Disneyland! Disneyland! Disneyland!

I'm pretty sure that I've already mentioned this but I'm going to say it again...  I'm so glad that we went to Disneyland!  One more time... I'm so glad that we went to DISNEYLAND!!! 
Okay, moving on...  We went on ride after ride! The Little Mermaid ride was definitely the girls favorite ride... I mean it was every little girls fantasy- we got to sit in seashells and be apart of Ariel's story.  "Hi, mermaid!"

This is what happened when we got off the Little Mermaid ride... 

Maggie was convinced that there wasn't anything in the park that could be better!

Rachel was just tall enough to ride most of the rides! I had so much fun going on rides with this little girl...

She insisted we raise our arms up on every ride... it is what big girls do after all...

I am constantly amazes at how brave she is...

One of the coolest things about Disneyland is the parades. There are parades going on everywhere! I loved to get the girls up real close and let them watch all the floats and dancers go by. We were all mesmerized, myself included!

Oh how I love Disneyland...

You can see it all over her face... 

"WOW Mommy!"

I love meeting the evil characters! They are hiliarious! I couldn't believe that Rachel agreed to go up and take a picture with her. Needless to say, the evil queen noticed Rachel's frozen body standing next to her...

I felt so lucky that we were able to catch MICKEY MOUSE!!! His line is always so long, but he happened to be standing around right as we were walking by! I told the girls to hurry and go give him a hug...

There was zero hesitation there... 

Hug Mickey Mouse? Bam. They were on it.

I never would have been able to have had such an amazing day with my girls if it wasn't for my Aunt Tricia and cousin Caitlin who came along to help! They were amazing and I felt so loved!

The picture speaks for itself... what would I have done without them?

Maggie loved the Winnie the Pooh ride! I've got to admit, it's one of my favorites!

"Woe! Check this out!"

Getting ready for our train ride...

This picture demands a moment of silence...

Do you see what I'm seeing? 

Both little girls asleep in the stroller! SCORE! And it was much much needed!

Lucky for me this gave me time to hunt for a sovenior for the girls...

When they woke up, I decided it was high time for a snack... a cold snack... 

Ah yes, a Mickey bar sounds just right for that rumbly in my tumbly...

Delicious!

I couldn't pass up this picture and this crazy expression... funny girl...

It was about at this time that I realized that I didn't have my wipes. I couldn't find them anywhere! Oh dear, napkins and bottled water from now on... thank goodness Maggie didn't make a stinky, that would have be loads of fun! haha!

The classic teacup ride...

We went to DISNEYLAND! 

I want to go back so badly!

hahaha! The Buzz Lightyear ride! The girls loved this one too!

Wrong way Maggie...

hahaha! Nope, still the wrong way!

As you can see I wasn't the only insane person bringing my little ones to Disneyland in July... 

Yep, we're a bunch of crazy people...

It's A Small World ride! So amazing and so relaxing. It felt as if this ride went on forever which was perfect for our tired legs...

9 o' clock and still smiling!

This made me happy, so what did I do? 

I took a picture.

Then we headed to the big show at the lake! These big Disneyland shows are incredible! 

There's fireworks, light shows, boats, and a battle of good vs. evil.  It was intense! And absolutely incredible! The big steamboat with all the happy characters was the big finale/farewell... ah, I love happy endings...

Maggie cuddled with me during the entire show. I took it all in and it was a Mommy moment I'll treasure forever. There were several moments throughout the day that brought tears to my eyes. I'm glad no one noticed them, but I just couldn't help it. 

For three girls that haven't seen their Daddy in seven months, it was a dream come true.

I would see a happily ever after and my eyes would just start to leak! I would see my extended family loving me and my little girls like we were a daughter or a sister and start to leak! I was a leaking mess! All in all, it reminded me once again of all my many blessings.

We finally looked down at our watches and realized it was 11:30! That was when we decided we better call it a day. I don't think my girls have ever been so exhausted or so happy.

Goodbye Disneyland! We will meet again one day, I promise!

Two Little Princesses

Where do dreams come true you ask? 

Disneyland, that's where.   

We're IN! Breakfast in our tummies, skirts on, haired combed, and bows in!
I can't tell you how excited they were- honestly they didn't know what hit them...
Maggie's face cracks me up!

I hem-hawed over whether or not to do a Disneyland trip. I asked all my friends and family and weighed the pros and cons. Would it be worth it? Will they even remember it? Maybe Rachel would. Will the crowds be horrendous? 
Despite these reservations, I finally decided that I couldn't go to California without taking my girls to Disneyland. Plus, I was itching to go! There's nothing like Disneyland.

I'm going to go ahead and vent about these pictures... They disappoint me. I decided to use a different lens than my normal day to day lens because I needed the zoom in/zoom out capacity. They may not look to bad to you, but they really irritate me. So there, that's out of the way.
Before our trip, I researched how to find the Disney princesses. It's quite an ordeal to be able to see them, but I knew this would be a must for our Disneyland experience. I heard that if you get there early enough most of the princesses would be standing around the castle. 
We were lucky enough to catch Snow White before she left...

Then we were off to the Princess Fantasy Fair to get at the front of the line. This was awesome! They had a whole stage where little girls could come up and dance and practice their princess skills! 
Maggie knew what to do...

They were enthralled with this princess lady! Look at her dress! Look at her dance! 

I think Maggie has embraced her inner princess... What do you think?
hahaha...

The ribbon dance...

This became a familiar Maggie face throughout the day. I call it the waiting in line scowl...

The first princess we met was Belle! She was a hit and an amazing actress. She made my little girls feel so special!

What do ya'll think? Is she the real princess? I think she is!

Argh this picture! Blurry, but still sweet.

Tiana!!! Rachel had her hopes up for Tiana and we saw her! Tiana is a favorite around here, after all she does make gumbo!

My two little princess girls. I never in a million years thought I'd have two little girls and that we'd be crazy about princesses. Even as we speak Rachel is sitting here asking to see the pictures with her and the princesses. You know what? I'm okay with this princess thing. In fact, I think it's pretty darn cool. I am however excited for sports to start with these girls. I'm chomping at the bit for tee-ball!

Belle and Cinderella were the absolute best actresses. They spinned, they blew kisses, they waved, they asked questions... positively perfect.

I decided to go all out and try out this character dining thing. Lots of people told me it was the way to go if you had little princess-loving girls. I was very nice, however it was far too nice for this crowd. 
When it was all said and done we definitely could have done without it. But I don't regret it a thing! It was fun to see the princesses and take pictures with them. 

Ariel, Ariel, Ariel... Rachel was awestruck. Ariel is her favorite.

Showing Ariel her pretty ring! She was very impressed. Seeing Ariel made Rachel's day!

Snow White is so classy, don't ya think? 

Aurora was a big hit too! Especially for Maggie, can't you tell by that little grin she's sporting?

A different Belle! Aw man, I love this one...

Like I said- absolutely no regrets. These little girls were in heaven.

There's nothing better than making your little girls dreams come true. Rachel still talks about Disneyland today! I'm so glad that I went all out with this. Some may say it was completely unnecessary to do all this, but to me that is precisely the point. Sometimes the extra things are what you need most.

Funny thing it they wouldn't touch their fancy food, but the fancy dessert was a big hit. Check out that white chocolate seashell! haha! 

Cheers to wishing on a star, following your heart, finding your true love, being classy, defeating those evil queens and stepmothers,
 and living happily ever after!