We left around 3 a.m. Tuesday morning and lucked out with good sleepy kids until 6:15 a.m. We stopped at Fillmore for some breakfast. We ended up there for about an hour eating, feeding, and stretching our legs. Our next stop was St. George. Just a quick potty break and then head into Vegas. The kids were so in awe at Vegas. The buildings and what not were so neat to them. So we decided to take a bit and stretch our legs and get a bite of food. Well the fun of Vegas wore off pretty quickly when we decided to walk up to look at the fountains at the Bellagio. It was hot and a long walk and we ended up turning around and heading back to the car. So Vegas wasn't as fun as we thought it would be. Oh and I am a little bitter at Vegas. When did they decide to get rid of the slot machines with coin slots. I wanted to put in a quarter for my Jon-Jon and there was nowhere to put in a quarter. You had to use cards or dollars. Sorry but I am cheap.
(They look so small in Vegas!)A quick stop in Barstow and a long drive thru the desert and we finally made it close to Disneyland. I say close because we were like 30 minutes away and got caught in rush hr traffic. I thought we would never make it off I15. The kids were driving us crazy by that time. They were so excited to get there and get out of the car. Jacob was pretty good on the drive but he too was very ready to get out of the car seat.
We finally made it and were surprised how much you can't see Disneyland from the road. The walls and trees hide it pretty well. We pulled into the Grand California and were treated pretty well. The people were so nice and when we checked in we were treated to a surprise. They had balloons for all of us, 1st time buttons for us to wear to the parks, and an autograph picture of Mickey and Minnie. How neat. Oh and the girl that helped us went to USU so she was so excited to meet someone from Logan. I have to tell you about this hotel. Very nice... very pretty... and catered to children. The lobby had a piano player, fireplace seating, bar, etc... but they also had a tv playing Disney cartoons with kid rocking chairs. They had kid rocking chairs at the fireplace too. They had a play room (baby sitting room) for kids to do crafts, play games, watch movies, etc. They had an arcade room. They had 4 big pools, two slides, and 4 hot tubs. They had a ton of fun stuff. Each room was equiped with a pack'n'play for your baby. When housekeeping turned down your beds, they put cute chocolates on your pillows with Disney characters on them. We won a bunch of stuffed animals the one day and when we came in after our beds were turned down, housekeeping had arranged all the stuffed animals on the kids bed so cute. I loved this hotel.
(Us cheesing it before heading out for the day)Since we had a long drive, we grabbed a quick dinner at the snack place and Brian and the kids hit the hot tub. Jacob was so tired by that time that he was ready for bed. Our older two weren't quite ready for bed so we went out on the balcony and listened to World of Color and watched a little bit of what we could see from our balcony. It was a late night but we didn't care. We were so excited to be there.
Wednesday morning we woke up and got ready for our breakfast with Chip and Dale in our restaurant. Jacob slept thru part of the breakfast but was pretty happy to wake up and see characters. During breakfast, Chip, Dale, and many friends came by our table. We got pictures with them all and had a great time. This was a true test how the kids would act toward all the characters and they enjoyed each and every one of them. Even Jacob loved them. He would grab their noses and smile at them. What a delightful way to start out our trip. After breakfast we sunscreened up and headed to Disneyland.
(Just one of the many pictures we got with characters at our breakfast)Disneyland was everything you could imagine and more. Brian and I were there when we were 10 and 11 years old and we don't remember much. So this was like our first time too. Our 1st time buttons came in handy because people were very eager to give us tips and advice. Very helpful but totally not up Brian's alley. He isn't comfortable having strangers talk to him constantly. I didn't mind but then again, he calls me miss social butterfly. haha. We headed straight for the castle to get some pictures and just awing everything we saw along the way. As soon as we went thru the castle the kids saw the merry go round and had to go on it. Thank goodness the line wasn't long. It was one of the few that day. After the merry go round, the kids and Brian headed to Dumbo. They waited 45 minutes to ride for 1 minute. haha. The kids loved it. By that time, Jacob was hungry so while Brian and the kids rode the tea cups and shopped, we went to the baby center. Let me tell you about this place. This little building had a room with high chairs to feed infants, a changing room with 5 padded changing stations, 2 mini bathrooms for toddlers potty training, and a private area with big wicker chairs for nursing. Oh and did I mention it was air conditioned. I was in heaven here. I wish more places would have a nice area like this for moms.
(They were so excited to be there... it was hard for them to stop looking around for a picture)After feeding we found the crew and were ready to ride the storybook ride. I was really surprised how many rides Jacob could go on with us. This was one of them. Kimberly sat on the front of the boat and she loved it. It was fun. The next ride was the kids wanting to go on the tea cups with me. I am not much of a rider but I braved it for the kids. We had a great time. Then it was snack time before more rides. Its a small world was our next ride and boy that song sticks with ya. haha. This ride was probably Jacob's favorite ride. He loved all the things to look at and since the song repeated over and over, he fell sound asleep by 3/4 of the way thru. We decided to hit toon town next. Now this was a crazy place. Not really the place but the people. Man it was packed and hot. We really wanted to see Mickey and Minnie and low and behold, there was Minnie taking pictures in her front door. So we got in line to see her and it took about an hour to get thru this line. Minnie was a diva (Brian's words) because she had to take 2 lemonade breaks while we were in line. We were a bit tired of the heat by the time we met Minnie. So much so that we didn't even try for Mickey. We heard the line was worse for him. We did get to see Goofy while waiting in line though.
(Us on the tea cups)
(Before the parade... Brian having a Mickey Ice Cream Sandwich)
(Kimmy's favorite part of the parade. Her favorite princess Aurora waved to her)By this time we were all hot and tired. The kids and I decided to take the train to the front of the park while Brian and Jacob walked back to the hotel. It was a fun train ride and met some people that went to BYU. Disneyland was fun but it was time to go to the hotel and hit the pool. Lots of fun swimming but it was time for dinner and a parade back in Disneyland. We heard they just changed their parade so we were excited to see it. It only lasted 15 minutes but it was a lot of fun. Kimmy was loving how everyone would wave to her and Matthew. We really wanted to stay for fireworks but by 8 the kids were whining and tired. So we decided to call it a night and head to the hotel. Great first day and it didn't take 5 minutes before we had snoring children. haha.
More to come.
I know the picture isn't the best but you can get the idea of his excitement about this bike from his face.
This was Jacob's first easter and it really wasn't a big deal for him. haha. Actually he had fun watching the kids run around picking up goodies.
So pretty. She picked out the dress all by herself this year. I think she did a great job (except the dress left sparklies all over anything it touched. By the time church was done, we all were sparkly, even Jacob.
All ready for Easter at church mom! I love him!
I have to vent about this picture.... during the review we as parents don't have to do anything but watch and take pictures and what not. Back stage, there are many helpers that will get our girls dressed. Well this was Kimberly's last outfit and take a look at that bow. We had to make those bows ourselves and I am not the crafty type of gal. I did it though and I was pretty proud of my bow. Well when Kimberly came out on stage, the bow was FLAT! Totally should have been poofed up but nope... I was so bummed cause I worked hard on that bow. I asked Kim and she didn't know what happened. My guess is she sat on it! haha. Oh well.. Just had to vent!
We had a lot of fun. 
