Disneyland!

Disneyland

For my birthday on Monday, we decided to go to Disneyland. Neither of us had been since we were in high school and I really wanted to take Anna while we are so close. Although I really wanted to go, we almost couldn't seeing as we don't have a job and the income that goes with that. Then on the Thursday before, I was out with some other girls in the ward for a girl's night and it came up that we wanted to go but wouldn't be able to. They were all sufficiently bummed for us (they all have jobs) and one, who had just moved up here from Southern California, told me about a friend she has who lives down there and can get three people into Disneyland for free (her husband used to work there) and would totally get us in as long as she was in town. Well, she was and she did.

We stayed with my cousin, Michiko, who lives about 10 minutes away and has a daughter who is 15 months old. She came with us and it was great having another adult there who was more familiar with the park than we are. Plus, Anna thought Cosette (the daughter) was great.

There were a few downsides to our trip. A company had rented out the park so it closed at 6 instead of 8. That was annoying but we found that by then we were good and ready to go (we are so not hardcore Disneyland fans). Of course that also meant that we didn't really have time to see California Adventure. Oh well. Then Space Mountain and the Haunted Mansion were closed for getting them ready for Halloween. I was kind of bummed because we both like both of those but even without them, it was fun.

In front of the Matterhorn

Dumbo ride

We finally got into the park at about 9:30 and went to It's a Small World first thinking Anna would like it. While she did like being on the boat before and after going in, she was a little bit overwhelmed inside the ride. She just leaned back on my chest and stared. Fortunately she perked up for the Nemo 'submarine' ride. The bubbles across the porthole really did it for her although the fish swimming were also a hit. The other thing we did that she totally loved was the Tiki Hut. She got so into those anamatronic birds and flowers singing. It was really cute because she kept looking to Cosette for confirmation that it was cool and did not get why she wasn't having as much fun as Anna felt she should be. Then after her nap, we woke her up to go on the carousel. She wasn't so sure about it until it started moving and then it was pretty dang cool. From there, she was interested in the Dumbo ride. We had to wait a little bit and she loved watching the Dumbos going around and up and down but when we got onto it, she wasn't so sure. We thought about doing the teacups after that but figured three rides in a row that spin might be a bit much for her so we opted against.

Buzz Lightyear (Jason level 3, Ellen level 2)

Tiki Room (sorry for the poor picture, it was dark) Anna loved it all

Since my cousin was there, we were able to have her watch the kids while Jason and I went on rides she couldn't go on. So we did Autotopia where I bumped Jason's car in front of me. Fortunately none of the workers were looking. We also did Indiana Jones and Thunder Mountain Railroad. I also did Splash Mountain on my own. Jason doesn't like the big drop (he's not really a roller coaster kind of guy) and Michiko wasn't interested so I went alone. It was handy because they have a single rider line so you don't have to wait in the big line. Of course, this way I ended up in the front of the little log thing and was soaked by the end. Good thing I had linen pants.

Autopia looking cute

Anna did great the whole day. Before I knew the park was going to close early, I thought about going home for lunch and having Anna take a nap and then going back later in the day. Of course the early closing nixed that idea. Fortunately, Anna fell asleep while we were in line for Pirates of the Caribbean and slept for a good hour before we had to wake her up to do rides for her. She was patient with the lines and waiting and didn't even mind waiting while Jason and I did our thing. We borrowed a baby leash thing for when she wanted to walk around (which she used when we were waiting for lunch) and we wanted to keep her close. We may need to get one of our own because it is handy and totally cute to have a little dog strapped on her back.

Riding Carousel

Then that night after we went home exhausted and had dinner, Michiko made me a birthday cake. Then, the next morning, she watched Anna for us while we went to the temple (I'm telling you, this girl needs a medal for all she did for us). So we had a great trip and a great birthday.