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Sunday, February 24, 2013

Alina's First Snow Day - Sierra-at-Tahoe Ski Resort

 
Family snow day - Sierra-at-Tahoe Ski Resort
 
Sledding on daddy's belated birthday trip!

Alina loved the snow, but was so bundled she couldn't
get back up when she sat or lay down heheh
 
All smiles after throwing a snowball at daddy

Building our snowman family / snowball fights!

Proud girls with their first snowman

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Valentine's Day Love 2013

Enjoying a very sunny February day at the park

Momma and her girls; they are growing up so fast!
 
Elise riding her bike like a pro
 
Cute little Alina all ready to go down the slide

Park playtime / Valentine's love

The girls Valentine's Day art plus flowers from daddy!
 
Doily Valentines decorated by Elise for all her classmates

Monday, February 11, 2013

Disneyland California Adventure Park 2012 - Paradise Pier, World of Color Show and saying goodbye to Disneyland!

Disney California Adventure Park at the pier

The girls by Paradise Pier in CA Adventure Park
 
Ariel's Undersea Adventure - The girls loved this one

Having fun on King Triton's Carousel

Awesome Toy Story Zoetrope in the Sorcerer's Workshop

The girls loved exploring the Sorcerer's Workshop
 
...And they lived happily ever after - aka. went to bed
 

Saying goodbye to Disneyland is never easy. Even after five days, we still could have easily found more things to do. The good news is that we did get to go on all the rides we wanted, some even multiple times. We also saw pretty much all the parades and shows on our must see list (minus Fantasmic!, which we will have to catch on our next trip). I initially worried that five days may be too long, and that we would get burnt out, but that was definitely not the case. If you haven't been to Disneyland in a long time, or it's your kids first time, I think five days is pretty much the ideal amount of time. Since we did and saw virtually everything on our list, we can just focus on our favorite rides/shows next time around. I have to say that December is the perfect time to visit, as the holiday decorations and festivities really make Disneyland extra special. I wish we could go every Christmas.

Our final day was perfect. We spent our time in California Adventure Park at Paradise Pier, we watched the Aladdin play (which was fantastic), explored the Sorcerer's Workshop, and capped the night off with the amazing World of Color show. The show was great, though I really wish we had better seats. We could see alright, but we weren't in the front row and the girls has to be held by daddy the entire time to see. What they did see they enjoyed. Disney spares no expense in creating the most fun and incredible experience for both kids and adults. We were truly wowed by the entire experience, and perhaps the best part is that our entire trip was paid for by redeeming credit card points, yay. When I asked Elise, if she wants to go to Disneyland again, she was one step ahead of me and said, "momma, next time we need to go to Disneyworld". Yep, we're in trouble!


Beautiful Paradise Pier festively lit up at night

Mickey's Fun Wheel! Elise enjoyed the lights from above
 
Posing by the huge Christmas tree
 
The amazing Aladdin Show at Disney California Adventure

The Aladdin show was fantastic, don't miss it!

Beautiful World of Color Show at California Adventure

Fireworks from our hotel room; perfect end to our Disney trip!

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Disneyland California Adventure Park 2012 - Mickey and Friends Breakfast and a Fun Day of Adventure


Surf's Up Breakfast with Mikey and Friends at Disneyland

Mickey Mouse waffle at the Surf's Up Breakfast

With Daisy and Stitch

Dancing with Mickey and Friends
 
Hugs, kisses and high-fives
 

After having such a great time during the princess character dinner at Ariel's Grotto, we decided to book the Surf's Up Breakfast with Mickey and Friends at the Paradise Pier Hotel. The girls had a great time during the breakfast. They met Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Daisy and Stitch. They got to eat Mickey Mouse shaped waffles, and dance and play with the characters after meeting them. I have to say that I am so surprised at how well both girls did. If we had done this the first day they probably would have run and hid, but allowing them a couple days to adjust to the whole Disney experience made all the difference. Both girls were super social. Elise gave big hugs and asked all the characters to sign both her and Alina's autograph books. Alina actually went up to many of the characters herself to hug them and start dancing. It was great to watch. As pricey as these character dining packages are, they are worth the money. The kids felt far more at ease when the characters came to them, as opposed to waiting in line at the park and walking up to them. Plus it was nice to not feel so rushed with photos.

After our breakfast, we spent the rest of the day at California Adventure Park. Elise loved the rides and being over 40 inches tall, she was able to ride many of the "big kid" rides, hooray. Get this, her favorite rides were Radiator Springs Racers, Soarin' over California and the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror! She got a few high fives from adults after riding the Tower of Terror as she was laughing the entire time while everyone else was screaming. She is a one brave little girl. On our first day at Disney she was scared to death of the Peter Pan ride because it was too dark, fast forward a few days later and she was begging me to ride Tower of Terror again and again! I am so happy that she got over her fears so quickly. It's funny because she even got to the point where she was upset if she didn't meet the height limit to ride a roller coaster; she's a future thrillseeker for sure!
 
 
 
Exploring A Bugs Land at California Adventure
 
Walt Disney's Storytellers Statue

Riding the Hemlich Chew Chew Train in Bugs Land
 
Us girls posing by the Hyperion Theater in Hollywood Land
 
Hollywood Land - Monsters Inc. ride and Tower of Terror
 
 
Five & Dime performance car on Buena Vista Street
 
Grizzly Peak area and Grizzly River Run Ride