Monday, March 1, 2010

Dizneeland

So you'd think that by planning a surprise trip to Disneyland, your five year-old would not throw any fits, she wouldn't whine about anything, and she would be the most grateful little child you could ever imagine. Well stop thinking that. Because it is totally not how it works.

The first whine of the trip occurred when we informed her that she wasn't going to school because we had a surprise for her. She was sure that no surprise could ever possibly be as awesome as school.

And then apparently we joke around with her way too much, because she thought we were kidding when we told her we were going to Disneyland. But after she realized that we were actually serious, she and Kaden (our nephew) jumped and danced around the living room.

We had barely made it to Sandy (about 20 minutes into the drive) before she asked "How much longer?" I lost count of how many times that question was asked.

BUT. Aside from her crying while in line for Splash Mountain because she was afraid of the big hill, and her complete meltdown because she couldn't get her face painted for $15 a second time, and the many "Kaden won't let me [insert whatever here]!!"s, it was way fun. The kids really got along great, they rarely ever fought, and the weather was beautiful.

That is pretty much it for my narration. I will post some pictures, now (with brief captions). There are a lot of them. Sorry.

Here we are at the Lego store in Downtown Disney. Yes those are made out of real Legos. Yes I tried to take them apart. Yes they are glued together. No, I didn't get caught because I was discreet. Like a ninja.

Standing in front of the large fish tank while waiting to eat dinner at the Rainforest Cafe. Yum.

Piggyback rides are fun. Kaden told me I had chubby buns so he couldn't give me a ride.

Next day we Disneylanded it up.

We told Kaden that if he could pull the sword out of the stone he could be the king of Disneyland. He couldn't do it.
They made their way through Tarzan's treehouse. And looked way cute.
Kaden showed us his monkey skills

Then of course we had to meet Mickey.

Justin, Kaden and Kennedy rode the Teacups. I didn't because I'm not a fan of vomiting.

It really bothers me that Jessie has no neck.
And while Justin and Kaden went on Splash Mountain (which Kennedy adamantly refused to ride a second time), we met some princesses.
Kennedy was SO excited. She thought she was in heaven.

And even more so when she got her face painted. Like a kitty. She meowed for the next 2 hours.
Next day: California Adventure
Ok- this is a new ride (I think) and it was awesome. It's the Toy Story ride and you get 3D glasses and you have these guns and you shoot things. It was pretty freaking awesome.
Bug land. I think that these two kids were the cutest kids in all of Anaheim.
We rode the bumper cars. They go about 0.0002 miles per hour.
And since we did everything we wanted to in California Adventure by about 1:00, and it was a GAWgeous day, we went to the beach.
They had a freaking blast. The water was like an enormous ice bucket, but the kids didn't seem to notice. Kennedy actually totally biffed it while running away from a huge wave. And we caught it on video. It was pretty hilarious. (She thinks so, too.) If I can upload it, I will post it on here.

After the beach, we ate at a yummy nearby Irish restaurant, where they colored pictures of leprechauns, rainbows and pots o' gold.
And after a delicious treat at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, we drove back to the hotel.
Last day. (holy crap this is long. Sorry.)

We met a few more characters:


And Kaden had his face painted (yes, this is where one of Kennedy's meltdowns happened) and then we rode a carousel.

Here's a tip- never go to Disneyland on a Friday evening. I think that the whole state of California was there. I was feeling extremely claustrophobic and then when the sudden urge to strangle everyone around me came on, we decided it was in everyone's best interest if we left.

So we went out to dinner.
Remember how I said Kennedy didn't like Splash Mountain? Well during dinner, Kaden asked her why that was (in blue), and she replied (in red):

And after a good night's sleep, the drive home:

18 comments:

melanie33 said...

next time you go to disneyland can you surprise me? you can just swing by and pick me up too. I promise I won't melt down if I don't get my face painted, but if I don't get a churro, you better watch out! Oh and I think I would have nightmares about the neckless Jesse so please don't let me ever see that again.

Lauren said...

How fun! My dad's taking us in April and we can't wait! You WOULD think that because you are amazing enough to take a child to Disneyland, they would magically act the best they ever have... :)

Michelle said...

Thank you for posting so many pictures, I loved looking at them and your narration is quite funny:

"It really bothers me that Jessie has no neck"

You 2 are great parents!

Jennifer said...

I distinctly remember being a bit grumpy myself at times during a surprise Disney world trip to Florida that my parents were generous enough to provide for my brothers and I. I was probably 12 years old at the time. How embarrassing. Kids will be kids I guess. Kennedy sure is a cute one though!! :) I'm glad is was such a fun trip overall.

Sarah said...

Exciting! I feel like I was almost there :)

Kaeloni said...

looks like so much fun! And yeah that picture of Jesse is pretty scary!

The Anderson's said...

What a great narration of your trip! Looks like you guys had so much fun. Can't wait to take Halle someday:)

Sarah said...

that picture of jessie with no neck is kinda scary. how weird!

oh, and i LOVE all those pictures. so don't be sorry for it being too long. i thought it was great. and it looks like the kiddies had so much fun.

Raising Helm said...

Oh how fun! I am glad the "surprise" turned out to be okay. Amazing that your child didn't want to miss school. Smarty pants. You look so cute and I am happy you disneylandid it up. ! Yeehaw and i agree about Jessie's neck or lack thereof. Weird!

Sara said...

I loved all the pics! Looks like you had a blast (with just a few meltdowns and homidical moments to spice things up). Kennedy looks so much like you in some of those pictures. She sure is growing up, isn't she? And I love your hair, you look so cute! I'm glad you had fun!

Ariel said...

How fun! I wish I was in Disneyland right now! I am glad you guys had fun.

Chris said...

What a fantastic, amazing trip for you guys, I am so jealous! And of course, I noticed the Nightmare Before Christmas clothing the boys were wearing in various pictures--better not show those to Camille or she will insist on a whole outfit.

I have never done the several(exhausting)days at Disneyland trip, man what a blast! Kennedy is so lucky.

Irene said...

I LOVE the pictures and the fun narrative, made me feel tat I was almost there with you. I'm so happy you had such a great time. Treasured memories.

Anonymous said...

So fun! That's the way I want to do it too-as a surprise on like Christmas morning or Taylor's birthday morning. That sounds so fun! Who is Kaden? He's a cutie:)

Ashley Rae said...

Yeah, the surprise was fun. It was Justin's idea. And Kaden is Justin's sister's little boy (Misty). He's such a sweetie. Kennedy just adores him.

Brandon Pearce said...

Yes there were a lot of pictures on this post, but having your very entertaining writing in between them all makes it as fun to read as Harry Potter. Maybe even more so because Harry Potter books don't have as many pictures. They're all black and white anyway...

Do you also realize that your blog is one of the only blogs where I get silly when writing my comments? How do you do it to me, Ashley??

Glad you had fun in Disneyland.

Smiley Family said...

So, so fun. Someday I will take my kids to Disneyland and I will totally steal your idea of making it a surprise. And, I will also be sitting out during the teacup ride.

Angelique Archuleta said...

wow that's awesome! I miss disnelyland. We are thinking of going again this year. Sorry, but you and your hubby look like a couple of teenagers in that pic of you all and mickey. Not that there is anything wrong with that, you're totally hot! :O