SUNDAY - The Beach

Michael really wanted to see the ocean.  We usually avoid it because almost always we all get sunburned regardless of the amount of sunscreen we use.  SO, we decided we would go for 30 minutes only.  Usually I don't burn, and in the 30 minutes I was not burned, but I did get burned in the 30 minutes more it took to change all 4 of my kids out of wet swimsuits and into clothes for the ride home.  I changed them in the van but my back was exposed to the sun the whole time, so I got a burn on just my back.  No kids are sunburned though, and neither is Mic (my silly redheaded hubby) so I am calling it a success.

 

SUNDAY - Character Breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen

I am SO glad we decided to schedule a character meal.  Breakfast was fantastic.  The food was great, the service was great, then encounters we had with characters were AWESOME!  The kids had SO much fun!  I will for sure be doing this again next time we go, since there are like 4 other places that have character meals.  It was pricey, but not that much more than the cost of most food in Disneyland, and just so relaxing and great!

(J getting Chip's autograph)

(E making a new friend)

(Goofy signs E's autograph book and Baby E loves Goofy)

(E meets Belle who she has a lot in common with and they discuss books)

(The kids meet Mulan and J shows off his gummy worm mustache)

(E & J doing the twist in Goofy's kitchen in the middle of breakfast)

(Mac n cheese pizza and peanut butter and jelly pizza - YUM *gags*)

SATURDAY - Disneyland

We are SO not the DIEHARDS that we used to be.  Four kids at Disneyland is sure a workout!!  We used to be able to stay till midnight with ease, but by 9:30 pm, we were so tired (E even said "mom, lets not do anymore rides and just go back to the hotel").  We had fun though.  We lost one of my favorite hats for Baby M, but *maybe* Disney will find it and send it to us (we reported it lost to Disneyland Lost and Found).  

(Kids made a totem pole - or tried - in front of the rose garden at Disneyland Hotel)

We arrived at the park at 8 am, and got our free volunteer tickets (from the Give a Day, Get a Disney Day program), and then hopped on the Disneyland Railroad and rode it to Toontown station and then visited "It's a Small World" (which was fun with all the new additions) and all the rides in Fantasyland.  We knew it would be so crowded later in the day.  It was super happy and hardly any lines at all.  The longest line was for Peter Pan and I think it was all of 15 minutes or so.

(M and the fab 4 on the Disneyland Railroad - Baby E was a little nervous)

(E and J spinning us like crazy on the teacups - all 6 of us in one cup)

(M, Daddy and J on Dumbo) 

(Mommy and Baby E on Dumbo)

(E got to go by herself this time - and was a few behind me - FUN!)

(In line for Peter Pan - M with her first visit button - 6 months old)

(My three trying to pull the sword out of the stone - no luck)

After we finished Fantasyland, we went to the bakery on Main St. and got some breakfast.  We had cinnamon rolls and E had a banana nut muffin and J had a carrot muffin.  YUM!  This is also where we somehow lost M's hat.  Ooops.   

(E meeting Mary Poppins and Burt - J was being shy)

(The Whole family with Mickey Mouse himself after we got our ears)

We decided the babies were getting tired, so we finished playing on Main St. and walked to the monorail and took that back to the hotel for nap time.  Baby E got tired on the way back and had a little tantrum/rest on the sidewalk path.

(Walking along just like so, a little grumpy, and then . . . )

(BAM -- Baby E decides he will not walk anymore and here will be a fine place for a nap)

(He liked the Mickey ears when distracted with a lovely hedge he could touch - not so much other than that)

After a nap for both of the babies and a quick swim for daddy and the two older kids, who discovered that you can't wear life vests on the 100 ft slide at the Neverland pool and were sad, we headed back to the park.  We made a quick pit stop in the lobby for an autograph book and some post cards.

(E goofs around with Goofy in the hotel lobby)

When we got back to Disneyland, we went on Matterhorn bobsleds, Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters and Space Mountain.  Then we headed over to play in Toon Town for awhile. 

(E thought it was pretty cool that he could spin the wheel in this car)

(My two crazies escaping from jail in Toon Town)

Then finally went to New Orleans square where we ate at the French Market, and Mic and I tried our first mint juleps (weird at first but totally grew on me) and the kids enjoyed beignets (E really wanted to try these because Princess Tiana makes them).  After we ate, we finished the day by going on Pirates of the Caribbean and then visiting the Enchanted Tiki Room.  We will miss Disneyland until next time!!!

FRIDAY - Disneyland Hotel/Swimming

We woke up early this morning, packed, loaded the van and started to drive for California.  We arrived around 2:30 pm at the resort, and checked in (they put us in the Wonder tower which was undergoing renovation (BOO).  I was sort of sad about that, but the show must go on. The pool was also undergoing some remodeling, so there was lots of noise (BOO).  I wish I had known about these renovations when I was booking and I would have probably gone with Paradise Pier.  Oh well.  

We walked downtown Disney for a bit after our bags were brought up.  We got Mickey ears in the Build a Bear shop for "Bolt" (J's puppy) and "Abby" (E's lamb).  We did a quickie browse of the Lego Store because J LOVES Lego.

 

  

Then we ate some dinner in The Grand Californian hotel at Whitewater Snacks.  Afterwards we wandered back to the hotel (made a pit stop at Marcelline's confectionary for some treats - E got this awesome popcorn with chocolate and caramel - YUM, and J got a cupcake with a Mickey ring and a chocolate Mickey head truffle).  They had the coolest caramel apples, or chocolate apples there, and I asked the girl at the counter if I could take a picture and she did one better, she opened up the case for me and took a couple pictures for me.  

Then the kids got ready for swimming and went down for a night time dip in the pool.  They were SO excited.

  

After their swim, they got ready for bed, and then watched a bedtime story on the t.v. (they have these bedtime stories of all the princesses and my kids just LOVED them)!!  I passed out from exhaustion at this point, and Michael stayed up and got the younger two settled in.  *so sweet of him*

And the winners are *drum roll please* . . .

Happy Tuesday!! I hope you had a good Labor day! After finding out we had been robbed on Saturday (some idiot stole $50-$100 worth of copper wire from our A/C unit at our rental and ruined the unit - GRRRR), we spent our day organizing our garage! We just need to make a trip to the dump and things will be awesome in there! We will be able to fit cars in there! WOOHOO!

As promised, here are your winners from last weeks final Skipping Stones Design Team post. Congratulations to the winners and thank you to everyone who took the time to leave me a comment! I appreciate and read each and every one!! And the winners are:

Funny About "Men" stamp set by Skipping Stones Design

Here are your random numbers: 8   Timestamp: 2010-09-07 16:55:35 UTC

Camishel said... What an awesome card!

Sassy Snow (Unreleased) stamp set by Skipping Stones Design

Here are your random numbers: 18   Timestamp: 2010-09-07 16:55:58 UTC

Barb's Boys said... Amanda I love the way you slanted the musical score in the background and the use of the design on the hearts...beautiful card!

*****


I used random.org to generate random numbers from the comments left. Please email me ASAP (inkspirationsbyamanda@gmail.com) to claim your prize and leave me your address so I can send it to you!