Quickest Disney Trip Ever

So to preface this little Disney trip, I have to say how amazing my husband is. While we were camping a few weekends ago, I was talking about how bummed I was that I was going to miss the Diamond Celebration at Disney, and that I had found out that the Paint the Night Parade was ending with the celebration, and I was really hoping to see it when we go on our family trip to Disney in November. 
Well Alex says, "just go and see it.." 
Me, "haha, yeah right, that'd be nice."
Alex, "I'm serious, just go for one day to Disney, see the parade and the Diamond Celebration and come home."
Me, not giving it serious thought, "yeah that'd be fun.."

end of conversation.

Fast forward a few days when I get an email saying that I have a hotel reservation at the Hilton Doubletree in Anaheim for the following Sunday and Monday nights. A few moments later I get a call from Alex telling me to go buy my Disney tickets and to see if my mom and Hope want to come with me.

He's the best I tell ya.

Well of course Mom and Hope were in, and we were all set to leave the next sunday afternoon. 

We got the car loaded up and were on the road around 12:30. I knew we probably wouldn't make great time since we had Izzy and Ander who would need lots of breaks. But they both did really great. We took lots of potty breaks for Iz (since we had only been potty training for about 15 days at this point) and she didn't have any accidents! We got into our hotel around 9:00, so it was definitely a longer drive than usual, but I'm just grateful the kids were both decently happy. We all crashed really fast, and I couldn't wait to get to Disney in the morning!

We got to the park right around when it opened, and quickly got situated, and then right when we walked through the main gates, we saw Mickey! We ran and jumped in line, and it was probably the best move we made all day. I figured it would be best to meet the characters first thing, since the kids weren't hungry, hot, or tired yet. Izzy could. not. wait. When I told her it was finally her turn, she RAN into Mickey's arms and just gave him the tightest, sweetest, longest hug. She wouldn't let go for anything! She kissed his nose and just kept saying, Hi Mickey, I love you! I was a puddle. I kept it together pretty well for the pictures and until our turn was over, but then I literally almost had a full ugly cry meltdown. I don't know why I was SO emotional, but I am pregnant, so that can be an excuse right? Haha! I think i was just so happy to see how much she loved it. It made the whole trip worth it, in my opinion.

After I regained my composure, we decided to go do some rides. All the wait times were super short, so we just walked until we saw something we wanted to do. We did the Tikki Room first. We all got Dole Whips and Izzy loved them. She liked the music in the Tikki Room and still talks about the birds and the pineapple ice cream!

Next we went to Pirates, and I wasn't quite sure how Izzy would like it since it's dark and there is that drop. But she wasn't even really phased. She did say that it was a scary ride, and that it tickled her tummy. But she asked to go again, so I think she liked it. We kept walking towards the back of the park so we could take the kids on Winnie the Pooh. I knew Iz would love that. And boy was I right. She was so excited the whole time, and asked to go again right when we got off. So we went again! And again! She asks to watch the ride on YouTube multiple times a day. Thank goodness for people who have the thought to take their go pro on the rides and let you "ride" it with a first person viewpoint, haha. After a whole lot of Winnie the Pooh, Hope and I ran onto Splash Mountain and mom stayed with the kids while they ate suckers and played in the dirt. Then we did Winnie the Pooh again. Haahaa. I don't think Izzy would have done anything else! But we were ready for lunch so we went and found a shady spot, and got some mac n cheese and sodas and rested our feet. Mom and Hope went on Big Thunder while I stayed with the kids, and then when they were done we rode Dumbo, and the Casey Jr Train. Izzy loved Dumbo, the whole time she was yelling "I"M FLYING!" it was so cuuuute! 

After that, Izzy fell asleep in her stroller and we went and got a seat for Mickey's Soundsational Parade. It was right by Small World, so after the cute parade we jumped on Small World, which both kids loved. We were gonna go try and get on Buzz Lightyear, but it was kinda a long line, and in order to get a good seat for the Paint the Night parade, you have to stake out a spot like 2 hours before, which is annoying, but we did get a good spot right on main street. We put down a blanket we brought, and ate some corn dogs and chilled for a while. Izzy and I went and got some souvenirs, and just wandered around so she didn't get too bored. Poor Ander was having a tough life and had gotten some really bad diaper rash, and he was NOT HAPPY about it. He was bawling and bawling and it was a rough scene. Hope was desperate and sadly, she had to leave before the parade :( But Ander definitely needed some cream on his bum. I felt so sad for Hope and Ander, and that we basically came for the sole purpose of seeing this parade, and they had to miss it! 

Sad stuff aside, the parade was freaking awesome. Izzy was wide eyed and smiling and clapping and screaming the whole time! She would yell out who ever was coming next and was just waving at everyone. It was so sweet! I'm really glad we were able to see the parade and the fireworks before they ended.
 

Mom grabbed a few things on the way out of the park and we hurried as fast as we could to our shuttle so we could get back to hotel and get miss Iz to bed. She pretty much crashed as soon as we walked in the door and plopped her on the bed. 

It really was a great day, but i've decided, that with two little kids, one day in Disney is NOT ENOUGH! We didn't even ride a fraction of the rides i would have wanted to take izzy on, so thank heavens we are going back in November!

I will say though, I'm glad she got a quick taste of Disney and absolutely loved it. She asks a few times a week to go to Disneyland, and she wants to look at all the pictures we took. It makes me excited to go back with Alex and my Mom and Dad in November. I know she won't be scarred of the characters, or rides, and we worked out any bugs on this little trip and now hopefully our next visits will be perfection! 

It makes me so happy that Izzy has felt the disney magic and loves it just as much as I do. 

Paris 2016 Part 2

If you wanna catch up on the first two parts of our trip, go here and here.

Our week in paris continued, and heated up, quite literally. It got really hot and it made it really hard to want to get out and about too much, luckily, we had lots of time so it wasn't too hard to fit in everything we wanted to do and still stay out of the heat.

Day 8

We were literally dead tired after Disney. We allowed ourselves a sleep in/lazy day. We slept/rested til around 1pm! I can't remember the last time that happened. We headed out and picked up some lunch and ate in the park and then just walked around. Since it was Saturday, the park was so full of activity and Alex caught some Pokemon. I started to feel sick/nauseaous so we ended up just going back up to the room. We watched a movie/slept some more, and really just gave ourselves a break. It was nice since we were in such a nice hotel. The bed was comfy, and the wifi was fast. What else do ya need? :) We headed out again for dinner and to see the Opera House. I finally got myself some French onion soup and Alex tried Foie Gras.

Some may consider today a "wasted day", but it was nice to just relax and unwind after all the craziness.


Day 9

We woke up feeling refreshed and ready to have another busy day. We had to check out of our hotel, and then we grabbed breakfast and went to Notre Dame for 11:30 mass. It was such an interesting experience, and we loved hearing the beautiful choir they had invited from Canada. It was gorgeous.

We headed back to the Latin quarter and got another rose gelato! So so so good. We wandered the streets and slowly made our way to the Louvre.

We had downloaded a Rick Steves Audio guide of the Louvre, and I'm so glad we had that otherwise I would have felt very lost.

We enjoyed the sculptures the best and I always feel so in awe of the talent possessed to make something so amazing.

We checked into our new hotel and then headed out for dinner. We found some steak and frites and more French onion soup.

We did a little window shopping and then headed back to our hotel for a cold shower since it had been so so so hot.

Day 10

Today we made the hike up to Sacre Cœur. So. Many. Stairs. But it's a beautiful area and it makes for a gorgeous view.

We grabbed some delicious pizza on the way back to the hotel, and then hid from the hot hot sun for a few hours. I needed a break from the heat and all the walking.

A little while later we wandered all the way up the Champs-Élysees, to the Arc de Triomphe. Then continued to the Eiffel Tower. It was about a 3 mile walk!

We waited in line for our tower tickets for about 45 minutes, but it was perfect timing. We got to the top just as the sun was setting. It was gorgeous. And we got to see the city in the sun light, and all lit up at night.

Day 11

Last full day in Paris. We had to switch hotels again just for one night, but our next hotel was just down the street, so it was a really easy change. We got all of our stuff situated then headed out for lunch. We found a cool pasta place and got it to go. We enjoyed it back in the hotel because, shocker, it was beastly hot. After lunch we did some shopping again, and got some souvenirs, and some delicious pastries, and headed back to the park to people watch, enjoy a soda and let Alex catch some more pokemon.

The last few days in Paris were super low key, but honestly, it was just what we needed to recharge. Sometimes it's fun to go go go and have your days jam packed full of activities, but when you are both typically busy with work and being a mom, it's nice to just have a few days to relax and unwind together. I feel like Alex and I were able to get exactly the break we were looking for, and while some people may look at our simple days and think how much time we wasted, we wouldn't have changed it for anything.

Day 12

Travel day. Not much to report except that in First Class on American Airlines, they give you pajamas.... haha We ate super tasty food, and SO much of it. They literally never stop feeding you on those flights, and it's wonderful and terrible at the same time.

These flights were so fun, and it was great to eat and watch tons of movies, but it was killer to have to wait so long to see Iz. I was so ready to see her, and the time changes and the layovers about did me in.

She had so much fun with her grandparents and I don't know what we would have done without them. I would have been a nervous wreck otherwise, and I survived off of their letters and texts and facetiming!

All in all, this trip was amazing. The hotels were incredible, the food delicious, and the company was the best I could have hoped for. I'm very grateful for a wonderful and hard working husband who made this whole trip possible. <3