The Happiest Place on Earth (until about 2pm)

Last month, we drove to Orange County for a whirlwind weekend that included the following:

1. First Trip to Disneyland
2. Dinner with Mike's Fraternity Brother and His Family
3. Trip to the Beach
4. Surprise 60th Birthday for Grandma Linda
5. Brunch With Family
6. Park Playdate

I'm tired just thinking about all we crammed into a 48 hour window of time!

So, let's focus on a rite of passage for any kid - the FIRST trip to Disneyland!

As a former employee of The Mouse, I'll admit, I was a bit hesitant to take Brody to Disneyland. He's still so young and I really wanted him to remember the experience, plus I thought it was going to be sensory overload for our little guy. We were leaving San Jose at 2:30am to drive STRAIGHT to Disneyland and be there at park opening, so I figured that if Brody didn't sleep well in the car after being woken up in the middle of the night, then we were in big trouble. Fortunately, Brody fell back to sleep (after about an hour or two), and he was up and at 'em by the time we pulled into the parking lot, though I can't really say the same about mom and dad (walking zombies were more like it). While he was excited, throughout the day Brody had a "deer in headlights" expression...not quite sure what to make of his new surroundings. Here he is with daddy on the tram leading into the park.

After paying an arm and a leg for the two of us to enter into ONE park (Brody is FREE until 3 - thank goodness!), we tried to get the standard"postcard" shots...not easy with a curious 18 month old. Here are our attempts:

Brody and I at the Main Entrance

Family Shot on Main Street USA

And wouldn't you know it, as I write this, I'm experiencing some technical difficulties with the rest of the Disney photos! More photos as soon as I can figure out what is going on!