Day 4 of Disneyland - Plus the Beach!

Yes, there was still more to see at Disneyland!  On Wednesday we spent the morning going on rides that we had missed, like Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.

We returned to a lot of our favorites as well. Even the big boys had fun on the merry-go-round!

We were all star-struck when we found Woody and Jesse. I was about to take a picture of the kids with them, when all of a sudden Woody shook his head and pointed his finger to say "wait a minute."  He stepped out and grabbed an employee by the arm, escorted them back to us, grabbed my camera and handed it to them, then pulled Ben and I into the picture.  What a cowboy! 

Jesse gave Nicole a looooong hug after the picture, and Woody made sure Greg got some good tickles. Woody and Jesse are definitely welcome in our family picture!

After that we hitched a ride on a raft over to the island, where we explored the pirate caves and sunken ship. It looks like Ben and the kids ran into a little trouble along the way.

But we eventually found the treasure! 

After we got our fill of exploring, we saw that the next raft was about to head back to the mainland. We told the kids that we needed to run to make it in time.  They ran for their lives!  I don't know what they thought would happen if we didn't hurry.  Pirates would get us? 

 A little later, Tigger saved me too.  For the first time while waiting for Ben and Jonathan on a ride, the kids had HAD it. They were tired and hungry and grumpy.  But then they saw Tigger - and life was instantly good again.

Eyeore isn't grumpy.  He's sweet. 

After a quick snack, we divided up. The big boys went to the Jedi Training Academy, while I took the little ones to meet some princesses. I hoped that the line to see them wasn't too long. (It was 75 minutes the last time we checked!)

But look who we found on the way there!  She was going for a walk behind the castle. Snow White was SO sweet to Nicole.  

Ariel, on the other hand, was playing hard to get! Dozens of little girls were crowding around her. She would let one mom take a picture and then walk a little ways before stopping for another.  Nicole was a little timid and thought Ariel was running away from her.  (Meanie!)  But The Little Mermaid is my favorite movie so we were patient and finally got Ariel to ourselves.

We did end up waiting in line for some other princesses. There are always three available but you don't know who you'll get until it's your turn - there are nine princesses who trade off.  Luckily the wait was down to half an hour for us.

 Nicole was happy to tell Sleeping Beauty that she wants to dress up as her for Halloween!

The second princess was Snow White again - very sweet and Nicole didn't mind the repeat. At this point I was getting a little nervous because Cinderella was the princess Nicole really wanted to see, and we were down to just one more mystery princess. Who would it be?

Cinderella!  Nicole gasped and ran to her. They had a good long hug and Nicole didn't say a word because she was in awe. It's cute that she looks surprised in the picture - I saw a few minutes later that there was a lipstick kiss on Nicole's cheek. She couldn't wait to show Daddy.

Nicole was happy and the Jedi's were happy, so with another wonderful day of Disney behind us, we headed to the beach!

The kids were beyond excited. Left to right: Zach, Jonathan, Ben, Nicole - and Greg, who escaped my hand while I was getting the camera out. The kids all had their swimsuits on under their clothes but they were in such a hurry that they forgot to undress.

Look at that face. Greg's thinking, "Is this for real?"

Jonathan loved playing in the waves.  This was his first time to see the ocean and he had talked for years about going to the beach. Any time we got ready to go somewhere, he asked if there was a beach.  Of course we always said no. When we were planning this trip he asked the same question and couldn't believe it when we said "YES!"  He hardly left the water the whole time.

Nicole:  "Look how BIG it is!"

Greg followed the seagulls around, up and down the beach, saying "quack, quack, quack."   He also liked walking in the water all by himself - until a small wave knocked him down. Then he held on tightly after that.

I had fun holding his hand and splashing around.  Look at that monster wave behind us!

It was starting to get darker and cooler but the kids weren't interested in leaving. Too much to see and do!

 

Everyone had their own bag for gathering seashells. The kids didn't want them to be dirty in their bags, so they washed each one in the waves. (They had this all figured out ahead of time.)  Zach was very intent on getting the best seashells.  Oh, and I gathered some shells for Greg, since Jonathan was concerned that he wasn't getting enough. 

Beautiful sunset on the pier!  Ben took this picture. I love the colors of the reflection on the water.  This is Newport Pier. (It was the easiest beach to find on our GPS.)  There was just enough sunlight left to wash the sand off our feet and make it back to the car.   

On the way out, Jonathan was excited to leave his mark in the wet sand.  (Maybe it will still be there next time.)

 

Back at the hotel we had warm baths and pajamas, then enjoyed eating pizza and watching a movie. We all slept very soundly that night!  

One more day of Disneyland to go...