Our California Vacation!

Let me first start by saying that we had a total blast in California...We had almost 300 pictures so I am apologizing ahead of time for the 20 pictures that I decided to post. I could not narrow it down to just 5 or 10. Sorry!!!!We celebrated Anniston's 2nd birthday while we were gone. We took the kids to Goofy's Kitchen to for the occasion. It was not what we expected, and we (me & Wade & my parents) were not impressed. The kids, one the other hand, enjoyed themselves quite a bit. That is really all that matters, but I don't think I will be returning any time soon. (or ever)

The girls got their faces painted at the princess fair. I couldn't get a good picture of Annie's face but it was darling. She got some butterflies on her cheeks and Brooklynn chose to get a heart crown. DisneyLand has everything!

This is Prince Phillip (thanks Adaire)...Sleeping Beauty's husband. He was one of the characters that stopped by our table to wish Anniston a Happy Birthday. He was a good little flirt. Between him and Aladdin, I think both of my girls, especially Brooklynn, were completely smitten.

Anniston LOVES Pluto!! She calls him Tuto, but whatever. She thinks he is the greatest dog ever to walk the earth. Look at the grin on her face. She was sooooooo excited!

The Birthday girl! Can I just say how lucky I am to be her mom. She has such a beautiful personality and she is so much fun. She is as smart as they come, and I couldn't be more proud of her. I can't believe it has been 2 years since she came to our family. I still sometimes wonder why she chose our crazy family, but then I realize that we are all a perfect fit! (Now, if we can just get another one!?!)

What a beautiful princess! This was one of the 6 that we saw. It was totally worth every minute of the wait to see them. The girls were so excited and so polite and just such good girls. Each time they met a new princess, they had their little autograph books all set and ready for them to sign. Anniston was so funny, she kept trying to sneak away with hers so she could add some of her own little touches to it.

This is the first day at DisneyLand. I told Wade that I hate pictures with me in them....it's no wonder people think that I am pregnant....I look like it. I am working on it though. Curves...HERE I COME!!!

A castle shot! It very well could be the happiest place on earth. It is so much fun and it is nice to be in a place that is so family oriented.

California Adventure was decked out with candy corns all over the place. It was adorable. Despite my long sleves and long pants, it really was HOT!!! This was the last day of our trip and I had packed mostly normal 80 degree weather clothes, this was the last outfit that I had thinking that out of the 7 days that we were gone, there would be at least 1 day that was a little cooler....NOT! This was the HOTTEST day of them all and halfway thru it I was dripping. (sorry if that was a little too much information)

Ahhh, Jack and Sally...Anniton and Brooklynn LOVE the movie "The Nightmare before Christmas" so needless to say, they were thrilled to meet these two. The Haunted Mansion was totally decked out from that movie as well and it was amazing....AMAZING! I couldn't believe all of the work that had to have been put into it. AMAZING!!!! (did I say that already?)

Captain Jack Sparrow! Pirates of the Carribean was Brooklynn's most favorite ride. By the 7th time we rode, it she had both of her arms in the air when we went down the waterfalls. It was so fun to see her get so excited about it. Every single day we were there she wouldn't quit asking about it and talking about it until we had ridden it.

HOLY smack I have a lot of pictures. Woody and Jesse...so cute....what more can I say?

Cute Costume Goofy!

Pooh and the Grandparents. I don't like Pooh, and the sad part is that it really has nothing to do with the show or anything. When I was a teenager, a lot of grown women wore Pooh and Piglet shirts other clothing like overalls, and I thought it was so lame, and ever since then I guess you could say that I have sort of been a little annoyed with Pooh and friends...I know, I am wierd.

While my parents and Brooklynn wandered down the beach looking for sea shells, Anniston wanted nothing to do with it. So, we sat and threw rocks in the ocean instead. She must have gotten her dislike of the water from her dad. He is not a big fan of it either. I had to beg him to come close enough to get a family photo. He said that it was too cold, but that was just an excuse, because it really wasn't that cold at all!

SeaWorld was a lot of fun, but I think that we were all so tired from waking up early to catch our flight that we didn't get to enjoy it as much and we have in the past. Brooklynn was completely facinated by Shamu and the other killer whales. It was fun to watch her face as she watched it all.

Here is my favorite part of SeaWorld, Clyde and Seymore. They are histarical. This time of year the had a bunch of halloween songs and themes that they danced to. I think that this is a picture of them dancing to Thriller....So good for this time of year!

Taking a break from activities with my parents.

Brooklynn on the plane. She was so nervous but she was trying to be brave. Right before we took off she held my hand and told me that she was scared. I decided that we ought to have a little prayer to help calm her (and my) nerves. So we did just that and belive it or not, she seemed to be much better afterwards. I know that I was. I hate to fly these days, I am such a scardy cat anymore. I don't know what has happened to me, I used to be kind of a dare devil, but I think since I have had children, I have become a little more fearful of the "what ifs".

Both of the kids did so good on the plane and I would do that again in a heartbeat. We just read books and colored and they were happy. Right before we landed both ways, Annie started to get a little restless, but hey, so did I.

So that's our trip in a nutshell. We did go to Universal Studios as well, but it wasn't that great. It is definatly more for adults. The kids favorite part was the escalator and the water fall. We could have done that at the hotel!!!!

I am glad that we went and I am glad to be home and that we had such a fun time. My parents are awesome and total troopers. They helped take the kids so Wade and I could have some time to do the bigger rides and go to the shops. It was great having them there. My kids are lucky! Until next time!!!!