Disneyland--Day 2

In my last entry, I neglected to mention that my sister, Natalie, who lives in San Diego met us at our hotel Monday night. She has an annual pass to Disneyland, so she was our guide, babysitter, sanity-saver, and Fast-pass collector. She also makes the best PBJ sandwiches! Our kids loved them! (And of course, spending time with Aunt Natalie!)

Our second day of Disneyland started out at 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday morning. We had bought a 3-day pass that allowed us early-entry on Tuesday, so we got there right as the gates opened and rode Space Mountain--again! Here's our "pose."When we came out, it was pouring, so we pulled out our rain ponchos and headed for It's a Small World. (Steve, Sophie, and Natalie had to go to the store to buy lunch and leather shoes for Rachel since hers were so wet!) As you can see from Ben's picture, we were a little drenched! But we weren't complaining because it kept the crowds away!The next stop was to the Princess Fanfare. This was Sophie's highlight of the day! For weeks, she's been telling everyone she's "going to Disneyland to meet Princess Aurora!" Luckily, Princess Aurora was one of the 3 princesses who was there to greet the little girls that day!Rachel enjoyed chatting with Snow White. . .We met up with our friends, the Carman's and the Kristensen's, who also went to Disneyland that day. We were all able to fit on the Jungle Cruise and we hung out at Toon Town together. Here are Rachel and Amber stuck in the pretend jail.Here is Ben getting shocked at the door that says, "No matter what, do not open this door!" (or something like that!)


We had to get another pose of our family with Pooh Bear. We had one taken 5 years ago . . .And here we are in 2009. . .Steven had fun posing and bouncing with Tigger. . .The boys were jealous when Rachel was the one chosen to participate in the Jedi Training Academy. . .But they made up for it by purchasing their very own custom-made light sabers that make different noises depending on what sound chips you put in them. (Sorry--no picture)

We also had to take a comparison picture of Steven pulling out the sword from the Sword and the Stone. Here is Feb. 2004. . .And here he is in 2009. . .Just one more comparison photo of Rachel from 2004. . .
And in 2009. . .
That night, we went out to dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, Mimi's Cafe, which was less than a block from our hotel. It brought back memories of fun friends' lunches we used to have when we lived in Utah! After dinner, we sent Sophie to bed while Aunt Natalie watched her and the rest of us went to Fantasmic, a fantastic water and light show with all of the Disney characters. I had to save our seats for over an hour to get a good spot to see it. (Again, Natalie had told us where to sit to get a good seat.) Steve's favorite part was when the Peter Pan pirate ship came on the river and Captain Hook and Peter Pan are fighting up in the masts. One of my favorite parts was when most of the characters rode by on the steamboat. This picture doesn't even do it justice. I'd highly recommend the wait if you can see it!