Vacation time

Finally after many long days and late nights Dan was able to breakaway and enjoy a family vacation. We had the time of our lives. The kids and I spent the first day flying into Cali with Dan, then a little shopping at Target for diapers (hate taking up precious suitcase space), water, and of course snacks. That evening the kids and I drove to Downtown Disney. We did a little shopping, while anticipating what Friday would bring. Day two I picked Anne up at the airport, and we headed to Disneyland. Alisha didn't know what to think. All she could focus on was meeting the princesses. So we decided to stand in line. Little did we know that it takes a long time to meet them... longer then Luke had the patience to wait. He ended up being a great trooper and before he lost it we were getting pictures with all of Alisha's stars. We played hard the rest of the day and one of my favorite things was a tasty treat Anne introduced me to, a Dole whip. (thanks Anne!) It's a light pineapple smoothie/sorbet delicacy. Later that night, we enjoyed the parade and the Fireworks. Day three we headed to California Adventure. We got there just in time to eat lunch with the princesses at Arel's Grotto. As we were eating our lunch the royal Duke came to our table and announced that the McGarry family would be the royal family of the day. Anne and I were shocked and did not know what to do or think. Alisha thought nothing of it and went along. All that Luke thought was, why are you taking me out of my high chair, away from my food? Being the royal family of the day meant that we would read the message that announced the entrance of the princesses. The day before Alisha had met most of the princesses but she did not meet Snow White, she really hoped to see her at lunch. Alisha was wearing her Snow White dress in hopes of this dream coming true. As we announced the first princess, it was Snow White. She came over to us and greeted us. Finally, all of Alisha's dreams came true. Snow White walked us back to our table holding Alisha's hand. They looked so cute walking together with their matching dresses and pink capes with white collars. We don't know how we got picked as the royal family, but we enjoyed the experience. Once we had the lunch taken care of we went on a few rides. Alisha's favorite was the caterpillar, I think we all rode it at least 12 times. Luke really enjoyed the carousel. It was getting time for the parade to start so Anne and Alisha saved us some seats. Luke and I went to meet Dan he was finally done with his conference and he was ready to join us . The parade was amazing just like everything else Disney does. Dan took the kids and filled Anne and I in on what rides to ride. We ended up staying in California Adventure until the park closed and then we headed back over to Disneyland for more rides. By this point the kids were sleeping so we just keep riding. We played so hard that we never even eat dinner. Its a good thing we ate a lot of dole whips that day. Day four, after sleeping in we headed to the beach at Dana Point (by Laguna Beach). We checked into our hotel, changed into our swimming suites and jumped right in. By jumped right in I mean jumped right in. Anne and I had the times of our lives as we entertained the locals, who were not going to get one speck of sand anywhere past their toes. Riding the waves would be much to boring for Anne and I so we took a different approach. We let the waves clobber us. A round of big waves came through and we had no control of ourselves. After a wave would hit I would look over at Anne and laugh so hard. She was trapped in the sand and each time she was in a new position and before I new it a wave would me hitting me again and I did not know what position I would be in next. By the time the ride was over Anne lost her swim pants, (she was able to retrieve them) I lost my sunglasses (some jellyfish is looking really cool with my shades). Both of us felt like we had spent the day at the spa our skin had never been so exfoliated. The kids played while we played. Luke loved the sand he was having the time of his live just grabbing handfuls of it at a time. He only ate a few mouthfuls before he realized that he really doesn't care for sand. Dan buried Alisha, and then Alisha talked Anne into getting buried. We did not want the day to end. Later that night, we enjoyed a yummy seafood dinner at the harbor. Day five, a sad day for us. Anne had to head back home, so we took her to the airport... after breakfast at Jack in the Box. Both Anne and I agree they really need a new logo/mascot. The posters were kind of freaky, the guy looked like something from a horror movie. We had a whole day a head of us and we did not have any big plans. We decided to head to Six Flags. It was close and Dan really loves "big" rides. After we drove for about an hour we realized that they were not open on the weekdays in September. Come on Cali we thought everything was open 24/7. So we opted for plan "B" we headed down to the beach again. We had fun making sand castles and this time Alisha and I were buried. That night we headed back to Disneyland and went swimming at our hotel. Day six, California Adventure here we come. We really wanted to try the new ride Toy Story, but we did not want to wait an hour in line so we got to the park fist thing. Once the gates opened we ran in only to find out that the ride was not operating correctly and would be opened later that day. It worked out just fine it just meant we could ride the Screamer more- one of my favorite rides. Before we know it toy story was open, Alisha loved that ride. We had a great day replaying all of our favorite rides and trying some new ones as well. We watched a few shows and enjoyed laughing and playing together. It was a perfect day. There were no lines... no need for fast passes. Later that afternoon we headed back to Disneyland and enjoyed the parade again and more repeats. This was suppose to be our last day in the park, but we were enjoying it all, so we extend our passes. Once again we played hard the kids passed out in the stroller and we stayed until the park closed. Day seven, and not ready to leave. We pack up our bags loaded the car for the airport and then head to the park one last time. We did all of our favorites, ate a few more funnel cakes and enjoyed being together. Around 2pm we headed to the airport and flew home. We had the times of our lives. One of the things that I enjoyed most was how much time we had. Having a vacation this long made it so nice we could enjoy everything and relax. We are now on the Disney downs. I find my self wishing I was riding the carousel with my two kids laughing, while music is playing in the background. Thanks Dan for letting us tag along with you and making a great family vacation out of it.