Happiest Place on Earth

We had our first "official" family vacation Nov 4th - 8th. Oh sure, we've been to Hatch as a family every year, but it's not quite the same if you don't leave the state of Utah. Elle and I went to Las Vegas when she was eight months old, and Hawaii last summer, but our family was incomplete without Shayne being with us. Yep, this was our FIRST OFFICIAL FAMILY VACATION (with my parents, Evan, and Monyka in Mom and Dad's motor home). And - we did it on a dime. Even better!

We left the morning of the 4th. It was early and COLD. Freezing cold. And the motor home felt more cold. After filling up the RV with gas, we headed out for the long journey to Anaheim, California. Along the way, I attempted to learn to crochet. I had a book, "I Taught Myself to Crochet." It kept me busy. I am not even close to making ANYTHING though. Elle played some games, and everyone found things to do to pass the time. Poor Shayne passed the time being motion sick in the back of the RV. :(

Finally we were in California. It was the evening, so we spent much of the first night unpacking our things and setting up for bed. Elle,Shayne, Grandma, and Grandpa did squeeze in some time at the RV park pool, but we all had to get to bed early that night because the next day was DISNEYLAND!!! The next morning we woke up early and were off right at 8:30 a.m. on the shuttle for Disneyland. We met with Dad's buddy, Raliegh and his daughter (and who are really to thank for this entire vacation) to get our free tickets to the park. Raliegh's daughter works for Disneyland, and as a favor to her father and my dad got us seven free passes to Disneyland for two days.

The first day, we took Elle on a few rides. The first thing she went on was "The Haunted Mansion" that was decorated as "The Nightmare Before Christmas." I think this made her scared and un-trusting for the rest of the rides though. "Splash Mountain" that day also scared her. She was enjoying all the happy scenery and Zippadee Do Dah song, and it almost killed me when the song changed and she clung to me as we went over the waterfall. Grandma made it up to her though by taking her on "Peter Pan" and some of the rides in Storybook Land that she really liked. Shayne and I ordered kids meals that day to save money and I have to say..... THEY ARE GROSS. But - it's food (and didn't break the bank) and that's what mattered.

Second day, Elle started the day off wanting to get signatures from a few of the characters. We met Pluto, Pooh, Eeyore, Tigger, Sally and Jack, Minnie, Mickey, and Tinkerbell and her friend (that I don't know her name....). This was a HORRIBLE day for me. For some reason, my bowels were acting up and lets just say "I got to know where ALL the bathrooms were." I would say 50% of my day was spent in the restroom.

Shayne and I got some time together too when my Mom and Dad took the girls for about 4 hours. We made short list of things we wanted to do and went down the list with Evan and Monyka checking them off. Tower of Terror; check. Pirates of the Caribbean; check. 3D movie (Bugs Life); check. Splash Mountain; check.... it was a very fun time together. For lunch that day, we were SICK of eating disgusting expensive kids meals, and walked to a place that sounded better. Yes, even McDonald's sounded better at the time and it tasted like thanksgiving dinner when we all sat around and pigged out on the food and drank our several free refills. That night we met back with Mom and Dad and all together for the first time in the park watched some Disney shows, ate corn dogs, and saw the fireworks to end our Disneyland adventure. It was a blast.

Saturday, we were so tired from walking and excitement that sitting around sounded WONDERFUL. But- being in California for only a short time, we decided that we'd better go back to Disneyland and shop at their "no ticket needed" Downtown Disney stores. Shayne and I bought some Christmas ornaments, and Elle was thrilled to pick out a toy to take home as a souvenir. Later that night, with nothing to do, we went with Mom and Dad to Denny's.

Little Kaitlyn seemed to do better on the trip than I thought she would. She is only 6 months old so there was not a lot she could do. It seemed like I was always feeding and changing her (or worried that she wasn't sleeping enough or possibly dehydrated), but she was overall a very good baby like she always is. She even managed to go on two rides; "Peter Pan," and "Haunted Mansion." By the way - she didn't like either of them. Note taken; no babies on rides. She did however love the sights, and sounds, and being a part of the group. Grandma gave her a little Minnie Mouse that I know she will treasure always.

Then, the next day - like a dream - we woke up and our time in California was over. We had to leave and get back to Utah again. The ride home was a little different than the ride there. I think we were all worn out and probably not too thrilled to be leaving already. Elle had school the next day, I would be unpacking and doing load after load of laundry, and Shayne had to get back to job hunting. But it was nice going home and knowing that we had a much needed break from reality. It brought our family closer and we are very blessed to have friends and family that helped make this possible for us. Disneyland 2010 was a blast and I hope not the last time we will be going for years. We hope this will be the first of many more vacations for the Munns. ;)