Lost and Found

Our second day in the magic kingdom was a bit different. I felt that we took the day at a slower pace, even though we still fit in plenty of rides. We started over in CA Adventure so we could fast passes for Radiator Spring's Racers again. (I wasn't going to miss that one.) While we waited for Grandma we decided to browse some shops. Therein some of the girls found their second punch treat for the trip. It didn't even matter that it was bright and early in the morning. I let them dig right in. (This might be the happiest moment of their whole trip.)

Ivory found her own treat. I was really proud of her. There were so many extravagant apples decorated like Disney characters, but they also were quite pricey. So she opted for a regular caramel apple. I still think she thoroughly enjoyed it.

Back inside Disneyland our shopping had just begun. I told the kids that they could each have a souvenir under $20. FOUND- Many treasures. I didn't take pictures at the time, but I caught them all at home with their items. Let's see what caught their eye.

Daisy found Jake from Jake and the Neverland Pirates and never let go of him.

Pearl found a baby Minnie.

It turns out that Ivory is an Eeyore fan. But she named this little guy William.

Robyn found her treasure later in Adventureland. She opted to spend some her own money so she could get both the beaded elephant (awesome) and the Panda, which she appropriately named Peter. (Get it? Peter Panda?)

June also spent some of her own cash. She loved the mickey keychains. She bought a whole collection. I know she is making a hilarious expression in this picture but you can see the keychains better here. Behind her hand is a zebra, cheetah, and jaguar mickey keychain.

She also bought some charms and a pin. (I liked all her choices.)

Speaking of the castle, I made sure to get a castle shot that morning. Yes, I know we are too far away, but I didn't want to forget.

I feel like it is pretty random what photos I got. Some places I wouldn't think to take the camera out at all, and others I'm not sure why I did?

We hadn't given Fantasyland a proper go-around on magic morning so we went back to do it right. Everyone tugged on the sword.

We finally got to ride the carousel. Both Daisy and Pearl had been asking since the beginning.

We went through Pinnochio, Snow White's Scary Adventure and Peter Pan. We then talked Grandma into getting fast passes for Big Thunder Railroad. LOST- My memory. I know we went on Big Thunder Mountain the first day, but I can't remember when. Every time I go through the day it doesn't fit in anywhere. (And naturally I didn't take pictures there.) Suffice it to say we enjoyed it and wanted to take Grandma, so we did. (Still, no pictures.)

We did the Matterhorn, but let Pearl sit it out. (I figured making her ride Big Thunder again was enough and I was already planning to make her do Splash Mountain another time. {Evil Laughter} )

We made it to It's a Small World and completely skipped Toon Town. (Ha ha, I don't like it, and my kids don't even know it exists. Parent perk, I guess.)

Lunch time came and June finally used a punch. I hope the peanut butter bar was everything she hoped it would be.

We did some park hopping so I could go on the Cars ride. (LOVED IT.)

Then back to Disneyland to finish up some rides we hadn't done. We went through Astro Blasters.

Back to Splash Mountain with Grandma. Yes...this is the only ride where I got the 'after' picture. I practically ran off the ride so I wouldn't miss it.

I really wanted to get a Dole Pineapple Whip, but every time I went by, the line was really long. So the kids headed to the Tiki Room while I sweltered in the hot sun for my cool treat. Robyn wanted to spend her last punch on a whip as well. Lucky for her, I made it into the Tiki Room minutes before it closed and we enjoyed our pineapple soft serve to the sounds of birds and flowers singing.

Not long after. FOUND- A Dad.

LOST- His knife. On entering the park, Tyler's pocketknife was not tucked far enough into his pocket. They don't really allow those things in the park, so they confiscated it. *sigh*

That is just how it goes sometimes.

We went on Star Tours. They changed it up since I had last been there. It was really fun.

The kids played with the large globe.

I lamented and cried yet again that Space Mountain was closed. (My favorite ride.) There were several rides shut down on our trip.

Space Mountain- sob

Alice in Wonderland- eh

Nemo- Poor Pearl asked about this ride dozens of times. Sorry babe. I feel your pain.

Grizzly River Run- too bad. I really like a good drenching once in a while.

The last major ride on our check list was Autopia. Ivory really wanted to show me that she had improved on her driving. She hadn't. Not even close. I officially request to drive with someone else next time. Tyler had the littles. I went to take a picture of them, but they zoomed right by.

Here is June getting into her car with Robyn.

LOST- One Grandma. Grandma had been in and out with our group all day. But after the Tiki Room, we didn't see her again. She started to have trouble with her scooter that ended with her pushing it part of the way to the hotel. (This would probably also be listed under the cons.) Poor Mom. 
LOST- Her hat. Somewhere along the way, her hat disappeared. That is a shame. She looked good in it.

The evening was kind of a blur. I know I took the kids back to the hotel for dinner. (Quesadillas.) The two bandaids were holding back the blisters nicely despite my walking from one park to the other to the hotel a billion times, it seems.

There were plans to maybe take the older kids back to CA Adventure to go on California Screamin' again and the Toy Story ride, but there was one small problem. Dad couldn't go. His park for the day was Disneyland. Then another variable came into play. FOUND – Virginia. Virginia is like family, although I only see her once a year at this particular conference that Tyler was attending. In fact, I didn't even know if she was going to be there until I ran into her by the elevator the first day. I was elated. Then on Wednesday evening after Tyler ate with clients, she decided to join up with our family. We were so happy to spend some time with her. Robyn told me later that it felt like we were related to Virginia even though she knew we weren't. (I know Robyn. It just feels that way with some people.) Virginia was such a trooper. We dragged her around to different rides. I made her go on Splash Mountain. (Apparently that is my thing - making people go on Splash Mountain.) My camera wouldn't take the pictures without the flash, so I'm really happy Tyler got it.

Would you believe that is the only picture I have of her?(Of course you would believe that. I am a camera idiot.) We spent all this fun time with her and I forgot to get a picture with her. Blah. We rounded out the evening with fireworks. This naturally knocked out 60% of the children.

But it was still the best way to end the evening. We even got to walk Virginia back to the hotel. (There was a brief stop to get pizza for poor mom stuck at the hotel sans scooter and for June to get her last punch treat, ice cream. She really waited until the last minute.)

And so ended our time at Disneyland. I think everyone had a great time. It is always a whirlwind of excitement and exhaustion all mixed into one. But the time with family is well worth it. Thanks again Grandma for coming with us. We hope you had a good time despite the hiccups. Thanks Virginia for hanging out with our family. We sure love you. Thanks Dad for having a good job and working while we played. I'm sure this wasn't your dream vacation but you made the most of your time in the park and the kids still have great memories. And probably sweet dreams. They always look peaceful at the end of the day.

One last picture before we go. My phone was full of pictures, but Tyler's only had six. This is one he took that I forgot to include yesterday. He was busy climbing up the buildings in downtown Hollywood. Crazy guy.

To be continued in...General Sherman and the Midnight Ride.