Disneyland!!!

We had a fantastic time at "The Happiest Place on Earth". I've been wanting to take all the kids since before we got married, so it was especially fun for me. I would literally live at Disneyland if I could. If we ever move to CA, I want to get a job as a roving musician at the park.

Somehow I didn't take many pictures this time. Something about taking care of 5 kids, including a baby... But we all had a great time. We wanted to go on Pirates first, as that is our tradition, (mine and Macy's) but it was temporarily closed. So we did Haunted Mansion first. All of us girls rode together, and the boys rode together. Gigi and Cannon (my 18 mo old cousin) went to the park with us, but Cannon was asleep at this point so they waited outside. Shame on me for not even getting a picture of them!

Oh look - I got a picture of Gigi's back! We went on Snow White right before Gigi and Cannon called it quits for the day.

(That's Elise on Dumbo.) After Haunted Mansion, Pirates was open so we went over there. It was so awesome that most of the rides had very short lines. Rob took Kaleb and Elise on "Indiana Jones"... they raised the height requirement, so Macy and Isaak couldn't go. Then we all went on the Jungle Cruise. Apparently Robert has never been on that ride.

It was difficult to get good pictures of them on Dumbo. Robert had Macy & Isaak with him. Kaleb and Elise both got their own elephant.

Before dinner we rode the Disneyland Railroad halfway around the park. We ate at Rancho del Zocalo - a good little mexican restaurant that serves a ton of food for the price. I tried to convince Robert that we would only need 3 entrees to share amonst us, but he thought 4 would be better. We almost ate all the food... but definitely threw some away. 

Tessa was so cute with Mickey. He kept making kissy noises at her, and she was trying to eat his nose. Wasn't scared a bit. She also really liked the fringe on his shoulder.

Waiting in line for "It's a Small World"... we like the new additions to this ride. Very cute!

Tessa enjoying 'It's a Small World'

We totally wish they had the Jedi Training program when we were kids. We knew that Kaleb would love being chosen for this. Gigi has a friend who works at this attraction and she recommended we make a sign to get noticed. The words on this sign were Rob's idea. (We were a little worried about someone with dyslexia reading it.) I think the actors got a kick out of it... Kaleb was chosen for Jedi Training! :) They choose about 30 kids out of about 100 that were watching.

Excellent listener he was. Follow directions he did. A light saber Master he is! 
Rob was "forced" to laugh at the Jedi Master's jokes. He kept saying, "You will find my jokes funny" as he waved his hand.
Beware the Dark Side! Kaleb got to fight Darth Vader... as seen in the videos in the post below this one. Half of the kids fight with Darth Vader, and the other half fight with Darth Maul.

The Victorious Padawans! (Kaleb is way over on the left.)

Towards the end of the day - the obligatory "in front of the Castle" picture! Wish I had someone take it who could actually take a pic of the castle... Oh well. :)

These three wanted to go on Pirates again at the end of the day. (Kaleb said he was too scared.) It's so funny how Macy says this is her favorite ride, but every time she shakes like a leaf at the beginning of the ride. As soon as we're past the second "waterfall" drop, she's fine. She hates going down the slides in the dark!

Kaleb shows off his gnarly sword. This was just after our second Pirates ride. Macy, Isaak and Kaleb all said that the Haunted Mansion was their favorite ride. Elise's favorite ride was the Tower of Terror at California Adventure. (Me too!)

Tired Mommy and Daddy.

Sleepy baby. She was quite good throughout the day. Despite the short lines, we really didn't do very many rides. You really need 2 or 3 days to be able to fit everything in. But, this was a perfect time of year to go. No spring breakers, and school is still in session. The weather was gorgeous. Plus, maybe people were scared of contracting swine flu... It will definitely be easier to fit more rides in when the kids are a little bit older, especially Tessa. I'm already planning our trip for two years from now...I can't wait to go again! :)