ThE hApPiEsT pLaCe On EaRtH

During the kids' Fall break this year we decided to do... 

DISNEYLAND!!! 

Our kids had never been so this was a BIG DEAL for us!  We wanted to go before our move east.  Luckily, we have some super awesome siblings that let us crash with them.  We stayed with Aaron's sister and her family for two nights and then my brother and his family for two nights.

We had heard so much about "Carsland" so we knew we needed to visit California Adventure for a day.  And for anyone out there who may be like me and not know...California Adventure is not Disneyland, but still Disney.  It's right next door...in a separate park.  Now you know :)

 

In line for our very first ride at California Adventure:

 

The scariest ride there by far was the Tower of Terror.  You're taken up in an elevator super high and then go through several jerky free falls...FREAKY!  Kaeli is our thrill seeker and loved it.  She went twice! 

 Bumper cars!

Carousel!  I really couldn't tell if she was excited or not...what do you think?

The Littles hung out with me quite a bit as the taller ones rode the rides that they couldn't.  We did our best to ride just as much but on the smaller rides.  Still we ended up waiting for them every once in awhile.

 Violet was being naughty in this picture, but it's still cute:

 CRAZIES!

The next day was the day we had all been waiting for...DISNEYLAND!  Truth be told, I loved Disneyland so much more than California Adventure!

And going around Halloween time was a lot of fun.  I want to decorate my house like this!

 

Sammy gave Violet a lift every once in awhile :)

 Driving at 11...impressive!

Lots of standing in line, but we got really good at the fast passes so our waits weren't too bad.

The parade was so much fun.  We got to see a lot of characters.  Violet LOVES Mickey Mouse, so seeing him was a highlight for her!

And yes, those silly girls HAD to wear their princess dresses both days :)

The second day at Disneyland my brother and his two boys joined us!

 All the little rowdies!

Violet and I snuck off to Toon Town because the older kids thought it would be boring.  We loved it :)

Each day we arrived at the park as early as we could and stayed until closing.  We were so tired by the end of the third day, and still had to drive back home in one shot.  We were so glad we took the whirl-wind trip despite the last minute planning.