California Here We Come

Man oh man is this summer flying by.  School starts in just a couple of weeks, and I need to get cracka lackin with this blog. 

Just this week we got back from California.  Sam's parents picked us up in Orange County and we surprised the boys by going to Disneyland.  They knew we were going to visit Grandma and Grandpa but had no idea that we were going to visit the happiest place on earth as well.  What a fun surprise.

We had a wonderful time.  How can you not in a place like that?  I'll admit that when we were on our first ride (Peter Pan in case you were wondering), my eyes teared up from the sheer magicalness of it all.  That may be corny-over-the-top, but that's just what Disney does to me.

Sam came prepared and, having done his research, we hit the parks hard.  If any of you would like some pointers on how to work the system, you know how to reach me.  We were there for 3 days and went on rides 57 times.  We also hit up 13 other activities such as parades, fireworks, shows, etc.  Not too shabby especially considering we still had nap time in there. :)  The most ridden ride for us was Space Mountain followed by Thunder Mountain and California Screaming.  Oh so fun.

Now for lots of pictures.

First morning, waiting for the park to open.

The boys having conquered California Screaming

Getting ready to ride Indiana Jones.  Chase just needed a tiny lift. :)

Learning how to draw Mickey Mouse

Billy Hill and the Hillbillies.  This show is so funny.  A must see.

Entering Radiator Springs.  It really felt like the movie!

On the Cars ride (a 3 hour wait without Fast Pass).  How cool is this!

Cars Ride

Some good friends happened to be a Disneyland at the same time.
We met up with them and went on some rides together.

Chase and Layton boarding Space Mountain

I hope Gina doesn't kill me for posting this picture.
Don't worry, Gina, it's not like my picture is exactly flattering either.

Tower of Terror.  All I can say is, Yikes.  This picture is deceiving. 
It wasn't all fun and games.

California Screaming

Splash Mountain

Boy it's hard not to post lots and lots of pictures.  When our 3 days of Disney-fun came to an end, we hopped in the car and drove up to Vacaville for a few days at home.  It was lovely.  Sam got to meet up with his high school wrestling coach (Thor), the boys enjoyed exploring the creek, playing soccer, exploring Pena Adobe Park with the "haunted" doll (see the last picture--it's a classic!) and playing a very involved game of Risk.  It was really hard to come back.  Thanks for a wonderful time, mom and dad!