Disney Week {Part One-moments}

We took our kids to Disneyland for the first time in September.

It was a great vacation.  It was also such an exhausting vacation. 

Going to Disneyland is never a slow-paced vacation.

I would do it all over again, and then make sure to schedule more naps for when I get home.

This is what Disneyland looks like when you get home:

Ugh!! So much for a nap.

My parents, sisters, bro-in-laws, niece and nephews joined us for our Disney trip.

It has been 2 months, and the kids are already asking when we are going again.

Along with college funds, I think we may have to start putting away money in a Disneyland fund.

It has taken me these 2 months to sort and edit all the photos.  I ended up with 664 photos that I want to keep from the vacation.

I used 2 camera’s while I was there, and of course I have a few that came from my sister’s cameras.

This week I am going to share all about our trip, and I just can’t do it in one post.  There is too much to share. You should know that by now if you are a regular J&A follower. I don’t cut out pictures or words easily.

At the end of the week, I am going to share a few tips on taking pictures in Disneyland.  I will also cover my thoughts on my big girl camera verses my iphone camera. Make sure you stay tuned for that.

Today, We start with the moments.

These are the pictures from Disneyland that make me want to get down on my knees and praise God for the invention of a camera.  Have you ever thought about what a wonderful blessing the invention of the camera is?

Maybe it is just because I love photos so much, but I am just so thankful to have little moments in time captured; to always be remembered.

Here are my favorite Disneyland moments:

Sharing Disneyland with these 5 special people.  I remember this moment of watching them all walk in front of me.  It was this ah-ha moment.  I will always remember my trips to Disneyland as a child, and now, here I am giving it to my kids.  Even better, I am sharing this tradition with Jonathan.

Taking a break to have a little snack.  I want to remember how many people commented on this braid that she had in her hair.  I braided her hair like this mostly every day.  It kept it off her neck, out of her face, and looks so darn cute.  Hopefully, I can put a little princess braid tutorial together for the blog.

Time…

spent…

laughing, and…

talking, and…

…waiting together in the lines.  Memories can be made while you are anticipating how awesome it’s going to be to ride Cars for the first time.

London made a friend while we were waiting to watch the parade.  Her new friend shared the bubbles from her bubble-maker. It entertained London and some of the parade watchers for quite some time.

Tess entertained them also, with her graceful dancing.

Suckers and parades with Grandpa.  My dad loves Disneyland.  He is like a kid in a candy store at Disneyland.  It was fun to share it with him, and have my kids see him in this light.  It brought back a lot of childhood memories for me.

The kids each got a couple of Disney gift cards for their birthdays.  We brought the cards with us to Disneyland to use on souvenirs.  Tess couldn’t wait.  She saw this Tigger right off, and talked about it all day.  We went back to the store on our first evening in the park and spent her birthday money on Tigger.  It wasn’t long before Tigger was her pillow and she was out. 

Splash Mountain was my favorite as a kid.  I couldn’t wait to see what my kids thought.

I am laughing because this picture is about the 3rd time we went on Splash Mountain.  Tess loved this ride, but insisted on wearing the poncho.  She did not want to get wet, not even one little drop.   The dollar store ponchos came in handy.

Grandma and Grandpa took one for the team.  We don’t do spinny rides so well.  Grandma and Grandpa do just fine.

Sharing all the little moments with cousins.

Twin dresses that Aunt Kristin bought the girls for their birthdays.

I want to remember that the ride we rode the most was Ghost Galaxy(aka:Space Mountain.) This is the ride that I thought Tess would hate.  I assumed she was going to be so mad that we took her on it, but I was wrong.  It turned out to be her favorite, and she begged to go again and again. All of our kids were willing to ride every ride.  I was grateful for that.

I don’t want to forget the moment I took this picture with my iphone.  I remember thinking how lucky I am.  It’s always good to count our blessings.  I can count 5 right here.

She has got the map, and she knows how to use it. Follow me.

As you can see, I captured some fun moments with both my cameras; my Nikon and my iphone. Who ever thought that we would be taking pictures with our phones?  It has taken me a long time to realize that my iphone actually takes pretty good pictures.  Regardless of which camera it came from,  I am grateful for each picture.  They remind me of a great week spent with people I love, in a place that knows how to create magic.