DISNEYLAND!!!!!!

I'm still a little confused of how I became such a Disneyland fan, I mean besides the fact that it is the happiest place on Earth.
I went to Disneyland in High School with the band and it was one of the most unpleasant experiences I have had.  I got sick in the park and on the bus, some worker told me to take my glasses off for Space Mountain which resulted in a blind ride and a headache and those were some of the high points.  Let's just say it was not fun and I had no desire to ever go there again.
Then Alita got it in her head about five or six years ago that we should go as a family.  Somehow she talked me, Mom and Dad all into spending our Thanksgiving Break there and I have been hooked ever since.  I LOVE Disneyland!!!!

Anyway, Alita and I were talking a few months ago about how much we both wished we could go there again.  We'd just made reservations for our Alaskan Cruise and we have Grandma to take care of so that serious curbs the trips that our household can take.  So I thought we were having a typical "wish your life away" conversation.  Well, somehow, it became a reality.  Alita said that I should convince Mom it would be a good use of my money (I was supposed to be ending my employment at Rio the end of February) and she would convince Annette to put a crowbar in her wallet, and we would go during their spring break.  So that's what we did.  I ended up missing a week of work, but it was well worth it.  We flew to California on Monday, played in the park Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and flew home Friday.

Here are some of the "highlights" of the trip.

This is what it looks like when you fly into a small airport with two benches and your sisters decide to be TWO HOURS LATE!!!

 The flowers in the park were gorgeous.  We took all sorts of pictures of them.

 I tried this once before and had great results.  For some reason this time, we sat big to little - not good when you're toying with depth of field.  Unfortunately - there is more leg room in the front of the Winnie the Pooh ride.

 The new Little Mermaid ride is fabulous.  The only problem is the entire time we were on it we were wishing we had Anika with us.

 We rode in giant shells.  It's very similar to the Haunted Mansion ride.

 Here's the three of us waiting for fireworks.

 This was my best attempt.

 STAR TOURS IS THE BEST RIDE IN THE ENTIRE WORLD!!!!!!!  (Okay, the best ride is still Indiana Jones, but Star Tours is making a close second.)

 I made Annette stand in line with me.   I couldn't miss a photo op with my favorite monster.

 Wednesday night we decided to do something different.  I made reservations for us at Ariel's Grotto.  It was pretty expensive, and I made the mistake of opting for outdoor seating, but other than that - It was FABULOUS.

 We forgot to take pictures until the desert plate came out.

 We also got premium standing tickets to "World of Color" which was AWESOME!  We saw it last time we were in Disneyland, but from the back.  It was pretty darn impressive from the front.

 We've decided this is what Dad should be doing with his retirement. :)

 In line at Alita's favorite ride.

 Standing in line at my favorite ride!

 Alita's other favorite ride.

Most of these pictures are pretty self-explanatory.  It was such a great vacation and we all had a fabulous time.  Now we're going to have to sit patiently and wait until we can justify going again. :)