Christmas Vacation in January

For Christmas this year, we planned a Disneyland trip with our 5 oldest children.

Santa brought them coal. Not because they were naughty, but because it was their very first clue to the scavenger hunt we planned to let them know they were going to Disneyland. Coal = furnace.

The surprise ended in our coat closet.

Britten was so excited! We never told he he wasn't coming. But we didn't let him know when we went either. One day he'll see the pictures and wonder where he is in them. We'll break the news then. We did bring him back some cute Toy Story figurines that he plays with daily. It' almost the same, right?

Our first day in California we spent at Laguna Beach. It's right off the Pacific Coast Highway. The weather was 78 and breezy. It was a perfect day! We never really got in the water because we were searching tide pools for live creatures. We found fish, crab, and birds. It was so neat to just watch them. Our own little adventure that was cheap, but relaxing and intriguing at the same time.

Days 2, 3, and 4 we spent at Disneyland and California Adventure. We really enjoyed Wednesday and Thursday. The parks were really not busy at all. We waited in line no more than half an hour and that was long and not every ride. once Friday came, our wait times tripled! Way more people that we liked. But, we stilled had fun. It was different now that our kids were older. They weren't interested in taking pictures. It was a battle every time. The characters didn't interest them much. It was fun, just different.

Carsland was our favorite place. It was the newest addition to California Adventure. Our second would be Splash Mountain, or Screamin'. It would depend on who you asked.

$ of the 5 kids made their own lightsaber. Grace chose a sweatshirt.

Our niece, Acacia, was so sweet to come along with us! She serves in the Navy and because she came along, we were able to get a killer deal on our ticket prices! Thanks, Acacia!! Alice in Wonderland is her favorite Disney movie. 

Mary Poppins is mine.

Beauty and the Beat is Grace's.

This picture makes me miss Britten!

Acacia and Dustin photobombed a tour group. They got caught! A few minutes later, the group was walking through our picture. It was pretty funny!

We discovered Downtown Disney this time. It was a fun place to shop.

This is Splash Mountain. This is my favorite picture! We spent the whole day trying to talk Kate into doing a bigger ride. she conceded to Splash Mountain. She was absolutely terrified! This picture captured that moment perfectly!

So many memories made! I'm glad we were able to do it before Ryan leaves for his mission in a few months.  We will be starting that process soon. It makes me feel super old, scared, and gives me a whole bunch of anxiety!! I'm not really this old, am I?