The Happiest Place on Earth

When I was growing up I think we went to Disneyland every year. I have the best memories of it. The smells, the feeling, the excitement, the magic. It's true too - it is magical. We made it a priority to take our two older boys this trip. (With only one day, we had to make the most of it and toddlers would only slow us down!) Our whole group went with us except my mom and dad, who stayed to watch the two 2 year olds. And, we were so much fun that even my younger siblings stayed with us for all of but a couple of hours. We were the party of 12! My great bro-in-law John helped us really maximize our time there with his research and software. We didn't wait in a line for more than 30 minutes (and that was only a couple of times). Man, I remember waiting for an hour and a half sometimes. Lucky kids these days!

Some of the rides...

Other attractions and between rides...

So, they have this Jedi training outside near one of the restaurants Kim and I were checking out. We saw that things were getting ready to start, so we sprinted to find everyone and drag them over. There are a ton of kids all wanting to be picked to be trained as a Jedi. My sister and I are so amazing and were able to be annoying enough to get all three of the boys picked. It was so cool for them, and we were so proud of ourselves. They all get robes and light sabers and are taught a routine. Then, the ground comes up and all kinds of special effects and out comes Darth Vader and Darth Maul. The boys got to use their training to defeat them one on one! So cool. Then they get a diploma as a souvenir. Definitely a highlight!

The boys and their drivers licenses...

We headed to California Adventure for a few hours...

The Tower of Terror (it lived up to it's name for Koby and Spencer)...

Toy Story (a fun one for adults too!)...

Back in Disneyland for a parade...

Addie was so cute dancing...

So was Uncle John with Koby and Austin...Favorites...

Koby - Space Mountain and Pirates
Spencer - Splash Mountain and Jungle Cruise. And Matterhorn. And Autopia. Actually all of them
Both - Jedi Training
Mom - Haunted Mansion (as always) and Splash Mountain
Dad - Space Mountain and Soaring over California
Both - Watching the boys