DISNEYLAND!

When we found out I had cancer we knew we wouldn't be able to go anywhere for awhile. There's so many other things we could have done with the money it took to go to Disneyland, but taking our family on vacation to the happiest place on earth was top priority. These kids were troopers this past year. They handled everything so incredibly well. They deserved this.

Don's parents came along too. We rented a condo for a week and it was perfect. It was so nice being able to cook our own food and have separate rooms and bathrooms for everyone. It was decked out in Disney paraphernalia. They even included Disney toys and princess dresses.

All ready to go on day one in their matching shirts.

I bought a fanny pack for the trip. It was worth every penny! Even though Don made fun of me it was awesome being able to carry all the essentials on rides with us.

Our first ride was the rocket ride, of course. We couldn't pass it up going to space mountain. I was really shocked space mountain didn't freak out the boys since it was so dark and it was their first real roller coaster experience.

Carter could ride all the rides and Jaxon could ride most of them. We all took turns hanging out with June and the stroller. We took her on the little kid rides when we could.

She was really awesome though. She hardly cried about being in the stroller and she loved all the characters. I think her favorite ride was it's a small world.

I think we did splash mountain 3 times. Carter was the most fun to take. His reactions and facial expressions were priceless!

Grandma bought June a bubble machine to keep her occupied 

Thunder mountain and splash mountain were our favorites at Disneyland. We got max passes when we bought our tickets. So completely worth it. We were able to get fast passes for all the major rides and not wait in line forever.

My disney nerd friends told me all about the food places to go. The corn dogs were huge and amazing. The dole whip was my favorite.

Taking a snoozer.

My kids LOVED the submarine ride. I was a little claustrophobic and had no desire to go on it, but my kids thought it was so magical.

Note: NEVER wear jeans to disneyland. When you get wet you'll stay wet the whole day and your pants try to fall off and rub and it hurts.

We didn't get to go on all the rides at Disney, but we went on all the ones we really wanted to go on. The kids missed toon town and the little peter pan and tea cup rides. If I had to do it again I'd probably do another day at Disney.

We of course had to buy them Mickey ears too. We left the park to get dinner before fireworks, but we were still able to watch them from where we ate at downtown disney.

Day 2 we went to CA adventure. As soon as we got there we got fast passes for Guardians of the galaxy, Cars, and Soaring around the world. We had to wait till the evening to be able to go! That's how crowded those rides are! The weather was perfect though and it wasn't bad waiting in lines during the day because we did a lot of little kid stuff June was able to go on and those rides don't have long waits.

The toy story ride was super fun.

The places to eat at CA adventure are a lot more accessible with a lot more seating. I think we enjoyed CA adventure more because it was so new to us. They're doing a lot of construction and new rides so we're excited to go back. Carter loved the Grizzly Rapids ride. We went on it several times. It's a fun ride because you get to know the people you're riding with. Carter was telling everyone they were all going to get soaked and he was going to stay dry. He was the one that ended up getting drenched. It was hilarious!

A bug's land is so darn cute. It was the perfect place for June. 

Jaxon climbed on everything when we waited in line.

Cars land was so unbelievably cool. It is just like the movie. They were doing pixar fest while we were there and all the pixar characters were out. It was so fun. The cars ride was super awesome. We LOVED that one. I think my favorite ride was Guardians of the Galaxy. I had no idea what to expect and I was so amazed that my kids have no fear! After free falling the first few times Carter almost mad was all, "Oh my gosh! When is this ride going to be over?!!" I held onto Jaxon after the first free fall because he is so tiny! I thought he was going to fly out and he just giggled the entire time!

While we were there Don and I were trying to concoct plans on how we could live at Disneyland for forever. It was such a much needed, perfect trip and absolutely magical for the kids. We're excited for our next trip!