Ben took his very first vacation week (since starting Residency last June) here at the beginning of April and it was super awesome! We went to my very very favorite place in the whole wide world... DiSnEyLaNd!! Oh Disneyland... how I love thee. We realized that this was our first family vacation just us and the kids (excluding camping and trips to UT to see my lovely family). Considering this was our first big family trip, it was fitting that it was Disneyland, 'cause it really is so fun for me. :) We spent 3 days there and I thought it might end up being too long and exhausting to handle with all the kids and no other family or friends to help out, but even as we drove away at the end of the week, we both agreed we could have even done another day. We just took our time and enjoyed it, even amidst the large Spring Break crowds. The weather was perfect and the kids were good and we just had a great time being together as a family. Jake even really enjoyed the rides... he definitely didn't like waiting in lines, but by the third day we had really started to figure out tricks to keep him happy while waiting... maybe that's why we felt we could have handled a 4th day at Disneyland - because we had finally figured out how to do it with the kids. Emma talked up Space Mountain for weeks beforehand, saying she was going to be brave and ride it, but she chickened out when the time finally came to give it a try... she did ride Splash Mountain with me, but started crying half-way through... but I had fun! I like that ride. :) But she did really enjoy the ThunderMountain Railroad coaster and rode it twice - once with Ben and once with me. Ben and I ended up being able to ride all the larger rides, like Indiana Jones and Space Mountain by using the Single Rider and Fast Passes and just switching off watching the kids and taking them on other kid friendly rides. So, it all worked out and it was another successful Disneyland trip. I'm sad the vacation is over. And now for an overload of pictures...
Day One
Dumbo! Definitely a favorite
Trying to enter the White Rabbit's house
Waiting to ride the Teacups... another favorite
Emma and Becca really loved Gadget's Go-Coaster in ToonTown and rode it once with me and once with Ben... looking at this pic afterwards made me laugh because of the guy sitting behind Ben - he looks to have really enjoyed his ride on the kid coaster, don't you think?
Outside the Tiki Room
Aboard our boat on the Jungle Cruise
At the Shooting Gallery in Frontierland
Ice Cream on Main Street
Swimming in the hotel pool... they had a little kid pool that was only 1 1/2 feet deep which the kids really loved
Day Two
Waiting in line for the Haunted Mansion... we did a lot of this... waiting in lines
Minnie's wishing well
Hanging out on Mickey's Front Porch
The whole first day Becca kept asking if she could hug Mickey Mouse... and when she finally saw him, she give was quick to get her hug. She really loves Mickey
Jake spent a lot of his Disneyland trip in his stroller, either sleeping or eating snacks... he was mad in his baby carrier, so most of the rest of the time I was toting him around... definitely lots of mommy-son bonding time ;)
On Donald's Boat
While Becca's favorite is Mickey, Emma definitely prefers Minnie Mouse
While Ben was riding Big ThunderMountain with Emma, the rest of us explored the petting zoo nearby... Becca liked petting the goats :)
The Bugs Life area in CA Adventure...
Waiting for the tram to take us back to our hotel... we were tired... after some naps at the hotel we came back in the early evening for a couple more hours
One of our evening rides was the new 3D Toy Story ride in California Adventure. It was one of the coolest things I've ever been on and the kids really liked to wear their 3D glasses
Day Three
More ToonTown... and exploring Goofy's play area
On the Nemo Submarine Ride
Can you tell that we're on Day 3 of Disneyland?
Pluto was so cute with Becca... he danced with her and gave her a hug and then Becca gave him a big kiss on the nose :)
In the California Adventure park they have a great obstacle course and play area... Emma did the traverse wall and loved it!
Emma also did the zip line... it was cool!... I wish I could have done it, but it was just for kids...
Ben and Emma on the jellyfish ride
Our last hurrah before leaving Disneyland on our last day... ice cream!
After checking out of our hotel, instead of driving straight home, we took a detour to The Getty Center art museum in Los Angeles. Ben's parents introduced us to this museum years ago and we were so impressed, we just had to go again. This place is breathtaking! The views, and the architecture, and the gardens are amazing. They also have a great family area for the kids to explore...
To start - my maiden name is Szymanski... a polish name. Recently my dad gave me a hard time saying that I celebrate every weird holiday out there, so why am I not celebrating something that is at least part of my heritage. :) He's been bugging me to start incorporating Dyngus Day into our family traditions. Dyngus Day (or Easter Monday) is a Polish holiday and if you read up on it on the web, it's definitely unique. So we pulled out one aspect of it that we thought the kids would love and went with it. Especially being here in the warm Arizona spring weather, we can most definitely make this a tradition... so every Monday following Easter we will have a big water fight in honor of Dyngus Day and our Polish roots. Happy Dyngus Day dad!
