California! April 9th-13th

Because Jacqueline and Mike wanted to take Ryan on a special trip before the baby was born, it was decided that I would join her family to visit Lisandra and go to Disneyland. DeMarco was on spring break that week also, so it worked out perfectly that he would be joining us during our time in Anaheim. We arrived late Wednesday night and chatted for a little while before going to bed.We woke up late and Jacq and I did some grocery shopping for snacks and lunch stuff since we would bringing our own cooler to the park. We were also able to purchase our park tickets at the store. Nice.
Later on, Mike, Jacq, Ryan and DeMarco went to the strawberry fields nearby to pick some healthy snacks for us.

My nephews hard at work.









Little did the helpless strawberries know that a giant was lurking in the shadows waiting for the right moment to gobble them up!



After strawberry picking, we drove to Anaheim to check into our hotel where we stayed during our Disney adventures. I had booked a hotel near the park that had a shuttle that left every 30 minutes so we could come back and forth if we needed to instead of driving. I was a little nervous about the hotel as I did not know what to expect but Ryan quickly gave me his approval.









"Hey Ryan, can you see Mickey from there?"








After settling in, we decided to head over to Downtown Disney and check it out. DeMarco had some money to burn at the Lego store. We took the short shuttle ride to the parks and it was a nice night to walk around. DeMarco got a few Lego toys and we stopped by the Haagen-Dazs to see if Owen was working. He was! After chatting for a while, we headed back to the shuttle with milkshakes in hand that Owen had made special for us.

I took a quick snap of DeMarco in front of California Adventure. I don't know why we chose the "R" but I think it was the only letter that no one was standing around.







After getting to the hotel, we got things ready for the next day because we were getting up EARLY for Disneyland.

The next morning we made it to the first shuttle of the day in record time! After packing our lunch in a locker, we headed into the park and straight to Fantasyland.
Ryan's first ride was Dumbo and as you could see he either isn't quite fully awake yet or is asking himself why he's circling around in a plastic elephant. The next ride was the carousal...well at least Mike seemed to be enjoying himself.




Hey! Look at the circus monkeys!







After a few more crazy Fantasy rides, we headed over to Adventureland. Mike, DeMarco and I rode Indiana Jones while Jacq and Ryan walked around. She had some warm, yummy churros waiting for us when we got back. Thanks Jacq! After a quick ride on Pirates (love that Jack Sparrow), we decided it was time for lunch. The picnic area was nearly empty and we had a nice quiet lunch. Back into the park, we rode some more and walked around but it was getting crowded and hot. We headed back to the hotel and chilled out and took a small nap. We ate some dinner there and boarded the shuttle back to the park for fireworks. Jacq and Ryan were nice enough to save us a spot on Main street for the fireworks while the rest of us took a turn on Star Tours. We returned just in time. Ryan loved the fireworks and kept pointing at them.
We did a few more rides after that and then to the hotel by 11:30. What a day!

Saturday was our California Adventure day. Because CA didn't open up as early as Disneyland, we slept in and lazily gathered our things together. We checked out and met up with Lisandra at the hotel before driving over to the park. First order of business? Fastpasses to Soarin' Over California. We took in some shows and had lunch before using those passes. Ryan got to meet Mickey and Pluto. After watching the afternoon parade, we decided to split up. Ryan was going to tackle the Bug's Life playground while DeMarco was going to venture on the Big River Wild Raft Ride. Because the day was so hot, the line to this ride was over an hour and half but we found out that they had a single rider line that was only a 10 minute wait. Since Lisandra and I weren't too keen on getting wet, we sent off the little one. Good luck DeMarco!

Not lucky enough to avoid the geyser!!



Are you still hot?




After another ride on Soarin', we saved ourselves a spot for the Mioni sisters favorite part of the day...The Electrical Parade! Everyone enjoyed the parade despite DeMarco not knowing who some of the characters were (Pete's Dragon). Poor child. After a fun-filled day, we drove ourselves back to Carlsbad.

The next morning, we got up late and took our time in getting ready to leave but we made a quick stop to the flower fields which were in bloom.

Can you believe this is only a 5 minute drive from Lisandra's house? Lucky.





It was a great trip with my favorite people.