Disneyland......DAY 3

Wow!  Was this a crazy day at Disneyland.  The day started off awesome because we continued the tradition of going to breakfast. Yes it was our ritual for the time Cody was here. Wake up. Breakfast. Disneyland.  I guess I should have been worried this time when we were driving to Anaheim in the pouring rain.  But it never rains in Cali right?  Wrong.  We got there and had to catch the tram with a stroller and baby in the pouring rain.  Then we proceeded to purchased two Disneyland ponchos for $6.50 each which will probably never be worn again but we sure looked cool.  After that chaos we finally met up with the crew.   GG's face says it all

The gang said before we got there it wasn't raining so they had a chance to go on some rides.  They also got in an hour before the crowd so that was nice.  Here are some "before" rain pictures:

And here we are sportin' our stylish ponchos!

Sara and Steve were smart and brought their own

And Jakey refused so he just wore his stylish jacket (this was right after we tried to put the poncho on him....not happy!)

Although it was raining pretty hard, it cleared up after awhile which was AWESOME!  Cody and I went to Fantasy Land and literally walked onto all of the rides.  There was no one at the park.  Ryden loved all the little kiddie rides over there and even held onto the bar

To my dismay, Alice in Wonderland was closed due to weather

Loved Mr. Toad's Wild Ride

A few funny pictures:

GRANDPA!!!!  ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME??

liked to play with Grandpa's eyebrows/eyes

If you even knew how much this kid loves popcorn.  Jacob's perfect world:  Going through a tunnel, stopping at a stop sign, and popcorn for all meals

The few days we were at Disneyland and ALL Cody talked about was getting a pineapple treat from this stand.  The line was always so long so she kept putting it off.  She was finally on a mission to get one and......

Some more rides:

Buzz Lightyear!  See if you can spot Ryden.  And watch out for GG and her trigger finger!

Haunted Mansion for the third time

Pluto Love

Mickey Love

Fun at California Adventure

R is for Ridenour

While we were at California Adventure it started to POUR again!  Sara, Cody and I took shelter at the baby center.  Ryden enjoyed it as well.  He got to eat sitting in a cool high chair.  He likes to bang on the tray

So we decided we had had enough because the rain just kept coming and coming.  If I had rain boots I could have stayed forever since there was nobody there.  But the babies were ready.  The strollers were covered with ponchos and Emma was snug under Grandpa's poncho.  We made a mad dash for the tram.  Soaking wet but still the happiest place on earth

Grandpa even let Ryden drive home

Disneyland......DAY 2

Day two at Disneyland was fun because it was the first day Grandpa, Grandma, and GG came.  It was also the day we got to meet Hayden.  My dad's cousin Cherie brought her grandson Hayden to Disneyland and boy was it a treat.  This kid was sooo funny.  He really latched onto Cody and they became the best of friends.  You could just hear him all day long shouting "CO-TEE...CO-TEE...where's CO-TEE".  He even showed off his slow-motion dancing and kung-fu moves.  Disney was still fairly crowed because the kids were out of school for some reason but it still was not too bad.  We did California Adventure for awhile and rode some of the same rides again at Disneyland. 

Ready for Disneyland.  This was before Cody and I showed up

The Aunt's and baby Emma

Grandpa foolin' around with the grandkids.  Be sure to watch out for the tickle fingers!

"It's a small world after all"....again

Hayden and Ben...same age...comparing height

Pa and Cherie...same age...comparing height

When Cody was little, all she wanted to do was ride the Dumbo ride.  Pa waited in line for about an hour just so she could ride it.  So of course mom had to take a picture to relive the memory

Lovin' on baby Emma

Of course we had to take the "letter" pictures at California Adventure

C for Cody

A for Amy

O for ???

I don't even know what to say about this picture...love Emma's expression

Kung-fu master!

Cody went to take a picture with GG and Hayden crept up beside Cody and held her hand...BFF's

Posing with some Disney favorites

Walking....walking...and more walking!

Pause for a picture

Waiting for the Pixar parade (by far another one of Ryden's favorites!)

Loved Dory!

What a ham!

By far...Jacob's favorite "ride".....the store with the STOP sign in the window!

He even got a stop sign pin and that was all he talked about

Disneyland......DAY 1

So the fam came out to Cali and what is more fun than going to Disneyland...FOUR TIMES!  Yes we made it to the happiest place on earth four days out of the week.  Our first adventure was on Sunday.  Ma, Pa, and GG had a wedding to go to so they skipped that day.  It was just Cody, Sara, Steve, Jason, me, and all the babies/kids.  This was the only day that Jason could come so we tried to do as much as possible.  We thought because it was Superbowl Sunday that it would be less crowded but everyone else seemed to have the same idea.  The lines weren't too bad though....we made it on several rides.  Ben loved the Haunted Mansion and Pirates.  It was such a great day hanging out with everyone but very tiring. 

The gang after the Haunted Mansion

The boys

Baby cousins...only 4 months apart

By far Ryden's favorite ride...It's a small world.  Got SOOO excited...kicked his feet and screamed with joy when we rode this ride.  It was the cutest thing to watch!  As you can see in this picture he is looking at the scenery behind him already

I gave Ryden a cracker to chew on and when I looked back this is what I saw:  His Mickey hat over his eyes but still munching away on the cracker

This was the longest line we waited in....submarine ride.  Kids didn't dig it too much.  I think Ben had more fun climbing on things while we waited in line

 

Ben striking a pose in front of the magic kingdom

I love this picture even though it is out of focus.  Everyone is having a blast on the Jungle Cruise

Don't worry......we still have THREE more days of Disneyland pictures to post!!!!!!

Wild Animal Park

Last time I went to the Wild Animal Park I was about 8 months pregnant.  This time I had an 8 month old with me.   Claire came solo (without Oliver) and offered to be a second mommy to Ryden for the day. Hun and Moses also came along for the ride.  Ryden was super excited from the get-go.  He was banging on his stroller and screaming with joy before we even entered the park. 

It was a little chilly at first but then it warmed up and turned out to be a pretty day.  We got there early so it wasn't crowded at all.  Ryden slowly lost interest and then finally passed out for about 20 minutes.  After his short power nap he was ready to go.  Too bad Moses and Hun had to leave because it was time for his nap.  Claire came with us on the tram that takes you around the park.  Ryden LOVED LOVED this!  The minute we started moving he was kicking his legs and yelling with excitement.  His little hair was blowin' in the wind and he just loved staring out at the animals.  It made my day!  Daddy has been super sick the past few days and was sad he didn't get to come.

Not too amused with the elephants.  This was shortly before his power nap

Doin' some site seeing.  Check out the lion right by Hun and Moses

These next pictures are all taken on the tram ride....Ryden's favorite!

Hangin' with Mrs. Claire..

We will be back soon!