California Trip!

Dustin and Joey had a conference to attend in Cali for work and planned to have Rachael, Ember, and I come too to make it a mini vacation. Rachael couldn't come at the last minute since she is the lead trainer and we had some employee issues :( But the rest of us really enjoyed ourselves on our trip!

WEDNESDAY

Spent most of the day driving! Ember did not sleep one wink for the whole 7 hour trip that went right through the middle of her nap. She must have been excited. We got to Anaheim and settled into our rooms and then walked to Downtown Disney for dinner.

THURSDAY

Dustin and Joey had their conference all day at the beautiful Anaheim conference center....

Looking good, boys! ;)

So Ember and I hung out around the hotel and went to the cold pool for a little bit.

Then we walked to Downtown Disney again and had a lunch date! We got a Jamba Juice and they gave her this adorable little cup. And Ember loved watching all the water features around DD.

That night, we walked to Downtown Disney yet again for dinner and ate at the Rainforest Cafe!

Then we looked around all the stores... Lego store was really cool!

Friday - DISNEYLAND 

We got to the park right when it opened and got right to business. Ember was our navigator... cutest one I have ever seen!

We utilized Disneyland's Baby Switch Pass where one adult waits in line of a ride that a young child cannot do and then they give a pass to the adult who was waiting with the child and that adult goes with up to 3 adults on the fast pass lane! Joey got to ride alot of the really good rides!

While Joey and I rode Space Mountain, Dustin and Ember did the rockets! She loved this one.... and cried when it was over.

Then while Dustin and Joey did Splash Mountain.... Ember and I rode the Winnie the Pooh ride.

Waiting for Daddy and Uncle Joey

Then we all went on Pirates of the Caribbean! Ember did really good on this considering it has some fast parts and has some scary skeletons and pirates.

Watching for Daddy and Uncle Joey on Thunder Mountain

Ember got to meet Pluto. She was thrilled .... haha! She liked the characters when they were far away but close up they were a little scary.

Before lunch we also went over to Tom Sawyer's Island and on the Jungle Cruise

And Ember got a pin to wear for her first visit!!

We ate some delicious Mexican food for lunch...

... and then we were off again! We hit up Indiana Jones, Tarzan's tree house, and the Matterhorn. Ember got to spend alot of time in Toon Town during this time

Daddy took her on the Roger Rabbit Ride and then I let her play in Goofy's playhouse!

Then it was time for Mickey's Soundsational Parade! 

Waiting for the parade

Ember LOVED this! She waved to all the characters and after every float went by she said "more parade." It was a really cool parade and gave us a chance to just sit down and relax for a little bit!

Right after the parade, Ember and I ran over to Toon Town again and went to Minnie Mouse's house to get a picture with her!

Then Joey took Ember on the rockets again...

... so Dustin and I could go on a ride together!

Then before we left the park, we did the carousel, Pinocchio's Daring Adventure, Alice in Wonderland (which we saw the pop star Pink get on while we were waiting), and Dustin and Joey got to do Indiana Jones one more time! 

We were so grateful for the day we got to go! The weather was absolutely gorgeous and the longest we waited in line for anything was 30 minutes! And we got ALOT of rides in, 

The day we went... Disneyland closed at 7:00 pm because there was an exclusive Mickey Mouse Halloween Party for the rest of the night. Thankfully, Joey's cousin works for Disney and got us all into California Adventure from the time Disneyland closed till midnight! 

We ate dinner and then all of us went on the Little Mermaid ride. Then, Ember crashed!!

So.... being the great parents we are... we just put her in the stroller and kept going till midnight! Haha! :) She slept all the way till midnight where some people were singing Happy Birthday near her and she sat straight up and started singing along. Then she started crying after because she didn't quite know what was going on. California Adventure was REALLY busy but we got to ride the Radiator Springs Racers and the Hollywood Tower of Terror. 

Such a FUN day! And we all slept good that night!! 

Saturday

Dustin and Joey had another conference in the morning. Ember and I took it easy in the room and slowly packed up the room and car. Then we made the long trek home! 

Ember definitely slept this time!

We feel blessed that this trip worked out and that Ember did as great as she did! Such a fun experience!! Even though Ember will not remember any of this...there isn't much better than the pure joy and excitement of a child.