Disneyland Magic!

Remember this from Hanukkah?

And then this from February?

Well, we finally made it to Disneyland!!

I must preface this blog with a warning that there are a ton of pictures and it's a long one but more than anything this is my record for the kiddos so I didn't want to miss anything. There are also a ton of Allie princess pictures and less of Jake only because what he loved the most was the roller coasters and let me tell you, I was holding on for dear life rather than attempting to take a picture during them!

Thank goodness we're out of the lego phase with Jake. We may have never left the store!

Since we were staying on a Disney property, we had an extra hour of park time before it opened to the general public! So we started at California Adventure and the most amazing replica of Radiator Springs from the movie, "Cars."

Cute section of the park focused on the movie, "Bugs Life"

When mom forgets your sneakers at home, you get new sparkly Minnie Mouse sneakers. 

Monsters Inc. ride in California Adventure!

Meeting Doc McStuffins!

After lunch, we headed over to Disneyland!

Allie walking with her "Bippity Boppity Boutique" fairy godmother-in-training to her appointment at the salon!

It's exhausting being a princess! She fell asleep in the chair!

So happy!

With her goodie bag!

As you all know, Jasmine is Allie's spirit princess but her other favorite, the new character, Princess Elena of Avalor.

That day, she also met Cinderella and Snow White!

Allie went to the "Royal Hall" at least 3 times over the course of our 3 days at Disney and probably met every princess ever!

Girl loves a carousel! 
Jake was less enthusiastic about this stop!

While Alex and Allie found all the princesses, Jake and I headed to Thunder Mountain for a little roller coaster action. I loved watching his face! 

He loved it!

We headed to the pool after a pretty big first day and someone barely made it through dinner!

Day 2 with sweet siblings!

We had to ride the Dumbo ride! Legend has it that when I was 2 and we went to Disneyworld I made my dad turn green by pushing the up button over and over again to make Dumbo go higher! 

Likewise, when I went to Disneyland when I was 8 or 9 with my grandparents we rode the teacups and they both got so sick. It took us hours after that to stumble out of the park and find the car!

 More princesses while Jake and Alex went to the Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom Ride!

An outfit change and we were ready to see Jasmine! 

Once was enough for me and Allie but Alex and Jake went 2 more times on the Grizzly River Run! We got soaked but it was super fun!

Our only misstep, in my opinion, was doing a character lunch at Disney. We went to Ariel's Grotto but the interaction that Allie had at the Royal Hall was way better and more meaningful. The food (and drinks) were fine but ridiculously overpriced plus all these princesses kept interrupting our lunch. 

Loved the view though!

 Meeting Ariel (again) and Jake humored me by getting in the picture! All the Princesses loved Allie's shirt!

Meeting Belle, Rapunzel, Aurora and Cinderella!

And thank goodness, Jasmine was there too! 

This guy was so patient with Allie and all of her princesses! What a prince he is! 

We followed lunch by going on the Ariel's Under the Sea ride. Jake said it best, "the ride was boring but the clam shells made good seats!"

 

Hanging at the Beast's library!

Meeting Captain America and Spider Man!

We waited a long time to get on the HUGE Ferris Wheel. It was cold but so fun to be with my peeps!

Day 3 starting off at Disneyland!

The Storybookland Ride was sweet and had miniature scenes from the different stories!

Into the whales belly!

We, of course, loved the scene from Alladin!

Sleeping Beauty's castle and Arendalle. 

 

 
 In front of the iconic, "It's a Small World" ride, 
now sponsored by Siemens!

The only spot we hadn't yet seen on Day 3 was Mickey's Toon Town. It was definitely geared to a younger audience but it was adorable! We immediately ran into Goofy and Pluto, Jake's newly adopted two favorites!

Inside Minnie's kitchen and fridge! Lots of cheese!

With Mickey!

Checking out Mickey's house!

Chip & Dale's House! 

The Inspector Gadget Go-Go Coaster
Can you spot Alex?

After Mickey's Toonland, Alex and Jake went to Tomorrowland to find some Star Wars rides and Allie and I wandered and ended up at the Finding Nemo ride! Allie had a very long and informative conversation with this guy about the ride, the scariness level and if he's ever met any of the charachters from Nemo!



After the ride, Allie had several melt-downs in the gift shop! There are so many gift shops it was crazy ridiculous!

We waited in a long line for the Astro Orbiter (think a faster, higher Dumbo ride with rocketships) forever and the we found our guys!

One more walk through California Adventure for more roller coasters for Jake and a stop at Allie's favorite ride in the Bugs Life area.

Throw a princess dress on her and these faces sum up Allie's trip to Disneyland! Jake's would be hands up, wind in his hair on a roller coaster with a huge smile on his face!

Jake and Allie both found Donald Duck independently and loved seeing him. Obviously, we have a special place for Donald and his cousin, Puddles, who is the Oregon Ducks mascot. 

Allie ended up being part of a game of "Donald Says" and helped Donald with some new moves to impress Daisy with. 

Then as Donald and his handler were heading across the street, she quickly and deftly decided that she was also going to escort him.

Allie telling Donald how her Bubba can speak his language!

A few shots from the Main Street Electrical Parade on our last night!

And firewords from our room!

We left Disneyland with some new friends, wonderful memories, and thinking about a trip to Disney World next year!

March Madness!

This guy started out the month with a shout out from his teacher on Instagram. He knew and was able to recite ALL the Presidents in order! I couldn't do that!

Another family work out at Coach Mo's. We hope that Jake and Allie enjoy it and see the importance of working out and being healthy but it is also just really cute to see them in the gym!

Muscles! 

For Purim the Mustangs build the Palace in Shushan. 

The creativity of Ms. Leslie never stops surprising me!

They even had a jail for Hayman, or Allie. 

That time I had a quick trip to DC for work and ended up being able to see my sister and nephew (who live in San Francisco)... Thank you, Facebook! 

I missed seeing the Schwartz-Fishman gang but did get to have a really nice lunch with Elliot! Happily, I'll be back next year if not sooner!

Jake's class was assigned people in history and they had to research and then present about their subject in a living museum. Even though he got sick with a stomach bug and missed it, he wanted to video his presentation for his teacher! 

Jake as Ronald Reagan

Kid looks good in a suit! And note the jelly beans!

More shots from the Mustangs!

At the royal table for a special lunch inside the palace!

Soccer in the rain! 

Not fun but anything for this guy!

The drama queen!

My sweet, sweet boy! 

Princess Elana does Purim!

Alex's company hosted an event during SXSW! So fun!

Jake took a "Staycation" for his spring break this year! Sleeping in late, a couple of days with Bubba, a day at the arcade with mommy, a day and movie out with daddy and a trip to the rodeo!

Bedtime stories with daddy!

On the last day of Jake's break, we decided we'd head to the Austin Rodeo. Alex was on his way to Vegas for work so Bubba joined us for the fun!

When you live in Texas and have boots that you've worn once, 

you wear them to the rodeo!

We, of course, had to take a picture with a Mustang and had to send it immediately to Ms. Leslie!

Allie loves the carousel! Somehow Bubba convinced her that she didn't need to ride it 87 times!

My guy! 

Bubba, Allie, and Jake in the belly of the bear! 

That night Jake had a sleepover and Allie and I had a mommy-daughter night with Mollie and Hailey. 

Happy Hour/dinner on the lake was the perfect end to a nice day!

After the rodeo, Allie decided she needs some cowgirl boots too!

The Mustangs presentation of Goldilocks & The 3 Bears! Our little actress served as the narrator and also as Mama Bear! She's a star!

We loved celebrating one of our favorite 3 year olds, Otis! 

Otis and I ❤ each other!

Fire truck rides around the neighborhood!

Birthday boy takes a break from the party to see what Jake is up to.

Allie has had some envious Outfits of the Day (OOD) as of late. Please note her signature pose!

I came to help with a project in Allie's class and while the parents worked the kids got to watch Trolls.

I Love My Ducks!

We had a great run in the NCAA Tournement this year and I really thought we might just Cinderella ourselves to the final game but it wasn't meant to be! Great run, Ducks! And I couldn't have a better cheering session than these two and Alex!

Happy April and be on the lookout for a special Disney vacation blog coming soon!