The happiest place on Earth!

We spent last week in Disneyland! I love Disneyland. No, I mean, I REALLY love Disneyland. I love everything about it.....the smells, the food, the crowds, the heat, the rides, the characters, the memories, the exhausted happiness at the end of each day. I love it all. Mike and I took the two girls and left Nathan behind in the capable hands of his grandparents. We had the most magical time. We took 300+ pictures, but I will spare you the walk down memory lane, and just share a couple of pictures that illustrate the excitment and magic we felt all week. I hate spinny rides, but Ellie was too short to do them without an adult, so yes, I went on the Teacups, Dumbo, the Carousel with the girls. Go mom! Our family favorite is Splash Mountain. We went on it 7 times! Ellie even raised up her arms the whole time (are you kidding me? She's only 4!!) My personal favorite is Indiana Jones. Man, I love that ride. We also love California Adventures, and tried out Toy Story, California Screamin' and Tower of Terror with rave reviews! We loved them! Perhaps the highlight of the trip was dinner at Goofy's Kitchen. The food is really good and you get to eat/hang out with several characters. It is flippin' expensive, but soooo worth it. It was wonderful! Lauren and I are well-suited at Theme parks because we are daredevils and love thrill rides - I love being with her! Little Ells was such a trooper and very brave. (the only ride she hated was Big Thunder Mountain.) Ellie would go on all the scary rides as long as she rode with Mike. He was her security blanket (and I think he liked all the fighting over him "I want to sit by Dad", "No, it's my turn to sit by Dad!") Honestly, if Nathan hadn't been in Utah, I don't think I would've come home! Such a great week!