Disneyland... Anniversary Style

We took Adjoa to Disneyland for her first visit.  Everyone always says this, but Disneyland with kids is a whole different experience.  She LOVED it.  And she was convinced that everyone was real in Pirates of the Caribbean.  She wanted to go on it again and again and kept saying, "look mommy!  That man is still sitting there!  He should go home."

I encouraged it.  What can I say?  You don't have very many years when you just simply believe.

Of course she was all about getting her autograph book signed.  We did the breakfast at the park one of the mornings, and she got to meet a lot of classic characters then.  Actually, I was a big fan of the breakfast and I think we would do it again next time.

Adjoa's favorite ride was "the train" aka Thunder Mountain, and her favorite character was, of course, Ariel.

On our second day there we ran into my cousin and his family.  We were actually in the same line for the same ride at the same time.  Totally crazy.  You could be in the park for days and never run into someone like that.  We spent the day with them, and Adjoa loved it.  Having two more girls to enjoy the magic with sure made a difference to her.

We also met up with Kevin and Gail and Hayden enjoyed showing Adjoa all his favorite rides.  Those two are so funny together.  Adjoa is looking forward to playing with Hayden again on our next visit.  And of course, Karen met up with us while we were there.  You can't live in LA and miss your niece's first Disneyland experience, after all.  Adjoa even got to have a sleep over at Karen's apartment - something she was looking forward to for weeks.

Thanks to everyone who made our Disneyland trip a fun one!
 

 Ariel Is Adjoa's all time favorite.  The Little Mermaid was the first movie she saw when she came home and she memorized the songs almost immediately!  Adjoa was so busy staring at the princesses, I don't think she every really looked at the camera!

 Adjoa and Karen on It's a Small World.  Our first ride at Disneyland.  Adjoa was mesmerized.  It was so cute.  Around Christmas, they have Small World all decked out for the holidays and each country sings a Christmas song from that area.  It makes the ride more bearable.  You aren't guaranteed to have the song stuck in your head for the rest of the day - more likely it will be a Christmas carol or two mixed with "It's a Small World".  Great.  Now I have that song stuck in my head....

 Adjoa and Hayden in line for Thunder Mountain.  At night, that ride is AWESOME.  It's sooo dark you can't really see anything.  The kids had a blast.

You probably can't read it, but I'm pointing to a Happy Anniversary pin we received at the gate.  In case you didn't know, Robert proposed at Disneyland.  This was our first time back since then!

 Adjoa and Anika with Ariel.  This was Adjoa's second time seeing Ariel, so I was able to get her to look at the camera, but I'm obviously intruding on her big princess hug.

 Disneyland brings out the kid in everyone.  Not that it's terribly hard to bring out the kid in Robert...

 The Princesses taught Adjoa how to pose.  She's practicing.  She'll be practicing for months.

I think this picture of Adjoa and Woody is so funny.  She's trying to mimic his stance.  What cracks me up most is that Woody is soooo huge.  It's like Adjoa is his toy.

  Belle is my favorite princess.  Again, I love the look on Adjoa's face.  Pretty much every princess picture turned out like this.  She couldn't take her eyes off of the princess.  Funny girl.