The best vacation ever!

We had the BEST vacation to California and I'm so excited to post some pictures. Warning: this may be a long post! During our drive down we stopped in St. George to see Phillip's grandparents for an hour and had such a wonderful visit. They are both such sweet people and we felt so blessed to be able to spend a little time with them. We spent four days in Disneyland before driving down to San Diego and spending a day at Sea World. I never realized how exhausting it is to go to Disneyland with three active little girls but it was so much fun! Our first day there I had to laugh because each member of my family (Phillip and me, my dad, my mom, and my three sisters) were each holding something that belonged to us as we were waiting to get on the tram to go into the park. There were seven adults and between each of us we were holding Adelle, Grace, her walker, two strollers, my backpack, and the girls' hoodies. I said, "how many people does it take to get the Olson family to Disneyland!" We were so grateful that my family came with us...not only were they very helpful but the company was great too!

The first ride we went on at Disneyland was Snow White and I was a little worried that Grace would be afraid and cry. Suprisingly, Alexa cried and Grace was fine! Grace was so unpredictable because the rides we thought she'd love, like Peter Pan, she absolutely hated; and rides we thought she'd be a little afraid of, like Pirates of the Caribbean, she absolutely loved! Alexandra loved Splash Mountain and the river-rafting ride, and they both adored Dumbo. (I remember my Grandpa Mallonee taking me on the Dumbo ride when I was three years old!)

The girls had so much fun meeting the characters and getting their little t-shirts autographed. The princesses and fairies were so sweet to them and paid extra-special attention to Grace.

Our third night there we ate dinner with the princesses at Ariel's Grotto and the girls were in heaven! (So were Phillip and my dad!) Alexa was so excited to meet Aurora and told her that they had the same kind of hair. It was very cute watching them compare their golden locks.

As for myself, I got to meet Captain Jack Sparrow and was pretty excited about that. But dangit, why did I have to close my eyes for the stinkin' picture! (this one's for you, Gina!)I love this picture of Adelle and Alexandra's Tinkerbell doll:

I feel like our vacation was just so much fun that I can't even write about it all! We just had so much fun being together as a family and watching our girls experience the magic of Disneyland for the first time. Alexa could not have been happier with all the new experiences, and Phillip and I were so impressed by how well the employees at the park took care of Grace's special needs. I was so excited to be home after such a long and tiring vacation, but I was so sad to leave Disneyland. I can't wait to go back again!

I found this picture from when Phillip and I went in 2002 when I was pregnant with Alexa:

And here we are now!