The Woodlands

After our trip to California we stayed with my parents for a week. We decided to drive down to The Woodlands for a few days for a fun trip and to see my brother. My parents picked an awesome resort/country club/hotel place for us to stay at. It had a great pool area for kids. We got there on Wednesday afternoon and spent the rest of the day there!

Disneyland Part 7

Sunday was our last full day in California. We spent the day swimming and packing and threw in a little Downtown Disney also.

After a morning swim we went to the ESPN Zone at Downtown Disney to watch the USA women's soccer team in the championship game. We were bummed that they lost but it was fun to spend some time together!

Yummy dessert! Yes, we made him share!!!

Back at the house we did some packing and hanging out. Here's Grayson cheesing it up with his new friends!

Playing cards...

And more pool/hot tub time!

And I think this picture sums up the trip...

Monday morning we headed to the airport at 7:30am for an 11:40 flight. We wanted to give ourselves plenty of time (it was the day the Carmegeddon was ending), for rental car return, security, etc. We had time for lunch at the airport before our 3.5 hour flight home.

What a fabulous trip. We rode cool rides, saw awesome shows, met fun characters and made lots of memories!

Disneyland Part 6

Saturday was pool party day! One of the reasons we chose to go to California for our vacation because Kenny has some family that lives there. We were able to meet up with (some) of them on Saturday morning for a pool party and lunch.

Kenny and his cousin Mike

Brayden loved playing with her second cousins!

After the pool party Kenny, Lala and I took the kids to Seal Beach. It was windy and cool, but we had a great 45 minutes at the beach anyway!

Grayson loooved playing in the sand and got so excited a few times that he face planted in the sand! After about 45 minutes he decided he had had enough, so we high tailed it to the car.

We ended our day with a trip to In-N-Out Burger. Kenny had been looking forward to it all week and it did not disappoint!

Disneyland Part 5

(Not sure if anyone is reading these...but it will be nice to have to have all of these posts to remember our trip!)

We spent Friday at Disney California Adventure, which is much smaller

in comparison to Disneyland Park. DCA opens at 10am so a group was ready early and headed over to Disneyland first to grab some fast passes for Space Mountain. Then we all met up at DCA and rode the Monster's Inc ride. Then we headed over to Bug's Land while Kenny and his cousin rode the Tower of Terror ride.

Grayson got some love from his Lala while everyone else rode some Bug's Land rides. (It was about 10:30 by this time so he was really ready for a morning nap and we hadn't even done anything yet!)

We rode Flik's Flyers and Tuck and Roll's Buggies. Then Uncle Chris and Kindra took Kennan and Brayden on the Ladybug Boogie ride. Look! No hands!

Then we all rode on Heimlich's Chew Chew train. Definitely a rode for the under 5 crowd, but we all enjoyed it. Bug's Land is an area geared toward the little ones for sure!

After Bug's Land we watched a Monster's Inc show on Hollywood Blvd. It was okay...I had thought it was going to be more like a Pixar Parade, so I was a little disappointed. But it was still cute.

Because we are Disney Visa Card holders we got to have a private meet and greet with some characters. It also came with a free 5x7 photo which was pretty neat. We got to meet Chip and Dale and spend a few minutes with them. (Speaking of Disney Visa cards...Ours got lost on Wednesday while we were at Downtown Disney...not sure how I forgot to mention that in my Part 3 update. I handed my card to Kenny while he was at a store. He didn't have his wallet so he *thinks* he stuck it in his pocket along with some cash I gave him and his cell phone. I left with Grayson and Brayden while he stayed with Kennan. About 15 minutes later I got a call that he couldn't find his card. We left Downtown Disney, went to the house and called and put a hold on the card. Come to find out, someone tried to use it...which makes me want to yell "Where are all the honest people?!?!?!?!" Why can't someone honest, kind and thoughtful find my lost stuff?? Anyway...we canceled the card and came home to a new one the next week.)

While we were meeting Chip and Dale the super nice Disney employee told us where we might be able to meet Donald (we had been searching for him all week.). We took off at super speed toward the location and got there just as Pluto was leaving. Pluto and Donald switch off at that location so we ended up having to wait only 5 minutes to meet Donald AND we were first in line. Woohooo!!

Then we ran into Lightning and Mater. I kind of wish they would have talked or had their eyes move or something, but oh well.

On our way to meet Woody and Buzz we ran into Duffy. Don't know who Duffy is? That's okay, we didn't either. Duffy is the teddy bear that Minnie gave Mickey before he went on a long trip. He was pretty cute, but he couldn't sign our autograph books because he is too young. He didn't know how to write his name yet?!?!

We made it to Paradise Pier and met Woody!

Then we went to lunch. For lunch on this day we had pre-ordered picnic lunches. With our lunches came tickets to the World of Color show which is in the evening at DCA. There are a few ways to get tickets for the show and we thought this was the way to go. The lunches were okay...might not do it next time though.

Grayson fell asleep during lunch so Lala and Grumpy stayed with him while I took the kids on Mickey's Fun Wheel. We chose the non-swinging gondolas which was fine with me! Kenny, his cousin, brother and his girlfriend went on California Screamin' at this point (we had gotten Fastpasses earlier in the day for that).

Then we got to meet Buzz! (He also doesn't sign autograph books because his gear prohibits his fingers from moving!)

After walking around Paradise Pier and getting some ice cream Kenny, Lala and I took the kids to the Hollywood Pictures Blacklot area. Everyone else went back to the Tower of Terror (again, we had gotten some Fastpasses for that). We lucked out and got to meet Handy Manny right before he was about to leave. Grayson loooved him! Check out that cheese face!

Then we went to the Disney Junior Live on Stage show. It was geared at kids 5 and younger (my opinion) and our 3 kiddos loved it! Grayson really loved singing and dancing with Mickey!

After the show we met back up with everyone else and headed to Soarin' over California (using the Fastpasses we had gotten earlier in the day). I stayed behind with Grayson (he was to young to ride) and we went and redeemed the free 5x7 we had gotten earlier with our character meet and greet. After everyone rode the ride we got to meet Minnie (in her flight suit) and then had a snack.

Then Kenny, Lala, the kids and I headed over to the hotel where Kenny's cousin was staying. The kids were pretty wiped out and we needed a break after an already full day. Everyone else stayed at the park and checked out the winery and tasted some local beers. Here's Brayden after the walk from the park to the hotel!

While in the hotel room Kennan became better acquainted with his new Duffy Bear. When we met Duffy we got a sticker to put on our shirts. For the rest of the day Kennan held on as tight as possible to his sticker, never letting it out of his sight. (If you don't know, Kennan has a slight obsession with stuffed animals and Duffy stole his heart.) So while everyone was snacking after Soarin' over California I took him to buy a Duffy bear. He

was going to be spending some of his own money on the bear and he was okay with that. In my mind we were going to find a small bear, already in his sailor outfit for $20-25ish dollars. Well.....all we found was $30 bear and $20 outfit. WHAT?!?! Are you kidding me? The cost would not deter my sweet-stuffed-animal-lovin' boy. So, meet Duffy!

After hanging out at the hotel and having some dinner we headed back to DCA. This is Grayson on the walk over, about to be fast asleep!

The tickets we got a lunch had a color on them so we knew which area to head to when they opened the seating (well, standing) area for the World of Color show. The show started at 9:00 but we were there at 8:00 and went straight for an area right against a railing, towards the back. I knew it would be perfect (thanks to some advice from the cousins and my aunt) because no one would be able to stand right in front of us. We stayed in the area for an hour, making friends with those around us while we waited.

This picture was taken right before it started, by one of our new friends. I just love the picture but hate that Grayson isn't in it. He was still asleep in the stroller, right behind Grumpy! He actually slept through half of the show!

I didn't take any photos of the show, only video (see below). It's amazing to see what can be done with some water and lights!

After the show, which lasted about 25 minutes, we all went in different directions. Kenny, Kennan, his cousin, brother and his girlfriend went over to Disneyland Park to ride Space Mountain again. Lala, Brayden, Grayson and I went to ride the Ariel ride. Grumpy went to ride Soarin' over California with the last Fastpass (he didn't ride it earlier in the day). Then we all headed home. It was a lloonngg day!!! But it was our last at the parks because we had 3 day passes. We definitely made the most of our day!

Disneyland Part 4

Thursday morning started off with a bang. We got to the park at 8am and Kenny went off to get Star Tours Fastpasses while the rest of us rode Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. When the ride is finished you come out into a gift shop with all kinds of Toy Story paraphernalia. We made it out of the shop and walked over to the strollers when I realized Kennan was not with the group. We all panicked and started yelling for him, afraid he had walked off with a crowd of people. Kenny caught up with us at this point and ran back into the shop with some others. Kennan was there! He must have been looking at things while the rest of us walked off and we all just assumed he was with someone else. The time between walking out of the shop and finding him was probably about 4 minutes (which honestly felt like a lifetime). It was by far the most terrifying moment for me as a mom. I didn't cry until I had him back in my arms and knew he was okay. We had been telling Kennan and Brayden all week that if they were to get separated from us to just stay put-not to come looking for us, we will come to you. Thank goodness my sweet big boy had been listening because he did just that. You better believe we had a very close eye on all 3 children from that point on....maybe a little extreme on my part.

After that, we headed over to the Bippity Boppity Boutique for some makeovers. Kennan got a mohawk and colored gel in his hair with a Mickey Mouse head on the back.

They also gave him his own sword and shield. It was well worth the price...the sword and shield together would have cost more than the "Knight Package".

At the same time our little princess was being made over into Ariel!

We brought our own dress and shoes from home so we went with the most basic makeover package.

Brayden looked like a different girl!!

Showing off before riding on Dumbo!

Reenacting the Sword in the Stone!

Kennan defeating Uncle Chris!

Brayden was a huge fan of Chris' girlfriend Kindra! Poor Kindra couldn't get 2 feet away before Brayden wanted to know where she was going. Here they are waiting in line to meet Rapunzel and Flynn Rider.

After 45 minutes we did!

Then we were off for lunch at the New Orleans Square's French Market.

Then we road the railroad to ride Small World. At this point Grayson had fallen asleep so Ken (Kenny's dad) walked around with him and met up with us in Fantasyland a little later.

Kenny wasn't as impressed the second time around....

Then we were off to Tomorrowland to redeem our Fastpasses at Star Tours. It was okay...one of those we didn't want to ride it again. Definitely glad we had the Fastpasses because the wait times were up to 120 minutes! No thanks!!

Then it was time for the Jedi Training Academy! Both kids got picked to be in the show!!

Brayden freaked out when The Dark Side appeared so she did not attempt to defeat them. But Kennan did!! It was so fun to watch!

Then it was time for Space Mountain (we had gotten Fastpasses a little earlier in the day). I had made a deal with Kennan that we would try every ride, even if we thought it was going to be scary or we might not like it. I was TERRIFIED to ride Space Mountain...I am not a ride rider at all. The only reason I did it was because of him. We rode next to each other and he held my hand with BOTH of his hands the entire ride. Because it was so dark and so loud I had no idea how he was reacting to the ride. Kenny was behind us and we both kept making "woo hoo" and "yippee" noises (totally fake on my part) the whole time and I was praying the entire time that we hadn't scarred him from roller coasters for the rest of his life. (Back story: He rode a mini coaster at our town's carnival in June and walked off with the biggest eyes saying it was too scary and fast and he would never ride again.) After the ride we came out into the light to unload and Kennan had the BIGGEST GRIN on his face and was asking to do it again before we even got off!!!! We had more Fastpasses so him and Kenny did it again!

Then it was snack time...

Then we hopped back on the "soo soo" train...Grayson's fave!

We rode around to Critter Country and I stood in line to meet Tigger, Pooh and Eeyore while everyone else went to ride rides and come back. The line moved super fast, and I called everyone to come back but Kennan and Brayden decided they didn't want to meet them, but still wanted autographs! So here I am standing in line to meet characters with no children! I called Kenny and he ran over with Grayson!

After meeting the characters, everyone else had ridden Pirates of the Caribbean, and we all met up for snacks at the French Market (again). Lala and Grumpy left with Grayson and the rest of us stayed at the park.

We went back to Tomorrowland for the making of light sabers.

Thanks Uncle Chris and Kindra!

Since we had park hopper passes, we headed over to California Adventure Park for the rest of the evening. We hadn't been there yet and were planning to spend Friday there so we wanted to figure it all out and get the lay of the land. I am glad we did! They are doing lots of construction and renovation so it was nice to figure out our plan for the next day. We rode the new Ariel ride, ate dinner and then headed home.

Had to throw this picture in...

Our sweet princess made it ALL day long dressed like this! (We brought extra clothes but she didn't want them!) With the exception of some chocolate milk drops down the front and cheddar cheese popcorn on the sleeve the dress came away in pretty good shape!

We had a really great day at Disneyland! The one ride we didn't do that I wish we would have was Splash Mountain. We had Fastpasses and were going to do it but as it got later and cooler in the day we just kept putting it off and never did it. Next up: Part 5 Disney California Adventure Park!