We decided to do four days at Disneyland. At first we were going to go Monday through Thursday and then Friday at the beach. Then we saw that a couple big rides were going to be closed earlier in the week, but open on Friday. So we did the beach Thursday and Disney on Friday.
Monday started off our Disney fun. We had a couple cute Minnie shirts for Megan and Mickey shirts for the boys. It was fun to dress them up in their Disney attire and get pictures with the characters on their shirts. Tony and Margie even found Megan some Minnie ears to wear when she met Minnie. She was super adorable. Megan LOVED all the characters she met. She loved Minnie and even tried to eat her nose. All the people waiting to see Minnie thought Megan was super cute. Okay, everyone at Disneyland just LOVED Megan and she got lots of attention. She is a very friendly baby and smiles at anyone who will look at her, so she got lots of attention.
We tried to go on Pirates of the Caribbean first, but the ride was down so we went an did Splash Mountain and The Pooh ride instead. These quickly became a favorite of Tyler and Josh. We must having gone on those rides at least 20 times while we were there. We would take turns between Tony, Margie, and my self on going on each ride.
Josh measured just under their 40 inches sign, so he didn't get to go on Splash Mountain. When we measured him with our tape measure, he was 40 inches with shoes - but Disney must account for the shoes and they make there requirements a little taller. Tony and Margie went and found some shoes for Josh that would make him a little taller, but he still was too short. Most of the time he didn't want to even put on the shoes to try to see if he would be tall enough. He was being a pill about the whole shoe thing.
Josh LOVED The Pooh ride so much. He would say "Pooh" after every other ride we would go on, even if we were in California Adventure. So when we were by that ride we would take him a good five or six times in a row. He would get so excited to go. When it was our turn and they opened the gates and he would literally run to get into the bee hive boat thing you ride in. Then he would point out Pooh each time that he saw him. It was so fun to see it through Josh's eyes.
Now Tyler LOVED Splash Mountain. While Josh was going on Pooh so many times, Tyler was going on Splash Mountain. He would tell me how to get in line and exactly where to go. If people in our boat would touch the water he would make sure and tell them, "hands and feet inside the boat." It was pretty funny. After he would go on the ride and get wet he would always say that he was soaked. He loved it. He would scream on the down drop, it was super fun to go with him on that ride. Luckily when we went there weren't any long lines, or we did Fast Passes or Baby Passes and that helped get us through much faster.
Megan wasn't too sure about all the rides. If she was really tired, she would just cry through the ride. Even on Pirates. The boys always fell asleep when going on that ride when they were little. She did fall asleep once on that ride. Josh was really scared of Pirates and didn't want to go. He went the first time and didn't want to do it again. Tony made him on the last day. The rest of us love Pirates. Nice and cool and you get to sit down for a long ride. Josh will just have to come around on that one.
Josh really didn't like anything that had a scary theme to it. He didn't like Snow White or some of the other rides that were dark and had bad guys in them. He mainly liked the really bright happy rides. Josh really also liked Small World. I took him a second time with Megan while the rest when on The Matterhorn. Josh just sat there looking at all the different dolls. Lucky for me the line wasn't very long so we didn't have to wait too long. Josh also like the Merry-go-round. He liked sitting on the horses. I did it once, but then didn't do it again - too much spinning for me. He like Dumbo, Buzz, the rockets, Autotopia - anything bright and/or outside. Josh also loved the train. We only road it two days and he loved being on the train and seeing all of Disneyland.
Tyler loved all the thrill rides. Matterhorn, Big Thunder, Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, the roller coaster in Toon Town, anything with speed and ups and downs. He just couldn't get enough. Almost every time went on a ride we could all go on, Tyler would whine that he wanted to go on something else. He did like the littler rides, but LOVED the thrill rides.
Tyler would talk to anyone too. He would talk to people while waiting in line or while on the train. He would tell them how old he is and his brother and sister. He would tell them all about his school. He even invited one person to his next birthday party. I'm pretty sure he didn't get that outgoing friendliness from his dad. It was really funny to hear what he would tell people.
Megan loved all the characters. She would get really close and she even tried to eat Minnie's nose. She wasn't afraid at all and seemed excited to meet them. She met Minnie, Mickey, Tigger, Daisy Duck, and Pooh Bear. Tyler liked Mickey, Tigger and Pooh, but didn't much care to meet anyone else. Josh didn't like anyone but Pooh. He would stay far away from them and he only went up close to Pooh. We didn't have to wait too long to get pictures because most of the time we happened to be there at the right time.
Josh, Megan, and I got to do a lot of hanging out while waiting for the thrill riders to come back. We didn't really mind most of the time. Josh always got some juice and a snack while he waited, so he was a pretty good sport about it. Megan did pretty good to just hangout in the stroller. There were many times that she was tired of the stroller (and probably hot), so Tony would carry her.
We brought the front pack carrier, but since it was SO HOT and HUMID Tony didn't want to wear it (don't blame him). Lucky for him she is light and so it wasn't too bad. Tyler liked when Tony held Megan because that meant that he got a break from walking and got to sit in the stroller. I am very glad that we took two strollers. It is a lot of walking and these kids need a break.
We decided to buy an umbrella stroller before we came to push Josh around in and we were very glad that we did. We got a nicer and more expensive one then we first thought we would but we liked that the seat came back for if he fell asleep (and he did) and also that it held a heavier weight for if Tyler wanted to ride (and he did) and that it had the five-point harness for if Megan wanted to ride (and she did). So it worked out really good and we were glad that we had two strollers.
The food was really good there. We would generally have a big meal at around one or two and then just have a lighter snack or ice cream later in the day. On Friday since it was 105 degrees, we decided to leave the park early and go swimming and the hotel. Before we got to the hotel, we stopped at Cold Stone (it's across the street from Disneyland) and got some ice cream. We all got big bowls of it and gobbled it down. Megan even got some and really liked it. Tyler got the blue cotton candy cone and Josh slept through the whole thing - which was sad because it was his birthday that day and he loves ice cream.
I think that it goes without saying, but we really loved our time at Disneyland with Grandma Margie and can't wait to do it again some day. Tyler and Josh still talk about their favorite rides. Maybe they are right...It is the Happiest Place on Earth!
After presents we had some cake and ice cream and then Josh played with his toys a little before we headed home. I hope that he enjoyed his birthday. It was kind of a scattered birthday this year, but you can't complain when you get to spend your actual birthday at Disneyland. Happy Birthday Josh - we love you!
Koda was HAPPY to see us. I don't think happy is a strong enough word. He barked with excitement and jumped up and down all over the place. We couldn't believe how excited he was. It took a good five or so minutes for him to calm down. After Koda settled down we went in the back yard and saw the puppies. Six supper cute puppies. I couldn't get enough of them. I thought we would stay for maybe a half an hour or so...like two hours later we were still there holding the puppies. The kids all loved them too. Tyler liked that he could pick them up himself and hold them. Josh did better if we helped hold the puppies while he pet them. Megan didn't know what to think, she was pretty mellow about the whole thing.
Tyler was the first one to want to get some water for his sand hole so Tony helped him to get it. He put Megan's feet in the water and she wasn't too sure what to think. She didn't cry, but she didn't really smile with delight either. Josh didn't want anything to do with the water at first. He was happy to play with the sand. 
Megan was tired after about an hour so I went back on the towels and put her down for a nap. Everyone else stayed close to the water building sand castles and having fun. I think Tony and Margie had just about as much fun as the boys. The weather was perfect and not too many people, a great day at the beach. Tyler keeps asking if we can go to the beach each day. He doesn't understand that we don't have a "real" beach any where close. Both boys totally feel asleep within a couple minutes of leaving the beach . Totally wore them out. We talked about the next time we go maybe we do Disneyland three days and the beach two days - honestly SO MUCH FUN!!!
We decided to do four days at Disneyland. At first we were going to go Monday through Thursday and then Friday at the beach. Then we saw that a couple big rides were going to be closed earlier in the week, but open on Friday. So we did the beach Thursday and Disney on Friday.
We tried to go on Pirates of the Caribbean first, but the ride was down so we went an did Splash Mountain and The Pooh ride instead. These quickly became a favorite of Tyler and Josh. We must having gone on those rides at least 20 times while we were there. We would take turns between Tony, Margie, and my self on going on each ride.
Josh measured just under their 40 inches sign, so he didn't get to go on Splash Mountain. When we measured him with our tape measure, he was 40 inches with shoes - but Disney must account for the shoes and they make there requirements a little taller. Tony and Margie went and found some shoes for Josh that would make him a little taller, but he still was too short. Most of the time he didn't want to even put on the shoes to try to see if he would be tall enough. He was being a pill about the whole shoe thing.
Now Tyler LOVED Splash Mountain. While Josh was going on Pooh so many times, Tyler was going on Splash Mountain. He would tell me how to get in line and exactly where to go. If people in our boat would touch the water he would make sure and tell them, "hands and feet inside the boat." It was pretty funny. After he would go on the ride and get wet he would always say that he was soaked. He loved it. He would scream on the down drop, it was super fun to go with him on that ride. Luckily when we went there weren't any long lines, or we did Fast Passes or Baby Passes and that helped get us through much faster. 
Josh really didn't like anything that had a scary theme to it. He didn't like Snow White or some of the other rides that were dark and had bad guys in them. He mainly liked the really bright happy rides. Josh really also liked Small World. I took him a second time with Megan while the rest when on The Matterhorn. Josh just sat there looking at all the different dolls. Lucky for me the line wasn't very long so we didn't have to wait too long. Josh also like the Merry-go-round. He liked sitting on the horses. I did it once, but then didn't do it again - too much spinning for me. He like Dumbo, Buzz, the rockets, Autotopia - anything bright and/or outside. Josh also loved the train. We only road it two days and he loved being on the train and seeing all of Disneyland. 
The food was really good there. We would generally have a big meal at around one or two and then just have a lighter snack or ice cream later in the day. On Friday since it was 105 degrees, we decided to leave the park early and go swimming and the hotel. Before we got to the hotel, we stopped at Cold Stone (it's across the street from Disneyland) and got some ice cream. We all got big bowls of it and gobbled it down. Megan even got some and really liked it. Tyler got the blue cotton candy cone and Josh slept through the whole thing - which was sad because it was his birthday that day and he loves ice cream.
