On Thursday, (July 22) we went back to Disneyland, this time under much happier circumstances! Our daddy came and we got off for the day at a good time! Yeah!!! I had created about 50 different itineraries before we left home for the trip, creating one for every possible day I thought we might end up going and several different arrival times and scenarios for each day. Crazy, I know! Then, the one scenario I didn't plan for - that we would be going without a daddy one day and super late - happened and all those itineraries were worthless! Luckily, Darren's brother, Cory, had a laptop that he let me borrow and I was able to download the software onto it and create the perfect plan for our day letting us squeeze ALMOST everything in. It was crazy, but we just about managed to fit it all in. We are definitely Disney Die hards! Ok...Maybe I just am and I drag the rest of the fam along with me...
Daddy and the kiddos in the elevator ready for our BIG Disney day! The kids couldn't wait to go to Disneyland with daddy! We missed him so much on our first day! 
We left the hotel in a bit of a hurry in order to make it to the park when it opened. Avery grabbed a banana on the go and had a lovely breakfast in her stroller!
Once we got there, we were off and running! We didn't even stop for pictures at the entrance, which I now regret! We followed our itinerary to the minute at the beginning and it was awesome! No lines at all! The first ride was Logan's favorite - the rockets! He already rode this with Uncle Kevin, but he said he really wanted to ride it with Daddy, so we managed to squeeze it in.
Ry got to go this time, too. They were excited! After the rockets, Logan and Daddy rode Star Tours. Logan LOVED it! It was one of his very favorite things and he came off so excited even though he was super nervous to go on it. No pictures....
While the boys rode Star Tours, I tried to get Ry to meet Tinkerbell, but they hadn't opened it for the day yet. When we went back later, the line was SO long! We were a little sad about that! We went to Toon Town next and met Mickey and Minnie! Here is Avery in front of Minnie's house.
The girls waiting to meet Minnie
Ry and Minnie
The girls and Minnie
Our fam with Minnie
The kids loved touring Minnie's house - especially Rylee! She thought everything in there was so fun and wanted to stop and look at everything!
Avery in Minnie's house!
Logan working on Minnie's computer
Ry LOVED Minnie's special vanity!
The kids especially loved Minnie's kitchen! They could watch stuff bake in the oven and the dishwasher made noises, too.
Then, we met Mickey!!! He was just out in the front of his house, which is different from any other time I've been there. Logan went right up and gave him a big hug!
Logan and Mickey
The Boys and Mickey
The fam with Mickey
Avery LOVED Mickey!
The kids had fun seeing Mickey's house, too.
For some reason, driving EVERY car in Toon Town is a must!
We spent a little bit of time playing at Goofy's Playground. Somehow, in our morning rush, I forgot the wipes! So, while the kids were playing, I went to buy some. I was worried about how much they would charge me for wipes, since I was pretty much stuck there and had to have them, but it was only $2 or $3 for a pretty big pack, so it wasn't that bad. (On Tuesday, I ended up paying $20 for TWO tapes for my video camera because I forgot the spare. Highway Robbery!!!) When I bought the Wipes, the man at the counter also gave Avery this cute first timer button, so I had to get some pictures.
Logan loved playing on Donald's boat and steering the ship!
More car driving...
Our fam in Toon Town
We finally dragged the kids away from Toon Town and all the fun things there! (We did have a schedule to keep...) and we saw Pluto, so we had to get a quick picture in.
On our way out, the kids saw a few more fun things they wanted to do. Rylee loved the post office!
Logan lifting some weights
While the kids were playing around in Toon Town, I left with Avery to get some Fastpasses. We had ditched our strollers that morning, and I was trying to make my way through the crowdswith a crying, tired baby and a VERY heavy diaper bag! I planned to just go to Splash Mtn to get our passes (just like the itinerary said...), but she was too heavy and I couldn't do it with her and the bag and all the people, so I ended up going to get the stroller first. She was MAD when I strapped her in, but after a few minutes, I haded her her little treat cup of crunchies. After I got the Splash Mtn passes, I was heading over to get the World of Color passes in California Adventure, as they had just opened for the day and those passes were hard to get! I was going pretty fast and weaving in and out of people, but once I got to Californai Adventure, I looked in the stroller and found Avery like this. So funny! What a tired baby!!!
My Fastpass excursion took quite awhile. It took a little almost 45 minutes just to get the Fast pass for the World of Color show. The line was ridiculous!!! It wound forever! While I was doing that, Logan and Rylee took Daddy on Its a Small World so they could show him the new things and then Daddy took them on Pirates, one of his favorites, even though they weren't too excited to go!
They also took a quick tour of Tarzan's treeshouse!
On my way back, I was able to grab Fastpasses for Soarin' in California Adventure. I found out the Fastpass system isn't linked between Disneyland and CA, which is a useful tip for the future! I met the kids and Darren at Tarzan's and then we took Logan off to ride SPLASH MOUNTAIN!!! It is my favorite and I was so excited for Logan to go.
Just before we got on Splash Mountain, Logan got to meet Brer Fox!
Logan wasn't 100% sure about going on Splash Mountain. He was actually pretty against it. I kind of had to make him. We got a planning video from Disney a few weeks before we left and Logan watched it OVER and OVER and knew just about everything about Disneyland. I would use it to bribe him to do his chores everyday for a couple weeks, and it worked like magic! When we went to get on Splash Mountain, I was trying to convince him it was just a fun little ride with music and Brer Rabbit, but he knew otherwise. He said, "Are you kidding me, Mom? This ride has a 50 foot plunge!" Being the good parent that I am, I kind of lied to him. I told him we would try it and if he didn't like it, MAYBE we could get off before the drop.... Maybe not the best parenting choice, but it got him on the ride and he loved it! When we got to the drop, he wanted to ask to stop the ride, but I told him we had gone too far. He was pretty nervous, but he did fine and when the drop was over he said, "That wasn't bad at all!" and he even went back and rode it later with Daddy. Darren was all ready to take a picture of us, but I was going to text him when we were about to go and there was no cell phone service inside the ride. I wish I had a good picture of Logan's face! I'm sure it was hilarious!
Me and Logan after we conquered Splash Moutnain
The girls were getting pretty restless waiting for brother! 
Next, Daddy took Logan on Big Thunder. While me and the girls waited, we met some Winnie the Pooh characters. Ry really wanted to meet Eeyore, but he left just before we got to the front of the line, but she was still happy to meet Pooh and Tigger.
Avery wanted to give Tigger a BIG kiss! 
The boys decided to do Splash Mountain, too, so the girls and I went on the Winnie the Pooh ride!
The girls loved the Winnie the Pooh ride. I think Avery loved all the bright colors! It was one of her favorites!
I love Avery's face in this one - She is looking pretty intense!
After Winnie the Pooh, we met back up with our boys. They had a great time! Logan loved riding Big Thunder - He loved how fast it was and that he was dinosaur bones on it! We had a little snack, and decided what to do next. I wanted to take the kids on Dumbo and Peter Pan, but they were dying to go to Tom Sawyer Island. I told them if we did that, we probably wouldn't be able to do those rides, but they didn't really seem to care. It was hard for Mom to miss 2 of her favorite Disney classic rides, but we decided to let them choose and we were off to Tom Sawyer Island! 
Riding the raft over 
Playing in the Pirates' lair! I love the water bottle in Avery's hand... It would be more appropriate if it were another drink, but it kind of seems to fit the atmostphere... 
The bottle looks even funnier with her hat over her eyes... 
Just playing around. The kids always love Tom Sawyer Island for a chance to run and play and not stand in lines! They had a blast!!! 
Crossing the big bridge 
We had to drag the kids away from Tom Saywer Island so that we didn't miss our chance to see the Jedi Training show! Logan was SO excited for this!!! However, when we got there, he didn't want to be very close. He preferred to watch from a distance and he did NOT want to be one of the volunteers that were in the show, which I thought was the whole point. I think it was probably a good thing he wasn't! The Darth Vader was HUGE! He probably would have freaked! He loved the whole show and seeing lots of his favorite characters battle with their light sabers!
Grandma and Grandpa gave each of the grandkids some money to spend on the trip and Logan knew just what he wanted - A lightsaber he could build himself! He was so excited, so we headed there after the Jedi show. I don't know how many lightsabers we already have at our house, but Logan REALLY wanted this one, and since it was his money, he got to choose how to spend it. 
He LOVED picking out all the pieces for his lightsaber (and I think Dad and Uncle Kevin liked it , too) and designed a double sided one that was blue and purple and even got to pick the crystal to go inside and the sounds it makes. He thought it was the best thing ever!
We met up with Kevin and April and Haley after the Jedi show and they were nice enough to watch our girls while we took Logan on Space Mountain so we could both go with him. No one else from the family was at Disneyland that day and we had planned to have people help us with the girls to ride some things with Logan on the day everyone was there, but then Darren got sick, and it kind of messed up that plan. Luckily, Kevin and April were there to help us... again! Logan was pretty worried about Space Mountain! The closer he got, the more nervous he looked and then right when were were at the front, the ride closed and we had to wait for awhile, which didn't help things. 
Trying to look excited, but also a little worried...
Trying to smile... 
Just after the ride started... He looks terrified! This one is my favorite!
After the ride - He LOVED it! People probably think I am so mean dragging him on everything when he gets so worried and sometimes is even crying by the time we get to the front, but he ends up loving it every time!
While we did that, Kevin and Haley took Rylee on Nemo since she had missed on Tuesday. She was SO excited because we told her we were going to have to skip it! She loved it! 
And, Avery took a nap! We were going to have Kevin and April watch Avery a little longer so we could take Rylee and Logan on the Matterhorn, but the line was almost an hour long and we still had so many things we wanted to do, we had to skip it! Darren and I were so sad because we really wanted to take Ry on her first big kid ride, but the kids didn't really want to go that bad, (Logan HATES the Yeti inside...) and we figured we had better do what they wanted.
Logan really wanted a picture by the Star Tours ride, since it was one of his favorite things. However, he insisted on posing with his GIANT lightsaber which kind of posed a problem with so many people walking around... Yikes! 
We were about to leave for California Adventure and realized we had no pictures in front of the castle! That is a Disney crime at our house! We had to take one, but poor Avery was asleep, so this is the best we could do. 
Right before we were about to leave, Ry started to cry because we promised her we would go IN the castle, so we took a quick tour of Sleeping Beauty's castle. Its not too much to see, but Ry loved it! 
While I was in the castle with Rylee and Logan, Darren stayed outside with Avery because she was asleep. She woke up though, so he came in and somewhere along the way, we lost her super cute Princess ears that I was in love with. Once we came out, we were searching everywhere for them. Darren went back into the castle and I was searching the stroller. While I was looking, Ry and Logan wondered over by the wishing well and Ry came walking back with the wicked Queen! She was holding the Queen's hand and the Queen was asking where her mother was. Funny story about the Queen is that Rylee used to be a little obsessed with her! Last Christmas, she asked for all sorts of the Princesses and also the wicked Queen from Snow White. Somehow, Santa managed to find her one! So, she was SUPER excited to see her at Disneyland and hold her hand! She couldn't wait for me to see and take a picture of them together. Ry loved it and especially loved that the Queen knew her name...(it was on the back of her Princess ears...) She decided that Queen was really pretty nice. 
A couple more pictures of the castle with Avery awake...but with no ears! We tried and tried, but couldn't find them anywhere! Who steals a little baby's ears??? Especially with their name on them! I was pretty sad!
Our Little Princesses! 
The girls 
We booked it over to California Adventure so we could watch the Block Party Bash parade, which is one of the kids' favorite things to do there. We were so bummed to get there and find out there is no parade on Thursday! Sad :( We headed next to one of our new favorites, the Toy Story Mania ride! The line was pretty long... it took us almost an hour, which is the longest we waited for anything, but it was worth it! I wish we would have had time to go again! It was so fun! Luckily, they had fun things to entertain the kids while we waited in the long line, like this talking Mr Potato Head. 
And we LOVED the 3D glasses! They also provided some good entertainment, and some fun pictures! 
Our whole family looking cool in our 3D shades! I love that Ry's are upside down...
Logan is a video game nut so this was perfect for him! He LOVED it!!! 
Mommy and Logan 
When we got off Toy Story Mania, we saw a carousel. Avery kept pointing and really wanted to go. There wasn't really a line, so we decided to do it, since there wasn't very many things that were really fun for her. She couldn't take her eyes off it!
Look how happy she is! She LOVED the carousel and my favorite part was watching her excited little toes kick over and over! 
I don't think they stopped the whole ride. Not the best picture, but I had to remember those sweet, kicking toes... I love baby toes! 
Waving - So cute!!! 
Logan and Rylee had fun, too! 
We had mostly just snacked all day long. We took a short break and shared some food when we met up with Kevin and April and the kids had sandwiches earlier in the day, but we hadn't had a real meal, so we decided to grab some food. Ry insisted on having this GIANT turkey leg! It was HUGE but she loved it and actually ate a pretty good amount of it. That's my girl!!! 
Logan didn't want the turkey leg - in fact, it caused a major meltdown because the two of them couldn't agree (which happens at our house more often than not!). We ended up going somewhere else and getting him a GIANT corn dog! He was SO happy and finished the entire thing!!! I think they were pretty hungry. 
MMMM...Yummmy.... 
Ry working on her Turkey leg... 
Next, we went to Bug's Land. We were kind of running out of time, so the kids got to choose one ride. They decided on the Bumper cars and loved it!!!
Mommy and Logan on the bumper cars - We wanted to take Avery on the caterpillar train, but it was closed
Since we were in such a rush to get to the parade (that didn't happen...) when we came into California Adventure, we didn't get a picture on the way in, so we stopped for a quick one on our way to see Turtle Talk with Crush. By then, it was dark and so it wasn't a great picture, but it was the best we got! We actually just missed the Crush show, so that left us with a half hour until the next one. I rushed with Logan to use our Soarin' FastPasses. We got on the ride and Darren called to say they were starting to fill the theater for Crush, so as soon as we got off, we had to run across the park and BARELY made it before the closed the doors... like by seconds! Close call because it was the LAST show of the day and the kids were dying to see that show. They loved it and laughed so hard the whole time! 
After that, we had to get in line for World of Color. I hated the way they did the World of Color because they made you get in line so early and it took up so much of the day, especially since I already spent a good 45 minutes waiting for a ticket. The kids zonked out while we waited. My sweet Logan is looking exhausted! 
Rylee wrapped up in my nursing cover. 
Avery sleeping so peacefully - These are some tired kids!!!
Once we got to World of Color, our seats weren't great and we couldn't really see much, so we ended up buying some rather expensive ponchos and going up really close so we would have a good view. We woke the kids up right before it started (except for Avery...we let her sleep) and they weren't too happy about it at first, but I am so glad we did! World of Color was awesome and they loved it! I am also very glad we got ponchos. We ended up DRENCHED! We didn't really get wet from the water shooting, just from the constant mist. Luckily, our ponchos kept us dry and we wrapped Avery's stroller all up and she stayed dry, too. 
Logan was REALLY into the show! It was similar to the Bellagio fountain show, only more Disney style. It was bigger and better and besides the dancing fountains and water they also had HUGE water screens that they projected clips of Disney movies onto. The show was truly amazing and I found myself even getting a bit teary by the end. It was great way to end our Disney experience!
Right after the show. We LOVED it!
On our way out, I had to get a picture of Logan on his L! The girls were sleeping, so they missed it, but I ended up getting one of them later. We checked the Lost and Found for Avery's hat, which was quite a fiasco, and they didn't even end up having it!
All in all, it was a great day. This was a hard trip for me because I felt like we missed out on so many fun things that we usually do and that we had planned on and told the kids about. I hate missing stuff! I couldn't believe we didn't even take them on Peter Pan or Dumbo! What kind of Disney trip is that? We barely saw anything in California Adventure and missed the Parade and the Playhouse Disney and Aladdin shows, which the kids always love. And I was SO looking forward to taking little Ry on the Matterhorn for the first time... On the way home from California in the car, Logan started crying because he remembered that we didn't go to the Petting Zoo. That is a totally wierd thing to do at Disneyland, but it is one of the kids' favorites and something we usually do. I think 3 days at Disney is ideal, and having only 2 in the summer is hard with little kids, but almost impossible to do when our dad was sick and we got there so late. We did have lots of fun though and created lots of fun memories! Disneyland is always a good time. And, missing all that stuff just wants to make me go back sooner!!! I started planning a new trip as soon as we got home! We are still trying to figure out the best time to go.... Hopefully sooner rather than later...
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