April 30, 2008

Disneyland 2008 - Day 3

On our final day at Disneyland, we started out with our favorite ride: Pirates of the Carribean. Krista's favorite part was the addition of Jack Sparrow. Ava's favorite part was clapping her hands to the song "A Pirate's Life for Me". Next we were off to Tarzan's Treehouse for some swinging fun.

After our jungle escapade, we stopped to have some family pictures taken in front of the water with the Pirate's Lair on Tom Sawyer Island looming in the background.

Ava was more interested in her Aunt Maddie's collector pins than in having her picture taken. She has since started her own pin collection (as the Disney marketing execs maliciously laugh).

We then set out to get some pictures with several of the Disney characters. Here's Larry and Ava with Snow White.

By the time we finally made it to the front of the line for a picture with Mr. and Mrs. Incredible, Ava was out.

She soon awoke, however, so while Krista and some of her family went to see the Aladdin Musical, Larry and Ava decided to go on an expedition to the Pirate's Lair.

Ava loved riding over to Tom Sawyer Island on the river rafts.

Her eyes grew wide as we neared our final destination.

Ava was enthralled by all the ducklings on the island. She kept wanting to get down on the ground so she could chase after them. Her frustration with not being allowed to crawl after the ducks, however, turned out to be a catalyst in getting her to finally walk later that day. Here's a little video documenting these events:

Several rides and shows later, our final day at Disneyland had drawn to a close. With the sun having already set, Ava decided she was finally ready to wear her sunglasses on the shuttle bus ride back to the hotel (better late than never).

April 25, 2008

Disneyland 2008 - Day 2

Day 2 began at Critter Country. Ava and Annissa (avid fans of Tigger & Pooh), were ecstatic to find themselves surrounded by Winnie the Pooh's honey pots.

Next we were off to Adventureland for a Jungle Cruise.

Ava was mainly fixated on how to get into the water until some of the wildlife caught her eye.

From that point forward she really started to enjoy our little safari.

Although we think she still secretly longed to get in the water.

That afternoon we went over to California Adventure Park, where Ava got her pictures with several Disney characters including Aladdin.

Then we decided to take a break for some family pictures.

Ava wasn't very happy in the pictures because she was sad that the Playhouse Disney show had been canceled for the day.

So we cheered her up by taking her on a ride over at A Bug's Land. As you can see from this video, she quite enjoyed it (despite waiting in line for what must have felt like an eternity to a 15-month-old).

Stay tuned for pictures of day 3...

April 24, 2008

Disneyland 2008 - Day 1

At the end of March we spent three days at Disneyland. It was tons of fun, and Ava had a blast. We had early admission (7 a.m.) the first morning. So, we got there at 6:45 (5:45 Utah time) to wait in line. Here's Ava having her breakfast while waiting to enter the park.

The first ride we got on was Dumbo the Flying Elephant. Ava loved it. She especially liked using the lever to make Dumbo go up and down.

We continued on to several other rides in Fantasyland. Here's Ava in line for Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. At Larry's prompting, we got her to put her hand in Mr. Toad's mouth, although she was a little uncertain.

Then we went on the Mad Tea Party. Ava was dancing to the music while we waited in line. Once on the ride, she thought it was really fun to spin in the teacups. Mom and dadnot so much.

Later that morning, we went on what was probably Ava's favorite ride of the daythe Storybook Land Canal Boats.

Ava loved seeing all the ducks and scenery. However, we were too nervous that she was going to jump overboard into the water to really enjoy the ride.

By the time that ride was over, Ava was tuckered out and ready for an afternoon nap in her umbrella stroller.

While Ava was snoozing, we all met up with the rest of Krista's family over at Frontierland to see a western show. Little did we know the treat we were in for. The entertainment was a bluegrass band called Billy Hill and the Hillbillies. Billy, who looked just like Ernest, took a liking to Krista and pulled her from out of the crowd up onto the stage to play the fiddle with the rest of the band.

After Krista's stellar performance and a visit to the Enchanted Tiki Room, we all headed over to Tomorrowland to ride on the Autopia cars. Ava thoroughly enjoyed herself and liked turning the wheel. Afterwards, Ava's six-year-old cousin Luke (who was in the car behind Krista and Ava) asked why they were going so slow.

As the afternoon turned into evening, Ava fell asleep on Larry's shoulders (something she never does) while we were waiting in line to get on Pirates of the Carribean. Remarkably, she slept through the entire ridesplashing water, gunshots, loud music, cannonball blasts, and all. So we decided to call it a day.

Stay tuned for pictures of day 2...