That Time We Went to DISNEYLAND

GUYS! It's been a million years since I posted on here. Life has been a whirlwind lately and I've been going through some rather distracting stuff, but I really miss doing this so want to make it a priority to get back into it. Since I have lots of past things I want to share, I'm going to start doing "remember when" type posts on Fridays, because who cares if it was a long time ago there are still things I want to show you even if it's way past due. And what better motivation than to share with you Graham's first DISNEY visit?! (Especially since that was the last thing I posted back back in Nov...)

We took Graham to Disneyland a few days before his 3rd birthday - so he was still free WAHOO!! (ya start paying the big bucks as soon as the clock strikes 12 and you're officially 3 years old). We talked about it lots in the weeks leading up, and I tried to get him excited without pouring too much expectation into it (I LOVE DISNEYLAND. CHILD OF MINE, YOU MUST LOVE DISNEYLAND!). But anticipation is half the fun, so we'd lay in bed at night talking about the rides we were going to go on and the characters we were going to see and the treats we were going to eat... 

  

As you can see from the pic at the very top, we had absolutely perfect weather. After meanduring through Main Street (who am I kidding, we ran like crazy), we ditched our normal routine of turning immediately LEFT (the sacrifices, I tell ya) and instead went straight through the castle into Fantasyland.

First thing G wanted to go on? The teacups. BOOM. What a gamer. 

We then mosied on over to Critter Country to find our friends from the Hundred Acre Wood.

Caught Pooh and Tigger just as they were heading out to "take a nap" 

and were extremely grateful for the impeccable timing. 

Graham's mind was blown getting to hug his pals. 

After lunch, we took a little break in the shade of Sleeping Beauty's castle. 

Which gave me plenty of time for a looong leisurely stroll through the castle to soak up my girl Aurora's story. Hadn't done that in a long time and it was uber fun. Turns out I missed an epic parade of princesses through the castle courtyard while I was inside though...not an actual parade, but my mom got to witness a ton of different princesses passing by with their handlers, stopping briefly to say hello to the few children in the area. Sleeping Graham, absent Meg, plethora of princesses. Shucks.

  

We DID however have an epic Mary Poppins sighting. 

Mary, Bert and the Disneyland Marching Band took a spin on the carousel 

when we were in the area and the Let's Go Fly A Kite singalong was delightful.

Some of G's favorites from the day included:

driving the cars at Autopia, though he could barely see over the steering wheel,

the finding Nemo submarine ride (he was absolutely entranced),

and the Jungle Cruise, which he kept calling The Jungle Book (on repeat at our house lately), 

and was keenly intent on spotting Shere Khan out in the foliage.

  

Wrapped up the evening with one last magic spin on teacups, 

then headed out before the crankies kicked in. 

  

But not without a last-minute treat for the road!

Perfect end to a perfect day.