Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Disneyland, baby!

Last weekend when the kids had a day off school, we headed to So Cal for some amusement park fun. John had a generous client who gave him a Christmas gift of enough credit at Disneyland for the whole family to go! We spent one day at Knottsberry Farm and then 2 days at D-land!

On the steps of the Del Sol (it's a tradition--see here for our last visit in '08). It's our favorite place to stay right across the street from Disneyland. No thrills, just a motel, but we don't spend much time there anyway!
Do they look excited yet?

We spent the first day at California Adventure...It was strange to be there just with our family. Solo. Alone. Just us. Six total. Weird. If you know anything about the Blatters, you know that we rarely do anything without friends! "The More the Merrier" is our motto.
Bonding? Sure! It was actually really nice.
Owen got to meet his idol... He was a little nervous at first...

Standing very tense and nervous...

but it made his day!

The Grizzly Rapids was a hit...

Hannah opted out as it was a pretty cool day to be in wet clothes. I semi-reluctantly stayed with her.

Jake and I loved California Screamin' which was great for Jake since the last time we went (October, 2008) he was petrified with tears and snot and lots of pep talks. Going upside down was a real fear of his and he totally overcame it last time and then went right on this year without any trouble. So fun to share thrills with your kids!

The second day at Disneyland we met up with our fabulous friends, the Kings and their adorable daughters. The kids bonded and had a great time...

At lunch...





One of Owen's favorites--the wet spinning ball in Tomorrowland...




He was hilarious as usual. He wanted to go on every ride and was soo bummed when he wasn't tall enough. He would stand against the measuring sign and get up on his tip-toes and then hang his head and moan if he didn't meet the requirements. Thankfully there were many distractions or kiddie rides to take him on while he waited but usually the whole time he got left off a ride, he would cry, "I want my fwends!" He called his siblings his friends which was very cute. A couple of times he even said, "I want my parents!" over and over again making whichever one of us that stayed back with him look like a kidnapper! I tried to explain to him the meaning of parents but it clicked as well as getting him to stop asking for dinner in the morning!
The Rabbit's house...

"Whale's Mouth" as my kids call it. "Let's go on Whale's Mouth!" they say. (Otherwise known as Storybook Ride)
Jason and John and the kids...

Me and Jocelyn...

The girls...

It really is such a wonderful, magical place. No crowds. Immaculately clean. Kid-friendly.
Happy.

Oh, and John getting his BEST SCORE EVER on Astro blasters

This without the ride breaking down.

Anyone have a better score?

3 comments:

Marilyn said...

Oh, it all looks so fun!! Can I go with you next time? I haven't been to Disneyland since you (Annie) were a year old - boy have I missed out. The pictures are all so cute. Love it, love it!!

Jocelyn said...

We had a great day with you guys, and that was the least crowded day we had seen in a very long time, you guys are good luck!

Camille said...

jealous! Wish we could have met you there! Love you!!