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DISNEYLAND!

We're home! We had a really fun time, but we are all tired and ready for bed. Holly went to bed at 7:30 tonight, and that might have even been later than she wanted. We spent Monday at California Adventure, Tuesday at Disneyland, Wednesday we attempted the beach (but it was WAY too cold and windy so we quickly ended up back at the hotel pool) and Thursday we went back to Disneyland. We did just about everything we wanted to do, except Splash Mountain was closed, so we couldn't do that. Bummer. We went with two of Alex's sisters and their families, so we had a lot of people to coordinate with. It got hectic, but we also had a lot of people to go on rides with.

Some of our favorite parts of the trip:

• California Screamin' to some nice Red Hot Chili Peppers background music. This is definitely my favorite ride of this trip.
• The "Aladdin" show at California Adventure. We waited in line for about 15 minutes, climbed up three flights of stairs to get to our seats, waited another 5 or 10 minutes for the show to start, and then I felt it . . . Holly was overdue for a diaper change (read: PEE-THROUGH!). Alex decided to be the one to take her back downstairs and change her. Two minutes after he left, Alli started kicking her legs. She had to go potty. So I made the trek downstairs and met up with Alex at the bathrooms. We made it back for the majority of the show, and it was very funny and entertaining. Alli's favorite part was when the bird sang "a whole new bird!" She sings it a lot now.
• Seeing the girls on the rides. Both girls LOVED Buzz Lightyear's AstroBlasters and Small World. Alli also really liked the carousel, Dumbo, Peter Pan, and pretty much all the rides at FantasyLand. Holly was obsessed with the character's mailboxes at ToonTown. Everytime we let her go, she would run there. She laughed and laughed at them.
• Alli meeting the princesses. She got to take pictures with Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Pocahontas, and Mulan.
• Watching Alli and Holly with their cousins. They had a lot of fun with all of them, and we are grateful to all the cousins for keeping the girls entertained.
• Going back to the hotel every night, getting the girls in their pajamas and watching them roll right over in bed and go to sleep. Priceless.
• Finding out Sanjaya got kicked off. HOORAY!
• Taking the train ride around Disneyland right before we left. It was a good way to unwind and get ready for our drive home.

On another note, Holly has a new phrase. Today in the car I held up a cracker and a granola bar and said "which one do you want?" She looked at them, pointed at the crackers and said (very clearly!) "that one!" It was adorable and I gave her options the rest of the way home just so I could hear her say "that one!" again.

Well, I'll close this novel now. We had a great time and we're really glad we went. Enjoy the pictures. One of these days I'll get a photo site open so you can see all of them, but for now I'll just post a few.

Alli and cousin Abbey meeting Cinderella.

Holly's first trip to the beach!

Alli with her Minnie ears and Holly's Minnie doll.

Holly's favorite place: the mailboxes at ToonTown.

Happy Easter!

We didn't do much this morning, but the girls got their Easter baskets, and we watched "He is Risen" (a Living Scriptures cartoon). Alli doesn't quite get Easter yet, but Alex tried to explain it to her, and now she keeps saying "Jesus died, Mommy." I say "I know" and then she tells me that "He died again". We're having an Easter egg hunt this afternoon with Alex's family at an Easter/Spring birthdays party.

Stay tuned for a Disneyland post! We're leaving this next weekend, and we'll be gone for about 5 days. Alli cannot wait to go. She asks me everyday if we're going to Disneyland.

Here are some pictures of my cute kids with their Easter stuff!

Alli with her Easter basket this morning. Her favorite thing was the pink sunglasses I got for Disneyland. Holly got a turquoise pair, but she doesn't really like wearing them yet!

Holly eating her first Peeps candy. She definitely enjoyed it!

The Easter eggs we dyed with cousins Ella and Kate. By "we" I mean "I". The girls got to color on them and decide what color to dye them, but I did all the dipping. Maybe next year I'll let Alli try one.

The finished dyed eggs. Well, not the one Holly is holding -- she just has a plastic egg.