California love {day 4}...

Our first day in Disneyland was perfect - start to finish. We did everything. Literally. There were no crowds, we walked onto almost every ride in the park and had plenty of time to redo our favorites throughout the day. The only bummer was when we found out the Thunder Mountain was unexpectedly closed for a few days. Grace cried. Anyway, here are some highlights of Disney Day 1:

• Meeting the Diefenbaughs at the gate - though the trip to California was not a surprise, the fact that they were indeed going to Disneyland was a great big surprise for the kids. 

• Disneyland decked out for Christmas... magical. The wreaths were all shaped like Mickey's head, the trees were giant, there were lights and garland everywhere. It was fantastic!

• Claire - she loved every minute of our day at Disneyland. She has been looking forward to this trip for weeks and could hardly contain herself. 

• Rides we could enjoy together - it was always fun to stick with our group. 

• Again, Claire. She was just fun to watch. Disneyland is totally different through they eyes of your kids. 

• Time with family. There weren't many rides (only two) that Grace couldn't do, but in this particular instance I was riding Indiana Jones with the others while Merrick and the girls toured the park. Even though she was bummed that she couldn't do the ride, she was thrilled to be spending time with Ella.

• The carousel - when in doubt, let the kids spin in a circle for a while. For some reason they love it. 

• Kyler was tall enough to drive his own car in Autopia. I remember this stage in my life - thinking I was actually driving a car. Never mind the fact that you follow an exact track and you can't get your speedometer over 6 mph. He was in Heaven. 

• Taking Grace on the "big" rides was definitely a highlight. We lost count of how many roller coaster she rode. She is fearless. (Can you see her little hands sticking up next to Merrick?)

• The next time around we waited for the front car she would show up in the photo. =)

• Disneyland - what's not to love about this place? The crowds, yes. The prices, yes. Okay, so there are a few things... Mostly though it is all good. 

• We went into the Innoventions building - you know the one that spins around - and is next to Space Mountain. Anyway, I had never been inside, but it was really neat. Think OMSI by Disney. We happened to stumble in to a live show they were doing about ASIMO - the humanoid robot built by Honda. It was amazing. 

• Nemo - An underwater adventure that the kids love. Claire was mesmerized by the fish, divers, bubbles, pretty much everything. 

• Buzz's Astroblasters - another favorite that we rode together many times. Shoot your laser at the bad guys to wrack up points. Claire loved that she got her own gun. She pointed it at herself most of the time and still managed to outscore her big sister. 

• Trying out new-to-us rides. Every time we go to the park there is something we skip - a line that is too long, a ride that is too boring. I have never ridden the rockets (think Dumbo meets Tomorrow Land). Claire and I were waiting for the rest of the gang to finish up in Star Tours when we noticed that there was no one on the rocket ships. We rode twice and when we were about to get on the third time the rest of the family found and joined us. 

Kyler was stoked every time he could do something on his own.

• Matterhorn! One of Grace's favorites. Actually, who am I kidding, she loves them all. The bobsleds are great, but you really should ride them at night. I swear they speed up the rides when the sun sets. 

• Meeting characters - Ella would always play along, but Claire (and sometimes Grace) were convinced that these were absolutely the real thing. 

Grace was a little unsure of the Mad Hatter - not sure I could blame her.

• The new and improved Star Tours. Anytime you get to put on super cool 3D glasses is going to be good. 

• Falling asleep regardless of the noise level simply because you just can't go on for one more minute. 

• When the sun goes down, the lights turn on. Millions of tiny, twinkling Christmas lights line the streets and alleys. 

• Captain Jack. Who doesn't love a good pirate. Pirates was another ride that we all enjoyed together (the first time at least). It was fun to bring Claire along on one of the more grown up rides. 

• Small World at Christmas is a whole new place. New decor, new music, new kids singing. It is a lot of fun this time of year. 

• The nightmare - I might be alone in this assessment, but I do enjoy the Haunted Mansion. I think I am more of an original mansion girl myself, but there is some beauty to be found in the Nightmare Before Christmas version as well. 

• The fireworks shows at Disneyland never rarely disappoint. My only gripe about this version is that there is no flying Tinkerbell. It did snow again though, and that was pretty neat. 

• The castle - lit after the fireworks - complete with snow, icicles and thousands of sparkling lights.