Disneyland!

So lucky little Madeline didn't get a conventional birthday party this year. We decided to take her to Disneyland (for her first time) to celebrate her 5th birthday. My parents came with us, as well. We flew out on December 28th and lucky us, the weather for the majority of the trip SUCKED...it rained and was cold. It was also EXTREMELY crowded at the Disneyland Park itself, so we tried to save our passes for the park until after the new year, which turned out to be the best thing we could have done.

Brody's first plane ride.

Maddi's 4th plane ride...so early, but so excited!

Daddy & Maddi

Brody was the best traveler on the way there...he slept almost the entire way and the time he was awake, was as happy as a clam.

We were dooped...when we got there, the sun was shining bright and we definitely felt like we were in California...can't say the same for the rest of the trip...

On our first full day, it was raining pretty good, so we didn't want to waste a pass to go into the parks, so we just hung out in Downtown Disney. This is Maddi & Daddy making a RideMakerz Dodge Ram (so Maddi could have a much smaller version of Daddy's truck)...$100 later...

This was Maddi's birthday present from Halmoni & Pop...a light-up, rolling Disney Princess suitcase. I have to say, it is pretty sweet. I would love to borrow it if she ever let me!

Brody just hanging out in his jammies in the hotel room.

Both of our cherubs fast asleep after a busy day.

Happy 5th Birthday to our sweet little girl.

We've been here for a couple of days now, but on our way to Disneyland & California Adventure for our FIRST TIME to celebrate Maddi's birthday!

Here we come!


Maddi & Mommy heading through Sleeping Beauty's Castle to the
Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique.

What an absolute magical experience!
Once we got there, they asked Maddi what princess she would like to be transformed as and she chose her most favorite princess, Cinderella. Then they sent her into the dressing room and there were all kinds of goodies to help with the transformation..."glass slippers", a magic wand, and a beautiful Cinderella dress.

This was the sweet lady, who was under the Fairy Godmother's training who helped transform Maddi into Cinderella. She did her hair, nails, make-up, and added sparkles.

VOILA! Happy Birthday, Cinderella (oops, we mean Maddi!)

After the amazing transformation, they took Maddi to the back room for some professional photos of her in the carriage and in the woods with the friendly forest animals.

We didn't get a whole lot of big smiles throughout this hour experience, as we think she was very overwhelmed and in shock that this was all happening to/for her! Don't be fooled though, she absolutely loved it.

After the Boutique (which was in Disneyland) we jetted across the way to California Adventure where we had a reservation for her birthday breakfast at Ariel's Grotto. When you first get there, they take you down as a group to meet and take pictures with Ariel. After they take you to be seated, they bring you the food family style. We had juice, coffee, fresh fruits, cheeses (not for me of course), breads, eggs, potatoes, bacon, and sausage while we waited for the princesses to make their arrival.

Right after we ate, Maddi got a birthday cake surprise!

OOOH, and here come the princesses!

Here is Maddi with her twin and most favorite princess of all, Cinderella. Snow White, Aurora, and Belle also made their way through the crowd to say hi, take pictures and sign autographs.

Brody did a fabulous job of flirting with all of the beautiful princesses.

Having some fun in Bug's Life with Dad (you can't tell right now, but Daddy was not the happiest of campers after paying for that breakfast!)

Waiting to watch the Disney Channel Rocks! show...totally up Maddi's alley.

We came back to the hotel for a couple of hours to rest up before we were heading back to the park and this is the mischief Brody was getting himself into...

We actually didn't spend too much time in Disneyland today because it was so busy, but when we came back in the evening, we were able to get on the teacups without too long of a wait.

Sleeping Beauty's Castle...although I had been to Disneyland a few times before, I had never been to Disneyland during Christmas time. Everything was so beautiful and lit up, but this was by far the most beautiful thing in the whole park!

It's a Small World pretty amazing, too!

The next day was New Year's Eve and we decided to stay away from the parks until the day AFTER New Years because we had heard the parks would be insane (and they were...sold out and not letting people in!)

Can't remember what made him so upset, but soooo cute!

We decided to go miniature golfing of all things. This was actually Maddi's first time ever. We had a lot of fun.

The players.

The bystanders.

We came back to the hotel for a while to rest and hang out. Here are the boys doing what boys do...eat, drink and watch football.

Later that night, we decided to head down to ESPN zone in Downtown Disney to play games. Maddi loved this place she called "ESP Zone".

This was our 2nd day at the parks. We spent a lot of time in ToonTown, letting Maddi get on all the cars, go in all the houses, and ride the one roller coaster at least 3 times.

The whole gang in Mickey's house. Thanks for letting us visit, Mickey!

Pop & Maddi on It's a Small World.

This was the only ride Halmoni wanted to go on. She loves it!

Brody told us he was having a blast at Disneyland!
By the way, he was a total trooper the entire trip. He's just the easiest dude to please. The only thing he didn't like was when we covered the stroller up during the heavier rain. Who could blame the dude?

Believe it or not, Maddi's favorite ride, which she was just BARELY tall enough to ride was Splash Mountain. It was always my favorite, but I also was much older than 5 when I rode it for the first time. She is much more brave than Mommy was at that age. Her other favorite rides were Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

This was Maddi really, really upset because of a bracelet she got her friend Kahlen. You'll have to ask if you really care to know. I just love the pouty face at the so-called "Happiest Place on Earth"...

Apparently they were going to take it down soon after we left, but they had the word, CALIFORNIA spelled out in these cool gigantic letters, so here's Maddi under the R on our 3rd and last day at the park.

This was new to me, and perfect for Maddi. Here you could listen to storytelling, watch a royal coronation, and meet the princesses.

This was the stage where the princesses came out to teach all the little boys and girls how to be a princess or a prince. If you were 5, wouldn't this be so amazingly magical??

This was where Snow White told her tale.

Maddi with Jasmine...she thought she was oh, so beautiful! Unfortunately, we were never able to meet up with Aladdin, which Maddi was totally bummed about.

Waiting to watch the Disney Christmas Parade.

It was pretty cool to be at Disneyland while the Christmas decorations were still up and the Christmas celebrations were still going on.

Later that night we went back to California Adventure for the World of Color show, which was awesome!

Maddi & Daddy watching the show.

We went back into Disneyland one last time after the show because Maddi HAD to ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad one MORE time. Last picture we got of the two babes at Disneyland.

Aaah, fast asleep on our way home. What a trip!