California Adventure!!

We are already having serious Disney withdrawals. Even though we went last year, it was kind of a last-minute whim trip. This year we decided to two days, stay at the resort, and put in a lot more planning. It was the perfect time to go - at 2.5, Em is now totally into Disney characters, but her entrance fee is still free!

Monday we started at Disney California Adventure. I'd never been before and I probably could have used a little bit more planning on this one, but we still enjoyed it. We rode:

• Ariel's Undersea Adventure - This was one of Em's favorites. It's really mild, though dark. Even though Ursula might be seen as a little scary (she was pretty well done!), the music and other characters kept this ride upbeat. Hans and I love that the ride never stops, guests continually board and un-board via a moving sidewalk. Score! 

• King Triton's Carousel (like... four times) - What can we say? Our kid loves carousels. This one was especially fun because the characters were otters and sea horses and whales. She especially loved one particular orange otter.

• Toy Story Midway Mania - The wait for this one was a bit long, but they were handing out etch-a-sketchs to play with in the line. I found this ride very jerky and abrupt and it made me a little queasy. You have a little "gun" that you fire at digital screens to compete against the other rider in your car. It was a bit difficult for Em to reach the gun and figure out how to operate it, but she still enjoyed it. Hans definitely enjoyed this ride more than most. It definitely stands out as a more interactive ride than most at Disney.

• Mike and Sully to the Rescue! - We expected to love this one, and didn't. It was surprisingly short and didn't offer much variety. The good news on this one: Since it was just us two and Em as a lap rider, they pulled us into the "single rider" line and we didn't have to wait at all. Score!

Haha, his favorite character

• Francis' Lady Bug Boogie - We actually didn't plan to do this one, but Em saw it and surprised us by ASKING to go! And she loved it. I know she looks a little scared in this video, but I promise this serious face is the one she makes when she is having the most fun. It's just like  Disneyland's tea cups, but the line wasn't as long!

• Heimlich's Chew Chew Train - It's a train. There's not much to it. Hans and I thought it was lame, even for a train, but the little one seemed to like it well enough.
• And Hans went on California Screamin'. He enjoyed it, though came off saying "I may be getting a little too old for this..."

We also went to:

• Elsa and Anna's Frozen Sing-along - I'd heard mixed reviews about this so I wasn't sure, but by this point in the day we were very hot and our feet hurt so we decided to go for no other reason than for the rest. And to our great delight, Em really, really loved it! She posed for pictures without prompting and sang her little heart out - LOUDLY! It was cracking us up. There was a little appearance from Anna and Elsa themselves, which was great since we didn't do the meet and greets with them. And at the end there was even a little snow flurry! I give this one a thumbs up.

She totally posed like this all by herself. I think she was trying to convey extreme excitement.

• Pixar Play Parade - We didn't even know about this, but happened to walk out of the sing-along right as this was about to start. We didn't get a great seat (it was super hot!) but the parade was really fun! If you sit close, plan to get wet - many of the characters squirt water on the crowd. It had great music and all the fun characters. Try and get a seat in the shade and you'll really enjoy this one!

• Meet and Greets with Goofy, Donald, and Orbit - I have no tips on how to find them... we just got lucky! I expected her to be a little afraid of them, but the first one she saw, she demanded to go meet. Tip: Disney employees are awesome at using your camera to take photos for you, so take advantage of that.

And if you're thinking about going, learn from our mistakes or missteps!

• Even at 99th percentile height, Em was too short for Soarin' Over California. Make sure you check your toddler's height before you go so you don't walk to rides unnecessarily.
• Radiator Springs is touted as the best ride in DCA. Em's height made her borderline but we watched it and while we enjoyed watching, concluded it was a little too fast, even for our daring toddler. Proceed with caution on this one is my advice. Oh, and the wait was crazy long. Be prepared for that, too.

• She really wanted to go on the Golden Zephyr and Mickey's Fun Wheel but they both closed early to make way for the evening's show over the lake. Make a note of the times that rides around the lake close and hit those earlier in the day.

• World of Color: This pretty much takes over the park. Get a FastPass in order to get a decent place to watch. Once people start staking out their seats, it's hard to even walk anywhere around the lake. And without a FastPass there's no good solution for finding a place to watch. So we didn't get to watch World of Color and I heard it was amazing. That's one of my big regrets of the day, so make a plan to go to this!

Last, but definitely not least, food!

• Castle Corn Dog. We heard so many things about this place and while we aren't big corn dog fans, these were de-licious. Seriously, gobbled them down and wanted more.

• We ate dinner at Napolini's in Downtown Disney. No wait, lower-priced food, still very tasty. Only drawback was seating is limited and proved tricky. But the pizza was tasty and we didn't have to wait an hour for the full-service restaurant next door.
• Clarabelle's Ice Cream. It's right on main street and it was a great place to go while everyone else was at World of Color. We did the double scoop and it was yummy. Just maybe not the best idea at 9 pm... our little one was bouncing off the walls for the next hour haha

There were several rides we didn't get to that we wanted to, but my overall feel was that DCA didn't have quite as much for our toddler to do as Disneyland does. I might spend two days at Disneyland next time instead of spending one at DCA, but Ariel's ride and the Frozen Sing-along definitely made this day a hit.

We are family

One of the best parts of this trip was just getting to spend so much time with family. Em was in heaven being surrounded by so many people who love her!

Sunday was one of the most perfect days. My dad really wanted our family to have a little barbecue on the beach and he and Josh really pulled together a great little evening.

Look at those smiles!

My parents didn't wear swimsuits because they didn't intend to get in. But when Emma's in charge, you don't have a choice!!

Running from waves! 

haha he got a little wet ;)

Em got a little chilly as the sun went down. Since Texas is still blazing and this kid is growing like a weed, we haven't bought her any sweaters or jackets yet. Good thing Grandma's jacket is a perfect fit!

It really bugged her that this umbrella wasn't straight up and down. OCD much?

I just wanted to share this lovely pic of Hans and my uncle Hyun cramming their faces.

And then Em got in on the action. I didn't even think she'd eat a hot dog, but those were some dang good hot dogs!

My dad scored this awesome firepit off amazon... it was perfect!

Oh, just cuddling fireside with her best friend.

Then we made s'mores.... yummy!

It was the perfect night. And we had so much fun on all the other days, too!

Stealing grandma's sweater... again. 

Cheesin' hard while out to dinner at PF Changs. She loves those horses!

It was a little dark for this pic, but she loved reading books with them each night.

And she totally loved cuddling up with Uncle Hyun to watch her favorite, Mary Poppins.

One night, almost everyone was at bridal showers or bachelor parties, so Bapa took Em on a little date! Of course there was ice cream. No wonder he's her favorite.

It's only been a week, but we sure miss everyone.

Mawwage is what bwings us togethew today ...

They're married!!!

My baby brother is married. I can't believe it. And I am so, so SO excited to have Jenna as a sister. These two have the cutest story. Jenna's mom and our mom have known each other and been close friends since college - they were roommates!

When my mom immigrated to this country, Jenna's grandmother kind of took my mom under her wing, welcoming her into the family. The moms have stayed very close through the years and our two families have been taking trips and spending holidays together for years. So you can imagine that it came as quite a shock when AJ and Jenna started dating last year. At first the moms were nervous because they thought a break up would lead to potential awkwardness. I'm pretty sure these two considered that and just didn't see the relationship ending. And they were right.

So this was truly a huge celebration, two families that were pretty much already family becoming one family "officially."

The sealing was absolutely amazing. I ended up sitting directly behind Jenna at the altar so I had a straight on view of AJ's face through the sealing and jeez. The way they look at each other... I just could not stop crying. They are so in love and the spirit in the room was incredible. My dad kept looking at me like "Get it together!" and I just couldn't. It was too sweet.

Formal pictures were a little rough. There were a record 27 weddings at the San Diego temple that day and the grounds were so busy you could hardly walk. Not to mention it was the hottest day San Diego has had all year and it was sooooo sunny and hot for pictures at 1 p.m. Forgive all the squinting. (Credit for the gorgeous photos goes to the amazing John Fahrnkopf)

Emma absolutely adores her new Aunt Jenna (and her uncle AJ of course).

This pic totally cracks me up. "I... I don't know what to do with my hands..."

Ah, but he's got his muscles. That's true love.

My cute grandmother (who just celebrated her 80th birthday!) drove all the way from Utah for the wedding.

Oh, Jenna. You realize what you married into, right?

Seriously. Look at that look.

This truly captures them.

By the time we got to the reception, we were all ready to cut loose. My parents hosted this wedding and it was completely beautiful and perfect. Jenna's mom did all the flowers (aren't they gorgeous? She is so talented) and a family friend did the Ah-Mazing cake. I am not even going to tell you how much of that cake I ate (spoiler alert: it was a ton). And we danced all. night. long.

Watching their first dance really drives home just how perfect these two are for each other.

She pretty much stuck by grandma's side all night.

Oh, my crazy brothers.

This group knows how to party.

We got my whole family - my grandma carol, all my aunts and uncles, my mom, my brothers, even Hans! - out on the dance floor in a big circle around Em. She absolutely loved it.

I mean... seriously.

Congratulations to the beautiful couple! We couldn't be happier for you and loved being there to celebrate with you.