Friday, February 13, 2015

Disneyland Day 2




The kids were full of energy and ready for more Disneyland fun on Day 2.  Randy and I were a little weary but the kids excitement got us out of bed.  Max, oh Max...where do I start.  This kid just loves to climb on practically everything he shouldn't.  I just gave up telling him to stop.  I left it up to the Disney employees like a good mom would.


The long wait for the shuttle was no problem for these two trouble makers.


Sure glad they decided to play in the dirt with their brand new Disney duds.


Hank is a family man.  He's never happier than when he's with the entire group.  Lucy really enjoyed having him sit on her lap.


We began our day in California Adventure.  I wasn't lying about Max as you can see. 
I made it my personal mission to find Sam's favorite guys and get pictures with them.


Donald just happened to be the first character to come our way.


After this sweet embrace I was extra motivated.  While the big kids rode California Screamin' I bought Sam a bubble gun and we went searching for guys.



Where oh where could those bubbles be coming from?


Sam had fun shooting Woody and showing him his new toy.



It was just the ice breaker he needed to get the courage to walk up to him.


We waited a little longer and Buzz came around the corner.


This was as close as he'd get to Buzz.


Let's just take a little intermission and discuss my darling husband and his fanny pack.  That little pouch housed countless stroller passes and fast passes.  Randy became the master of the stroller pass earning him the title of SP. Because of his efforts, the kids hardly had to wait in any lines. Randy married into this crazy Disneyland loving family and while it may not be his favorite destination you would never know it.  He is the definition of a good sport and he always makes the trip more fun.  There's never a dull moment with this one around.  


After going on the Mater ride the day before, Sam couldn't figure out where he was.  Well, we found him!! 


And his buddy Lightning McQueen.


I was on a roll after we spotted Red.  I told you I was on a mission.


I got to take a little time out from Sam and ride TOT with the big kids thanks to Lucy.  She braved the Monsters Inc ride with Tuck and Sam. 


You may think I'm just posing in the back for the picture but this ride freaks me out.


The line for the Cars ride is always the longest and they really monitor the fast passes and stroller passes.  Isabel decided she would casually walk past the ticket guy and not give him her fast pass.  It was a noble attempt but she got caught.  It worked on Space Mountain though. 


We had to pull out all our tricks to get Sam on this ride.  Between his extra think insoles and a package of fruit snacks in each shoe, he was barely tall enough.


All our efforts paid off, he loved it!


This picture makes me laugh though.  He didn't know the car would go that fast!  I love Randy in the back seat with these people we don't know.


The Mater ride was one of Sam's favorites.


All the excitement was more than Mino could handle.  His climbing and touching and bugging reached an all time high.  I overheard a conversation between him and Randy that was hilarious.  Randy doesn't lose his patience easily but he was close.  He told Max he could touch two things, himself and Randy.  That's it.  Guess how long that lasted?  It gave me a good laugh though.


Nothing like a 7 dollar ice cream cone.


Apparently if you're a Griffin, you must wear stripes.  It looks like Randy and I are wearing matching shirts.  This was our first attempt at a group shot of all of us.  

We went back over to Disneyland to find a parade starting.


Again, our group split and the non parade lovers went elsewhere.  There's such a small window of time when these kids are excited by parades and Sam is there.  I had to take full advantage.


He was in awe and so was I.  This is the magic of Disneyland, right here folks.



I mean come on, have you ever seen a cuter picture?


Sam furiously waved at every character who walked by.  My mission wasn't complete since we hadn't seen Sam's idol Mickey yet.  Surprisingly, no one wanted to come to Toontown with Sam and me.  I realized this is probably the only time Sam will be excited by it so I took one for the team.  



We walked through all the characters houses and drove all the cars before we went to Mickey's house.


After waiting 30 minutes, we entered the room where Mickey was and Sam wanted to bail.  In true 3 year old form, he changed his mind in a split second.  There was no way I was leaving without a picture so here you have it.  One for the books!  After waiting 45 minutes to get on the Goofy ride, I hit a Disney wall.  Sam and I had enough bonding time.  


Randy took him on the rockets while I recovered from Toontown hell.


See Randy, he loves you!


Going on Star Tours with Jack is something everyone needs to experience.  You've never seen a kid more in his element.


Apparently we were delirious at this point in the night because we ended up on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.  Most disturbing ride at Disneyland, hands down.



We crammed in a quick tea cups ride before the park closed.  I told you we go hard!  I wish so badly I had a picture of Randy sprinting to the shuttle with Jack on his shoulders.  He barely made it and has the battle wounds to prove it.  Another solid day in the books!

Thursday, February 12, 2015

Disneyland Day 1

Finally, after weeks and weeks of anticipation we were on our way to Disneyland!!  The kids were so adorable and excited.



Sam was in awe from the moment we stepped into the park.  Everywhere he looked there was something awesome.  It was a little overwhelming for the poor kiddo.  I thought the Buzz Lightyear ride would be the perfect introduction.  Well, I was wrong.  The second we got in line he started freaking out.  He was screaming that he was scared and clawing at my neck to let him down so he could bail.  I forced him on the ride and held him tight.  He was not a fan and I was worried my little baby was going to be scared of everything.  Luckily he snapped out of it pretty quick.  When I look at Disneyland from a 3 year old perspective I can understand why he would be scared.  


He liked sitting on Dan's shoulders and fixing his hair.


I have been prepping Sam about Pirates of the Caribbean and assuring him that all the pirates are robots.  He kept repeating they're just robots, they're just robots over and over.


Most rides at Disneyland have a 40 inch height requirement and Sam just happens to be 39 1/2 inches.  Close enough that a few fruit snacks in his shoes made him just tall enough.  Thunder Mountain Railroad was one of his favorites.



He even dared to distance himself from me and ride one time with Randy.


Look at those cute little arms in the air!


Star Tours cuties



I wasn't ready to freak Sam out with Space Mountain on the first day.  Jack handled his first time like a pro.  He loved it!


Could my arms be any longer?


Max was beside himself with the Disney Infinity selection.  There were so many guys we don't have, decisions...decisions.


While the big kids were riding Space Mountain, Grandma took Sam for a ride on Dumbo.


Tucker and Sam love their grandma so much.  It's a constant battle for her attention.



There was some bonding happening at Tarzan's tree house.



Sam was in shock when he saw Goofy walking down the street.  He was a little nervous to get so close.  After spending the majority of the day at Disneyland, we walked over to California Adventure for more fun.  I kept thinking the long stroller ride would eventually lull Sam to sleep but he was wired.  All the big kids wanted to go on TOT (Tower of Terror) so Brett, my dad, Tucker, Sam and I had a party in Bug's Life land.





Who's the loser on the bumper cars?


While in line, we had a who has the biggest mouth contest.  Sam wins, hands down.  Like father like son. We literally didn't stop the entire day.  It started to catch up with my Sammy-boy.  He had a monumental melt down near our dinner spot.  I can't remember what he was freaking out about now but we caught the attention of a Disney employee.  She told Sam if he stopped crying she would give him a freshly baked loaf of bread shaped like Mickey.  


I think that bread was laced with sleeping pills because mid bite, he was out.  I mean passed out.  We ate our dinner and continued to go on ride after ride and he didn't move a muscle.


Sadly he missed seeing his pal Lighning McQueen.  There was no waking him.


California Screamin' is one of my favorite rides and I couldn't wait for Max to experience it for the first time.


He was very quiet and reserved as we waited in line.  I felt pretty awesome he wanted to ride with me his first time.



Well, he LOVED it!


We had an odd number of riders so we all got a chuckle watching my mom get paired up with this fellow.  Poor little mug.



Max grabbed grandpa for his next California Screamin' experience.


Randy seemed to escape my camera all day.  I was busy keeping Sam happy and he was busy keeping these two happy.  I actually spent more time with Brett and Tucker than anyone else that day.


Jack was thoroughly enjoying hanging out with the big kids.  He wasn't scared of a thing, not even TOT.


Lucy on the other hand....not a fan.



Props to her for giving it a try.



Hours after Sam was drugged by the sweet Disney employee, there was no sign of life.  He slept while we waited for our shuttle, the entire ride back to the hotel, and as I turned down his bed.  I'm pretty sure he woke up the next morning with a small piece of bread still in his mouth!