Disneyland Day 3

On our second day of going to the parks we decided to go check out Disney's California Adventures! And it was so much fun! I thought the whole atmosphere was different over there. Sure it is owned by Disney, and it is a theme park, and it is right across the way from Disneyland, but it was so much less crowded and so much more laid back. I really enjoyed it!

First off we went to visit Mater and McQueen!

The boys thought this was pretty awesome and mommy can not wait for Cars Land to open. Next time we go back, I am super excited to explore it!

There is a part of the park called A Bug's Land, like the movie A Bug's Life! It was really cute, everything is really big and it feels like you are a tiny bug walking through the grass and seeing things from a bugs point of view!

This is in one of the rides in A Bug's Land.

Isnt this so pretty? I love it!

The weather while we were there was awesome. It was a little bit chilly first thing in the morning but quickly warmed up. During the day it was warm, but not hot, just perfect! And in the evenings we would put our light jackets on and it was very comfortable! Jared and I were saying to each other the weather was so great, we wouldnt have wanted it any warmer or any cooler.

Here we are meeting Woody, as you can see Grayson was less than thrilled but Grant was loving it! There  is a ride at California Adventures called Toy Story Midway Mania and it looked like so much fun, but every time we wanted to get in line for it the wait was over an hour long. Such a bummer. On our last day we decided that we couldnt leave without seeing what all the hype was about. So we waited in line for over an hour and it was a really fun ride!!

We even caught the Phineas and Ferb dance party. I am not a fan of Phineas and Ferb, but this was pretty cute and Grant really enjoyed it. And so did Gray, he LOVES to shake his groove thang!!

Jared had been wanting to get a corndog and the line at Disneyland was crazy long. So when we saw the line here was only about 20 minutes we decided to wait in it. It was well worth the wait. If you have never had one of these world famous corndogs you are missing out, and Im not even a fan of corndogs.

There is a new show on the Playhouse Disney channel about Peter Pan and Hook and this kid named Jake. Well this is Jake and Grant was so super excited to meet him, even though he has never even seen the show. Silly boy!!

We caught some of the Monsters Inc. show and it was pretty dang cute!

If you know Grayson well enough you know this never ever happens. He is a very routine little guy and never falls asleep anywhere but in his crib or sometimes at Maama's house. When Grant was young I used to love to put him in bed with me sometimes but with Grayson it is a no go. He very rarely falls asleep in the car either, he just wants to be in his own bed.

Can I just say, my boys are always amazing me! I can not believe how incredibly well they both did on this trip. We were NONSTOP the entire time we were there. We got up at 6:30 or 7 every morning and we were out until 10 or 11 every night and we did not stop. Grayson was so go-with-the-flow the whole time. He laughed and giggled and had such a great time! He was such a joy, even though he was so far out of his element!

And Grant is such a stud! He was a trooper! We did so much walking, we seriously walked at least 10 miles everyday and he did great. He kept up with us and didnt complain, except a little bit towards the end of the day. He didnt whine or ask for everything in sight! He helped with Grayson so much and was so excited to share the experience with him. He is such an awesome big brother. He kept asking Grayson things like, "Are you having fun?" "Did you like that?" "Isnt this awesome Gray?" We are so incredibly blessed to have such amazing children!!

This was one of Grant's favorite parts of the trip. It is called the Redwood Creek Wilderness Trail (I think) It is a big area that has lots of fun things for the kids to do. They had a rock climbing wall, rope bridges, lots of cool slides, a cave to explore, a zipline, and other fun stuff.

I like this picture of Gray and Grant!

This is the Little Mermaid Under the Sea ride! This was Gray and my favorite ride. I think Grant and Jared both liked it too, we went on it probably 7-8 times! The line was super short and it was a lot of fun!

We also really liked King Triton's Carousel!

Grayson loved this ride. I think because he could do it himself!

Even daddy rode a whale!

By the time we got back to our hotel that night we were all exhausted. Although you cant tell in this picture!! Gray passed out about 10 minutes later!

Disneyland day 1&2

We left Thursday Feb. 16 at 11:48 AM Grant was so excited, but also nervous because he knows he gets motion sick on the plane. Grayson had no idea what was going on, but he did think it was pretty cool to run around the airport and see the planes out the windows!

We gave Grant a half a dramamine about an hour before the flight. When we took off he layed down on the arm rest and kept his eyes closed the entire time. Every time I thought he had fallen asleep, he would ask "How many more minutes?" Towards the end of the flight it got a tiny bit bumpy and Grant lost it. I was actually surprised he only threw up twice! He is so used to throwing up, he is a pro. Grayson did great! I was so pleased, he just sat on my lap and ate some fishy crackers. Thank goodness it was a short flight. He hadnt had a nap, so about 10 minutes before we landed he fell asleep on my shoulder.

We flew into the Long Beach airport and it is tiny, plus they are renovationg it. So instead of pulling the plane up to the building, they pull a ramp up to the plane and you get off and walk to the building. Grant thought this was so weird and also so cool! He thought it was so neat to be outside and so close to the plane. When you stand right under one like this, you sure do realize how huge they are!

We took a taxi to the Disneyland Hotel. Jared surprised me and we stayed at the Disneyland Hotel. It was so nice and we had an awesome veiw. While we were there Mickey Mouse called to wake us up everyday, which Grant thought was great! After we checked in and got settled we decided to go out and explore Downtown Disney. Downtown Disney is a really fun, huge outdoor mall-like area. They had lots of great restaurants and stores, kiosks and fountains. Some of our favorites in Downtown Disney included the ESPN Zone, The World of Disney store, RideMakerz, the Lego store, the Disney confectionary, and the Jazz Kitchen! 

Friday morning we went to Goofy's Kitchen for breakfast. It is a buffet where the characters come around to your table while you are eating for autographs and pictures. It was a lot of fun, the food was good, and Grant LOVED it. Grayson on the other hand did not love the characters interupting his breakfast.

Then we walked over to Disneyland. The first characters we saw were the Mad Hatter and the Queen of Hearts. These were probably my favorite characters we saw. They were so funny, they had both Jared and I cracking up. We saw tons of characters while we were there but I am not going to post all of them.

At the front gates!! Let the memories begin! At this point we were all so excited to begin our Disneyland adventure, except Gray. He still didnt know what the heck was going on.

Our first stop was Toontown. Our first ride was Roger Rabbit's Spin Car Toon. Grant loved it and Grayson hated it.

Then we waited in line to see Minnie and Mickey!

One of my favorite rides from my childhood, It's a Small World. When I was young we went to Disneyland enough that I know my way around and have many wonderful memories there. This trip was really fun for me because I was the only one who had ever been, but I hadnt been for 15 years. So I really loved showing Jared and Grant around and telling them stories of my experiences when I was young. I also really loved making new memories with my amazing little family and discovering new things together! It really was a dream vacation!

Grant with a Mickey Mouse ice cream bar.

Walking down Main Street! Grant hated Pirates of the Carribean. Jared liked it and also loved Splash Mtn.

We ran into Vanessa Marano and she was sweet enough to pose with Grant for a picture and she signed his autograph book! If you watch Switched at Birth on ABCFamily you probably recognize her as Bay Kennish. We watch this show every week and Grant thought it was so neat to meet her!

Grant and I were super excited for the parade! While we waited for it to start Grant got a churro and a sword. Grayson was really mad he didnt get a sword! But Grant is a great sharer!

The parade was so much fun and we were all dancing along to the music! It was so much fun!

After the parade we got luckt and the line for Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters wasnt too long, so we went on it twice. This was one of Grant's favorite rides!

It was an awesome day, but by 9:00 the kids were exhausted. I took the kids back to the room and put them to bed and Jared went and got in line for Space Mtn. He waited for an hour and a half, rode it once and then came back to the room to go to bed so we could get up early the next day!

Superbowl & stuff

I have not been blogging as much as I would like to and I am mad at myself for that. But I have been doing project life. I guess I just dont think it is necessary to do both. But I am going to continue to blog sometimes. So the big news is we are going to take the kids to Disneyland ans I am so stinking excited. Yesterday Monday February 6, we surprised Grant and told him that we leave in 10 days! He was so funny about it, he was in shock because we kept telling him we wouldnt be able to afford it for at least a year! This morning when I woke him up for school the first thing he said was, "Wow I cant believe we are going to Disneyland" I cant wait!!

For the superbowl we went up to my parents, as we always do, but there is nowhere else in the world we would rather be. (except maybe Disneyland lol) I think I have mentioned a time or two that my parents are out-of-this-world-amazing!!! Well my dad, knowing that the boys would be there both Friday night and all afternoon and evening Sunday, decided to do something really fun for them! He brought home this huge box home from work. It was so huge it wouldnt even fit through the door so this is where it stayed, which worked out great, because our little animal we call booboo couldnt get to the stairs! Grant and Gray both thought this was the greatest thing ever! They had so much fun playing in it and mommy and daddy even had some fun with it too! In fact I think I might just move in. If it would have fit in my car I would have brought it home so that the boys (and me) could enjoy it some more!

Watching the superbowl from the box!!

Daddy even got in!

Of course we all wore our pajamas and ate tons! This year my mom had found a recipe for Cafe rio sweet pork, rice, and beans and she made her own amazing green sauce! So we had homemade Cafe Rio burritoes and they were soooo good!! Along with mom's clam dip, mom's guacomole, and some fruit and fruit dip. YUM!!

Mom got in the box too!

Even though Grant loved the box and had tons of fun, I think booboo might have loved it even more!

It looks like he is mad, but he loves to joke around with the boys. Grant just kept taking his picture. My boys sure do love my daddy!

Blonde haired blue eyed doll baby! (really he is an animal)

So intense!

We had so much fun! And I am not even sure who won the superbowl, but I did love the halftime show!!