We had an AMAZING time on our trip. It was better than we even could have expected. It was so much fun to have Ashlyn to entertain us and we all loved watching her take everything in. We flew out on Wednesday and both flights were very uneventful. Ashlyn did great as usual and even slept through a good portion of the long flight. We arrived in California and checked into our hotel by Disneyland. That night, we went to Medieval Times. It is a dinner show type thing with actors and real horses. Ashlyn LOVED it! They encourage the audience to cheer and clap throughout the show. Ashlyn loved clapping and yelling with everyone. She did that for about an hour and passed out in my arms from total exhaustion!
The next two days we spent at Disneyland. We realize that Ashlyn will not remember any part of it, but the fun she had was so worth it! She loved all of the rides. Some of the rides she rode were Pirates of Caribbean, Winnie the Pooh, the teacups, and Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. She enjoyed all of them and loved looking around. Her two favorite rides were Finding Nemo and Toy Story Adventure. I was a bit disappointed because I was really looking forward to taking her on It's A Small World and the Haunted Mansion. Both were closed:( We had a great time and the park was practically empty on Thursday. We hardly waited in line at all. On Friday, we were lucky enough to win some special passes that got us right on all of the big rides.
Ashlyn even got to watch the parade on Friday. We sat on the curb and all of the characters waved to her. She has mastered her wave now and is very good at it. Ashlyn also got her very first balloon. It was a princess one and she enjoyed it. They have the cutest little baby princess dolls. They are princesses that look like little babies. It is basically a stuffed animal doll. I lined up about 5 on the floor and told her to go to the one she wanted at the store. She crawled right to Ariel. She loves that thing more than anything. She sleeps with her arm around her every night. She was such a good girl and napped really well in her stroller. We all had a great time and can't wait to back when she is a little older and can remember better. Ashlyn definitely slept good each night after Disneyland! (Ashlyn did have a little accident while we were at the hotel one morning. She was practicing her walking skills, and some how tripped and fell on her face. She cried, but I was able to make her feel better. Her nose was just red at first, but the next day it turned into a nasty scab/rug burn type thing. You can see it in some of the pictures. We put lots of antibiotic cream and it healed just fine.)
On Saturday morning, we headed to the Hollywood area. We stayed at a hotel right by Universal Studios. We spent the day at Universal. It was neat, but not as great as Disneyland. They also did not have much that Ashlyn could ride. Sunday, we spent lounging around the hotel and watching the Broncos game. On Monday, we did some sightseeing, shopping, and went to the Museum of Tolerance.
On Tuesday, we checked out of our hotel and headed to the beach. Ashlyn is definitely a California girl! She loved the beach. She loved playing in the sand and picking up things. She got a real kick out of the seagulls. We even went in the water some. We did want to leave the beach. Next trip, we are definitely planning more beach time!
On Wednesday, we woke up early and headed to the airport. We had some mix up with the tickets and my brother, Ashlyn, and I had to fly standby. We were able to get on all the flights we wanted, so it all turned out well. Ashlyn was an angel again and I think most of the passengers were quite surprised at how quite she was. Planes don't phase her since she is becoming such a traveler now!
We are happy to be home, but very sad our trip is over. We did all get sick at some point on the trip. It started with me and I pretty much passed it on to everyone including Ashlyn. It was just a bad cold. It was not something that kept us from doing everything we wanted to. Ashlyn got it the worst and was still not getting better it seemed. Joey and I took her to the doctor on Friday. Sure enough, they said it is just a cold. She was of course a lot better the next day and is fine now. We did find out she now weighs 17.9 pounds. That is not a lot for her age, but you would never guess by the way that girl eats!
I have included a TON of pictures. I have even more on my Mom's camera. My camera got dropped halfway through the trip. It is not working so we have to get it repaired. Hopefully, it is an easy fix so we can take more pictures of our girl! So, these are pictures from the first half of the trip. I will try to post more pictures soon. Enjoy!
Looking out of the window on the plane
Wearing our crowns at Medieval Times
Quick picture at Medieval Times
Walking with Papa and Auntie in Disneyland
Posing with a character. They scared her pretty bad. She was not fond of them!
Admiring her first balloon.
Sitting with Auntie at Bubba Gump's
Disneyland can really wear a girl out!!!
on the Winnie the Pooh ride
More Winnie the Pooh
A picture of how wet we got on Splash Mountain
On Pinocchio
With the sword and the stone
On one of the cars from Mr. Toad's Wild Ride
The teacups
With Auntie in front of Cinderella's castle
With Mommy
The space ship ride that she really liked
The teacups, I just realized that I should not have posted this one because I can hardly even see us in the picture.
Watching the parade
There was so much to look at!
More parade watching
The Fairy Godmothers
One last picture with Auntie
