How did our summer and life get SO busy??? I am determined to catch up on our blog, amidst the preparations of getting ready for our little man's arrival, being back at school full time, and being exhausted at the end of the day! So, journey back into our summer, birthday fun and the beginnings of school with us!
On June 21, we embarked on the trip of a lifetime to California! We were so excited to see Tim and Crystal and take the kids on our first family vacation, as well as see their faces when we first walked into Disneyland. The entire trip was magical, other than the few days the kids were sick, but overall, it was amazing and full of memories!
The kids patiently waiting for our flight to Kansas City and then on to San Diego!
All ready to go!
So sleepy! Emma slept for the majority of the first flight snuggled with Phil!
YEAH! We're in San Diego! Both kids were amazing travelers and loved every minute of the flight, even the turbulence (which Phil and I didn't think was so fun!)
On Saturday morning, the 22nd, we woke up early and headed to Anaheim to have three magical days at Disneyland. The kids were thrilled to be able to see Mickey and stay in a hotel for a few nights! It was also Phil's 35th birthday, which I reminded him was pretty amazing to be able to see Minnie Mouse on his actual birthday! The kids lit up the moment we arrived and it was obvious they were overwhelmed with everything around them. We just reminded them that they had a few days to see the characters and enjoy the rides, so we were just going to relax and enjoy our days there!
First stop, family photo in front of the flower creation of Mickey Mouse!
and Walt Disney himself with Sleeping Beauty's castle in the background....
King Arthur's Carousel was a hit with everyone! The kids didn't want to get off (just like every ride, until they realized that when we got off one ride, we were able to go and find another fun one to ride!)
Dumbo was one of the kids' favorite rides and they still talk about how much they enjoyed it! Emma will talk about how she loved riding the pink elephant, while Tim and John rode on the blue one! There is nothing wrong with her memory!
The teacups have always been a family favorite for the Gunville's, but sadly, I wasn't able to participate this time with Kieran also along for the ride! However, John loved the ride with Tim and Crystal, since Phil also doesn't do rides that spin around in circles. John loved every moment, especially the special time with Tim and Crystal!
Cute stroller moment!
By later afternoon we were all getting hungry and tired, so it was perfect timing to head to our character dinner at Goofy's Kitchen. We thought it would be a fun way to celebrate Phil's birthday and when I called to make the reservation, they asked if we were celebrating anything while there. Of course, I wasn't shy to say that we were celebrating Phil's birthday, so I knew they were going to do something at dinner that night and secretly, I hoped it was really embarrassing or something big and "Disney style!"
Just after being seated, Minnie Mouse showed up at our table! The kids were SO excited, they didn't even want to eat or see what food was there! We were glad we weren't in a rush to give up our table, since it definitely took awhile to eat with all the fun characters arriving!
Emma couldn't get out of her highchair and into Minne's arms fast enough! When Minnie heard that Emma was a HUGE fan and was even having a Minnie Mouse birthday party a few weeks later, she was nice enough to come back to our table twice more during the night! Minnie Mouse was amazing and always full of hugs and kisses!
Emma wasn't really familiar with Jasmine because the kids hadn't watched Aladdin yet, but she was still willing to have a picture with her, since she was a princess. John on the other hand wanted nothing to do with her! We figured out during the night that the characters that were real people were a little too "real" for him, where the other characters like Chip, Dale, Minnie, etc were fine!
Once Emma realized that characters were going to continue to show up and she was going to have to stop eating for pictures, she quickly became upset, as she was VERY hungry! We used some quick thinking with her though and negotiated pictures with her in her high chair and the character behind her so she didn't have to stop eating for long. Luckily it worked and everyone was happy and full of smiles again!
Well, we were all full of smiles until Pluto showed up at our table! The moment he came over, John was thrilled to see him and Emma started to cry! I wish I would have snapped a picture of her, but I was trying to calm her down in hopes of getting a good one! However, she wanted nothing to do with him and didn't even want to look at him! She was upset until long after he left our table! I did have to wonder if the initial negative reaction to Pluto was genetic, since I had the same thoughts about him when I was about 3 and at a character breakfast! I even told Pluto, "Don't you lick me, Pluto!" and seeing him again as an adult, I can see why! His tongue is long and he is large!
Minnie was back and this time, Phil's birthday wish for a picture with Minnie was granted!
John and Chip enjoyed a photo opp too, as Emma was not interested!
However, then Emma was fine to have a picture with Aladdin and John wanted nothing to do with him!
Time for Phil's birthday surprise! Five servers arrived with a cupcake ready to embarrass Phil, which I would say they did a fairly good job at with the noise they made and the attention they brought to him!
After a short break to head to our hotel to get checked-in and get settled after dinner, we raced back to see the fireworks over Sleeping Beauty's castle. We stayed at the Desert Palms Hotel & Suites and were extremely impressed with their service, comfortable rooms and breakfast that was included each morning. They had upgraded our room to a family suite, instead of two queens, so we were thrilled with the extra space! When we arrived, we had a little elephant waiting for us on one of the beds and the kids loved it! I made sure to grab a picture before we let them out of their strollers though, since I knew it wouldn't last long!
Waiting in my stroller to head back to the fireworks!
We enjoyed the fireworks that night, but the kids fell asleep for most of it, as they were exhausted after the long and fun day. Also, when we picked our viewing spot, we thought that we'd have prime viewing, but it ended up a very large tree was right in the way! What we did see, we certainly enjoyed though!
On Sunday, we spent the day at California Adventureland, with the majority of our time spent at Cars Land. John was absolutely thrilled when we walked down the street and saw Radiator Springs ahead of us! He could not wait to see Lightning McQueen, Mator and all the other characters!
The kids loved seeing Lightning McQueen! They couldn't believe that he talked to them, moved his eyes and even drove down the road! They were in awe!
Watching Lightning drive down the road...
Snuggles and love!
John loved the bumper "bug" cars in the "A Bug's Life" portion of California Adventureland!
We all loved every moment of the "World of Color" show Sunday evening! The way the colors were displayed with the water shooting in all directions, set to music and had pictures and movie clips woven into all of it, was amazing! The kids were singing and dancing to the music and no one wanted the show to end! It truly captured our attention and was an amazing night!
Nighttime pictures of California Adventureland as we were waiting for the show to start...
For our third and final day, we went back to Disneyland. We had heard that ToonTown was a great place to spot all of our friends we hadn't visited with yet, and that it wasn't busy early in the morning, since it was toward the back of the park. Our timing was perfect! We started our day bright and early and went straight to the back of the park. When we arrived, we were just about the only ones there!
First stop, pictures with Goofy!
Then it was off to Mickey's house!
Emma loved Mickey's chair!
Both John and Emma loved the chickens in Mickey's house too!
Emma loved sitting on Minne's bed...
and at Minnie' kitchen table!
Their visit with Minne was precious too!
Donald Duck's boat was very exciting as well!
On Emma's second attempt to see Pluto, he wasn't nearly as scary and as big as the first time! However, she still wasn't super smiley around him!
We searched and searched to get a picture with Donald, but he always seemed to be going for a bathroom or food break when we spotted him! He was the hardest duck to track down! We had to settle for just a quick picture of him on Main Street!
We decided that we needed a treat as we were waiting for the Main Street, USA parade on our last afternoon at Disneyland. Because it was incredibly hot that day, we thought ice cream would be the perfect choice. However, so did hundreds of our closest friends and the line was out the door! We decided that rather than miss the parade for ice cream, we would instead head into the candy store and pick out a few fun treats, like this Mickey Mouse Rice Krispie bar that was covered in chocolate and M&M's. We also enjoyed a Mickey Mouse cake pop! However, we also realized that we had to be speedy at eating them in 85 degree heat and direct sunlight, since they were quick to melt too! Even though they were messy, they sure were delicious!
After watching the parade and enjoying every moment, it was clear that it was time to get some dinner and head south to Tim and Crystal's house. The kids were tired and ready to go and we had many adventures still awaiting us on the rest of our trip, but we were certainly sad to see our time at Disneyland come to an end!
We had planned in days during our trip that could be more relaxation and time swimming at the pool in Tim and Crystal's complex and less running around since we knew the kids would need days "off" to recoup from the chaotic days! Luckily, we did have a few extra days without things planned since both kids ended up with the stomach flu while we were there! We were able to move plans around so we were still able to see everything we wanted to, and allow them time to feel better!
The kids loved our day at SeaWorld, complete with a "Madagascar Live!" show, where we were able to snag second row seats! They danced and sang throughout the show and best of all, it was air conditioned!!
The whale show was also amazing! The kids especially liked seeing the baby swim with the mom!
John LOVED being able to feed the sea lions!
Fun moments at Tim and Crystal's!
We took a day trip for a few hours to Hotel del Coronado and it was as beautiful as everyone had said! We didn't go swimming in the ocean because there were high tide warnings, but we spent some time walking the grounds and the beach. The kids loved walking in the water!
The San Diego Zoo was also a hit on our vacation! The kids have always loved going to the zoo and realizing they were going to see all the animals we don't have here in our MN Zoo, made it a vacation destination that was talked about for weeks before we arrived! None of us could fathom how large the zoo was or the amount of time it would take to see all the animals! We did walk/tram through most of it, but with being pregnant, having John still not feeling 100% and having it be an extremely hot day, we passed on seeing some of the animals! It was a great day together!
John and Emma LOVED taking Harlem for walks with Tim or Crystal! Emma still talks about how she loved going for walks and asks when she can see him again!
On our last night in California, we went to the ocean for the sunset. It was an amazing end to our perfect first family vacation!
We loved walking along the beach...
playing by the water...
and throwing rocks into the ocean, all while trying to beat the tide that was rising so we didn't get wet!
All smiles!
Down goes the sun...
On June 21, we embarked on the trip of a lifetime to California! We were so excited to see Tim and Crystal and take the kids on our first family vacation, as well as see their faces when we first walked into Disneyland. The entire trip was magical, other than the few days the kids were sick, but overall, it was amazing and full of memories!
The kids patiently waiting for our flight to Kansas City and then on to San Diego!
So sleepy! Emma slept for the majority of the first flight snuggled with Phil!
YEAH! We're in San Diego! Both kids were amazing travelers and loved every minute of the flight, even the turbulence (which Phil and I didn't think was so fun!)
On Saturday morning, the 22nd, we woke up early and headed to Anaheim to have three magical days at Disneyland. The kids were thrilled to be able to see Mickey and stay in a hotel for a few nights! It was also Phil's 35th birthday, which I reminded him was pretty amazing to be able to see Minnie Mouse on his actual birthday! The kids lit up the moment we arrived and it was obvious they were overwhelmed with everything around them. We just reminded them that they had a few days to see the characters and enjoy the rides, so we were just going to relax and enjoy our days there!
First stop, family photo in front of the flower creation of Mickey Mouse!
and Walt Disney himself with Sleeping Beauty's castle in the background....
King Arthur's Carousel was a hit with everyone! The kids didn't want to get off (just like every ride, until they realized that when we got off one ride, we were able to go and find another fun one to ride!)
Dumbo was one of the kids' favorite rides and they still talk about how much they enjoyed it! Emma will talk about how she loved riding the pink elephant, while Tim and John rode on the blue one! There is nothing wrong with her memory!
The teacups have always been a family favorite for the Gunville's, but sadly, I wasn't able to participate this time with Kieran also along for the ride! However, John loved the ride with Tim and Crystal, since Phil also doesn't do rides that spin around in circles. John loved every moment, especially the special time with Tim and Crystal!
Cute stroller moment!
By later afternoon we were all getting hungry and tired, so it was perfect timing to head to our character dinner at Goofy's Kitchen. We thought it would be a fun way to celebrate Phil's birthday and when I called to make the reservation, they asked if we were celebrating anything while there. Of course, I wasn't shy to say that we were celebrating Phil's birthday, so I knew they were going to do something at dinner that night and secretly, I hoped it was really embarrassing or something big and "Disney style!"
Just after being seated, Minnie Mouse showed up at our table! The kids were SO excited, they didn't even want to eat or see what food was there! We were glad we weren't in a rush to give up our table, since it definitely took awhile to eat with all the fun characters arriving!
Emma couldn't get out of her highchair and into Minne's arms fast enough! When Minnie heard that Emma was a HUGE fan and was even having a Minnie Mouse birthday party a few weeks later, she was nice enough to come back to our table twice more during the night! Minnie Mouse was amazing and always full of hugs and kisses!
Emma wasn't really familiar with Jasmine because the kids hadn't watched Aladdin yet, but she was still willing to have a picture with her, since she was a princess. John on the other hand wanted nothing to do with her! We figured out during the night that the characters that were real people were a little too "real" for him, where the other characters like Chip, Dale, Minnie, etc were fine!
Once Emma realized that characters were going to continue to show up and she was going to have to stop eating for pictures, she quickly became upset, as she was VERY hungry! We used some quick thinking with her though and negotiated pictures with her in her high chair and the character behind her so she didn't have to stop eating for long. Luckily it worked and everyone was happy and full of smiles again!
Well, we were all full of smiles until Pluto showed up at our table! The moment he came over, John was thrilled to see him and Emma started to cry! I wish I would have snapped a picture of her, but I was trying to calm her down in hopes of getting a good one! However, she wanted nothing to do with him and didn't even want to look at him! She was upset until long after he left our table! I did have to wonder if the initial negative reaction to Pluto was genetic, since I had the same thoughts about him when I was about 3 and at a character breakfast! I even told Pluto, "Don't you lick me, Pluto!" and seeing him again as an adult, I can see why! His tongue is long and he is large!
Minnie was back and this time, Phil's birthday wish for a picture with Minnie was granted!
John and Chip enjoyed a photo opp too, as Emma was not interested!
However, then Emma was fine to have a picture with Aladdin and John wanted nothing to do with him!
Time for Phil's birthday surprise! Five servers arrived with a cupcake ready to embarrass Phil, which I would say they did a fairly good job at with the noise they made and the attention they brought to him!
After a short break to head to our hotel to get checked-in and get settled after dinner, we raced back to see the fireworks over Sleeping Beauty's castle. We stayed at the Desert Palms Hotel & Suites and were extremely impressed with their service, comfortable rooms and breakfast that was included each morning. They had upgraded our room to a family suite, instead of two queens, so we were thrilled with the extra space! When we arrived, we had a little elephant waiting for us on one of the beds and the kids loved it! I made sure to grab a picture before we let them out of their strollers though, since I knew it wouldn't last long!
Waiting in my stroller to head back to the fireworks!
We enjoyed the fireworks that night, but the kids fell asleep for most of it, as they were exhausted after the long and fun day. Also, when we picked our viewing spot, we thought that we'd have prime viewing, but it ended up a very large tree was right in the way! What we did see, we certainly enjoyed though!
On Sunday, we spent the day at California Adventureland, with the majority of our time spent at Cars Land. John was absolutely thrilled when we walked down the street and saw Radiator Springs ahead of us! He could not wait to see Lightning McQueen, Mator and all the other characters!
The kids loved seeing Lightning McQueen! They couldn't believe that he talked to them, moved his eyes and even drove down the road! They were in awe!
Watching Lightning drive down the road...
Snuggles and love!
John loved the bumper "bug" cars in the "A Bug's Life" portion of California Adventureland!
We all loved every moment of the "World of Color" show Sunday evening! The way the colors were displayed with the water shooting in all directions, set to music and had pictures and movie clips woven into all of it, was amazing! The kids were singing and dancing to the music and no one wanted the show to end! It truly captured our attention and was an amazing night!
Nighttime pictures of California Adventureland as we were waiting for the show to start...
For our third and final day, we went back to Disneyland. We had heard that ToonTown was a great place to spot all of our friends we hadn't visited with yet, and that it wasn't busy early in the morning, since it was toward the back of the park. Our timing was perfect! We started our day bright and early and went straight to the back of the park. When we arrived, we were just about the only ones there!
First stop, pictures with Goofy!
Then it was off to Mickey's house!
Emma loved Mickey's chair!
Both John and Emma loved the chickens in Mickey's house too!
One of our favorite stops was Minne's house!
Emma loved sitting on Minne's bed...
and at Minnie' kitchen table!
Their visit with Minne was precious too!
Donald Duck's boat was very exciting as well!
On Emma's second attempt to see Pluto, he wasn't nearly as scary and as big as the first time! However, she still wasn't super smiley around him!
We searched and searched to get a picture with Donald, but he always seemed to be going for a bathroom or food break when we spotted him! He was the hardest duck to track down! We had to settle for just a quick picture of him on Main Street!
We decided that we needed a treat as we were waiting for the Main Street, USA parade on our last afternoon at Disneyland. Because it was incredibly hot that day, we thought ice cream would be the perfect choice. However, so did hundreds of our closest friends and the line was out the door! We decided that rather than miss the parade for ice cream, we would instead head into the candy store and pick out a few fun treats, like this Mickey Mouse Rice Krispie bar that was covered in chocolate and M&M's. We also enjoyed a Mickey Mouse cake pop! However, we also realized that we had to be speedy at eating them in 85 degree heat and direct sunlight, since they were quick to melt too! Even though they were messy, they sure were delicious!
After watching the parade and enjoying every moment, it was clear that it was time to get some dinner and head south to Tim and Crystal's house. The kids were tired and ready to go and we had many adventures still awaiting us on the rest of our trip, but we were certainly sad to see our time at Disneyland come to an end!
We had planned in days during our trip that could be more relaxation and time swimming at the pool in Tim and Crystal's complex and less running around since we knew the kids would need days "off" to recoup from the chaotic days! Luckily, we did have a few extra days without things planned since both kids ended up with the stomach flu while we were there! We were able to move plans around so we were still able to see everything we wanted to, and allow them time to feel better!
The kids loved our day at SeaWorld, complete with a "Madagascar Live!" show, where we were able to snag second row seats! They danced and sang throughout the show and best of all, it was air conditioned!!
The whale show was also amazing! The kids especially liked seeing the baby swim with the mom!
John LOVED being able to feed the sea lions!
Fun moments at Tim and Crystal's!
We took a day trip for a few hours to Hotel del Coronado and it was as beautiful as everyone had said! We didn't go swimming in the ocean because there were high tide warnings, but we spent some time walking the grounds and the beach. The kids loved walking in the water!
John and Emma LOVED taking Harlem for walks with Tim or Crystal! Emma still talks about how she loved going for walks and asks when she can see him again!
On our last night in California, we went to the ocean for the sunset. It was an amazing end to our perfect first family vacation!
We loved walking along the beach...
playing by the water...
and throwing rocks into the ocean, all while trying to beat the tide that was rising so we didn't get wet!
All smiles!
Down goes the sun...
Time to head home...
Sadly, our trip had come to an end, but the memories we made will definitely last a lifetime! The kids still talk about the things we saw, places we went and laughs we shared, which are amazing memories to have! We are so blessed!
Sadly, our trip had come to an end, but the memories we made will definitely last a lifetime! The kids still talk about the things we saw, places we went and laughs we shared, which are amazing memories to have! We are so blessed!
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