Owen's first trip to Disneyland!

Brad and I had talked about taking Owen to Disneyland before he turned 3 but ended up just writing it off as unrealistic for multiple reasons. But one day while playing with our Joy School friends, the idea came up that we should just take the kids by ourselves. So, Yvette Waites & I took Owen & Ryker on a little road trip to Disneyland while my mom babysat Madden & Brad studied for boards :)

Our drive to California went smoothly and we arrived at Yvette's family's beach house late that night. Owen had fallen asleep the last hour of the drive and woke up when we got there. He must have been very excited to be in a new place because he didn't end up falling asleep for the night until 3 in the morning. Now that's what I call fun! 

Ride over to the park

I was pretty worried about how Owen would handle an entire day at Disneyland on hardly any sleep, but his adrenaline must have kicked in because he was pretty excited! 

We made it! 

First ride: Casey Jr. Circus Train
I wanted to ease Owen into the rides so our first stop was the Casey Jr. train. It was pretty overcast that morning and it started drizzling while we were standing in line. Not only that, but they stopped the ride just as we got to the front of the line.  As we were standing in the rain, the thought crossed my mind that maybe this trip was a bad idea. I was so worried that it was going to rain all day and Owen was going to be miserable from lack of sleep.

But much to my surprise, the rain stopped, the sun came out, and they re-opened the ride. And our day was smooth sailing from there on out.

Owen and me on his very first ride at Disneyland! 

Dumbo ride! 

Riding the carousel 

CARS LAND
One of the main reasons I wanted to take Owen to Disneyland & California Adventure so badly was because of Cars Land. Owen absolutely loves the movie Cars and all of the characters that go with it. And Cars Land definitely did not disappoint!

The line for the Cars ride ended up being 2 hours long but luckily Owen fell asleep on me for the first hour while waiting in line. I was so happy he got a little nap but oh my gosh, my back was so sore!

Waiting in the Cars line

Owen and his beloved map
I don't know what it is about Owen and maps but this kid loves them. I felt so bad because the entire first half of the day, I thought he was telling me that he wanted "Mack" (from Cars) but it turns out he was saying he wanted a "map." Mom fail. He was pretty happy when he finally got one though!

Owen riding on the Cars ride! 

He loved riding through Radiator Springs but got a little nervous when we started racing. The poor thing was holding onto my leg so tight but he didn't cry, so I call that a win! 

I so wish I could have seen Owen's face in this picture but sadly, he was too short! haha

Group picture in Cars Land

Back to Disneyland

Owen was a trooper and was so patient with me while I pumped bottles in the mother's room at Disneyland. Way to go Disney for having that available! I have never cringed so much in my life as when I dumped those precious bottles down the drain...

Riding It's a Small World
Owen really liked this ride but had his hand strategically placed on my leg almost the entire ride because let's be honest, it is a tad creepy.

Oh, this face cracks me up everytime I look at this picture.

Last rides of the night! 

The park stayed open until 11pm that night and we stayed until closing. I could not believe Owen lasted that long! I guess that's the magic of Disney. 

Playing on the beach before our drive home

The next morning after an amazing night of sleep, we let the boys play on the beach before heading home. 

Fun fact: Brad & Ryker's dad Ben actually grew up as next door neighbors in Moses Lake (and their parents still are neighbors). It's so random that they also go to Dental School here! 

We had so much fun on this trip! I seriously cannot wait to take our kids back to Disneyland!