Bunnies and Mickey and Bears.. OH MY!!

So our last few days in the States were spent at Disneyland (thank you to my FIL who actually paid for us to stay at the Grand Californian.. I never want to stay anywhere else down there - it was wonderful).. Long story short, we made a mistake and had to go back to San Diego (thank you to our wonderful family members who brought us back to San Diego).

Anyhoot, we had an amazing time while we were there. We got in later than I'd hoped on the first day, so we spent the afternoon playing in the pools there, took some showers to clean up, and headed to Disneyland to see the fireworks show. Kadie LOVED it, and we went on the carousel before calling it a night. We had "magical morning" passes the next morning, so we knew we'd be up early - plus, we had a special surprise in store for the girls the next day.

We got up bright and early and headed into the park for magical mornings. Meaning, we got to go into the park before it opened to the public. So it was only resort hotel guests and people with a 3 or longer day pass. Even so, the line for Peter Pan was fairly long, and right after that ride, we had to eat breakfast (yummy cinnamon rolls from the bakery - hey, we were on vacation), and head out to Downtown Disney for the girls' surprise! We had the amazing opportunity to go into BAB about an hour or so before it opened. It was just us and one other family!!! So not only did we get to go into a BAB that normally has a line out the door with next to no one else, but we also basically had a personal shopper. My girls were very indecisive that morning, and well, it took us an hour and a half in there. Kadie went from upstairs and back down probably 4 of 5 times trying to find just the right outfit. Molly could care less about what she got - all she wanted was more Zhu Zhu pets. (They had EVERY color there - of course, the only ones they don't have are like two colors.. lol). So we ended up picking a bear that was exclusive to Downtown Disney. :) Tim recorded a message to each girl in their bears (Molly got a prayer like Kadie had on his first deployment, and he and Kadie told each other "I LOVE YOU!!!" on hers). The whole reason to go in the first place was for this message in preparation for the looming deployment. After an antagonizing hour of looking at literally EVERY outfit in the place, Kadie finally came up with her perfect one - a pink dress, pink bows, pink shoes, and complete with pink skates. lol :) She was very happy with her selection. Molly, on the other hand, has a bear with Pirate Mickey ears, a pirate shirt, and a denim skirt that is almost identical to one she already has. (hehehe). Here are a few pics from that experience!

We had a great time the rest of the day. Hung out at the pool for a bit, my parents came and got some quality time with the girls. In the meantime, Tim and I packed.. LOL We rounded out the night with fireworks at Disneyland - Kadie and Dad got a wonderful spot in front of the castle, the rest of us sat in Frontierland and waited.

The next day was bright and early, as we had to head back to San Diego for our flights...

-Sarah