We made it!

We survived the drive!  We pulled out of Arlington around 4 pm and were sitting at Sunset Beach in California (10 mi from Disneyland)  at 3 pm the next day.  Getting here wasn't the easiest thing ever.  We encountered traffic in Washington through Seattle and stretching from Federal Way down through Grand Mound, a distance of about 50 miles that we traveled basically bumper to bumper 10 mph.  We were 2hrs behind by the end of the first 4 hours!

We saw way too much of this at the start of our drive.

Once we FINALLY broke out of the traffic, we were able to really put some miles behind us.  We drove and drove, switching off every few hours.  Dode would sleep when I was driving, and I would try to when he was driving.  I think by the time we got here, I'd managed about two hours of sleep all night.

We got here an hour before check in time so we went to the beach to kill the time.

Jacob is ready to live on the beach here

the kids loved battling it out with the waves

We ended up with five kids soaked head to toe

Jacob enjoyed watching the surfers here, and wished he was one!

There had been a mix up in our lodging plans that I discovered the morning we left.  I was able to get reservations at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Garden Grove.  We are to big too fit in one room, but the hotel accommodated us with adjoining rooms and being our typical white trash selves, we brought along our microwave for cooking in the room.  It's a very nice hotel (too nice for the Dicksons)  and offers a free shuttle that takes five minutes to get to the park.

waiting for the shuttle, ready for our first day at Disneyland

The kids were absolutely beside themselves with excitement to get there.  It's hard to describe Disneyland to someone who hasn't been there.  Before we left, they kept asking me questions about what it'd be like.  I'd try to tell them, but it was obvious they didn't understand.  When the kids saw the Tower of Terror, they could not understand how it was a ride.  Elizabeth wanted to do the Haunted Mansion first so that's where we headed.  Then, we went to Splash Mountain.

Elizabeth decided one ride on this was more than enough.  You can tell Jacob wasn't as worried!

Isaac is still cool enough to get his photo with a character

We thought Miriam would be scared of the characters because previous to this, she has not enjoyed meeting Red Robin or any others but here, she's loving it!  She would rather run around gathering autographs and photos than going on rides!

ready for our Jungle Cruise

Well, we are just stopped long enough to have a quick lunch/dinner.  Now it is time to go back for more fun!  We're going to watch the fireworks at 9:00 and Fantasmic at 10:30.  I hope we all sleep well tonight before we do it again tomorrow!