Surprise trip to Disneyland!!!!

We went to Disneyland last year for the very first time. We were there 3 days and also went with friends. We had a great time, but felt we didn't get to do everything we wanted to do. One night Jason and I were up talking...and one thing led to another....and our plans for a quick overnighter somewhere close..led to 5 nights in Disneyland!! Costco was having a special.."Stay 3 nights, get 2 nights free." We decided to keep it a surprise as long as we could...and kind of surprising to us...was how well we pulled it off. The girls were at g r e a t ages this time...we had so much fun.

At this point the girls have no idea where we are going.

Emery is guessing Disneyland or Hawaii, Avery is guessing Mexico???

We are on the shuttle bus. They see palm trees.
Emery is sure we are in California...but still not quite sure..

Finally in our room at the California Grand Hotel. The girls were so excited to find bunk beds waiting for them. Our room, the entire hotel actually, was amazing. A definite treat to stay there. Mickey Mouse shirts on, and ready to head out for the day.



at Mickey's house

Breakfast w/ Minnie. She was soooo sweet. She kept

kissing the girls on the top of their heads.

Woody was super cute. We just missed Jessie.

.....next time.

Donald was a crack up...very silly.

Meeting the characters is fun....but we LOVE the rides!!!

Emery did the Tower of Terror...twice

once w/mom and once w/Dad



Buzz Lightyear ride

Grizzly River Rapids...those .88cent ponchos

we brought were put to good use.

Probably the hugest HIT of the entire stay was.................

It's Tough To Be A Bug

In fact...so much fun we probably watched the show

about 8 times in 5 days...it was super cute

It's true...It IS the Happiest Place on Earth !!

Emery and Mom on Splash Mountain. It was definitely Emery's favorite ride. A couple times there were NO lines, so Emery and Dad rode it 3 times in a row. Avery was 1 inch too short...darn it. Should have re-thought the shoes!

Thunder Mountain Railroad....fun, fun, fun.

I'm tall enough for this one guys!

The face painters are crazy fast

Pixar Parade in California Adventure...it was fun.

Roz...a favorite of ours

We got to watch Disneyland's "Let's Celebrate" Parade with our

friends the Aylen's..from Bellingham. They had driven there for the day from Palm Springs and it was fun to meet up with them.

Dinner at Goofy's Kitchen

It's true..he is very goofy. He kept walking by and taking a sip of the girls drinks. He would joke around with them, play hide and seek...he was super silly.

We LOVE Minnie

Is that Chip....or Dale...? Chip, I think. Avery had a way with the chipmunks!

Mulan

So overall......the surprise trip to Disneyland was 5 days of jammed packed fun. It was a great trip and we all had a great time. Our first trip there, last year, wasn't quite long enough and Avery was only 2 1/2. The extra year made a big difference. We hope to go back when Avery is tall enough to go on all the rides...maybe in a few years.