disney: take 2

we head back to disney a little tired today. sore feet, sore backs and not enough sleep don't mix.

we soldier on, though, because we are in the happiest place on earth!

last time we came here we waited to the last possible minute to try and ride 'california screamin'. 

i'm talking 8:00 the night before we leave to come home.

it wasn't in the cards because the ride broke down while we were in line and we didn't get to ride.

this time we didn't want to miss it so as soon as we got to california adventure we got in line.

this is where taylor drew the line.

he was not about to get on this coaster. no way. no how.

we figured we would want to ride again so we got five fast passes before we got on.

the four of us rode it and loved it! we just knew that taylor would too if we could just get him on it.

we'll see...

here is the miss getting ready to climb aboard.

after the roller coaster we walked around a bit to find some other stuff to do and look who we ran into...

♥ i just love my girl in her ears ♥

peer pressure finally got to him and taylor decided he would go on the coaster.

it's a good thing we had those fast passes cause if he had to stand in the line much longer he might not have made it.

somehow we got messed up in line and emily and i ended up going first. as we got in the car i look up and tay is standing there with a big crocodile tear going down his cheek. the poor kid was petrified.

i tried to tell him that he was going to love it as we are pulling away.

i was just sure that rob was going to have to leave and not ride.

here we are after our second ride.

loved it just as much as the first.

and here is taylor.

just as expected he loved it and rode it a couple more times before our trip was over.

i am so proud of him for conquering his fears and not missing out on such a fun ride.

there is an attraction called world of color at california adventure. it's like the bellagio fountains but better.

the only thing i didn't like about it is instead of being able to walk up and watch when it starts you have to get a ticket, line up 45 minutes before they let actually let people find a spot to wait and then wait another hour for the show to start. that's a lot of waiting.

since there was nothing else to do we ate. after our dinner we got some cotton candy and emily wasn't about to let any of it get left behind. she licked that stick clean.

it really is pretty as the sun goes down and all the lights come on.

then the show starts and it's magical. just like everything at disney.

we ended our second day on a very good note and head to bed.

tomorrow we head to universal studios!

i love a good deal!

i was skimming through the paper today and thought i would check out the estate sales going on this weekend. i found a couple and called my mom and asked if she wanted to come along. the first was was ok but i did manage to score a wrought iron plant stand for $3 and a white pyrex bowl for $1. can't beat that!

 the second one was pretty good. i came away with a wire basket, a spool and a box of vintage ribbon still in the package, two bags of vintage ornaments, a vintage clothes line for all of our wet suits this summer, a heavy duty spatula for camping, a box full of plastic silverware and straws for camping and a vintage sweater coat all for $9.  i can't wait to dig into that ribbon. the colors are gorgeous!

 he only charged me $2 for the sweater! lovin it!

disney: take 1

we're baaaaack!

it's been six years but we finally made our return visit.

i love disneyland because no matter how old i get i am still giddy every time i go.

 we decided our first ride would be space mountain.

 then we started to make the rounds going as fast as we could.

buzz lightyear astro blasters

 astro orbiter

i have to tell you a funny story about this ride.

now i know i'm not a toothpick when it comes to weight but i don't think i'm a large marge either.

this ride made me think otherwise.

rob got in first and as i got in and tried to sit down we couldn't fit.

ummm not happening so i jammed myself right down in there.

this ride is so skinny that rob's legs would not fit around my hips.

we started laughing because of the ridiculousness of it all.

laughing hysterically while we try to get our seat belt on, which we couldn't cause it was jammed somewhere between the ride and rob's knee.

it starts to go and between bouts of uncontrollable laughter rob is trying to tell me that he is afraid they will have to call the fire department to get us out.

and telling me when it stops to let him try and get out first so i don't hurt his legs.

oh, the humanity.

fortunately, for us, we did make it out with no other injuries than some wounded pride and sore stomach muscles from laughing so hard.

 next we hit autopia.

emily loved being able to 'drive' all by herself although i did have to reach over and push the gas with my unsteady left foot cause she couldn't reach it.

left foot+accelerator=a very whiplashy ride.

 i was super happy that the kids were over the character thing. 

when we went before we stood in many a line so they could get pictures with princesses and mice and everything in between.

this time we only got a few pictures when we happened to be in the right place at the right time.

picture with pluto and no waiting at all :O)

 this is the gadget go coaster.

it's just a small kiddie coaster but i loved taking pictures on the rides to see their reactions.

 chillin in toontown

 never thought she would be so happy to ride roger rabbit's car toon spin.

 so buff

 

 now over to splash mountain.

taylor and emily were a little apprehensive about this ride.

couldn't tell?

i thought they would both pass out from the anticipation of it all but they made it through like little champs.

and then rode it four more times before going home.

 it made me happy that emily and taylor wanted ears.

how cute are they?! 

 one of those rare moments when brother and sister coexist peacefully.

this was during our 45 minute wait for toy story mania.

love.

and that is our first crazy day at disney, with lots more to come!

pch

i have always wanted to drive the pacific coast highway. i love the ocean, love the beach and knew that it would be well worth a little extra time to take the scenic route. 

we left san francisco and caught the pch at half moon bay which is where i almost drowned as a small child, but that's another story.

we spent the next nine hours driving along the coast. it was everything i thought it would be and more. seriously. i absolutely loved it.

we saw everything from rocky cliffs to smooth sand.

sea lions on the beach to adorable coastal towns.

this is why i am still a california girl at heart.

 

 

 

tomorrow we take over disneyland!