Disneyland

So you probably read about how we had this dream vacation (by our standards, anyhow) handed to us with just a few days notice...now here's how it all went. With bags packed, Bopha drove us to the airport and we navigated all the TSA stations fairly well (except they had to dust Sovann's CPAP for explosives). We arrived at the Long Beach airport on time and Sovann's sister Sinnary picked us up and took us home. We then all got In-and-Out Burgers for dinner (oh, yummmmm just doesn't quite describe it) and Sovann's mom came over. It was so fun seeing all the cousins hang out together. For some reason, J.J. and Nalani got along really well and spent the evening playing with the pretend kitchen set, making tea and coffee for us all. Katherine and Grace were glued to the T.V. (we get very poor reception and no cable at home, so Disney channel was a treat for them). All the girl cousins camped out downstairs slumber-party style, which allowed us adults to sleep in comfy beds (thank you, Shaiyana & Jasmynd).

The next morning we woke up early (couldn't believe how bright the sun was at 6:30am!).  We got  to Disneyland about 1/2 hour after they opened and headed straight to Tomorrowland.  We actually bumped into a few Portland friends while there (Steve Hockomeier and Katherine's friend Emily from CYT).  Our strategy was to do some of the big, popular rides first, before the park got too crowded, so we headed to Space Mountain.  We left Grace with Mom and walked about 1/4 mile to the loading platform - didn't have to wait even 5 minutes!  Here's a picture of me  yelling (middle, right), my cheeks filled with air from the rapidly descending coaster.  It was my first and favorite ride of the day.  

We spent a lot of time in Tomorrowland, but I think J.J.'s favorite part was when he got to battle Darth Maul after receiving his Jedi Training!  Here he is, first in line to do the fight routine they learned during the show.

After a trip through the gift shop to get some Minnie ears for Katherine, we headed to Fantasyland to do some girly stuff.  (Sovann and J.J. actually went back to Tomorrowland to ride Astro Blasters and Star Tours again.)  Grace wore her Snow White costume and danced with the Disney  princesses at the newly opened Fantasy Faire.  All the other little girls stood and faced the stage while they learned to curtsey, wave and dance.  But Grace stood front and center, facing the audience and danced as if she was the star of the show!  It's a good thing there were "ladies in waiting" helping guide the little girls, or I'm sure Grace would have been up on the stage with Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty.

Next we rode the train around to see Pooh and Tigger  while Sovann took the older kids on Splash Mountain.  We took snacks and munched any time we were waiting in line, so we never really got hungry.  The lines were all very short, and it seemed like we did just about everything there was to do at Disneyland, including front-row seats for the Fantasmic show.  We left around 11pm, finishing the day with a ride on the carousel.  We were all dragging by the time we got back to Sinnary's where we crashed for the night.  Here are a few more pictures.