The Mouse is In the House!!

We had a BLAST at Disneyland! Grandma kept Ellie for us, which I felt guilty about until the joy of not worrying about naps, or weird food, or just a strong-willed 2 year old dictating our every move became evident. Ellie had fun with Grandma (and maybe Grandpa, but she won't admit it) and AC and I had so much fun with Hayden and Chloe. They were the perfect children- no pouting, crying, or fighting. (well, we had a few minor issues with Hayden and his toy sword I stupidly let him buy, but very minor.) Chloe was a trooper and went on almost every ride that she could, even though she was a bit scared. She ended up liking them all except Space Mountain. She LOVED Pirates this time (last time, when she was almost 3, she covered her eyes the whole time and repeated "I no LIKE Pirates! I no LIKE pirates!" for the next 3 days. ) She even bravely went on Splash Mountain, with her little hands gripping mine in a death grip, but ending up with a huge smile.
I was mostly suprised by her willlingness to meet some of the characters and have her picture taken. Those of you who know Chloe know that her shyness is legendary. Not only did she get her picture taken, it was her idea. She even wanted to get an autograph book, which I promised her for next time. She never ceases to amaze me.

Hayden went on every ride in Disneyland, and any that he could in California Adventure. That boy likes his roller coasters. He even went on the Tower of Terror! That one he kept saying was okay, it wasn't scary or anything, but VERY quickly would say NO! when asked if he wanted to ride it again. AC said Hayden's face was a bit white on that one!

All in all, we had a great time. We even had leftover points from our credit card so a few lunches were paid for, which made AC very happy. He would also make us all eat a huge breakfast at the hotel (Residence Inns are great!) and then he'd stuff his pockets and my purse with bagels and fruit. There is a thin line between "Frugal" and "Cheapskate" and AC has been skating dangerously close to the "cheapskate" side lately, but I keep pulling him back. To see the crowds at Disneyland, you would never know that we are in a deep recession.

Disneyland lived up to its "Happiest Place on Earth" moniker, even though I had a castmember roll her eyes at me. I've never seen a grumpy cast member before, and we actually ran into a few on this trip. But it was totally spotless as always, which I love.

Disneyland, we'll be back in two years, with Ellie in tow!