Disneyland - April 2010

As I have posted before...I love Disneyland. Love that it is clean, fun and has always been for us, happy indeed. While it is still full of magic, I will soak up every minute of it. This year, however, we started off differently from our other trips. We kept it a secret from the boys. I didn't think I could do it. Who am I kidding. I didn't really do it all that successfully. I had slipped twice. Luckily, they are easily swayed. I can still blame Nolan for something I did when he hasn't been home all day.
Me and Nolan had packed and gotten everything ready for a evening flight on Tuesday. We both went to work, Cy had school and Cole played at Granny and Papa's, so they were oblivious to all of the behind the scenes planning. I picked them up and told them we had to take Nolan to the airport for business. When I said he was going to go to California, they whined and begged to go. After we drove into the airport, I broke the new. Cole was so funny, he just kept saying "We are going to Disneyland this day. This day. No sleeps. This day." After I convinced them that we were not teasing them, they hooted and hollered. It was so fun for us to surprise them.

None the wiser about what is going to happen.

The first day started out a little rocky. I couldn't get our e-tickets to the park to print. Customer Service said that I could take my confirmation # to the ticket booth and it would be okay. The gas station across from our hotel did not have Diet Pepsi in fountain drink form....tragedy. Then when I arrived at the park to retrieve our tickets I realized I forgot my ID....NO. Luckily, I had two credit cards with my name on them and one is a card with the boys' picture on it. I shuffled the boys up for proof that it was us. Kindly, she accepted that as proof of identification. Then the nice women informed me that the tickets I had bought were for 2 days from the current date. I had to take a time out. I was about to cry. She was kind and got it all straightened out for me. This is really typical Cori antics. I'm not sure why I was surprised. Finally, we walked through the gates. Yay, we were there and everything was going to be just fine.

Waiting for Captain EO. During the movie Cole asked me VERY loudly, "Is Michael Jackson a girl or a boy?" Bless his little heart.

Once inside, everything was perfect. The park was very quiet. We started at Star Tours and made our way around the park. We rode all but about 5 rides that first day. We even took a long break to have dinner with a girl we graduated from high school with and her family. That was fun. We went back after dinner to do a few more rides. We stayed until the park closed at 9 and Nolan and I talked about how surprised we were that we were not exhausted after a full day. The park being slow really helps. Just marching from ride to ride is much easier on the feet than racing back and forth. Great day!!!

Cy, Cole and Josie waiting for Pirates

Day two, we met up with the Jewkes'. It was great to spend some time with them too. It is fun to see their girls so excited on the rides and enjoying all the wonder that Disney brings too. Olivia, was a hoot. She talked herself out of being scared on the rides. It was so cute. We did some Disneyland and then went back to the Jewkes' hotel for some swimming. It was SO cold. Of course, the kiddos braved it like it was 95 instead of 60 degrees. The rest of us stayed bundled up pool side.

Eating at the Rain Forest Cafe. You know you've been eating crappy (expensive) park food when this joint tasted like fine cuisine.

Day three was spent at California Adventure. We ended up doing the Aladdin show there. I loved that and so did the boys. We had never seen it before. I couldn't believe it. California Adventure also has one of my favorite rides, Soarin' California. It is amazing. We hooked up with the Jewkes' again just for one last ride and to bid them farewell. This was the day that all of our running around caught up to me. I was so tired. Still stayed late into the evening though. Even with all of our running around and the short lines, we missed a few things. Didn't see any parades and I had been so excited to do the Hall of Presidents....I have fond memories of me and my Grandpa Jo taking a little siesta during that show, and we didn't even get to it.

Woody. Cole was really excited about meeting him.

Nolan took this picture. It's my favorite. Good positioning, Nolan.

Day four was awesome. We slept in, took our time getting ready. Drove down by the Angels Stadium and had lunch. Then we hung out at the pool for a good 6 or 7 hours. It was gorgeous weather. I sipped Mojitos and insisted that everyone enjoy every second of the sunshine (it was snowing back home.) We even called to have pizza delivered because we didn't want to leave. The boys brought their new Lego's down when they grew tired of swimming. We finished it off with watching a movie in bed and going out for ice cream. If only every day were like this day. Life would be grand.

We spent our last day at the beach. The boys love the ocean. I love the beautiful view. We took the ferry over to Newport Beach. The boys thought that was cool. We played at the beach and then we went on a whale watching tour. It was "pretty much just water." That was Cole's take on it anyway. He was pretty much right too.

We saw a hand full of dolphins, but no whales. Even the dolphins, which apparently are usually social and come close up to the boat, were staying far away. Darn it! Even seeing just a couple though is more than we usually see cruising around the waters of Utah. So it was a win.

Cy had to have these aviator sunglasses. So cool!

It turned out to be a great vacation. Could have used a few more days of it. Real life is just not as much fun as someone else cooking, cleaning your room and making your bed, a pool within a few steps and the magic of Disneyland. Can't wait until next year.