the.amanda.sewell

Michael really wanted to see the ocean.  We usually avoid it because almost always we all get sunburned regardless of the amount of sunscreen we use.  SO, we decided we would go for 30 minutes only.  Usually I don't burn, and in the 30 minutes I was not burned, but I did get burned in the 30 minutes more it took to change all 4 of my kids out of wet swimsuits and into clothes for the ride home.  I changed them in the van but my back was exposed to the sun the whole time, so I got a burn on just my back.  No kids are sunburned though, and neither is Mic (my silly redheaded hubby) so I am calling it a success.  

I am SO glad we decided to schedule a character meal.  Breakfast was fantastic.  The food was great, the service was great, then encounters we had with characters were AWESOME!  The kids had SO much fun!  I will for sure be doing this again next time we go, since there are like 4 other places that have character meals.  It was pricey, but not that much more than the cost of most food in Disneyland, and just so relaxing and great! (J getting Chip's autograph) (E making a new friend) (Goofy signs E's autograph book and Baby E loves Goofy) (E meets Belle who she has a lot in common with and they discuss books) (The kids meet Mulan and J shows off his gummy worm mustache) (E & J doing the twist in Goofy's kitchen in the middle of breakfast) (Mac n cheese pizza and peanut butter and jelly pizza - YUM *gags*)

We are SO not the DIEHARDS that we used to be.  Four kids at Disneyland is sure a workout!!  We used to be able to stay till midnight with ease, but by 9:30 pm, we were so tired (E even said "mom, lets not do anymore rides and just go back to the hotel").  We had fun though.  We lost one of my favorite hats for Baby M, but *maybe* Disney will find it and send it to us (we reported it lost to Disneyland Lost and Found).   (Kids made a totem pole - or tried - in front of the rose garden at Disneyland Hotel) We arrived at the park at 8 am, and got our free volunteer tickets (from the Give a Day, Get a Disney Day program), and then hopped on the Disneyland Railroad and rode it to Toontown station and then visited "It's a Small World" (which was fun with all the new additions) and all the rides in Fantasyland.  We knew it would be so crowded later in the day.  It was super happy and hardly any lines at all.  The longest line was for Peter Pan and I think it was all

We woke up early this morning, packed, loaded the van and started to drive for California.  We arrived around 2:30 pm at the resort, and checked in (they put us in the Wonder tower which was undergoing renovation (BOO).  I was sort of sad about that, but the show must go on. The pool was also undergoing some remodeling, so there was lots of noise (BOO).  I wish I had known about these renovations when I was booking and I would have probably gone with Paradise Pier.  Oh well.   We walked downtown Disney for a bit after our bags were brought up.  We got Mickey ears in the Build a Bear shop for "Bolt" (J's puppy) and "Abby" (E's lamb).  We did a quickie browse of the Lego Store because J LOVES Lego.      Then we ate some dinner in The Grand Californian hotel at Whitewater Snacks.  Afterwards we wandered back to the hotel (made a pit stop at Marcelline's confectionary for some treats - E got this awesome popcorn with chocolate and caramel - YUM, and