Since Tenley's 3rd birthday we decided that we wanted to take her to Disneyland for her 4th birthday. The Rices didn't want to miss celebrating with us and since Grammy and Pop Pop were going to be in town, Tenley wasn't going to let them miss out on the fun either. We all hit the road a little after 4am and made it to Laguna Beach right around 9am. We went to Ruby's Diner for breakfast and had an amazing view of the beach. Tenley's birthday celebration really kicked off when they sang 'Happy Birthday' and brought her a ginormous birthday sundae...for breakfast:
After breakfast we headed down to the beach to meet the Rices so the kids could run around on the beach together. Wes, being his germaphobe-self, hated the sand this time and would not step foot in it. Although the water was ice cold and the waves were taller than all the kids combined Tenley still wanted to go swimming, but we wouldn't let her since the waves were so powerful (maybe because of hurricane Patricia?). Although she couldn't go in the water, she had such a blast running along the shoreline and in the sand with Isla. Ed and I loved watching our kiddos play in the same area we took our engagement pictures a little over 5 years ago. That really made it extra special for us and how fitting that the street to the beach is named Wesley Drive. It's definitely our fav spot and we're missing it already:
(Can you tell Ed is not one for taking pictures?)
(Of course I made him take a picture in the same spot we took our engagement pictures but the kids were too busy.)
After an ah-mazing morning at the beach we quickly changed at our hotel and headed to Goofy's kitchen for lunch. The girls were so excited to meet Goofy and chatting about how excited they were. Wes was all talk and no walk while poor Evie shook like a leaf in my arms:
During lunch the girls couldn't get enough of the characters. Tenley had to tell each one that she was FOUR years old (gesturing with her 4 fingers, too) and it was so sweet! They sang 'Happy Birthday' and Isla clapped for her so sweetly, while Wes snuck in some moves on Sailor while we were busy paying attention to the characters:
(Arranged Marriage- Ditata/Rice Wedding coming to you in 2037)
After lunch we were allowed to enter Disneyland for Mickey's Halloween Party so we made our way to the park and instantly hit up the Tea Cups:
We rode 'Pirates of The Caribbean' for the first time; which was really cool because there are some hills and drops in the water. Tenley was scared and said she didn't like it, but won't stop talking about the "Pirates of The Cabian" now. It was cool and I think everyone actually liked it:
It was so dang hot, but the sun went down so we finally put the kids in their costumes. They got all giddy about being in their costumes and it was the cutest thing! Well, actually I think Tenley was "in character" because she was acting very demure, for once:
Next up, we headed to Critter Country to ride 'Winnie the Pooh'. Of course we got Rabbit's (T's fav) beehive and I had to take pictures of Rabbit throughout the entire ride:
We picked up some churro's as we made our way to 'The Haunted Mansion'. It was our first time riding this ride and it ended up being Tenley's favorite; which really surprised me. It was so cool:
We made our way back to Main Street to grab a good spot for the 'Paint The Night Parade' and the Castle was lit up so beautifully:
While the guys held our spot for the parade we took the girls to meet Princess Aurora. Unfortunately, she left right as Tenley was about to meet her. Needless to say, she bawled her eyes out and was heartbroken, but Cinderella and Ariel were so sweet to her and cheered her up:
After meeting the princesses the kids got some treats, waited patiently for the parade to began, danced and we even met a twin mom I've "met" through Instagram who was super duper sweet! Our twins are just 5 days apart and were both Tinkerbell and Peter Pan. We instantly clicked and I'm so glad we got to meet:
The 'Paint The Night Parade' was nothing short of AMAZING! The kids (and adults) were in awe the entire time. The lights were awesome and the pictures just do not do it justice:
After the awesome parade, Sleeping Beauty's castle was lit up with a 'Nightmare Before Christmas' theme as Jack and Zero filled the sky and music filled the air. The fireworks were all Halloween colors and absolutely phenomenal:
The kids could hardly keep their eyes open after the firework display so we called it a night and walked back to the hotel. The kids fell asleep as soon as they sat still for more than 2 seconds and were out for the rest of the night:
Tenley is SO blessed that her Grammy and Pop Pop treated her to tickets to Mickey's Halloween Party! She is also very lucky to not only have such great family in her life, but also such amazing friends that we consider our family. We're so happy that the Rices took the time to drive to Cali and spend the day with Tenley at Mickey's Halloween Party or in her mind her "Aurora Party". She was beyond happy to share this experience with her bestie and her grandparents. We all just had such a blast- nothing but laughs with this crew and that's what it is all about!
Stay tuned for Tenley's actual birthday and day 2 of our Disneyland trip!
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