Sunday Funday {Day 1 of Vacation}

After much planning, the day of our family trip to California was about to begin. Our families arrived yesterday and we left bright and early Sunday morning. We got to Newport Beach around 9am and made our way to the shore:

The weather was very typical for a morning in Cali- overcast with a brisk chill in the air, but that wasn't going to stop us from having fun. The kids were fascinated by the waves and despite the ice cold water they kept running in, squealing and running out. Tenley kept getting braver and going deeper and deeper and got swept up in a wave and did a Baywatch roll in an icey wave. We were cracking up because she didn't mind, even though we were freaking out. Ev was a little weary of the dry sand on her toes at first and hated the feel of it; which is odd since she practically shoveled it in her mouth last time she was at the beach, but she grew fond of it once she started finding seashells in the sand. We built sand castles and motes with Grandma Cath and chased seagulls. Playing on the shore was such a great way to start our day and truly made my heart smile so BIG:

(Right before her Baywatch role.)

After working up an appetite, we had to stop at my favorite donut shop- Seaside Bakery. I always get two custard donuts; which never disappoint, but this time I had to share them with some grubby paws:

Once I got my sweet fix, we met up with my brother, Mike, who was also in LA. We walked the pier and Tenley cheered on this guy who was surfing:

The sun just started to come out and people began to put on their swim suits, but we were already cleaned up so we decided to head to the hotel. (I guess I'll have to talk Ed into taking us to Cali for a quick beach day that actually consists of swimsuits.) 

We bought 4 day passes to Disneyland/California Adventure because Sunday was the last day for the Soundsational Parade and we didn't want our parents to miss that since they've never seen it before. Since we weren't going back to the beach and our hotel wasn't ready, we figured we might as well start our Disneyland adventure a bit early! I mean, why not right? Wes was ready to go while the girls got beautified in the hotel lobby:

While walking to lunch in Disneyland we ran into Cinderella's Fairy Godmother and had to get a picture with her:

Wes slept through lunch, but woke up just in time to ride King Arthur's Carrousel:

After riding the carrousel, we went to meet my in-laws and brother-in-law's fam for The Sounsational Parade. On the way there I spotted Aurora on the side of her castle so I whisked my little Princess away to go meet her. Aurora was so sweet and Tenley was absolutely starstruck:

Evie was so excited for the parade to start that she couldn't sit still (shocker, huh?!):

Finally, the parade began and, as always, it was magical and well worth coming an extra day just to make sure our parents (and the kids) got to see it:

After the parade, Tenley insisted on hitting up Dumbo with Uncle Mike:

(Don't they look so much alike here?!)

Then, we went on Alice and Wonderland; which scared Tenley this time. If you look closely you'll see her clutching onto my mother-in-law because she was scared of the Queen:

We finally made our way back to our rooms and got ready for the night. Mike was heading back to LA so we made sure to get a few pics with him. I'm so grateful we got to share our day with him and that the kids got to share these special memories with him, too:

(We love you, Mike!! Miss you already!!)

We headed back to Disneyland and experienced our first firework show at Disneyland. I was surprised by how short it was, but it was still amazing. The even more amazing thing is that all three kids slept through the entire show:

We had an amazing morning at the beach, a fun-filled afternoon and spectacular night at Disneyland with both of our families. This was the perfect start to our 5 year anniversary celebration and the true definition of a Sunday Funday!

Stay tuned for more on our vacay...