We Go To Disneyland, Part 1

We are just back from a week-long trip to Disneyland.  This was the first time we have taken the children, and I must say, they loved it.  75% of our family loved it.  The other 25% wished he had been elsewhere.  Actually, inspite of the fact that Kent didn't really want to go to Disneyland and then didn't want to stay four days, he was remarkably patient and a good sport.  He even got on a few rides and enjoyed himself.  But don't tell him I told you.

This was a trip with my family, a trip my dad wanted to take for a long time and which didn't happen before his death.  It was sort of in honor of him, and a time to be together.  Apart from Bryan, Missy, and Donovan who were unable to come, and Lyla who stayed home with Aunt Lacey, we were all there.  It was hectic, somewhat difficult to accommodate everyone sometimes, often overwhelming on the senses, and physically exhausting, but a marvelous good time.  We went on all the rides we wanted to do, some of them twice, we saw two parades, we had lunch with princesses and dinner with other Disney characters, plus we swam, went to the beach, and visited the Aquarium of the Pacific.  I took lots of pictures, though less than I would have because I failed to remember I needed a cord to attach the camera to the charger, and though Sharae had one, I didn't ask around until late in the week.  Oh well.

Sunday November 4:  The idea of driving over two days to get to someplace he didn't really want to be didn't appeal to Kent, so we flew into the John Wayne Airport, only ten minutes from Disneyland.  We had a 3:00pm flight, so we went to sacrament meeting, came home to change our clothes and get a sandwich, and then leave.  Although it was not the first time Brandt had flown, it was the first flight he remembered, and the first for Blythe.  They were super excited.  As we waited inside the airport for Kent to park the car, the kids rode the moving sidewalk back and forth and back and forth and back and forth and back and forth.  I walked up and down the hallway sort of following them.  We were able to do early boarding and sat in the back of the plane near three other groups with children also going to Disneyland the following day.

Here is all the stuff we were taking on the plane.  

Fortunately, we only had carry-on items: four backpacks.

Brandt on the move. 

He wasn't inclined to really stand still.

 

Sunday afternoon, while we were flying, everyone else had arrived and went to the beach.

We got in early enough to go too, but it took time to get our rental car,

and then we couldn't find where they were.

We drove along the coast and watched the sun set, but we never actually got out of the car.

By the time we got to the hotel, the children were absolutely driving me crazy and I felt like we had made a terrible mistake coming.

Food and sleep helped.

I am adding one picture of everyone else's time at the beach.

Here is my mom and my siblings.

I really wish I was in this picture.

Monday November 5: Our day began far too early.  Brandt woke at 4:16am.  That's right.  4:16am.  We had set the clock back an hour Sunday, and then we were an hour later than normal because we were in California, so he was up and pretty much ready to go.  Unfortunately, Disneyland didn't open until 10:00am, and I wasn't sure what we were going to do for six hours.  I wasn't sure what we were going to do for two hours until breakfast started.

We ended up moving hotels before heading to the park.  Our initial hotel was old, smelled horrid, and had tiny rooms.  There was no way we were going to last all week there, so we moved next door to a Marriott.  It was much nicer and didn't smell.

Our lovely, non-smelly room.

No mold anywhere!

Once reestablished, we headed to Disneyland.  Our hotel was pretty much across the street, just a very short walk to the entrance.  The lines were pretty bad and the children were beside themselves with excitement, so as soon as got through security and the entrance, we hopped on the train that circled the park.  It was a ride!  And so it began.  We went on lots of rides, sometimes twice, racing from place to place trying not to lose children along the way.  We had a talk with Brandt and Blythe about staying close to us and not running off, and actually, through the week, they did a pretty good job.  I think I only had to talk to them three times.  

We also got a golden ticket.  Because of my mom's recently heart procedure and her still incredibly stiff ankle, we got a pass that allowed Mom to take five other people and go through the exit to get on the ride.  This meant that rather than waiting for 20-60 minutes to get on something, we were able to get on within five minutes.  It was beautiful!  Mom got to ride everything multiple times.  We didn't always use it, and for rides we did all together, we waited.  But it did allow us to do everything we wanted to do ande helped our little impatient people enjoy themselves more.

We start trying to get ourselves organized.

The four boys had a great time together. 

They ran in a pack.

The three girls ran in a pack too.

 

 

Guy and Mikayla

"Where is everyone in the background?" you may ask.

We took the train to Toontown and somewhat beat the rush.

But lest you think we were the only ones in the park, I will tell you it got plenty busy.

Blythe and I are on a small roller coaster.

Brandt rode once and found that was enough.

When we got off he said, "I almost puked!"

Blythe rode once and said as soon as we stopped,

"Let's do it again!"

Because we were in this part of Disneyland at the beginning of the day, we went right back and got right back on..

Tysen and Griffin in front of us.

Here we are on the coaster.

Blake and Luke in the front.

Makenna and Ava next.

Griffin (hidden by the frog in the foreground) and Tysen.

Blythe and me.

Crew and Guy.

Kent is taking the picture with Brandt standing next to him.

They didn't want to ride.

Waiting in line to ride Roger Rabbit.

Mikayla waiting, too.

Toon Town was already getting decked out for Christmas.

It was probably 82 degrees and certainly didn't feel anything like Christmas.

I like the way we all look in the picture.  

The background looks funny though.

The kids don't look as good in the bottom picture, but the background is better.

This may or may not be our Christmas letter picture.

Me sister.

Me hoosband.

Did I already mention that Kent was patient and a super good sport.

He was.

Mikayla is hanging out in Grandma Sue's wheelchair.

My mom broke her ankle at the beginning of July and she is still stiff and sore.

We wheeled her around so she wouldn't be as stiff and sore at the end of the day.

From these pictures, you would think, however, that Mikayla spent more time in the wheelchair than Mom.

 

Ah! But look!  Mom did spend time in the wheelchair.

Turns out, Brandt is not going to be our next king.

There is a shooting range in Frontierland.

We passed it several times and had to stop every time to shoot something.

Not to brag, but I am a dead-eye.  

I don't think I ever missed.

Eugene, Collin, and Sharae in the pink teacup.

Collin liked it.

Crew, Blake, Guy, Makenna, and Luke in the second teacup to the right.

I went around with the kids, but not with Kent.

Kent can't stand the spinning.

Then the girls spun together

while the boys spun together.

We went for Thai food Monday evening.

It was delicious.

The children ate well.

And then we came back to the hotel and crashed.

This is Blythe sound asleep, hanging out of bed.

She was asleep by 7:30 pretty much every night.

It is exhausting having so much fun.

More of our exhausting fun tomorrow.