Happy Birthday

Want to guess what we did for my birthday last Thursday? Or, I should say, where we went? (click any photo to see it bigger.)

Nooooo, not the mall . . . . Want another hint? Yep, we took the little girls out of school for the day and headed off to Disneyland. I thought because it was a Thursday and not yet winter break the park wouldn't be too crowded. Wrong.  Even the benches had to be shared. . .

We headed straight for the Castle, where I told the girls about the present they were getting for my birthday. A princess make-over at the Bibbidy Bobbidy Boutique. I don't know who was more excited, me or them.

 They got the full treatment - hair, 

 nails, 
 
makeup,
(Leia held her hands out like that for almost an hour, afraid she'd mess up her newly painted nails, even though we told her they were dry.) glitter, face jewels, hair extensions, 
and a photo shoot in Cinderella's very own coach. 

Can't tell that they were loving it, can you? 

We hit most of the rides in Fantasyland (big surprise with a 10- and 3-year-old in tow, right?) 
before Naia and I agreed that our favorite ride was the Haunted House and we needed to go there Right.Now. Along with everyone else in the park, apparently.
Rather than stand in the 40 minute line, we got our Fast Passes and headed over to Jungle Cruise and the Swiss Family Robinson tree house, then went back and walked almost right in to the Haunted House. 

And exited to pouring rain. 

We'd planned for cold - dressing in layers, with knee socks and heavy coats - but we weren't prepared for funnel clouds (spotted nearby in Orange County; fortunately I didn't find out about that until later) and cold downpours. It lasted just long enough for us to have dinner and buy rain ponchos before it stopped. The upside was that a lot of people left when the rain came, making it a much less crowded for us.

We hit a few more rides - Leia's favorites were Winnie the Pooh and the Disneyland Railroad - before Leia's runny nose and lack of a nap caught up with us. By 8 pm, she'd decided she'd had enough of Mickey Mouse' House. 

And 8 hours in the land of the mouse was about enough for hubby and me too. Great day and a great way to spend my birthday. Wonder where we'll all go next year - and wonder if we can sneak Addy along too . . . .