Hi, Everyone! We're finally back from Disneyland! After a snowy Spring Break the week before, it was so nice to get away to sunny California for a week. The kids LOVED not having school for a whole 2 weeks, and I appreciated the long break, too. Here's the long recap:
We decided to drive straight through, so we left at 5:30 am Monday morning. Surprisingly, all 3 girls were wide-awake when we pulled out! We stopped for breakfast in Cedar City, then drove and drove and drove until we finally made it to Anaheim around 3:30 pm PST. After checking into the Paradise Pier Hotel, we visited California Adventure for a couple hours before dinner at the Rainforest Cafe. Lindsey had been running a fever since Sunday afternoon, so Kent had to carry her most of the time, but a couple of Tylenols helped. Unfortunately, being sick made her a little less enthusiastic. Our little rollercoaster-lover wanted to go on California Screamin' first, since she was too short last time. That turned out to be a REALLY bad idea. It traumatized her so fully that she wouldn't ride another rollercoaster the rest of the trip - even her favorites from last time. We spent a great deal of time in our hotel room the first 2 days, trying to let her rest. Those were the hottest days, so we visited the pool for a few hours on Tuesday, which seemed to help Lindsey relax. :)
Wednesday was better. She was feeling better, and the weather was cooler, so we spent a lot more time at the parks. Our little princesses got the royal treatment from everyone. They loved it when all the cast members and characters called them "princess". (Note: dressing up little girls in Disney costumes garners you lots of extra attention). The Fairy Godmother gave them "princess lessons", Ariel spent several minutes with them, and Emily got to dance with Mary Poppins in a street show!
One huge benefit to staying in a Disney hotel was the Magic Mornings - guests get into the parks an hour before they open. That was the only way we got to go on the Nemo Subs. Even then, it was a 45 minute wait! Well worth the wait, though. Thursday and Friday we spent the entire time in the parks, only returning to the hotel when the park closed. Everyone LOVED the Tom Sawyer Island! We spent about an hour exploring all the pirate hideouts there.
We visited a number of attractions this time that we skipped on our last trip. Turtle Talk with Crush was so cute, and the Aladdin Spectacular was amazing! Lindsey and Emily lobbied for a second trip to the Tiki Room, but were vetoed by the over-10 votes. Cute, but once is definitely enough. On our last trip, the Matterhorn was the favorite ride, but was beat out this time by It's a Small World. I probably don't need to mention that this was by the little princesses' choice. :)
My only big disappointment was having the fireworks canceled. :( That really made me sad. I also made the huge mistake of choosing "cute" over "comfort" for shoes. I think I permanently damaged my feet and hip joints. Otherwise, we had an awesome vacation!
By Saturday morning, we were happy to sleep in, have breakfast with Lilo and Stitch, shop a little, and then head out. We decided to drive straight through again, so we got home around 3 am. Thank goodness for those 5 Hour Powershots! We had a great time, but it's nice to be home.
I was thinking today about how quickly my girls are growing up, and wishing I could just slow it down for a little while. It's great that they're becoming more independent - and all potty-trained! - but I really, truly miss the toddler stage. Emily is now fully, officially a KID. In a couple of months, I won't even have a preschooler anymore. Of course, I won't miss the $165 monthly tuition, but it's still so sad. I've had a preschooler for the last 5 years! 
