DISNEYLAND WITH FRIENDS

Stella always has the best time when the Douglas kids come to see her. I realized we would have to plan a trip since Christy was having another baby and it would otherwise be too long for my daughter to see her friends. It ended up working out that we were able to go and I was so excited to meet the new little baby Em. Em is so cute and so stinking good. I can't believe how well she handled two full days at Disney without a peep. See for yourself how cute she is:

Of course I had the crazy idea to take the kids to Disneyland. I couldn't think of anything more fun for Stella than to enjoy the happiest place on earth with her friends. We ended up buying the California resident tickets and that meant two VERY crazy busy fun days at Disney.

The kids were super excited, and as soon as we entered the park we got in line to see Pluto. Just as I was getting annoyed that we were in this never-ending line, who popped out for a visit but Mickey freaking Mouse. I screamed with glee and we all ran over to be first in line to see the famous Mouse. Then we went right back over to Pluto and the fun was just beginning.

Stella had the start of the day all planned out and she wanted to ride the teacups first. And indeed we did. She would have these crazy excited bursts of joy and she would hug Aedan or Cali in line and say "Wasn't that so fun?!" or "I'm so excited!" It was totally adorable. One thing about Disneyland vs. the Magic Kingdom in Florida is that there are way more kid rides at Disneyland. One of them being the Alice in Wonderland ride which Stella loved because she loves that movie very much. We were all hungry after that so we made our way to lunch. I had my soup in a bread bowl and I was very happy.

Another cute memory is how excited Stella got for Small World. It was one of her very favorite rides before and when she heard the dolls singing she cheered: "I'm going to see all my friends!" All of the rides were so fun and I don't think Stella ever minded how long the lines were.

The longest lines in the park are the ones to see the characters, but we made the time to see them the first day after we officially decided we were for sure going to do two days at Disney. Stella was much less shy this time than the last. She even talked to her favorite princesses and smiled when I took the pictures. 

After seeing the princesses we called it a day. On our way home we picked up way too many Krispy Kremes and some food at McDonald's and put the kids to bed early.

The next morning we took it easy. I took some pictures of Aedan and Christy's parents and we didn't get into the park until about 2 or 3. Like the day before, Stella had a plan. She wanted to go on Buzz Lightyear very first. We stopped and saw Cinderella who was just inside the entrance, and then we headed over to Snow White's wishing well to see if she was there. She is the only princess Stella hasn't met, and she is a favorite. Well it kind of backfired because Snow White and the EVIL QUEEN (dun dun dun...) were just leaving and as the queen walked by, she touched Stella and said "Why aren't you excited to see me?" And Stella started to scream. Now I mean a depth-of-her-soul, terrified-to-the-core-of-her-being scream. After that she didn't want to see any more characters for fear that their nemeses would be lurking close by. Then to her further dismay, the Buzz Lightyear ride was broken. Then we walked by the Star Wars show which Aedan wanted to watch, but which made Stella freak out even more (which I didn't think was possible). So I had to take her away and show her the teacups as she screamed for me to "Get me out of here!" I wanted to scream back: "They are not real! They are just regular people dressed up like your favorite characters!" But at that point I didn't have the heart to do it. When we got to the (thankfully working) teacups she said: "Oh, these are working. I am happy now." And she was happy the rest of the day.

Other highlights of the day were Em getting her official mouse ears and the kids having loads of fun on the rides we missed out on the day before. However, we still didn't make it on even close to all of the rides that they could have gone on. It was a crowded day, but I don't think the kids minded much. The best treat was that we were leaving Small World in time to grab front row seats to the parade without having to wait too long for it to come by. We had popcorn, and Stella and I shared my favorite Mickey Mouse ice cream sandwich while we waited for the show.

After that we had a camera malfunction, so there aren't any more pictures, but my favorite part of the day/night was taking Stella on the Autopia ride and letting her drive. It was hilarious. She announced that she had to go to the bathroom halfway through the line, and as we were laughing and bumping along the road I was sure she would pee her pants at some point. But she made it, and we were all finally able to enjoy Buzz Lightyear as it opened up that night. It was our last ride, and the kids were all asleep before we even left the park.

As I tried to get miss Stell in her jammies that night, I was laughing like crazy because it was like trying to clothe a flopping fish out of water. She was so out of it. I don't think she has ever been that exhausted in her little life.

The next morning I took some pics of Em and the kids and we did some shopping before heading to the airport and back home. Stella cried the moment we got to the airport check-in and kept crying until we got to the gate. "I want to live with them forever!" and "My friends!" or "Aedan and Cahahahahaliiiii!" It was embarrassing, but also cute. We had a great trip. 

Here are my favorite shots of the kids: