Disneyland Day 1

This year we made our first family trip to Disneyland. The entries detail our events in the order they happened.



We arrived bright and early. You can see that both girls still look very tired. If you look closely enough, you can see Sondra in the background buying Emily's "Autograph Book."

We arrived just when Pluto came out!

Our first ride of the day was Dumbo.

We rode Casey Jr. in the "Wild Animals" car.

Maddy's favorite ride of the day!

On the playground at Goofy's House

 

 

Just outside of Goofy's house Emily leaned over the camera lens and began making silly faces. This one is my favorite.

 

We went to see Ariel but the line was "closed" so Emily just got to gaze from afar and proceed to have a major breakdown. Yes, the world was ending...

Dumbo for the 2nd time today.



Emily and Maddy fight for control of Dumbo.





Me trying to shoot in a way that makes the Dumbo ride look fast. :)

 

Here is Emily on Peter Pan for the first time. She rode this with much protest because Dumbo was all she could think about. Peter Pan is now a favorite.

 

Our final ride of day 1 was the Disneyland Railroad.

Disneyland Day 2

 

Who's this nice looking woman walking towards me? Gee, I hope my wife doesn't catch me staring...

 

 

Day 2 began by waiting in line to see Donald Duck.

 

We had to drag Emily kicking and screaming to It's a Small World. It was our first ride of day 2 and all she could think about was Dumbo and Case Jr. Of course, by the time the ride was over It's a Small World was a hit!

 

My highlight was riding in a Autotopia car with my eldest the same way my father did with me!

 

Both days we ate lunch in Toon Town. $10 a head, yikes.

 

Emily did a great job waiting patiently in the many long lines. Just our luck that the new Nemo ride would open the day we came. One park employee told us the park was full to capacity.

 

If only she'd slept like this at night. Being in a small motel room, Maddy's playpen was right next to our bed. Madison cannot stand to be 2 inches from her mommy when she is near so our nights were full of crying. Sondra must have sung to her for hours...

 

The highlight of the trip for Emily was getting to meet Ariel. We finally got to meet her on the 2nd day. After trying 2 times to get in line and being turned away because the line was "closed", Sondra waited for one hour while I took Emily to ride Dumbo.

Since Emily was first in line she recieved a "special task" from the park employee running the show. When the chained area was opened, Emily entered first and went to the very front where she got to direct everyone else to "stop here."

Emily was very awestruck when Ariel first appeared but gathered her wits long enough to get her book signed.

 

Took this of Emily and myself as we rode in the "Wild Animals" cage on Case Jr.

 

Maddy and mommy in line for Peter Pan. Maddy just had to be held by mommy 100% of the time.

 

 

 

Maddy's First Steps!

Yesterday Maddy took her first steps and I was lucky enough to have the camera nearby.

Emily as Snow White

Emily comes into the room dressed as Snow White...

Papa - "Who do we have here, Snow White?"

Emily - "No, I'm just Emily playing dress up."

Who knew?

The Infamous Alarm Clock Experience

The clock strikes 12:00am and screaming ensues. Heard in between Emily's panicked screams for help is the sound of her alarm clock AT FULL VOLUME!

I run into her room but I too am completely out of sorts. You see, I haven't been sleeping well for the past few days. I had finally fallen into my first deep sleep and moments later am fumbling with an alarm clock amidst a wailing child. I push the on-off button, briefly explain what happened and return to bed all in a daze.

The clock strikes 12:10am and a scream that is by far louder than any I could ever muster rocks the house. Apparently all I managed to do in my stupor was hit the snooze button. The sound that came from my daughter was one that a parent never wants to hear. The sound of sheer terror threw me from my bed and into Emily's room.

Now fully awake, I realize that it's not an on-off button but a switch that I immediately snap into the off position. Sondra behind me this time to comfort Emily, I stumble back to bed so shaken by my daughter's screams that I cannot fall back to sleep.

The next day Emily cannot stop talking about it. Maddy, who loves to touch any button she can has been outed as the one who turned the alarm on. Every other sentence from Emily is detailing why Maddy shouldn't be allowed to touch the alarm clock again. She wants it moved to her dresser so Maddy can't reach or to even get rid of it altogether.