The boys first trip to Disneyland!

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Below is our first posting. Please come back and visit our blog often as we will do our best to keep it updated with our latest events and adventures! They won't all be as long as this 1st posting, we promise! Enjoy!

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We just go back from our first 2 day trip to Disneyland over Martin Luther King Jr. weekend. We headed up to Orange County Saturday night to stay out our cousin Nguyen's house in Tustin and spent the evening hanging out and catching up with cousin Andy. Sunday morning we headed out to Disneyland after breakfast at IHOP with cousins Andy and Karen. Amazingly, we got seated relatively quick and Leyton ate French Toast for the first time (Yeah... another food break through, one step at a time).

It's been over 14 years since Linda's been to Disneyland and Leon can't remember when he was there last. To say the least, it's changed a bit. It took a little while to get our barrings straight but we finally managed to get our way to the front entrance to Disneyland. Both the boys have been trying to get over a lingering cough (again) and had not completely recovered but enough to make it to Disneyland. Our first day at Disney was mainly spent in Tomorrowland, except for a quick trip to Tarzans tree house and Pirates of the Caribbean (someone didn't remind us that you get wet sitting in the front row). Both our kids are so quiet as they go through a ride for the first time, it's hard to tell if they like it or not. As it turns out like most first things for them, they are quietly absorbing every bit of information they can and will later unload their excitement after the fact. Leyton was very brave as we persuaded him to go on some rides that he didn't want to do, some of which he was slightly scared (mainly the ones in the dark) but he made it through and turned out to enjoy them a lot. His favorite ride was the Nemo Submarine (75 minute wait, FastPass not an option). Of course he was mesmerized by the Jedi Training Academy, unfortunately we couldn't get him to volunteer to be a Jedi, but hopefully next time. And of course the night parade and fireworks are never a disappointment and well loved by the kids (and parents too!). You may be wondering why we weren't glued to a TV watching the Chargers-Patriots game. We had already planned this trip to Disneyland before we knew that the Chargers would still be playing in the playoffs. So we stuck to our plans and Leon adorned a headset to listen to the play by play call of the game. Sadly, the season came to an end for our Chargers but we wore our Charger jerseys proudly our 1st day at Disneyland.

We spent the night at our time share (Dolphin's Cove) just a little over a mile away. Great place to stay and we hope to come back more often. Our 2nd day was mainly spent in Fantasyland and Toonland. We luckily avoided the rain (just a brief moment of sprinkles) all day. Leyton's favorite ride was the Tea Cups. He says next time he wants to go on a roller coaster ride (we hope so, but we'll see). We met Mickey Mouse at his house in Toonland (didn't realize the line would be semi long to see him) and got our picture with him (didn't have an autograph book yet). And we ran into Pluto and Lincoln got his signature (the 1st) in our Disneyland Autograph book. We ended the day short as we caught the day parade and then hit the road back to San Diego (luckily didn't hit any traffic coming home). Being the first time that we have taken kids to Disneyland, it was definitely a different but rewarding experience seeing the joy and excitement in their faces.

Some things that I (Linda) realized as I look back on our first experience at Disneyland. Good health and a good night's rest before the trip can make a huge difference in how the day goes. Although the kids did enjoy Disneyland, I'm sure it would've been even better if they were well rested and were able to get a decent nap in during the day (somehow). It also came to my attention that our boys are not very familiar with a lot of the princesses (what a surprise), which is pretty much everywhere you look at Disneyland. By the end of the day, Leyton could name most of the princesses, but doesn't have any idea what their stories are about. They've seen Little Mermaid and a small portion of Alice In Wonderland, but Snow White (& the Dwarfs), Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Belle and the others are pretty foreign to them. I guess we might have to borrow the movies from someone someday, since we most likely would not keep them in our collection. Fortunately there were "boy" stuff like Buzz Light Year, Star Tours and Pirates for some type of familiarity. All in all, it was great to be back to Disneyland. Leon and I commented on how it's difficult to not feel happy as soon as you enter the gates with all the cartoon characters roaming around bringing out the glowing smiles of young children everywhere, as well as the blaring music everywhere you go throughout the park. It reminds us of the scene in Addams Family Values when the kids were locked up in the little house forced to watch Disney movies because they inevitably make you smile and happy! That's still the feeling you get when you visit Disneyland and that's the way it should always be for kids and adults!

Here's a few photos from our Disneyland trip. Enjoy!!!