Guess Where We Went?

My sister-in-law has been wanting to go with us to Disneyland for a while yet, and last year she called me and said she’d already looked up the dates of our kids’ school breaks, and since we were off at the same time in February she’d decided we were finally going to make it happen. And I’m so glad she did; it was awesome!

We drove down the fast way along 5, and it was actually a pretty drive this time because all the almond orchards were in bloom.

We stopped for a night at the base of the grapevine and did some outlet shopping which was fun because we scored a lot of stuff for just a little money—my kind of shopping! Discovered a new pizza place for dinner—Pieology—where you can build your own pizza. It was so much fun, and really good! (And we were happy to hear they just opened one by us.)

It was Valentine’s Day, too, and Tom surprised me by bringing alone a little cake: our wedding cake, Just Desserts lemon, is now sold at our Safeway! (All square photos are iPhone.)

We arrived at the parks the day before Sarah and Griffin, but it was hot and a bit crowded so we just meandered around, taking pictures and riding rides with shorter lines. (Did do Space Mountain despite an hour line, but it’s Space Mountain—worth a bit of line) We caught the fireworks that night too. Slightly obstructed view but still beautiful…

They arrived that night, and Emily babysat a tired guy while we went to dinner. And in the morning, the weather had cooled and the crowds diminished, and our fun with them began! We spent most of that first day in California Adventure.

The next day was lovely all morning, but it started drizzling in the evening, and the drizzle turned into a downpour while we were on Radiator Springs Racers—it made for a hilarious ride with the rain literally coming sideways at us. It’s one of only two photos I purchased from this trip, but I had to have it!

When we got off the ride, there was so much water that the reflections captivated me, so Tom stayed with me while they all went back up to our rooms to get into dry clothes for dinner.

(And I’m glad he stayed, because when I was done shooting, we walked back via the Wharf, and I slipped on the wet wood and fell spectacularly. Tom had just turned away so he didn’t see (but he heard! 😝), and another guy ran over to help me up. I was in a dress which made it all the more graceful—LOL! I got soaking wet and have a few bruises, but my first thought was for my beloved camera which made a horrible thunk as it his the ground–huge shout-out to Canon for making such sturdy equipment! Thankfully my knee was OK as well—a bit more sore afterwards than it had been, but it could have been sooooo much worse!)

We ate dinner at Storyteller’s Cafe, where I remember Emily used to love getting to create her own pizza, and was happy they are still doing it so August could have the same fun. (And I always love how they make up the beds with the kids’ stuffed toys at the Grand Californian!)

The next day was beautiful as well, and we spent most of it in Disneyland. I just love it in the spring when the flowers are in bloom! And the water in the castle moat was more still than I’d ever seen–it was like a mirror! Just gorgeous…

For (what we thought was) our last night, we ate at the Wine Country Trattoria, which was good as always, and we had priority seating for the always spectacular World of Color. (I love the photo of Griffin and August, though I’m bummed that August isn’t sharp—I had my aperture too low due to the low light…)

The next morning August enrolled in Jedi Training, and then he had to battle the Seventh Sister. I’m pretty sure he won! We spent the rest of the day riding stuff he didn’t want to miss since it was our very last day. (Another I love is August’s photobomb of our picture! <3)

We had such a wonderful time doing Disneyland with them; they were fantastic to travel with! We totally need to do it again.

And just to be complete, the quintessential Disney photo, our group image with Mickey:

The three of us might do one more Disney trip in April before our annual passes expire (assuming I heal well enough and quickly enough from tomorrow’s surgery), which made it slightly easier to leave. But even so, we didn’t drive away until nearly 10:00, making for a very tiring trip home. But it was worth it to have one more day with them!

Thank you, Sarah, for making this happen!