Disneyland is expensive because they mop the concrete.

We went to California for Spring Break this week. Shiloh and Brian (Nils' brother and partner) adopted a baby in the fall, and now that we have reliable transportation (wahoo!), we took a trip to meet our new niece/cousin, Indy. Shiloh and Brian are so nice, gracious and patient with us and our brood. Indy is the cutest, most chill and happy baby, and the we couldn't get enough of her. We had a wonderful time! Thank you, SAR/BLE/IRL!

Miss Indy

Help! They're all around me!

While we were there, Brian hooked us up with his friend who works at Disneyland and got us in for the day at a steep discount. Yeah, baby. That's how we rizz'oll!

I was actually pretty stressed about Disneyland before we left. The kids are old enough to really enjoy it now, and I felt a lot of pressure to make sure they had the best possible day there. I know it's not possible to do and see everything in one day, and I was worried that it would be really crowded, with all of Utah County being on Spring Break in Disneyland. For the record, we did see a lot of BYU t-shirts there, so my worries weren't totally without merit. Haha.

It was all for naught, however, because we had a fantastic time. We spent around 15 hours there, splitting our time between California Adventure and Disneyland. The lines were all around 15-30 minutes, and by taking advantage of the fast passes, we were able to hit almost all of the rides that we wanted to. At the end of those 15 hours, we were more tired than we ever have been. I don't think I've ever seen the kids so beat down. Success!

One of the things that made the day so fun was that we were able to do everything together. Ava is tall enough to go on almost all of the rides, and we took her and Aani on everything. Sometimes they didn't know what they were in for, but they were good sports and liked almost everything. Except the Hollywood Tower of Terror. That scared the living crap out of them. We didn't really know what that ride entailed and we just schlepped them along with the rest of us. Ava ran off of the ride crying and saying, "that ride was scary!" over and over again. We're still learning how to be parents, okay?

The Tower of Terror. Ava was pretty much resigned to the fact that she was falling to her death at this point. Sad.

This cracks me up. The ride kept stopping and I think the pic was taken during one of the stops. I promise I didn't really  hate it. 

Star Tours, which our nerdy kids loved.

Our one and only character picture. Addie said Goofy was creepy. Such a sweetie.

Mad Hatter shop. Just close your eyes, hand over the money and try not to think too much about what you could do with $92.

 Nils and I have been mystified by how expensive Disneyland is. Not just admission, but the place is a money-hemorrhage regardless of what you're buying. We spent $16 on 4 soft serve ice cream cones. Anyhoo, at one point that day, one of the kids dropped some cracker crumbs on the ground. 15 seconds later, a man was sweeping them up. I watched as another man walked around with a mop, mopping the concrete. MOPPING THE CONCRETE! That's why it's so expensive! It's clean and un-trashy, and the patrons aren't carnies. And, everything is well done and oodles of fun, so there's that.

Waiting for the World of Color, utterly exhausted

Right before Aani fell asleep on the ground. We left halfway through the show. 

Next up: The beach and California Science Center.