Now, there are a couple of reasons why I call this post the Disneyland miracle. First of all, Shawn has always been anti- Disneyland. I really didn't think we would ever go. It's not his sort of vacation. (Of course, I use that term very loosely because going anywhere in the car with 5 children really isn't a vacation no matter how you look at it.) But anyway, no matter how many times it was brought up I knew it was something he didn't want to do. Then one day, out of the blue, he said, "I've got a couple of days where I don't have anything scheduled. We should go to Disneyland." What??!! This is his very busy season at work, and he has sometimes gone for days without seeing the kids because of his schedule. I think he decided this would be a good way to spend a little time with the family. Believe me, I wasn't going to argue with him. So next, we asked the Boydens if they wanted to go with us, because they are always fun to do things with and I knew my kids would enjoy going with them. Plus, there was a pretty good chance they could pull it off on short notice. Then we also invited Rob and Michelle thinking there was no way they would come on such short notice. (I clearly underestimated Rob's hatred of all things Halloween. He was more than happy to leave costumes and trick-or-treating behind. I'm pretty sure if it were a different time of year he might not have been so willing.) We also invited Matt and Anne and Jake, hoping they could come but on short notice what can you expect? So with the Boydens, Marshes and us, we had 18 people heading to Disney land. (Sadly, our camera was out of battery for the big group photo, so you'll have to check with Katie or Michelle for that shot.) The next reason for the miracle, is that my kids whine and complain so much about how long they are in the car just driving to St. George we thought we could never make it all the way to Anaheim alive. They surprised me. They were great travelers, both coming and going! (And no vomiting even -which tends to happen altogether too often on long car rides with some of my kids.) And thirdly, we all had a great time. And that was a miracle in and of itself.
We all found rides that we loved. The teacups
The Maliboomer. Rob, Rob, Shawn and Samantha loved this one but Jonas and I didn't like it so much.
All of the kids liked these sit in a vehicle, go up in the air and fly around rides - even Megan.
And of course, who doesn't love Splash Mountain?
My personal favorite was the California Screamer. Rob, Shawn and I rode this repeatedly and loved it every time. I have always loved rollercoasters.
Of course, a lot of these rides wouldn't have been possible if not for the willingness of Katie, Josh and Michelle to take care of our kids while we rode. So thank you to all of you. (It was great to be there with other people so we all could have fun. Although, I think the Stringham family tended to slow everyone else down - so we apologize, but thanks anyway for all the help!)There were lots of character pictures...
The girls with Tinkerbell:
The boys with Pluto:
Peter was fascinated with Dale's nose and everytime he touched it, Dale reached up and touched his nose too. He didn't quite know what to make of it, but it was cute to watch.
When Shawn and Michelle took the girls to wait in line to meet princesses, I expected a lot of photos like this:
But why wasn't I surprised to see these photos of Shawn and the princesses?
I always thought he liked Belle, but he's smiling pretty big there standing next to Cinderella.
Peter was fascinated with Dale's nose and everytime he touched it, Dale reached up and touched his nose too. He didn't quite know what to make of it, but it was cute to watch.
When Shawn and Michelle took the girls to wait in line to meet princesses, I expected a lot of photos like this:
But why wasn't I surprised to see these photos of Shawn and the princesses?
I always thought he liked Belle, but he's smiling pretty big there standing next to Cinderella. Our kids are not the most resilient, and later in day 2 they started melting down a bit. (As seen by this photo of Jonas.) 
There were lots of tears from Megan and a full on smack- fest between Jonas and Samantha that we didn't capture on film. There just wasn't enough magic in the kingdom to keep everyone happy, so we took off for the beach. (I'm pretty sure this was also because Shawn couldn't stand the thought of being that close to the ocean and not going there. Deep down, he was really meant to be a surf bum. Too bad he has a family to support.)
The Boydens joined us, and the kids were thrilled. They loved playing in the sand and the waves. Lauren and Amelia both got soaked. Shawn bought a boogie board and Lauren especially enjoyed using it. (My deepest apologies to Lindsey, who did not want to go to the beach and wanted to stay at Disneyland. I probably owe her some donuts for ruining her day. But we still had fun.)
The Boydens joined us, and the kids were thrilled. They loved playing in the sand and the waves. Lauren and Amelia both got soaked. Shawn bought a boogie board and Lauren especially enjoyed using it. (My deepest apologies to Lindsey, who did not want to go to the beach and wanted to stay at Disneyland. I probably owe her some donuts for ruining her day. But we still had fun.)
After the beach, we put our tired kids to bed at the hotel and then Shawn and I returned to the park with the Boydens for a few last rides and to say goodbye to the Magic Kingdom before we had to leave in the morning.
All in all, we had a great time and we're glad we went ahead and did it despite our reservations. Thanks Marshes and Boydens for joining us in our adventure! Now did someone mention Hawaii for next Halloween?
1 comment:
That really was miraculous. I can't believe you survived Disneyland at Halloween with 18 people. And it even sounded like fun!!!
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