DISNEYLAND 2009

Last week we took advantage of a military discount at Disneyland and spent 3 days there, we had a beach day in the middle to break the stimulation up. We had such a fun trip, Dusty was a bit nervous with our three young kids, but everything really turned out great and went as planned. Isaac and Emma are at very fun ages - it was a very magical time for them. The kids really got a kick out of all the characters and truly felt like they were actually meeting "Belle" and "Ariel" and a "Jedi" ect. They had a fun time going into the houses of Minnie and Mickey.


Spending the three days in the park was a lot of fun. It was great to have enough time to see all the parades and shows, they were really "spectacular". One of our favorite shows was the Musical Aladdin. Emma also really liked the "High School Musical" production.
"Look Mom no hands" -- Isaac helped Dusty get through some of the more scary rides!


I know this sounds a little dorky, but I made these fun Mickey bibs that I had my kids wear with our phone number on the back (Mickey's smile) in case they were lost. A lot of other parents were impressed with this - it made me feel good. Our cell number has a Utah area code, so a few other people from Utah noticed this and we were able to talk to them during some lines.
The Andersons- yes our last name starts with the letter "A" - this reminds me during college an Asian friend wrote me a card that was spelled Jandee and Erson. Kind of funny.
Pirates of the Caribbean was the family favorite, we rode this a few times. We all loved it including Sophie. The last time we had been to Disneyland was when Isaac was only 3 months old, so it has been a while. Dusty and I were really impressed with all the productions and coordination that takes place from the parades, blocking off streets, to all the shows and character meetings. They really do a great job- know wonder it is the happiest place on earth!
Did I mention it was really fun to meet all the characters, I know I posted a lot of pictures, but we actually meet over 20 different characters. TOTALLY AWESOME!!
Beep Beep Honk Honk . . .coming through.
The Jungle Cruise was another family favorite, the jokes and puns were great. It was pretty impressive.
The Tea Cups - riding these with my family when I was only 4 years old is one of my childhood memories, I hope my children will be able to have some fun Disney memories from this trip that will last a life time.
Emma was able to meet a lot of Princesses - Dusty realized that their hair (they wore wigs) wasn't the only thing that wasn't real. . . I am not sure why he jumped into this picture!
Oh, how sweet . . .Emma was so excited to meet Belle, she is Emma's favorite princess.
This one is for Uncle Tig!
Isaac meets a Jedi, for his souvenir he was able to make his own light saber, a special kind from a Tomorrow Land gift store. He really loves light sabers and was real excited about it.


For our "beach day" we drove south about 30 miles to Laguna beach. We had a fun time, but it did end up being a little chilly -mid 70's (I guess we are just use to our Phoenix 115 degrees). Emma was a bit timid with the waves, she had fun running from them.
Sophie had fun eating the sand.
In this picture you might notice a couple of things one: Isaac's eye is a bit red and irritated and two: the small speed boat by his side.
The story is, I was sitting with the two girls in the sand and I looked over toward Isaac and Dusty, I noticed Dusty's shirt was completely wet, my first thought was 'that was dumb to get his shirt wet, that is the only one he brought to the beach'. Then I noticed he was looking at Isaac with a pretty concerned look on his face and the beach life guard was running toward them. My next thought was 'ok, they are safe on the sand'. What had happened was that small speed boat that cost a dollar was floating away, Isaac kept getting deeper and deeper when a strong wave sucked him in- Dusty quickly rescued him getting pulled out a ways too, he saved the dollar boat. . . and lost his $100 Nike sunglasses:(. Isaac was fine other then an irritated eye full of salt water, he was just happy to have his speed boat back. The waves were very strong and coming in at and angle that really pulled you, it really wasn't very safe, but still there were quite a few people out- I guess they were like us and didn't know any better. In the beach picture with Dusty and Emma, Dusty is looking for his sunglasses to wash up on shore . . .they never did. The kids think a sea turtle is wearing them! And now I know what Dusty needs for his birthday!
All in all we had a great trip (other then the lost sunglasses)
many wonderful memories!