DISNEYLAND!

 First stop on our trip- Downtown Disney to buy mouse ears! 

 so cute!

 Our hotel. Totally old school with a little facelift, but it was perfect for us.

 Getting ready to head out to Disneyland!!! 

 First ride- the rockets!

 We rode the submarines next and they were a huge hit. They have been redone since the last time I rode them and I thought they were pretty cool, loved the Finding Nemo theme. 

 Of course Autopia was a huge hit! Ben took it VERY seriously, I think he thought he was really driving. 

 The tea cups, one of my favs! 

 It's a Small World

 Lucky Ben got this giant Mickey cookie! This serious face kills me, he was like this the whole time, so so serious about the whole trip. 

 The castle

 There's a little smile! Of course they had to ride the carousel.

 Dumbo! 

 At around 2:00 it started raining pretty hard and got really windy. We were troopers though and still stayed until 6:00. The good news was there was no wait for anything so we got to ride a lot of rides, the bad news was we were very wet and cold! A hot shower and warm dinner was heavenly after our day in the cold. The next morning we woke up to sun- though it was only 60 degrees, we were just so happy it was dry! 

 Day Two- California Adventure!

 The kids had a lot of fun in the Bug's Life area.

 bumper cars!

 Love this action shot of them, looks like a paparazzi pic! 

"Stars, they're just like us, the eat cotton candy!"

 Mater and McQueen- Ben's dream! Radiator Springs in opening this summer- Ben could see where it was being built and kept asking, "Can we go check and see if they are done building it yet?" When I explained to him it wouldn't be done until June he said, "Well my birthday is June 20th, maybe we can come back for my birthday?" Lauren quickly jumped in, "That is the best idea ever Ben, mom can we do it?" 

 On Mickey's Ferris Wheel- they are much braver than me!! Kevin said Lauren got nervous when they got up high, but Ben loved it. 

 yet another carousel!

 We had lunch at Ariel's Grotto- it was one spendy lunch but Lauren did get to have her pictures taken with 5 princesses and she was feeling pretty darn special. Ariel is currently her favorite since she lives in the sea and Lauren is obsessed with orca whales. 

 Cinderella! 

 Sleeping Beauty!

 Mulan!

 Snow White! 

 she and Lauren really hit it off

 Love how sweet all the princesses are, Lauren felt so special. She said to us, "I just can't believe they are all talking to me and all want to take their picture with me." Little did she know we spent $130 on lunch so they'd take their picture with her:) 

 Disney was very gluten free friendly and made her gluten free spaghetti. 

 They bring out this tray of desserts for each table at the end. Lauren could only eat the chocolate shell and fruit but she thought it was so cool, especially the chocolate Ariel! Ben and Kevin got to enjoy the rest. Ben was so shy around the princess and wouldn't talk to them but he blew each one a kiss as they walked away, it was darling but I couldn't catch it on the camera! 

 After lunch we headed back to Disneyland, had to get the classic photo in front!  

 Ben LOVED Big Thunder Mountain! We were so surprised with how much he loved all the roller coasters. He barely made it on them since you have to be 40" and he's about 39 1/2". We lucked out and he got on every ride! 

 We had to make another trip back to Autopia on our last night. 

 Ben was a riot to watch, he was just so so serious about the driving. I wished I had it on video!

 So proud to have just ridden Space Mountain. Lauren rode it 3 times! The first day they wouldn't let Ben on but the 2nd day we came back with the hat and he got to ride- and he loved it. They totally surprised me, I wasn't brave enough to ride Space Mountain until I was 10! 

 After Space Mountain we watched the parade then headed back over to California Adventure for the Color of Wonder show. It was AMAZING, we were all really really impressed. But it didn't start until 8:15 at night and after about 20 minutes both kids said they were so tired and wanted to go back. Since we'd been there since 9:15 am we couldn't really argue- they were both such troopers! When we got back to our room Ben went straight to his bed and fell asleep, it was the funniest thing! The boy was so tired. 

 Saying So Long!

 Ben's still looking pretty tired (in fact I still don't think he's recovered!)

I thought they looked so cute with their ears, backpacks and suitcases!

What an awesome vacation, I know it sounds so dorky but I'd seriously been dreaming of taking my kids to Disneyland since before they were even born, so this was definitely like a dream come true. I even got a little teary eyed when we were walking down Main Street. 

Can't wait to go again, but sorry Ben it won't be on June 20th!