Our Disneyland Getaway!

Ohhhhh the things you'll do for a free trip. Like sitting through a timeshare presentation at the beginning of the year and saying no to a timeshare trap countless times in order to obtain the promised trip to Anaheim. Jake and I needed a little vacation, and this was the perfect one for us at this time. The trip was "3 days, 2 nights" with paid airfare, hotel stay, and a $40 gift card to Red Lobster. Heck yes it was worth it! We left Wednesday evening, and returned Friday early afternoon, which left one full day in between to go to Disneyland and dinner. It worked out perfectly because we left Cambria home! That's right, I left my 7 month old while I went off gallavanting in California. She stayed with her Grandma Yospe by night and Aunt Jana by day, and had a lovely time. (Besides the fact that she wouldn't eat any of the solid food I had so finely trained her to eat, or drink the formula I'd left for backup after my milk supply ran out. But she continued to be a happy girl, which I'm SO thankful for! What a blessed child!)

So Jakey and I took off on our mini adventure, and documented every couple minutes of the trip with photo. Hence the many pictures I am able to post. :) We flew US Airways, had a layover in Phoenix, and arrived in LA...took a shuttle bus to a rental car place, picked up our Dodge Charger, and headed to our hotel (Best Value Inn....hey, you can't ask for TOO much when it's free). Can I just say, I LOVE California? Growing up there was great, but going back for vacation is even better! I love the palm trees and these lovely Birds of Paradise flowers on Disneyland Drive...

Here we are, enjoying a deeeeelicious Dominoes pizza at 11:00 our first night in the hotel room.

The next morning, we enjoyed Jake's favorite breakfast: McDonald's pancakes in a calorie packed Deluxe Breakfast. Then we headed over to pick up our "shady" discount tickets for Disneyland from a lady on Ebay. Whatever, they saved us like 80 bucks. And then it was time for a magical day full of rides and fun! We got to the park like 10 minutes before it opened, and got a nice healthy walk from the parking deck to the park. It was a beautiful day....65 degrees, partly cloudy, and not crowded at all! We didn't have to wait in line for more than 30 minutes for any ride. It had been like 13 years since I'd been to Disneyland, so I was anxious to ride my favorite: Indiana Jones!

Just passin the time while we waited in line. It was fun, but I wish I could have been in the front of the jeep, cuz that makes it even more adventurous! I like the big snake.

Jake posing near the Haunted Mansion, which was decked out for Christmas to the Nightmare Before Christmas theme. That was a fun one.

We hopped on over to California Adventure, since we had the hopper tickets, and that was fun but lacked the "magical" feeling of Disneyland. :) We rode Soarin Over California, got some bread and tortillas at the sourdough and tortilla factory tours...

Tore it up on the Toy Story Midway Mania ride, possibly my new favorite ride, with these awesome 3D glasses...(I totally beat Jake....and he just reminded me to say that he beat me on the Buzz Lightyear laser game ride)

Wahoo for Minnie Mouse! I made Jake pose with me, even if it is usually just for kids. :)

And Mr. Jacob, here, made me go on THIS ride with him. I was really nervous, and I asked him exactly what the ride was like, and he assured me it was only one single stomach lurching drop. I've done that before, so I can handle that. But then we got in that black, clausterphobic cage and were lifted up to the top floor of the tower, only to be dropped a little, and then risen back up, and dropped, and risen....UGGHH. It was like being on a severely turbulent plane without my beloved dramamine.

This picture is blurry....it's a picture of the picture they take during the ride. But maybe you can make out the great big smile on Jake's face, the man havin a pure joy ride in the front with is buddies, the jolly people in front of me, and the annoyed, sick face on me...and the little boy next to me probably wondering if I was going to throw up on him. I made it through, but I can't say there was an ounce of enjoyment. Don't care to go on that one again.

Yay for Mr. Incredible! He was just roaming the streets, and Jake dared me to put my hand on his pec. So when we went up to him, I told the big masked face: "I am going to put my hand on your pec", so I did. And it was oh so nice.

Goofy was havin trouble puttin up the lights on the California "A".

My little personal Chip n' Dale friend. Not sure which he is, but he's cute! We went back to Disneyland and spent the rest of the day there...

The Magic Castle, fashioned after Schloss Neuschwanstein in Germany, is beeeautiful. I love it! It looked pretty with the snow and Christmas lights, too.

Bet you can't tell me what ride this is!

Being a former Toone, I had to get a picture with the sign at ToonTown! Minnie was just sauntering past at the moment, too.

Goofy's house looked so cute and festive! I would love to live there!

I don't know about the car, though. A little too small for a carseat.

An exact look-alike! That's amazing!

We had fun climbing around on Tarzan's Treehouse

We even went on Snow White's Scary Adventure ride...it's fun to go on anything with no line! That witch is pretty scary for little kids.

And me.

We made it through the whole day and caught the parade on our way out at 8. It was such a fun time, we can't wait to take Cambria there in a few years!

That night, we enjoyed our yummy seafood dinner...Jake got crab legs so that I could try them for the first time (they're pretty good!), and I got my usual shrimp fill.

We got up bright and early the next morning, and were on our way home to see our baby girl. The trip was short and sweet, but it was such a fun vacation and a great chance to go to Disneyland and feel like we were dating again. We had a good time together, and I love my Jakey! We did miss our little Cam, though, and it was good to get back and tell her all about our trip. :) I can't wait to take her there and dress her up as a little princess like all the little girls love to do!