This time we tagged along with Chad's parents, brother, and sister.
With Colleen in the last leg of her pregnancy and unable to ride most rides, our focus turned squarely to Jane. It was a lot of fun to see how much she has grown up since we last visited, and how she experiences everything differently despite just being a little bit older. While she still prefers to admire the characters from a distance (apparently, she finds life-size mice with over-sized features scary), she now knows all their names and mused for days about seeing them.
She has also clearly chosen her favorite rides: Dumbo, It's a Small World, and Winnie the Pooh, which she insisted on riding several times. We've been hearing about the rides, the fireworks, and the "beautiful castle" since we got home. That makes the trip even more worthwhile.
While in the area, we took a break from Disney for a day and went to Huntington Beach. Huntington is easily the nicest beach in Orange County and we had a ton of fun building sand castles and playing frisbee.
The trip went about as well as could be expected with the exception of a few "parental right-of-passage" moments. Jane spent a couple of days sick early in the trip. Not just "tummy hurts" sick, but "foreign substances everywhere" sick. The details won't be shared here, but needless-to-say they will live in our memories forever.
