Disneyland!

We just got back from our trip to Disneyland and we had a great time! Lucas wanted to stay for 10 days but I think 5 was a good number this time. We started out really early Monday morning to catch our flight to California. The kids did well on the flight and Lexie even took a nap which was great. Lucas was happy to play his new Diego game on his Leapster.

Once we arrived we climbed onto the shuttle bus to take us over to our hotel. The kids thought it was great fun to pick out their seat on the bus and were excited for the ride.
When we arrived at the hotel Goofy was there to greet us in the lobby. Lexie was immediately enchanted with him. He sat down at a little couch to watch t.v. in the lobby and the kids thought he was hilarious!

A quick picture before we headed over to the park.

Lexie and I in front of Sleeping Beauty's castle.

Lexie clapping along in the Tiki room.

Lucas mad we had to sit in the tiki room instead of riding rides!

Lexie Lou riding the carousel in Fantasy Land. She was very excited to pick her own horse and got just the one she wanted!

A snuggle with Daddy from a tired little girl. We were able to fit in quite a few rides on our first day. The kids especially liked Pinocchio's Daring Adventure and Snow White's Scary Adventure. After a long day we went back to the hotel for dinner and then bed!

On our first morning in Disneyland we had breakfast in Goofy's Kitchen where we were able to meet lots of characters. The kids loved this!! From this point on they were very disappointed if we didn't get to eat with the characters!

The kids would get so excited when they saw a character coming our way but as soon as one arrived at our table they became shy, very funny!

The kids were excited to meet Chip & Dale.

What could be better than gummy worms for breakfast!

A final hug for Goofy and then it was off to the park.

Ready to go!

A quick family photo before walking to the park entrance. We realized after the first day it was easier to ride the Monorail than hike the kids to the park entrance.

The kids really liked the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. Lexie called it "care da bean".

They also loved the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters ride. It was a fun ride where you got a laser gun to shoot Zurg with.

Daddy and Lucas on the ride.

Lucas was very serious about getting a high score. Lexie liked "pumming" the bad guys.

Riding the Astro Orbiter with Daddy. Lexie wasn't afraid of anything! She rode all the rides with a smile on her face.

At Disneyland they have a Jedi training session you can be a part of. Kids are randomly chosen from the crowd so Lucas did his best to be picked.

We clapped and yelled our loudest so he would be chosen. And, it worked! He was so excited!

They decked him out with a robe and light saber.

They taught him how to activate his light saber and showed him some Jedi moves.
Then he put them to the test against Darth Vader!
Nice work Buddy!

Darth Vader couldn't convince the kids to cross over to the dark side so he left.

Lucas had a great time and even received a certificate, very exciting!

Lexie and I on the Alice in Wonderland roller coaster. We rode this while Lucas and Daddy went on the Matterhorn.

Then the three of us tried out the tea cups.

They thought this one was fun but they both wanted to turn the wheel which didn't work out so well.

Lexie thought it was really funny when Goofy touched her face outside our hotel.

Tuesday night we were able to go to the Disney trick-or-treat party. The kids were excited to dress up in their costumes. Lucas was Batman, Daddy was Robin and Lexie and I were butterflies.
A family picture while we waited for the parade to start.

Little Lexie didn't last long! She fell asleep during the parade. So, we rented a stroller and pushed her through the park while Lucas went trick-or-treating.
When the people would hand him candy they would say "here you go Batman." He thought it was really cool they couldn't recognize him in his disguise! He got lots of candy and then wanted to ride the rides. There were basically no lines so he and Daddy were able to ride on Splash Mountain over and over.

He loved the ride and was also terrified of it so it was funny!

Meanwhile, Lexie woke up and did a little trick-or-treating. We also rode the Winnie the Pooh ride several times and then Tigger showed up so she got a picture taken with him.
A tired, pretty butterfly : )

Lucas and Daddy met back up with us just in time to take a picture with Pooh. After a long, fun night we went back to the hotel for some much needed sleep!

In the morning we were off to another character breakfast. Daisy Duck stopped by our table. We picked up an autograph book for the kids and they were excited to get everyone's signature.

Lexie was entranced!

She thought Stitch was hilarious!

And so did Lucas.

Lexie got a hug from Minnie.

Lucas too : )

They posed with Mickey or "icky" mouse as Lexie calls him.

One last picture with Pluto and then we were off to California Adventure. We started out at the Monsters Inc. ride and then watched Muppet 3D vision. Lexie, Daddy and I liked the muppets but Lucas wasn't into watching movies when we could be riding rides!

So, we headed over to another area and got in line for Mickey's Fun Wheel. I thought this would scare Lexie but she loved it (it scared me!).

Sometimes it's hard to be two even in Disneyland!

One minute scowley face and the next all smiles!

Lucas on Heimlich's Chew Chew Train. Unfortunately it was windy this day so quite a few rides were shut down but Lucas and I tried out Jumpin' Jellyfish and Soarin' Over California which were both really fun.
Next we had lunch at Ariel's Grotto. Lexie is obsessed with The Little Mermaid so we thought she would really enjoy having lunch here. She did love it but didn't quite know what to think of Ariel and the other princesses. She would get really excited to see them and then become really shy when they were actually at our table.

Snow White won Lexie over by asking about the dog on her shirt.

The kids with Snow White.

Belle

Jasmine

Sleeping Beauty

Mater and Lightning McQueen
After another busy day she was worn out!

Thursday morning Lexie woke up asking "wanna go care-da-bean?" so we went back to Disneyland for the day. Even in the happiest place on earth there were tantrums and tears : ) We spent the morning riding rides, had lunch in the park and then rode the monorail back to the hotel for a rest. The kids wouldn't settle down for a nap so we went to the pool instead.

Lucas loved swimming in the pool! He would go back and forth across the pool and then spent some time on the slide.
Lexie loved the slide! She went over and over again until Mama got tired of hauling her out of the pool! We sat in the hot tub for a while and then went back inside to get dressed and head back to the park.
The kids and I walking back into Disneyland. They had it all decked out for Halloween which was cool. We rode a few more rides but the kids were cranky (they really needed the nap!) so we didn't stay long.

We had dinner at Goofy' kitchen.

We saw Jasmine again.

Lucas gave her a hug (kind-of).

Mulan

Pumba

Rafiki

After dinner we went back to the room. Lucas drew a treasure map while we packed.

On our last day we checked out of the hotel and then went back to the park. Lexie was excited to ride Peter Pan.

Lexie posing in the teacup.

She was very excited about the magic wand she sweet talked me into buying.

A nice hug for Daddy.

Lucas really enjoyed this treat after lunch. It was a funnel cake covered in brownie and whipped cream - yum!

A tired little boy got a nice ride from Daddy.

After a final ride on Buzz Lightyear it was time to head back to the hotel to catch our bus to the airport.

A final family photo in our ears before we left for the airport. We had a great time!