sayonara, Disneyland.

"By day four, this place really sucks." --My dad.

Today had some rough patches. It was Kennedy's meltdown day for sure! We were all pretty worn out. I always wondered if you could ever have too much Disney, and the answer is definitely yes. But today was still above par! No complaints.

The plus side is we got to do some neat things we've never done before, such as go to the 'Aladdin' show, which seriously was like a Broadway play. It was incredible! It's Disneyland's hidden little gem. Never even heard of it, but I highly recommend it. We also went to the 'It's a Bug's Life' and 'Toontown' sections, which are low on the priority list and usually don't get visited on one or two day trips. Let's let the pictures do the talking.

Paradise Pier by day...

and by night.

Today I made my dad go with Kaden on 'Screamin' to save my head from more pain. Here they are shooting off! Bonus points if you can actually see them, they're about the third row from the back.

Who are these four guys? Ya, I don't know either. There was a huge crowd around them taking pictures and such, apparently they're a big deal. Not in my book, but thought I'd at least follow the crowd and jump in to get a picture of them too!

The new 'Cars' roller coaster. Seriously the BEST RIDE EVER. I wish I could just ride it over and over and over again. It's the perfect mix between a kids ride and an exciting real rollercoaster. It starts out taking you on a drive through the red rock mountain scenery, complete with the waterfall and all, just like the movie. Then you talk to Mater, and Doc, and go into Luigi's tire shop to get new tires for your race. Another car pulls up next to you and you take off speeding to the finish line. Our car won. I'm horrible at explaining, but you'll just have to go see for yourself sometime! Hands down best ride at Disneyland.

Don't mind my crazy hair.

Toontown time. Say that ten times fast...

I adore this girl.

Took Kennedy on her first rollercoaster, maybe not the best idea. She got off the ride, burst into tears, and said she just had a heart attack.

We at dinner at 'Ariel's Grotto'

Our table on the pier

The view as it got later.

Alright, I can honestly say the 'World of Color' water show is in the top three list of coolest things I have ever seen. 25 minutes of complete creativity and awe, it was incredible. They went through dozens of disney movies, and sprayed basically a giant wall of water up into the air, then projected clips of the movie onto it. Crazy right? I tried to get good pictures/videos of it, but of course they don't do it justice. It was worth a shot! Above is Ariel, in case you can't tell.

This was before they started showing movie clips, which was the part really worth capturing. But my phone decided to die on me for those parts. ):

Well now we are all done with Disneyland! Tomorrow we fly back home, well to my home away from home in California. Northern California, Granite Bay to be specific. I'm there until Thursday, then leave super early Friday for Orlando, Florida. There I will have two days in Disneyworld and one in Universal Studios. Holy smokes batman! We'll save that story for another post. I'm ready for five days of relaxation before I go back for more Mickey Mouse time.

Bye Disneyland, you've been good to me.

third time's the charm

I'd have to say today was my favorite Disney day so far!!

My cute sister. Enjoying some breakfast before our busy day!

Down in Indiana Jones. I seriously was more scared than Kaden, I couldn't stop screaming and grabbing my dad! I think we were both blinded from this flash for a solid 2 minutes.

On a safari ride.

Four words:

Best ride ever, never gets old.

Train ride around the park, hence the blury background. Don't mind the stranger in the back. This makes me wonder how many stranger's pictures I'm in?

I love Winnie the Pooh. And Tigger. But especially Eyore.

 We went to Goofy's Kitchen for dinner, I think I love this place a little too much.

 You meet a LOT of Disney characters

 And my personal favorite, the pb&j pizza.

 This thing was my favorite food all of elementary school. Judge me if you want, but it's great.

Had many visitors during dinner

Kennedy would get so shy, love it.

This birthday dinner's dessert. Not as grand as last nights, but it'll do.

Happy birthday Kaden!

After dinner, we went back to Disneyland to fit in some more rides. I really love the kids rides, they even beat out Matterhorn! The fact that I get a headache every time I ride a rollercoaster probably has something to do with it, but other than that they really are just cute and fun. So far the Ariel and Peter Pan rides are my favorites. So cool! Did I mention we don't have to wait in lines? Ya, there's that. Kendra is claustraphobic, so we have a medical pass that gets us to the front (or very close to it) of everything. That's how I like to do Disneyland! Best thing ever. Bummer for Kendra, but we might as well benefit from it right? (:

It was a late night.

Some funny stories today. Me, Kaden, and my dad braved splash mountain. We went to buy our picture afterwards and it was deleted because it was 'innapropriate.' Was it the kids' fault? Nope. My dad lifted his shirt up. I'm really not surprised.

Earlier in the day, here is Kaden's dialogue:

"Tessa, pretend I'm a cake, ok?"

I nod.

"Yo, yo, you want a piece of me? Huh punk? Huh?....

Get it Tessa? Like a piece of cake?!"

Ohh my family. I love them.

The last thing we did was sit and watch fireworks. They were amazing, of course. I couldn't help but just sit and feel completely and totally blessed and happy with life. It was just one of those moments, ya know? I am one lucky girl, that's for sure. Life is good.

the happiness continues

Gorgeous, right? I don't even care that half of the scenery is fake!

Well today was a California Adventures day. Don't mind my frizzy hair, we went on the 'Grizzly Mountain' water ride right off the bat, so my hair is the result of being soaked and air-dried.

Here are some highlights... 

The new 'Cars Land' section is amazing. Seriously feels like Pixar picked you up and put you right in Radiator Springs.

See? I'm not lying to you. It was Route 66 in all its glory. 

Toy Story ride just showcased how awful my aiming skills are...I need help.

Parade watching, which happens often. Disney really outdoes itself! They give us a good chance to sit, relax, and get entertainment without waiting in lines. Bonus!

 "Make this face, the boys just love it." Direct quote from my five year old sister. Should I be worried? Maybe a bit. Here's for you, boys.

One of Kaden's several birthday dinners. Your birthday is basically a 3 week time period to this family. They brought us a HUGE free dessert, which fed all of us and then some. It isn't customary for them to do this, but my dad has a way with managers. We even got the 'special table' in the kitchen. Still deciding if this really is a novelty though, because all it gets you is more noise and passerbys watching you eat..

 I believe that's all for today. I feel like I'm getting old though, after the first rollercoaster, I got a major headache! Couldn't lose it the whole day. Since when does that happen? I feel like my dad. Boo. Not him, just the headache part. (: 

Tomorrow we are going back to Disneyland. I know it's a bit much doing a post a day, but it has to be done. There is just so much going on! Right now I'm beat, I know these theme parks are the happiest place in the world and all, but a good night's sleep in my pull-out couch bed is currently a close second. Night!

And so the disney adventures begin

Today..I flew to Anaheim.

Funny story, I thought I was going yesterday...when I was at the airport and my confirmation number wouldn't work, a friendly employee informed me that I was a day early. Guess I was a little too excited?
Unfortunately, I had to take two flights. One to Arizona, (shout out to lexe, I was thinking of you (: ) and then down to Orange County. Fortunately, I WENT TO DISNEYLAND, and it was awesome.
Flying by myself makes me miss my usual flight companion, my older brother Corbin. But armed with these goodies, I made it alright.

My dad picked me up at the airport, and off we went to meet up with the others. Disneyland, of course, didn't dissapoint. They don't call it the happiest place on earth for no reason! I got to surprise my two youngest siblings, who didn't know I was coming. In fact, they didn't know they were even going to Disneyland until this morning. It was so great to see them again! Here are some of my favorite pics from the day:

Parade time

There's a reason I love this kid.

One in ten pictures, he'll do a normal face. If you're lucky.

Space mountain! Favorite.

My shirt almost blends in with the landscaping.

The whole gang (for this trip at least)

It's a small world will be stuck in my head for days.

Overall, to say it was a great day is an understatement. I'm loving it, and it's just beginning! We have three more days on our passes, bring it on.