Hiatt Vacation 2015: Day Two: Disneyland!

Our first morning in Anaheim was super fun but a bit overwhelming. We didn't get up super early because we were all still exhausted. The hotel had a fabulous made-to-order breakfast with omelets, potatoes, fruit, bacon, sausage, oatmeal, cereal...all kinds of stuff. We loaded up on that, fixed up the double stroller we had brought, and caught the next hotel shuttle to Disneyland! We were only maybe 10 or 15 minutes away. 

I think I was more excited than the kids when we walked up to the gates at the park...I was practically jumping up and down! As for the overwhelming part, there was so much to see and take in and do....I didn't know where to start! I didn't take a ton of pics that day, but here are a few.

Waiting for Heimlich's Chew Chew in A Bug's Life

 Already tired of standing in line for our FIRST ride...ha, ha.

Waiting for the group favorite of Pirates of the Caribbean!

Note: Kyan absolutely hated Pirates....it was too dark and he got ticked there was a drop right at the beginning. He wouldn't ride it again, even though the rest of us rode it about 5 more times. I almost have him talked into giving it another try when we go back to Disneyland in 2017...

 ...however, he LOVED The Haunted Mansion. Seriously?! Whatever. He ended up riding this three times. Jaxon said it's too scary.

Haunted Mansion for the second time

"This is how much I love Haunted Mansion!"

After we went on a few more rides (memory escapes me as to what they were), we decided to hit Downtown Disney for some lunch and sight seeing. The Lego Discovery Store was a huge hit! So cool.

Lego dragon

Jaxon 'hulking' out!

My absolute FAVORITE Disney movie!!!

Seriously, all Legos! I was blown away!

 Also, the view. I mean, really, does it get any better than this?? Especially at the end of February?!

My in-laws like this place for lunch, and it was super fun.

We meandered through the gift shop while waiting for our table. Lots of fun things to be seen!

Some of us didn't make it all the way through lunch...

 We wandered back into Disney California Adventure after lunch. We caught a few characters, checked out some shops, rode a ride or two, the favorite being Radiator Springs Racers, and then snagged a spot for the Pixar Parade which was super cool and the boys loved it...and maybe I did too!

We ended up back at the hotel a little early, swam in the pool, grabbed some dinner, and crashed. It was a good day and we were all looking forward to more time in the park the next day!

Hiatt Vacation 2015: Day One: From Williston to LA!

We missed out on a big family vacay last summer due to scheduling conflicts with a work conference, so we planned to make up for it by taking an even better trip this year with Kev's parents. I did a LOT of research, and multiple phone calls/texts later, the plans were made! We settled on the Southern California CityPASS that enabled us to see multiple attractions at a discounted price. 

Disneyland and Disney California Adventure, Universal Studios Hollywood, SeaWorld, LEGOland, and the San Diego Zoo...here we come!

I was very organized when it came to the packing. Everyone had a list and it was checked, double checked, and triple checked!

We had never flown with the kids before so I had the brilliant idea of taking a photo of each kid at the beginning of our journey in case we inadvertently got separated at the airport. Some kids were not thrilled with this...

...and others loved it!

All ready to hit the airport!

Because of my incessant internet searches on flights, we luckily snagged cheap tickets straight out of Williston...that NEVER happens!

Made it through airport security!

Not even on the plane and already hungry.

Boarding our flight! This was the boys' first flight, so I had to be brave and pretend flying is no big deal (and it's really not, but I still hate it. Don't know why...).

We first flew to Minneapolis, MN. It was a short flight on a smaller plane. No frills except we did get snacks. I knew this beforehand so we packed the iPads and Kindles. We had a three hour layover at MSP. Crazy? Nope. Purposely planned. That was we weren't in a huge rush, the boys could get something to eat, play, run around for a bit, and use a non-airplane bathroom. It was a great plan but next time I'll shorten the layover time a bit because it was almost too long.

Kevin cannot ever escape the office.

Time for food!

And Daddy got bathroom duty!

After we all refueled, the boys played on the indoor playground at MSP. Then we moseyed over to our gate to catch our flight to LAX. The boys were stoked it was a bigger plane with their own screens to watch cartoons/play games. 

Leaving MSP

I mentioned before that the boys had never flown. I didn't know how they'd handle it all, so I was prepared for any scenario. Air sick? Dramamine in my purse. Ears hurt? Gum. Bored? Entertainment via tablets. All in all the boys were rockstars and loved flying. Until....the landing at LAX. Bigger plane, higher altitude, and the descent seriously hurt Kyan's ears even with the gum. He cried and cried. I felt awful. But the next thing made it all better:

Kevin's mom and dad had landed at LAX from SLC four hours earlier, and hung around waiting for us! The boys saw them as we left the gate and zipped over for hugs! We gathered our luggage and made our way to the shuttle to the rental car place. That was an adventure in itself because Kyan was following Grandpa and Grandpa got a bit lost and Kyan just knew he was lost in LA without his mom and dad....and THIS mom was little worked up over this, but eventually we all made it to the car rental. 

Keep in mind we left Williston, ND at 12:30 pm central time. By the time all the flights landed, car rented, drove to Anaheim, and checked in at Embassy Suites, it was feeling pretty dang late to us. We ended up at the hotel restaurant for a quick dinner, and by then it was 1:30 am to our tired bodies. We hit the hay with the promise of Disneyland magic in our dreams!