Happiest Place On Earth

Instead of throwing Clara a birthday party this year, we took her to Disneyland for two days right before Thanksgiving.  The girls had an absolute blast.  As with every trip, there were some stressful moments -- but overall it was a huge success.  The weather was perfect, the crowds were reasonable, and there's nothing like watching kids experience Disneyland for the first time.  

Both girls were very proud of the licenses they received at the Autopia ride.  But as we approached the ride, Clara insisted she didn't want to drive the car at first.  I encouraged her to try anyway but she kept saying no, then right before we climbed into the car she turned to me and said, "well I guess I do have my license now, I should drive."

It's a Small World was a favorite ride for both girls, especially with the Christmas decorations:

Clara is a big daredevil and she went on Space Mountain no less than six times and Splash Mountain at least four times.  She tried to get as wet as possible on Splash Mountain, and she would show off how wet she got each time.  It's hard to see in these pics, but she was absolutely drenched:

While Clara went on the "big girl rides," Evie met the Disney characters.  She was excited about some more than others.  Tigger?  Not so much:

Things were a little better with Winnie the Pooh:

But she really liked Goofy -- fitting for a girl who loves to laugh:

Both Clara and Evie adored the princesses so much that we visited them twice:

Things went a little downhill at the end of our first day.  First, our stroller was stolen.  Second, Clara tripped, fell flat on her face, and broke her glasses:

A quick trip to Walmart solved both problems, as Jordan bought a new stroller and some glue to hold Clara's glasses together (which also served to solidify his love for gorilla glue).  We headed back to Disneyland for a very long second day, staying until closing.  At the end of the day Clara said, "Is this Disneyland something or what?"

Walking back to our hotel room, both girls fell asleep in their strollers.  This was an absolute first for our sleep-hating children.  A perfect (and quiet!) way to end our trip.