12 on Tuesday

Although our Disney trip was two months ago, we can't stop talking about it as a family, remembering what a great time it was and reliving our favorite memories. I've neglected the blog, but I just can't skip over our best family trip yet! It was so hard to pick just a few favorite pictures because I had to pick from 700+

1. PreDisney - Ellie and Easton had never flown on airplane, so the trip getting there was half the fun! It was really sweet how many times they were asked, "Are you going to Disneyland?" They did so great on the plane and I just loved how Easton yelled, "This is a wild one!" as we took off.


2. I always mention that I've never been in a limo. Aaron splurged and surprised us all with a trip from the airport to the hotel in a limo! Funny thing was that the kids spent most of their time sitting on the floor and eating the mints.


3. Disneyland Day 1 - This was so hard to pick just one picture because we took 200 pictures the first day! We jam packed our first day with lots of character autographs, lots of rides, but my favorite picture was of the kids' faces during the Disney/Pixar Parade at California Adventure! Pure joy from all of us! It was such an interactive parade we couldn't stop laughing, waving and yelling!



4. Day 2 - Lots and lots of rides and lots and lots of character autographs. One of the things that we loved was how much Easton *loved* the roller coasters! He even cried when he couldn't be in the front of Splash Mountain. Although Ellie would try most of the roller coasters at least once, Easton had the benefit of riding as a family, then along with Aaron, then along with mom. Ask him about the roller coasters and he can name them all.


5. While Easton enjoyed riding the rides three and four times each, after riding a ride once Ellie was content to stand in line to get pictures and get autographs from the characters. Easton seemed to finish his rides just in time to join us for a picture and autograph, too. Ellie was timid at first of the Villians, who are out especially for Halloween, but one of her favorite characters ended up being Cruella DeVille. She was excellent and we enjoyed chatting with her about our black dog.



6. Day 3 - We spent most of the day at California Adventure. A highlight for me was meeting up with my old high school friend, Amanda and meeting her kiddos. We spent a few hours with Amanda, whose husband works for Disney, so they are quite familiar with the parks. Although the visit was short, it was sweet!



7. Our favorite ride all was Soaring Over California, but we didn't get a picture by it. This picture was taken on Grizzly River Run and I like this picture because it's of all four of us. I am wearing a poncho, but Ellie was the one who should have been wearing it. She got soaked to the skin; t-shirt, shorts, even shoes, but she was a really good sport about it.



8. Day 4 - Our busiest day of all! A highlight was catching the Aladdin show; well worth the long wait. It was an excellent 45 minute production that rivaled some Broadway shows we have seen. The kids were in awe and we all laughed a lot.



9. We trick-or-treated this night and went back to the hotel to change into our costumes. We caught another great parade, then a few more rides.

10. The highlight of day 4 for all of us was watching Ellie finally catching up to Belle and snagging her autograph. Although Ellie's not quite into the princesses, Belle is a favorite of Ellie's because she loves the movie Beauty and the Beast. Belle and she seemed to be quite ellusive during the week and it became a quest to meet Belle. I almost cried watching Ellie talk with Belle and smile from ear to ear. It was a great mom moment.

11. This picture was taken on one of the rides toward the end of the trick-or-treating night. If I could have captured how well the kids got along all week, this picture would represent it. Truly, they were so enjoyable and Aaron and I loved how they held hands, talked to each other and shared in one another's joy. I absolutely loved watching them together all week. It was magical.

12. Our last day was our longest day. The park was open until midnight and we caught our favorite rides for a last hurrah. We didn't have to rent a stroller until the last day and we were all a little tired. Our favorite from day 5 was the new Fantasmic Show. It was so cool! It was very hard to capture the experience in pictures, but it was amazing.

A magical trip with wonderful memories. When can we go back????