Disneyland

To celebrate our birthdays (Mine, Ben's, Jesse's, Sarah's, Mia's) we headed down to Disneyland! And I have to agree; it is the Happiest Place on earth. We went tue-Thursday the last week of Sept. which was great. Great weather, next to no lines, and all the Halloween decor and themed rides were out. As a gift to myself I booked our hotel at the Grand Californian. Right there in the middle of the California Adventure park. I loved it and I highly recommend it. I had never stayed at a Disney Hotel or been to Disneyland for more than a day at a time, so I fufilled my own dreams. It was so great to stay right there with the little ones. Go take a rest, forgot something, take a swim--it's all right there. And in those three days we did it all and some of two or three times. Jesse was big enough for all the rides and Faith for most so we didn't have to hold back. Here's a few pics of all the fun...

Jesse at the Jedi training. He thinks he's a true Jedi now.

We ate at Ariels Grotto for dinner one night. It's great because all the princess come and see you and there is no waiting in line. You eat and they come see you! Expensive, but worth it. Especially if you have your own princess with you.

Yes Faith wore a different princess dress all day everyday. She had the time of her life! We got to see every princess, and even Aladdin. We went and say the Aladdin musical and afterwards turned up to her dad and said, "That was wonderful! Can we see that again?"

The new Toy Story ride was my favorite. If you haven't gone on it it's a must.

The early entry into fantasyland was awesome. No lines, rode dumbo twice, and Peterpan too!

This is my favorite picture. It captures the sheer joy that was had for three days! Thanks to all you who came to play with us there and to Ben for being such a good sport and letting me plan a trip for myself! Even though it was a gift to myself I think everyone else had a good time too. So much so, I think we'll have to make it a yearly event.