"I only hope we don't lose sight of one thing - that it was all started by a Mouse." Walt Disney

Our Disneyland trip was a bLaSt, always is. I don't know where to begin or where to end or how to tie it all together. So I'll try to make it short and sweet. Try is the key word, it is Disneyland that I'm talking about after all, so "short" may not be possible. Wish me luck...

*Memorable Moments - the GoOd, the BaD, the UgLy*
Friends! We overlapped our vacation with the Wells', and spending time with them at Disneyland made the Happiest Place on Earth that much happier. Just wish we could've spent all week together! In a weird way, it felt oddly normal to be there with them...

More Friends! Celia, Wade, Boden and Kai came up from Big Bear. We ADORE them. Their boys are precious and sweet as can be, love those 2. And I just love Celia, she loves to laugh and so do I. Growing up that's one of the things I remember most about her, we'd get laughing about something, and then fake laugh just to keep laughing, then that would make us laugh... She's just plain fun and it is always so refreshing to be around her. She loves the Lord, is an amazing Mom and wife, and she is real, genuine, and she we can talk about deep stuff and silly stuff. Wade runs the ski mountain and is chill, totally down to earth, and just the greatest guy you'll ever meet. Plus, he used to ski professionally so he's just plain cool. They brought gifts for the kids, snacks galore and just added such special memories to our trip.

Spending time with my parents was really fun!! I know, it's an oxymoron to say "fun" and "parents" in the same sentence! But mine really are. The kids already adore them, but they really had a chance to bond and will always have the memories of this trip to hold in their hearts.

We had TWO 1st-timers with us! Yipee for Mitchy and Charlie's 1st Disneyland vacay! Well, I guess they've been there before, the last time we went I was about 5 1/2 months pregnant with the twins. And they actually got to go on better rides when they were in my tummy, like Thunder Mountain, and Matterhorn, and...(don't tell my OB this).

It was HOT. Actually, HOT doesn't even begin to do it justice. It was sweltering, surface-of-the-sun blazing HOT. Don't believe me? They broke a HISTORICAL RECORD while we were there! It was 113*!!! 3 of the 4.5 days we were there were over a hundred degrees! Hitting the pavement at a crowded amusement park with 4 little kids in that kind of heat was an experience. But we powered through and I think we did great! Would we do that on purpose? Absolutely not. Did we still have fun? You betcha! We all have some permanent brain damage, there's no way we got outta there without scrambling some neurons.

Taking Ella on the Tower of Terror (AKA, according to Ella, as Tower of Horrors, Tower of Terrors...) for her 1st time. Celia and Mom got to experience this too. This is where some of that laughing came in. Holy cow, Ella flipped out and I'm sorry but it was hilarious. We did feel bad, but she went on her own free will, well after the initiation period, and with full warning, so it was easier to laugh about it. I looked over at her and saw her pearly whites showing and thought "oh good! She loves it!" Little did I know she was paralyzed in a grimace. Tower of Terror indeed.

Mom and I took Ella on Space Mountain for the 1st time. She loved this ride! I was a bit worried about taking her, but I loved the wild rides as a kid and she's pretty adventurous. So we took our chances and she went on it over and over and over. I don't think I really saw much of the ride, as you can see from the picture I was constantly looking at her and checking to see if she was okay. The Space Mountain picture is worth a thousand words, and a hundred laughs.


Both of the twins loved the Tiki Room, but Charlie's reaction was so precious, it brought tears to my eyes. Priceless.

Screaming on Screamer with Todd and D. I wish I would've bought the picture - I had my hands up, screaming my head off, D was screaming, and then there's Todd behind us, with this casual smirk on his face like he was giving a presentation at work or something. Too funny:)

Todd, Ella and I took Dawson on Thunder Mountain for the 1st time, a great memory. At least it was for us, not so much for him. He was a bit concerned...

Todd, Ella and I got to go with Richie and R.C.'s for his 1st ride on Splash Mountain! He is now scarred for life, just like any normal child should be if their parents do Disneyland right.

I packed the spray bottle I use for ironing, and that thing filled with ice water was our best friend and our only key to surviving that crazy heat.

Churros. Need I say more?

All of us trying to beat Richie's high score on Buzz Lightyear. My highest was 538,000 with Charlie in my lap:)

Dawson was really into the frozen lemonade cups, I mean really into them. He was so enamored with these that I think he would've been content going to Disneyland just for those. The battle of Armageddon could've been raging around us, but with that lemon sorbet, Dawson would've been happy as a clam.

Pool time with the Wells and Mom, a break from the heat and a few laughs. There were 4 pools with water slides, poolside food and drinks, so fun!

My Dad got a chest cold so he was out of commission the last day and a half, so he had to hang out at the hotel:( Lucky guy...

I was sick on the last day, but thank I God pulled through what I thought was going to be the stomach flu.

Cheese pizza at Napolini.

Carmel chocolate marshmallows from Marceline's. Mmmm....

Being at the entrance right as it opens. That way you get to hear the little Disneyland pep-talk that gets you all pumped up (like I need pumping up).


4 kids in Mickey ears. Charlie loved them and was so proud to wear them, which made my sentimental heart go pitter-pat.

The Hispanic self-proclaimed "line backer" that almost crushed me and Charlie (who was sleeping in my arms) by jumping over the railing at the Peter Pan ride and the proceeded to verbally assault me. He's lucky I kept my Italian temper mostly in check:)

The fireworks, they brought tears to my eyes, again. Disneyland does everything so right. Ella loved watching Tinkerbell fly through the air to the beautiful castle. Pure magic. Dawson conked out in the stroller and missed them, I was so bummed for him! But luckily our cheap room that was supposed to overlook the parking lot was upgraded to a view of Downtown Disney and the fireworks! So when Mitchy had a MAJOR meltdown on the only other night of fireworks, Dawson was able to see some of them from our balcony.

The character breakfast at Storytellers was memorable, not in the good way. Poor Charlie is going to need ongoing therapy after that one. Problem #1 is that Chip (or was it Dale?) snuck up on him. Dumb move even for a chipmunk. So he flipped out. Then they just kept on comin'. Dale, the raccoon from Pocahontas (I think), a bear, then another bear...And even though he was screaming his head off, they kept getting right in his face. I started covering Charlie's face when they'd come by. See no evil...We finally had to say something, which I kinda felt bad about, but seriously, we couldn't even eat! It was kinda funny though because the characters would pass by the table and cover their faces and bow their heads in shame. Just as they should for making a poor baby cry. Mitchy cried a little too, but he was brave. Dawson and Ella thought they were great though, Chip copied Dawson and sucked his thumb while he was at our table and they thought that was hilarious.

I'm sure I'm missing something, but I've gotta get this posted - the fam has been bugging me to get this done! I had grand plans of making cute collages and all sorts of fun stuff, but at this rate, it will be months before that happens. So you'll have to deal with the boring version.

Arriving at the airport with A LOT of stuff!

Mitch loves Mitch, and vice versa.

The pilots offered to take the kids into the cockpit, how cool is that? I hope they didn't press any buttons...

We made it! Notice Ella's precious mood, not a good sign literally one minute after arriving. This could be a long week.

The Dumbo ride with Auntie D and Daddy.The twins' 1st Disneyland ride! We always go on Pirates of the Caribbean first, ALWAYS.

Yes, I have a churro stuffed in my mouth.

Ella took this scary picture, apparently sitting in a stroller while taking a picture is a bad angle. But it's the only couple picture we have from the trip, some proof that you can like each other during and after a family vacation.

This sign cracked me up, there was only one turkey in the pen though, and they were next to the BBQ chuck wagon restaurant - hmmm...

I brought one of those "baby leashes" just in case the babies wanted to walk in a crowded area. We didn't use it for them, but Ella decided she wanted us to drag her around on a leash. Whatever floats your boat I guess. If I'd known she liked that I would've used it a lot more often over the years.

The fireworks! Clearly I'm more excited than the kids.

Mitch, Charlie and Dawson seemed to always take revolving naps, never at the same time, always one would go out, then the next...If only the 3 of them would've slept at the same time, we could've left them parked in the stroller area and gone on a big ride:)

Charlie decided to go straight to the source and eat his breakfast directly out of the cup holder, no hands or utensils needed.

We were in line for the Haunted Mansion, Ella was giving us a preview. She is so cute, she always combines the Pirate ride and Haunted Mansion by saying "thar be no windows, and thar be no doors..."

Our little lover, well little stinker is more like it. He insisted on being carried around all day like a prince and threw big-time hissy fits when we had to put him in the stroller. He had Ninny and Papa figured out in no time.

The Buzz Lightyear Astro Blaster! Dawson's and one of the twins' favorite rides.

Mitchy has always been a pointer, but with SO much to see at Disneyland, he had his pointer finger on automatic. And sometimes he would even double up and have both fingers pointing like a pair of pistols while he'd ask questions in jibberish, it was so cute:)

Pull Ella, pull!! Trying to get the sword out of the stone.

Now it's Dawson's turn...Then Charlie's turn...

Now it's time for Mitchy to give it a try. He doesn't look too thrilled.

2 dizzy blondes on the Teacups!

More pointing. Watching Daddy and Papa take the big kids on the Rockets.

Kickin' back and putting his feet up for some chillaxing time.

Todd and I were letting the kids run around and a sweet lady asked if we'd like a family picture, I thought that was so thoughtful. This is at about 7 pm on the hottest day, we'd been at Disneyland since 9 am, can't you tell?!

Me and my Girl on Splash Mountain, one our faves! Ella was a lucky dog on this trip. She got to go on all the big rides twice in a row! She'd go with one set of adults, then go again right away with the next 2.

R.C. is back there somewhere...

I usually get the classic black and white Mickey (or Minnie) ears for the inaugural pair, but I couldn't resist these baby blue ones for my baby boys. The last of the 1st ears:(

Whose idea was it to bring 4 little kids to Disneyland?! Oh, that was me.

W love you Buzz!

Running on to Thunder Mountain!

Cute t-shirt photo op.

We're always really cheap with souvenirs. I let the kids get ears, and then they each pick out a toy the last day. I actually wasn't going to buy something for the babies (D will disown me if she reads this) but I had to get Charlie the squishy version of these aliens. Every time we got off the Buzz Lightyear ride, he had to get his hands on the alien statue in the giftshop and rub his hands over the eyes. Todd and I concluded that he thought the 3 eyes were possibly 3 boobies, hence his obsession. Mitchy was happy with the Buzz Lightyear, his head, arms and legs were the perfect size for chewing, which met his criteria:)

Bench warmers. Mitchy wasn't about to let us hoist him up on one of the horses, so he took a calculated risk and sat with Ninny on the bench where it was safe:)

And this is what Charlie thought of the horses.

My sweet buddy.

When the strollers were parked next to each other, Charlie thought it was fun to poke his head into Dawson's.

Alice in Wonderland, my Dad's 2nd favorite ride (It's a Small World is his most favorite).

We ran into Mickey by accident, what a fun surprise!

Celia and the boys, aren't they cute?!

Wade trying to stuff himself into the Toon Town car.

See no evil...Doing my best to keep Charlie from catching a glimpse of the over-sized forest animals at the character breakfast.

Hey, maybe that's why chipmunks have buck teeth. They suck their thumbs just like Dawson.

Ella and Ella (didn't you know Cinderella's name was Ella, but was renamed Cinderella by her wicked step-mother because she was always covered in cinders from cleaning? Well, now you know).

I know California has a long growing season, but geez, these clovers are huge:)

My 3 sons.

Mums + ivy = Mickey Mouse!

Papa's peanut gallery.

Play hard, sleep hard.

Todd and his mini-me.

Going in for the kill. Charlie loves a good French kiss.

Waiting for the train.

Our hotel lobby was beautiful, these pictures don't do it justice.

Aren't these little rocking chairs cute?! They had a man playing guitar by the fire at night, so the kids could sit and watch.

When we were waiting in the airport to head home, Dawson lost control of his hose and soaked his pants going potty. The only thing in the carry-on was a pair of Charlie and Mitch's pjs, so he had to wear their jammy bottoms all day. We got a few stares.

As always, I hate saying goodbye to Disneyland, especially when we don't have official plans to go back. There were so many things we didn't get to do and see - The World of Color show, the Pixar Parade (they cancelled it because of the heat), the new Toy Story ride and a bunch of other stuff. But there's one good thing about that, now we have a good excuse to go again. I just hope it's sooner than later. They open up a bunch of new stuff in 2012, so I have about 8 months until I have to start bothering Todd to take us again.