Our Trip to the Magic Kingdom

Julie, Katie, Becca and Me in front of the big jack-o-lantern.

Part of the gang in front of one of the shops on Main Street.

I just love Minnie's witch costume. We could never get Cooper and Ava to look at the camera at the same time!

The kids were so excited to see Winnie the Pooh (especially Ava). Ha!

Petting the goats. One of the goats lifted its little tail and shot raisin out, just like a machine gun. I wish you could have seen Coopers face when he saw that! It was hilarious! Petting the sting rays and sharks at the Long Beach Aquarium.

This past week, Nick and I had Fall Break from school, and Rod had vacation. Becca just lucked out and missed school. Our family traveled to California where we met Katie, Ryan, Savannah, Cooper, Julie and Ava at Disneyland. We had this activity planned for almost a year. We saved a big part of our tax return in anticipation of our trip and then saved a little every month so we would not have to worry about expenses while we vacationed. We stayed at a motel right across the street from the main entrance and so we just walked to the park every day. We had so much fun!

It was especially colorful as the whole place was decorated up for Halloween (one of my favorite holidays). The kids were so good and loved everything. They especially enjoyed the petting zoo and meeting the characters. Cooper was a little nervous about getting on the rides at first, but he warmed right up. Ava cried so hard on the Dumbo ride, and then she got used to things. Savannah loved it all and wanted to sit by me on the rides because I “protected” her. It was just so great to hug those cute little bodies every day and hear to their off the wall comments.

After two days at Disneyland we went to the Aquarium in Long Beach. We all loved it! The exhibits were so beautiful, and we actually got to pet the sting rays and sharks. They enjoyed the colorful fish and we watched the scuba divers as they cleaned the aquariums and talked about the sea animals. Nick and Becca had a really good time, too, and enjoyed going on the bigger rides with Ryan and Rod. Rod had not been to Disneyland since he was 15, so he enjoyed seeing everything. My favorite attraction was Soaring Over California at the California Adventure park. I also loved the parade we saw the first night. But the best part of all was being with my family and my grandkids. We had such a great time together and I know we will always remember this trip.