The Happiest Place on Earth!

Christmas in Disneyland, it is such an amazing sight to see. The decorations are beautiful and despite how I tried to capture the full effect of the season on camera every time I looked at the image it didn't seem to adequately portray it the way I saw it. I am silly and I promise you that there is a different feeling in this park. I'm pretty sure that it's because this is Walt's park, and his Disney magic is ever present.  For some reason when I enter the park I have to take a second to glance at the Disneyland firehouse, where Walt Disney made his home during construction. I have to make sure that the light is burning in the front window. This visit instead of the Oil lamp that usually burns in the window, a Christmas tree covered in white lights twinkled letting us know Walt was there.

Doesn't she look like she's in the happiest place on earth? You can just feel the excitement?

Tate and Mya showing off their awesome fake smiles on our way over to Tom Sawyer's Pirate Island. I haven't been there since they added the pirate adventures and it was great! It was a great place to let the kids run around and explore. There are some fantastic caves to explore, Tate appreciated them much more than the girls did.

This was a fun little adventure you pump the bilge pumps to clear the water out of the sunken ship and discover the lost pirates treasure. We also searched high and low for the hidden pirates gold.

The girls were thrilled to discover so many treasure chests and gold dabloons. Sadie was quite concerned that all the chests were locked and there were no keys to be found anywhere. She even suggested looking in the caves again to find the keys to fit the locks.

I can't get enough of this sweet face! He was such a trooper and I think I only heard him complain a handful of times, the rest of the days we just got to adore this gummy grin.

Miss Mya and one of her favorite rides. She can't wait to get behind the wheel to see how fast she can go. This makes me a little nervous for her teenage years but I guess if I can convince her that it's still fun to drive everywhere with her daddy we will be ok.

This sweet face was just a little tired but of course there was no convincing her to slow down to rest.

We spent a lovely leasurely morning in Toon Town. It was right up these kiddo's alley. There was an endless supply of places to run, buttons to push, and things to climb on. It may not have been the most entertaining for the adults, especially the daddy's but it was fun to see them enjoy everything. 

I think the girls spent a good twenty minutes splashing and laughing with Auntie Kim. She is such a fun Auntie and we love her!

With the little ones we spent more time in Fantasy Land. We experienced a few new rides; Miss Sadie ventured onto the Merry Go Round with Nana which in turn prompted Mya to ask to ride it as well. We were all completely floored by this sudden change in attitude.

So long as daddy was right next to her with his arm around her and she could hang onto his neck the experience was quite exciting.

Casey Jr.'s circus train was another new experience for us. And if you can imagine all of us squished into the lion cage. But the kiddo's insisted that was the only place for them to ride. Mya also got to get up close and personal with the birds in the Tiki Room. Auntie Kim and I had been doing our Disney geek preparations and read in one of our books that if you ask, sometimes you can help wake up the birds. Auntie Kim, Mya and Tate were right front and center and yelled in her little nervous voice '1-2-3 wake up Jose!'

I think that my favorite ride transformation was Small World. I probably suggested riding it more than some others might have wanted but I was blown away by all the changes. Every section was decorated above and beyond in Christmas cheer. I even noticed different smells in the different areas; pine, peppermint, sugar cookie.

Uncle Cody and Tate developed a sweet bond on this trip. Tate doesn't appreciate teasing very much but for some reason Uncle Cody could get away with it. They would wrestle one another, duel with Tate's new light saber, and spend a fair amount of time stealing one another's noses and ears. It was fun to see Cody interact with Tate and Finn. He is a fantastic daddy to our girls but these interactions made me even more excited to see him with our little man.

Loving little Miss Abigail. We were so excited that they came to join us on this trip! It was fun to meet her for the first time and get to kiss her sweet cheeks.