The Happiest Place on Earth...

 Two weekends ago we asked the girls what they wanted to do with their upcoming long weekend off from school.  Lena jokingly said, "Go to Disneyland!"  Jason replied, "OK let's go!"  At which point two very surprised girls squealed and almost cried with joy.  Early in the fall we had talked about going, but then had to put it on the back burner because of Jason's work schedule.  Little did Lena and Annika know that the work schedule opened up and Mommy went into full planning mode.  We had a wonderful trip.  This was Jason and the girls' first time and I hadn't been since I was twelve.  Being at Disneyland is like being in this little magical bubble where the outside world doesn't exist.  It is so clean and sunny.  The attention paid to detail is amazing and even though it was pretty crowded, they handle the crowds with ease.  And everyone is so happy and friendly.  The princesses wave at you like you are long lost friends.  In my opinion, the girls were a perfect age...old enough to do all the "older" kid stuff, young enough to enjoy the "younger" kid stuff, and had enough stamina to put in a 13 hour day!  Such a fun vacation had by all.

Now I suggest you grab a cup of coffee because I'm not skimping on the pictures.  I even have to break it up into two installments because I ran out of allotted memory on my free blog!  I made a joke to Jason that I was happy I wasn't friends with the guy who filmed the entire 15 minutes of the It's a Small World ride with his iPad because then I would be forced to sit around and watch it.  However, I think I have become that guy.  Enjoy!

We caught the 6:05am bus headed to the train headed to the airport.  Bright eyed and ready to meet Mickey...

We have arrived!  We discovered California is a lot brighter than Oregon and soon the girls needed official Disney hats to shield our fair eyes...

We gave two brave thumbs up to the Matterhorn Bobsleds...

 We took a spin on Alice's Teacups...

Some of us didn't feel as perky after taking that spin...

We inquired whether Mr. Toad was home or not...

We had the tune to It's a Small World stuck in our heads all day.  For the record this was my favorite ride.  So cheerful and happy.  Right up my alley...

We visited New Orleans via Cali...

We found the Pirates' Plunder...

We swung from the trees with Tarzan...

We visited princesses galore...

 

 

 

 

We found the tamest goats in the world.  They are way calmer and tamer than Lulu.  I am pretty sure I need one in our backyard...

We were beautified...

 We discovered that once the sun went down it got a little chillier then Mommy had packed for.  However, we made due while watching the parade with scarves and extra snuggles...

We figured our motto just might be go big or go home.  As evidence of Annika's balloon Rapunzel..

 Or Lena's Little Mermaid...

Or the princess lollipops we spied in the gift shop...

We also learned that it is never too early to get into the Christmas spirit...

 And that my friends was day one and two at Disneyland.  Stay tuned for day three at California Adventure and maybe a little bit more of day one and day two thrown in for good measure.  Have a magical day!