of those ears...

Obviously.

This is Disney's World of Color and my picture doesn't do it justice! It was amazing!! It puts the Bellagio to shame. They projected Disney movies on the water accompanied by music and fire and WOW! It was worth all the waiting. The people that didn't stand in line for a total of 3 hours didn't understand why they couldn't park themselves in our spot. We almost thought a fight would ensue, but luckily the dedicated Disney employees kept the crowd moving and let us enjoy the show.

This is the boys asleep with their Mickey's. Davin got Indiana Jones Mickey, Aaron got Pirates of the Caribbean Mickey, Collin got Pluto and Nathan got the Classic Mickey. I love this picture. Priceless.

Day 3: After two days of magic and running around the amusement parks, a beach day was definitely in order. The boys had never been to the ocean and it was priceless (refer to photo above). I could have watched the kids play in the water all day. We went to Newport beach and it was overcast but really nice. My dad was like a little kid in the ocean and before we left Jason and my dad made sure I got in the water. It was cold, but so much fun!

My Dad. A true life "Peter Pan"! He had his own entourage (my kids) hanging on him the entire time.

Davin's footprints in the sand...

Day 4: Seaworld! There was lots to do at Seaworld and every ride left you completely soaked! We loved the Sea lion show. It was hilarious! We had great seats for the Dolphin show and I misunderstood that "Soak Zone" really means SOAK zone!! I was filming the dolphins when they splashed both of my cameras, a lot. I wasn't sure if they were going to survive, but they did. Maybe I had Seaworld angels too? The boys liked the Penguins and the Sesame Street 4D show was awesome!

Our boys have an obsession with maps. Nathan was so funny walking around with his map of Seaworld. Where should we go next?

Grandpa and the twins

The Shamu show was incredible! Such a fun day!

We had such a magical, fun-filled, sun-filled, exhausting, and memorable time. It was by far the best vacation we have ever had. Thanks so much mom and dad for coming with us! We never could have done it without you. How can 4 boys have to go to the bathroom so often and never seem to be able to coordinate with each other?! Thanks a million to everyone who made our trip possible and so amazing! It was more than we could have ever asked for!

Here is Aaron and his airport sticker book on the plane ride home. Nathan must have had altitude sickness on the way home and finished the trip off with throwing up... on the plane. We were so tired when we got home that we just crashed into our beds at 9:30 and were party poopers while the neighbors did fireworks. Happy 4th of July! Zzzzzzzz....We had the trip of a lifetime! Thanks everyone, our dream really did come true.