Disneyland 2010

Disneyland 2010

Be prepared for a family scrapbook post with tons of pictures. We were so lucky to actually have 2 free days at Disneyland. Day one, was courtesy of a work acquaintance of Brent's. He was so wonderful to meet us there and to let us in. Day 2 was our day of service vouchers. It was a close call though, I failed to read the fine print and didn't bring Ellery's birth certificate. They barely let her in. I pled. Each of us experienced it a little differently. Here goes...

Ellery emerged as an ultrabrave little girl on this trip. Somehow she was completely disinterested in the "little kid" attractions, and only sought the thrills. Hence, I don't have many pictures of her, as she was off with Brent on Tower of Terror, Indian Jones, Splash Mountain, Toy Story etc.

She loved loved holding hands, and receiving devoted attention from Uncle Mark, Mimi's youngest brother. Mark is recently retired from being a Disney Executive for decades. Below they look a bit woozy coming off Big Thunder. Apparently Ellery kept raising her arms, and Uncle Mark was panicked she would fly out at any moment.

I think she saved a few big ones for next time, Matterhorn and Space Mountain. If it meant a little time with Papi though, Ellery was just fine on the tamer rides...

Sharing many grapefruit juices with Callista, which came at staggering prices! They use two straws and only drink on the count of three. Then they have to stop at the same time. It has got to be fair right? Also you may want to take note of the sweatshirt Ellery has on. It was a gift from Mimi and Papa. She is so in love with it, I'm not sure she has taken it off since. In her words "Mom I feel like I'm 11 in this sweatshirt. It is just so cute."

On occasion she stole some restful moments in the stroller with Callista...

This seemed to work out fine, considering Emmett would have zero to do with the stroller the entire vacation...we should have packed the chariot... Ellery and Callista are holding their little prizes Mimi and Papi allowed them to pick out.

Highlights for Callista were certainly tracking down as many characters as possible. Cinderella, can you believe we only saw 1 princess our entire visit?

Pluto, multiple times....

Mickey Mouse...she was tickled pink as she received kiss after kiss from the snuggly giants...

Goofy...

Minnie...

Mickey again...I spent an entire morning taking Callista to find the characters. Ellery was much to mature for this (much to our surprise).

Callista also happens to measure exactly 40" and so she rode any of the "big kid" rides she felt inclined to. This included Big Thunder Mountain twice, and California Soarin.

Mostly she just enjoyed the younger rides with Emmett and me (or more appropriately me, as you can see, Emmett wasn't too into the rides ...

...and sometimes Mimi...

and Aunt Cathy when they were a little fast for Mommy.

Highlights for Emmett included riding on Papi's ultra cool motor scooter...

Snoozing for several minutes with Uncle Mark while the rest of the family enjoyed California Soaring...

Receiving his first toy ray gun as a gift from Papi (His face actually lit up the most, with a giant round, puckered mouth "OOOh" when Papi presented him with a skull key chain. Go figure.)...

I think it brought the most smiles of the trip...

Holding hands with Papa...

Doing a lot of watching from the sidelines with Mom...

and lots of waiting in lines with big sister Callista...

Driving the car on the way home to our Huntington Beachhouse after a long day at Disney, he chippered up enormously when I put him behind the wheel as we stopped to pick up some burritos at Chipotle...

Our favorite moments as parents as grandparents...
Posing for endless pictures with little angels that are growing up far too quickly...

Savoring the snuggles...

and giggles...

and silly faces...

and dizzy rides.

Experiencing the excitement through their little eyes...

and faces.

This vacation definitely deserves an encore in a couple years.