Before Drew left for Afghanistan he told Max that we'd take a family vacation when he got home. When he said DISNEYLAND, neither Max or myself let him forget it.
Our first family vacation!
The very first ride that we went on. The look on Max's face is priceless.
The Toy Story ride.
Hudson was able to ride on the majority of the rides as long as he was strapped to the front of me. He was happy as a clam if he was facing forward, so forward it was!
Max spent a solid 10 minutes trying to get the sword out of the stone
Minnie's house
Max was most excited about meeting Minnie Mouse.
Not sure why, maybe he thinks she's cute :)
Our wait to see Mickey Mouse was the longest and Max was ready to move on by the time we got there. Hence, the awesome face!
One of Drew's very best friends lives in LA. They were kind enough to let us stay with them and he was our tour guide the entire trip. His daughter Mia and Max were shy with one another at first, but they were best buds in no time.
Eldon and Angie took Mia to Disneyland when she was about Hudson's age, and they took a picture with Mia in this same bucket on their trip.
5 months old!
Pirates of the Caribbean
Watching the parade the coolest way possible
Hudson did amazing! I couldn't have hoped for anything more.
Max got on stage at lunch and sang songs and did actions with the cowgirl. He took it so seriously. I have it on video, but I can't get the dang thing to upload.
Mickey was a bit concerned about Drew riding his horse, but he figured out the only way to get him off of it was to take a quick photo!
1 of the 2 rides we went on without any kids. I felt weird without them!
Max really enjoyed the Pirates ride, I think we went on it 3 different times.
I clearly cannot get enough of this sweet face.
CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE!!!
I loved this park. I liked the old school vibe, the clothes that the characters were wearing, and Cars Land (especially at night).
Angie was able to get off work the second day we spent in the park so she was able to spend the day there with us!
My buddy and I. This is how we rolled for 3 days and my shoulders were pretty tired at the end of it all. He looks all sorts of uncomfortable with the fabric up in his face, but he didn't have the strongest abdominal muscles at this point and he wouldn't support himself if we folded that down more.
Oh my heck, that stache was killing me.
HOLLYwood!
Max wanted to go on the Tower of Terror. I tried explaining to him that it might be a scary ride for him, but that mommy would never take him on a ride that would put him in danger. He was totally fine until we got on the ride...and then he panicked! As we are dropping he was clenching onto me and screaming at the top of his lungs, "I HATE THIS RIDE!" He cried for probably 20 minutes after the ride was over. He is still traumatized by the experience.
This family vacation was our first opportunity to check out from the real world and simply enjoy each others company. The last year was so difficult and took an emotional toll on us all. We thought that it was completely necessary to reward ourselves with a fun vacation. I love this man and I am so greatful for his selflessness and his determination to support his family from halfway around the world.
After 3 long days at the park (sun up to sun down), we told Disneyland goodbye.
Until we meet again!
