Disney Magic

3 Kids. 2 Days. Disneyland. It was magic. From start to finish, our trip to Disneyland was pretty great.

The kids earned this trip. We gave Natalya and Branson each personal goals. When both of them reached their goals they earned a trip to Disneyland. It took several months - but it was definitely worth the wait.

Our house knows her as "Nana" but the rest of the world knows her as Kathy, Brian's mom. Brian asked her to come, and to our happy surprise she was able to join us! Kathy drove down from Utah the day before we left together for California. It was so nice to have an extra adult around. And the kids (big and small) loved reconnecting with their Nana. :)

I took a million pictures. Here's a few...

This is his, "I'm excited to be driving to Disneyland" face.

Our hotel was just what what we were looking for. A block away from Disneyland, continental breakfast, free parking, a cute little spot for Irelynn to sit, AND...

BUNK BEDS! A total hit.

These faces aren't just happy because they're headed to Disneyland - they're happy to be on a BUS headed for Disneyland. Who knew riding on a bus would be just as exciting as riding on The Matterhorn?!

During my early childhood years, much of my time was spent going to Disneyland with my BFF Monika. Now that she's grown, she gets to work for The Walt Disney Company at Disneyland doing technical stuff. I don't know exactly what all that entails, but it sounds awesome to me. It was nice to spend some time with she and her husband while we were there.





First ride excitement!


Toon Town roller coaster - one of Branson's favorite rides.

This was Natalya's first time on a roller coaster. And this was her, "That freaked me out, but I want to do it again" look.

Do you think Natalya and Irelynn have the same hair type? Lucky girls.

Irelynn was fascinated with the White Rabbit's little door that was just her size.

Ahhh. Every parent loves a sleeping child. While they were asleep, the "big kids" got to go on Indiana Jones and Splash Mountain.

Pirates of the Caribbean.

Branson had a hard time deciding whether it was more important to smile for the camera or keep his eyes on the road while driving his car on Autotopia.

Natalya got to meet Rosetta, Tink, and Terence at Pixie Hollow.

We're about to go on The Matterhorn! These are our scared faces.

Kidding! We're excited. And The Matterhorn ended up being Natalya's favorite ride. We rode it twice.

As much as Branson loved the roller coasters, I've never seen him more excited than he was on It's A Small World. I think we heard, "Look at that!" about a hundred times.

We spotted Lightning and Mater while at California Adventure. Branson was in Heaven. Although there was a line of people waiting to take their picture after us, we had a hard time coaxing Branson away from his favorite cars.

Sully was such a tease. Every time someone tried to take his picture, he'd walk away. We were lucky to get this shot.

Minnie has a sweet tooth! We were all eating churros by the time we got to take our picture with her. And she snagged one.

We can't leave the park without dropping a penny in Snow White's wishing well.

"Who so pulleth out this sword of this stone and anvil is rightwise ruler born of England..."

When I was little, I actually pulled the sword out of the stone! Merlin made me "Ruler of the Realm". He dressed me up, gave me a certificate... I'll never forget that.

We didn't have tears very often while at the Happiest Place on Earth, but I knew it was coming when we told Branson it was time to go.

We had a great time. 'Till next year, Walt!