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Happy 4th, Happy Disney!




As the trip quickly arrived my anxiety set in. How the heck do I pack for four people for 4 days? How will the kids adjust to the time change? How will Logan do on the plane? Questions and doubts arose in me and I’d be lying if I didn’t say there were a few times when I wanted to forget the trip all together. Thursday afternoon before our Saturday morning departure, Logan got an ear infection. Luckily I was able to rush him to the Ear Nose and Throat specialist that day and get him on a course of antibiotics. Whew, one curve ball caught and threw back; I can do this I thought. I took Friday off from work and spent the day doing laundry, packing, and running a few last minute errands. When I went to bed that night I felt prepared for our journey.


The generosity of my family again overwhelmed me when my cousin Janeen and her family arrived with a full Mexican fiesta complete with Margaritas for dinner. The day was wonderful and exhausting and we all went to bed with visions of Disney in our head.



Day two was Disney day and I prepped and packed with the best of the planners. Once inside the park we realized two things: 1.It was really hot and 2. It was really crowded. As fate would have it, this particular Sunday was unseasonably hot in California and all of the locals decided to spend the day outdoors at Disneyland to enjoy it. We improvised by purchasing t-shirts and sun hats at one of the Disney gift shops and continued on with our merry way. Lily had “Disney eyes” as she tried to take in all of the sights and sounds. She oohed and awed over the beautiful landscapes and gardens and simply paused at the sight of Sleeping Beauty’s castle. We rode rides, ate a picnic lunch and enjoyed the awesome parade but the highlight of the day and the trip for that matter was Fantasy Faire where Lily met her idols, the Disney Princesses. After waiting in line for 45 minutes Lily was ushered in and greeted by Belle from Beauty and the Beast. She smiled shyly and posed for pictures and offered her autograph book for Belle’s signature. I stood behind my camera and fought back tears of joy as I experienced the moment of making Lily’s dreams come true. We continued on with the meet and greet visiting with Aerial (The Little Mermaid) and Mulan (Mulan). Logan sat quietly in his stroller taking in the scenery of the beautiful princesses. One in particular caught his eye (Mulan) and he batted his eyelashes and gave her a gummy grin. She quickly rushed to his side and cooed at him and played a game of peek-a-boo. It was a moment I will never forget. Later Lily took part in singing and dancing with the princesses and got more photos and signatures from Cinderella. The day wrapped up with dinner in the Big Bear Treehouse, the purchase of Mickey Mouse ears, and a spectacular fireworks display including Tinker Bell’s flight. More than twelve hours later we were back at Cheryl’s house and exhaustedly hit the hay for the night.



























Our original plan was to skip a day between our two day visit to Disney. California weather had other ideas and due to a threat of rain on Tuesday, we opted to continue our Disney adventure on Monday. Day two was amazing. The weather was overcast, long sleeve perfect. There was little to no crowds which equaled little to no waits on rides. We enjoyed a breezy train ride around the park and we toured and met Mickey and Minnie in their houses. We wrapped up the day with a purchase in the gift shop of stuffed baby Mickey for Logan and stuffed baby Aerial for Lily. Our Disney trip was most successful and I will attest it’s a place where dreams can come true.


















Tuesday proved to be a day of relaxation. With the hustle and bustle of Disney behind us we enjoyed leisurely walks along the beach front shops in Huntington Beach and spent the afternoon lounging and relaxing. Cousin Cheryl topped off the visit with a wonderful Lasagna dinner. Again, I will reiterate, I’ve never met nicer people than my California cousins! Lily showed off our last evening in California by singing and dancing to every tune she knew.
Wednesday morning we headed for home and again, airport and flight were non events, praise the Lord! I felt like I conquered a victory as we settled in back home. Now I know we can successfully travel with two kids and the plus would be that the next trip should be even easier since Logan is almost over the bottle stage of life and very close to walking.
I have tons of pictures to upload and memory books to create but the bulk of my work is done. I will cherish these memories forever and I’m so grateful for such wonderful and amazing kids and supportive sister and husband to make this trip a success!
