Coming Home!

I have said it a thousand times. I am a home body. As much as I love a good fun trip, I ALWAYS love coming home. I love the feeling I get of being in my own space that is no one elses. I love that I can burp and not be judged, I love my bed, and I love the kids beds. I am afraid I am raising 2 more home bodies as well. I actually think it's a good thing to be.

So we woke up this morning to a beautiful day. We cleaned up, ate breakfast and drove the scenic way to the airport along the Pacific Coast Highway. I have to say not as beautiful as up higher in Cali, but still fun to see the ocean. Wish we would have had time to get out and wade for a bit, but we were running late.

We got to the airport and the kids were not happy about leaving Disneyland until we told them we were going to our 'big house'. That quieted them down, and then Paige just kept saying that she wanted to be home. My thoughts exactly. Paige slept most of the plane ride home and Matt fell asleep in the car on the way home. The Disney Trip 2009 is now just a memory. the kids favorite rides this time were dumbo, the merry-go-round, and Paige's was Soarin' Over California. Matt enjoyed the caterpillar ride in bug's land too. I can't wait until they enjoy the bigger rides that don't go round and round in circles!

I have been trying to decide what the next big trip will be. Probably something close for the next few years, then maybe a trip up Oregon way. I would really like to drive up that way. With Doug and I just by ourselves I would like to head south of the border and play in Mexico. I guess I had better get busy planning for vacation 2010!!

P.S. Here are some more pictures we didn't get to post from Disney.

Disneyland Day 4

Today started out well. We walked into the park and ran into Mickey and Pluto first thing! The kids were really starting to like to see the characters. We hopped the train to Small World and had the boat to ourselves. The kids really wanted to throw money into the fountains at Toon Town, but it wasn't open yet so we hopped the train again and got a surprise! Who knew that the Disney train was a ride in and of itself. We had never ridden the train all the way around. Lo and behold there was a HUGE tunnel with of all things Grand Canyon and Dinosaurs. The kids quite enjoyed it, I just wonder who thought that one up.

We went and rode Pooh again then headed over to California Adventure. Matt and I went into a bug's land, and Doug and Paige hit Soaring again. Matt and I were able to just walk on every ride there. It was nice. Then we went and watched Playhouse Disney Live. Paige really got into this, and Matt liked it too. It was fun to watch them.

We came back to the hotel ate at some not that great place and had naps. We were planning on hitting the beach in the afternoon, but the kids were not up to it, and neither were the parents. I think the three days in Disney were starting to wear on us. We ate In-N-Out again for dinner, then headed back into the park. Rode the merry-go-round again, some bugs world rides, and of course Soaring once more, bought the rest of our souvenirs then called it a night. Everyone is tired and ready to fly home tomorrow morning. It's been a great trip, but I'm done with the crowds! Today was the worst of it, and I am glad we had a few days without the big crowds.

P.S. Sorry for the lack of pictures. Our hotel internet is really bad tonight and won't upload anything.

Disneyland Day 3

Today was a good day. We got into the park an hour early and hit Peter Pan, Dumbo, the merry-go-round, Finding Nemo Submarines, monorail, Buzz Lightyear Astroblasters and then took a break for lunch. The sun was out all day and the park was getting busy. We went back to the hotel and napped until 4:30 (Doug went back to the park for a little bit and was able to get his fill of Space Mountain and some other big ones).

The kids and I got back to the park and we finally ran across our first character visits! Drew, don't be jealous, but Alice had a crush on Doug. Mary Poppins was also there, but Doug said Julie Andrews was the one and only Mary Poppins so we didn't get her picture. We met some other people from Utah at the Aladdin and Jasmine meet and greet. We also went on the Jungle Cruise and Tarzan's Treehouse. Then we hit Toontown. The kids loved looking trough all the character houses. We were even lucky enough to bump into Goofy and Minnie! Didn't think we'd get pictures with them.









We took our time walking over to Fantasmic and ate some yummy Gumbo (Doug's favorite food in the whole park) and Fritters. By this time it was pretty chilly so we ended up buying a pirate blanket to keep Paige warm. Matt was content to just wrap up in my jacket in the stroller. The kids loved the show, then as we were waiting for the crowds to clear, we were able to get on the last ride of Winnie-the-pooh for the night before the park closed.

All-in-all, a very full and fun filled day. Paige was really sad on the walk back to the hotel that she couldn't ride Soarin' Over California with Doug today, so I think that will be our first thing tomorrow (Pretty sure that Doug won't mind that one bit). We are also doing a very non-Disney thing and going to the beach tomorrow. I'm afraid that our kids are going to be really bored when we get home after all this. We did break down and buy us some Mickey ears, though. That will be a fun souvenir to remember the trip by.



Every time I think about the time we are spending together and the memories we are making as a family I am so thankful. I love my little family so much.

Disneyland Day 2 (Day of Rain)

Today was a good day. The kids woke up at about 5:30 ready to go. We held them off until 7:30 for continental breakfast. After that, we still had a good 2 hours until the park opened. We walked from our hotel over to the main plaza between the two parks (which took all of 5 minutes..nice) At that hour, the place was deserted, so we were able to get lots of pictures and look at lots of fountains.





By 9:30 we were so ready to get into the park. California Adventure actually opened a half hour before Disneyland, so we decided to head there first. Doug and Paige loved Soarin' Over California. I think that was Paige's favorite because she rode it 3 times. Once with me and twice with Doug. By that time, Disneyland had opened so we headed over there next. The kids loved Dumbo, It's a Small World (we rode that one twice in a row), and the Merry Go Rounds. They didn't like Mr. Toad's Wild Ride (Matt refused to even get on this one). I took Paige on Pirates, and she sobbed all the way through. I felt like a horrible mom, but when she told dad about it she said she was just a little scared. I think we'll try it again tomorrow.




The weather was rainy pretty much all day. I was misty in the morning and by lunchtime it was coming down pretty hard. We came back to the hotel (have I mentioned how close it is to the park? SO NICE!) ate In-N-Out burgers, took a nap, then headed back to California Adventure until it closed. We ate dinner at IHOP right next to our hotel, then relaxed in our room for another big day tomorrow. Paige and Doug watched Madagascar 2 and Paige kept wanting to hear the 'I like to move it, move it' song. She's so funny!



Hopefully it will be a little drier tomorrow, and despite all the rain, we all enjoyed ourselves and loved the family time.

In the plans for tomorrow: Riding the train, Haunted Mansion, Steam Boat, Jungle Cruise, and Dumbo again.

Day 1 - Disneyland Eve

Hi all. Doug here. Val and the kids are sleeping, so I thought I would give you an update on our adventures today.

We made it to California, finally! It has been a great trip so far. Val and the kids picked me up from work. I must admit it was very difficult to get much done today because I was so ready for this vacation to start! The kids loved the airport, and they especially liked the moving sidewalk. They were both excited to go flying and I was shocked and their reaction. I was totally expecting Paige to freak out at the whole airplane experience and Matt to be enthralled, but it turned out quite different. Paige was more excited about playing with her 'Hello Kitty' sticker book than anything. She loved the takeoff and landing, but other than that was either playing with stickers, watching 'Max and Ruby' on my iPod, or changing the channels on the plane's Satellite TV. The noise really didn't bother her and she handled everything really well.







Matt, on the other hand was all over the place. He couldn't sit still and Val had a hard time keeping him in his seat belt. He seemed to like the airplane, but was just so full of energy. About 30 minutes before we landed, he finally fell asleep and stayed that way all though baggage claim, rental car pickup, and hotel check in. We are totally expecting to have him wake us up at 5-6 am.





We are right across the street from the park, so tomorrow will be exciting. I don't know if the kids realize what is ahead of them, but it will be so much fun to experience it with them.

Well, it is late, so that will wrap it up for tonight. I'm sure Val will have much more to say tomorrow, but that's about it for today. If I may put a plug in, I will be 'Twitter'ing our goings on throughout the day. For all you non-techies, Twitter is an online service that allows you to just post quick, short, 'what are you doing' updates and share them. Just follow me at http://www.twitter.com/mrDigDoug to get these real time 'what are you doing' updates throughout the day.

Thanks for checking in!