Disney and Pixar and {Parades... OH MY}

The parades at Disneyland were spectacular!  The kids were giddy watching all their favorite characters come by!  Nyah squealed with excitement when the princesses finally arrived and Ethan gave high fives to the soldiers from Toy Story!  It was the coolest thing to watch their excitement and the wonder of it all! 

Princess Parade at Disneyland

 

Pixar Parade at California Adventure

Disneyland...now is the time to {SIEZE THE DAY}

We are a family who LOVES musicals.  So when we came upon an impromptu show in the middle of California Adventure Square, we were so excited!  The trolley stopped in the center of the square and suddenly the cast from Newsies emerged from inside.  Even Mickey Mouse became a part of the cast.  After delivering several lines, they broke out singing..."Seize the Day!"  It was awesome! 

{Disney Jr.} theatre....

 We came into California Adventure one morning and found the Disney Jr. Theatre!  The show was going to begin in one minute so we quickly set aside our stroller and ran inside for the show.  It did not disappoint one bit.  In fact, it is probably one of the twins' most favorite memories of our trip.  The program included:  Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Jake and the Pirates, Handy Manny, and Little Einsteins.  Even Machelle's older boys totally got into it!  We loved the music, the puppets, and the fun storylines.  The kids danced, clapped, and ran around catching bubbles. 

 

It was definitely fun to see these little characters come to life in person!

 

 

....Disneyland {PHOTO OPS}

 Having Disney characters walking around the park is one of the many things that make it magical,..even for us adults!  That and the music playing throughout seriously makes this momma happy!    We were lucky to see many of the characters in the parades and on the street side, but my kids were mostly content to wave or blow them kisses.  

 

We did take a few photos with characters when the lines weren't too long and kids wanted to! 

Disneyland.....and the {RIDES}

The rides at Disneyland are AWESOME!  I wish I had captured more pictures but we were having too much fun riding and playing all over the park! 

While timid at first, Ethan and Nyah quickly warmed up to getting on different rides though out the park.  Each day was pretty hot so we took along our double stroller and mini cooler and took water breaks often.  We also spent our mornings at the park and then left around 1pm to go back to the condo for swimming and our big meal of the day which we prepared at the Condo.  Then we packed up lots of snacks and a lite meal for later that night in the park.  We stayed until it closed many nights and slept in!  So fun!

We were very lucky to have Matt and Machelle and their boys with us!  Marty and I were able to ride a lot of the adult rides because they would take the kids!   I'm a huge roller-coaster junkie and loved every minute of it!  Marty and the boys also went off and spent some time on the bigger rides which he really enjoyed! 

Favorite Rides of 2012

Marty's favorite ride....California Soarin'

Brigette's favorite ride....Indiana Jones

Nyah's favorite ride.....Jumping Jelly-fish & Ariel Ride

Ethan's favorite ride....Buzz Light-year

...heading to {CARS LAND} at California Adventure

Cars Land at California Adventure did not disappoint!  When we strolled down Route 66 it felt like we were in the movie!  It was awesome!

Strolling down Route 66...

Matt, Ethan and Austin took a ride on Mater's Junkyard Jamboree!

Luigi's Casa Della Tires!  Ethan loved this...

Ethan posing in Cars Land!

Flo's Café!  Mommy & Nyah shared a milkshake here!
 

This was just the beginning of our Disneyland Adventure. 

Mama-shell is amazing! She helped with the twins and loved every minute spending time with us. 

Aaron took the kids through the Bug's Life water pad!  It was a hot day,...and they loved it!

Ethan meeting Flick!

Aaron took such great care of Nyah.  Such a great big cousin!

Daddy, Nyah and Aaron on Mater's ride!

...a few stops before {DISNEYLAND}

After we jumped in our rental cars, we decided to stay in Los Angeles for a bit longer!  Matt grew up in L.A. and wanted us to experience one of his most favorite restaurants.  Dinah's was built in 1959 and has stayed true to it's original menu and set up all these years!  It was very cool!  When we arrived, we noticed right a way the HUGE line coming from the front door.  Little did we know, they were celebrating their 53rd anniversary and patrons were able to buy their food at the 1959 price!  We ate hamburgers, fries, and sodas for pennies!  It was the greatest timing and we had  a wonderful time!

 

After lunch,  we decided to make a quick stop at Huntington Beach before heading to the Condo and Disneyland!  It was beautiful and the kids loved it! 

Ethan enjoyed running away from the waves!

Nyah and Daddy spent time looking for seashells and sand dollars...

It was hard to find seashells but Nyah was super good at it....

Our little beach bum!

Nyah seriously found gorgeous shells!

Loving the beach together!

An invitation to.....{Disneyland}

Machelle & Matt (Brigette's sister and brother-in-law) approached us about a year ago and had a fabulous idea!  Tradition in their family was that when their boys tuned FIVE they would take them to Disneyland.  When the twins were approaching FIVE they GENEROUSLY invited us to come on trip to DISNEYLAND with their family!  We were so excited!  Matt works for Southwest Airlines and was able to get us buddy passes and they had a timeshare condo available in Anaheim large enough for the whole crew.  We were beyond grateful and had a ton of fun planning it!  The anticipation was crazy fun!  Machelle and Brigette spent time planning meals and coordinating everything  so we could stay within budget.  They even pre-bought non perishable food and packed it on the plane since food is far more expensive to buy in California.    

Matt & Machelle---the most generous couple EVER!

Nyah and Ethan over the moon excited to hold their own plane tickets!  This would be their first time on a plane. 

Nyah was super excited to be on the plane!  We kept them in their jammies since we had to leave our home at 5 am!

Waiting to take off for the first time!

Ethan was sitting with Daddy and loved peaking over the seat to find Mommy and Nyah...

Mama-Shell giving loves to Nyah before take-off.

Ethan was excited to have a window seat.  He wanted to see everything and wasn't scared at all.

Nyah, Adam, Austin, Ethan & Daddy

Taking a trip with cousins is so much fun!  Aaron carried the twins through the airport when their legs got tired navigating through the long corridors.

Nyah's personal escort.  Aaron is such a stud!

Ethan riding with Adam on the rental car bus.  We were in California on our way to pick up our rental cars...

 

We made it to California, picked up our rental cars, and headed over to the condo!  The condo was awesome (sorry no pics) and had a huge pool, kiddie pool, and hot tub to play in.  The kids thought they were heaven just being there.  Little did they know what was in store for them the next day at Disneyland!!!!!