M-I-C-K-E-Y...

Yes!! We took our first family trip to DISNEYLAND over the Thanksgiving holiday! It's been way too long of a delay to get this blog post up to speed. We've had an amazing Christmas and New Years with lots of family and friend time! But, there's so much to share and so many pictures to post, so here is part one of our long-overdue story.

We started our drive over to California with a little trepidation. Joshua had just had surgery (tubes for the ears), Jacob was on the downside of a cough, and the weather report was calling for rain. However, everyone survived the car ride! Thanks to some snacks, four potty breaks, toys and a portable DVD player, we made the trek in about 6.5 hours.

Thanksgiving day brought a downpour of rain. We feasted on turkey and pumpkin pie with our extended family and enjoyed the festivities indoors. The rain ended up being a blessing because we think it scared away some of the locals from Disneyland the next day. On that morning after Thanksgiving, we hauled our family over to the park to be there when the doors opened at 8 am! The kids had no idea what they were in for.

We hit up the first ride -- the Peter Pan ride. The locals told us this one fills up fast everyday, so best to do it first. Jacob wasn't too keen on flying through the dark on a mechanical ship. So, we were a bit worried about the other rides. BUT, after a fun stint on the Dumbo ride, Jacob was ready to take on Disneyland! Josh, of course, just admired the views and was pretty happy throughout the day.

The kids were AMAZING. Josh took a morning nap in the double stroller with Daddy (a totally awesome invention, by the way) while Jacob and Mommy hit up the Buzz Lightyear ride. We kept everyone happy with snacks, treats and rides -- intermingled were a few visits with some of the Disney characters!! The highlight was meeting Mickey Mouse in the flesh. There was one moment, however, where Jacob was hugging the bear outside the "Hungry Bear Cafe" and sort of got enveloped in the hug:

Part 2 coming soon!