Back from Disneyland!

So it seems I haven't posted in a really long time! We've been busy the last few weeks with missionaries coming home, Thanksgiving, the day after Thanksgiving shopping, and then driving the next day to California for a FANTASTIC trip with Todd's whole family. I thought I'd list the highlights (and a few "lowlights") of our fun-filled vacay.

Highlight 1: Stopping in Vegas on Saturday for the night and trekking over to Cheesecake Factory for dinner. We had another YUMMY entree that was out of this word. Way to go Cheesecake Factory, you never disappoint!

Lowlight 1: Unfortunately our stop in Vegas meant we'd be driving from Vegas to LA on a Sunday morning. For those who are unaware, this is a HUGE no no because the traffic is ridiculous. It took us TWO HOURS to drive to Primm from Vegas. Again, for those who are unaware, Primm is only 30 miles away! The drive that normally takes 3 1/2 hours took us a total of 7 hours. NOT FUN!

Highlight 2: We stayed at the Hyatt—a great hotel that is only a few minutes from Disneyland. The beds have super comfy pillows and a down blanket that is extra cozy. It's the same place we stayed last year. We loved it then and loved it this time too! 

Lowlight 2: Even with such a great hotel, we did have this one little problem with our room that nobody else seemed to have. For some reason there was this really loud noise that kept coming through the vent in our room all night long, every night but two. This means we did not sleep all that great. The first night we thought it was a fluke, otherwise we would have switched rooms. The second night it happened again, and we discovered the noise went off every 9 minutes—ALL NIGHT LONG! Then we were basically halfway done with our stay, so we obviously didn't want to change rooms. We did have noise one more night and then two nights of sweet peaceful freedom. So I guess that was the "highlight" of this "lowlight."

Highlight 3: Disneyland decorated for Christmas was SOOOOO cute! I loved it all. Walking down Main Street was fantastic with all the garlands and wreaths and ornaments and of course the huge Christmas tree. We went straight to Small World where everything in the ride was decorated very Christmasy, and outside the ride looked fantastic at night all covered in lights. The Haunted Mansion was done all Nightmare Before Christmas, which was kind of a fun change even though we think Tim Burton is super weird. There was a Christmas parade with all the characters dressed in their winter attire that was fun, and also a special Christmas firework show each night where it snowed on Main Street and other places in the park (we discovered the snow was actually soap bubbles).

Highlight 4: Being there with Todd's whole family. We discovered vacationing with kids is an entirely different type of vacation! We had a great time watching all the kids discover fun new rides, and even being scared of others. Our favorites were some great lines by the little kids:

Ben (in Vegas) after seeing a billboard of a somewhat scantily clad showgirl: "Dad, I can see her bum!" Craig: "Then don't look at it!" Ben: "Well, she's not real!"

Rachel after riding the Matterhorn: "I don't want to see monsters, only butterflies!"

Ben at the hotel after riding Tower of Tower earlier that day: "There are rides at Disneyland that are not for big people and little people. There's this one ride that goes up really fast and down really fast and up and you just float. I hate it."

Rachel after riding Pirates of the Caribbean and then Pooh's Adventure: "I don't want to go on Pirates, only Pooh!"

There were many other funny comments that I'm sure we'll remember later. :)

Highlight 5: All of the rides of course! My favorites are always Space Mountain and Indiana Jones. We were able to go on those multiple times, so I was a very happy camper. There's a new Toy Story ride in California Adventure that is similar to the Buzz Lightyear ride at Disney, but is all 3-D. It was pretty cool and we went on that mulitple times as well.

Highlight 6: Thank you Fast Pass! Because of these little beauties, the longest we had to wait in any ride was about 20 minutes. The parks weren't too crowded until Friday, so we loved the luxury of the "open" spaces until then.

Lowlight 3: I was somehow convinced that you do NOT get wet when sitting in the front seat on Splash Mountain. I had actually gone on the ride during a previous vacation and didn't get a drop on me in the very front. Obviously you can all see where this is going. Yes, I sat in front, and yes, I was soaked! Wet jeans, wet jacket, wet hair. I looked totally hot, but was seriously freezing, and basically stayed wet for the rest of the day/night. It was a bummer, but I miraculously made it back to the hotel without dying, so I guess it wasn't too bad. :) 

Highlight 7: The food was delicious! We ate YUMMY things every day. A list of our favorites: pepperoni pizza with really thick crust, caramel kettle corn, a hamburger covered in A1 sauce and blue cheese crumbles, pineapple whip from the Dole stand, a batter-fried Monte Cristo sandwich, ice cream cookie sandwich, French onion soup, garlic Parmesan fries, and a ton of other stuff I'm sure.

Lowlight 4: The one sad food moment for me was when we decided to cancel our reservations at the Blue Bayou. I've wanted to eat there for years and never have. We even made reservations this time, but could only do a group of 8. Since we had at least 14 in our group most times, we decided to forego and eat at the Orleans Cafe across the little street where we could all sit together. It was good food though, so that lessened the blow a little. :)

Highlight 8: We were lucky enough to have Jared come along with us and he taught a few things about Disneyland. He hooked us up with some awesome Honorary Disneyland Citizen pins, told us secrets about how to get higher scores on the new Toy Story ride, took us in the "special" caboose of the train, gave us his best performance on the Jungle Cruise, and got us an amazing discount on food and souvenirs! Thanks Jared!

Highlight 9: Taking it easy on our last day was nice. We didn't run around to all the rides, we just did the "show" thing and didn't rush. We went through this place in California Adventure where you can take a test to see what Disney character you are most like. Todd was Buzz Lightyear and was considered adventurous, and I was Lady (of Lady and the Tramp) and was considered a lady of leisure. Loved that! 

Well, there are many more highlights, and probably a few more lowlights as well, but I'll stop before this post gets way too long. Be on the lookout in the next few days for a great slide show with a bunch of our pictures. Hope you enjoyed these sneak peek shots for now! And a big thank you to Todd's parents for making such a fun trip happen for the whole family. We love you guys so much!