The Memories Ended but Will Never Be Forgotten

We were able to get into the park early that last morning but it made for a little less sleep and some tired kids and adults.  It was all worth it though as we ended up having an awesome day in the park.  Stryder was all smiles as we waited for the tram.  We were able to ride Peter Pan, Dumbo, and walked right on to Small World.  Small World was all decorated for Christmas and they mashed Jingle Bells and Deck the Halls in with the original song.  It was so neat.

 I love the castle decorated for Christmas.

 All Shelby wanted was to meet a princess.  Well we actually got to meet three, Belle, Ariel, and Tiana.  Belle was so pretty and our favorite.  Tiana talked in her southern drawl and it was really cute to hear her say Shelby's name.  It was a line worth waiting in.

 After the princesses we headed to Frontierland and just happened to run into these cute guys.

 We headed into the Reindeer Roundup area and found this guy pretending to be one of Santa's reindeer.

 Santa was patient and kind and listened as each kid told him what they wanted.  No one was scared and they promised to stay on the 'Nice List'.  After Santa we grabbed some breakfast and then let each kid pick which ride they wanted to go on.  Stryder picked Indiana Jones and once again Soren was so sad he couldn't go on it (not tall enough yet).  Shelby picked Haunted Mansion.  It's decorated with the Nightmare before Christmas this time of year and I was surprised at how excited all of my kids were to ride it.  Trevor picked Big Thunder Mountain and Soren and Shelby LOVED it.  Stryder turned green again.  Soren picked Matterhorn.  He really loved the fast rides but we just had no luck with the Matterhorn this trip, as it kept breaking down right as we were in line.

 We headed into Tomorrowland and decided to wait the hour for the next Jedi Training Academy.  Well our wait payed off.  All three of my kids plus Trevor got picked to take part in the training.  They put a Jedi robe on each of them and then give then a training lightsaber.  I was screaming and jumping up and down like a crazy person when they got picked. 

 Soren even got to be on the stage for the training. 

 Stryder and Shelby were very serious about becoming a Padawan.  There is this Jedi master that helps teach them some moves.  They all got so into it.

 Here's Soren ducking as part of their training.

 Once they have gone through their training Darth Vader and Darth Maul show up and try and convince them to come to the dark side.  Each kid then gets to eight fight Vader or Maul using the skills they just learned.  Soren was the only one who got to fight Vader.  All the others fought Darth Maul.  His make-up was rad and he kept giving me the evil eye with his red eyes when I cheered my kids on.  At the end each kid turns in their robe and lightsaber and is given a certificate of completion for the Jedi Training Academy.  I am now the very proud mom of three young Padawans.

 Soren still needed to pick his ride before we left.  He picked Space Mountain.  This is us waiting in line.  Soren was SO fun this trip.  He was not afraid of the dark rides like in the past and he just found the wonder and excitement fun.  Every time we sat around waiting for a show or parade he kept asking "When can we have fun in the park?"  I loved sharing every moment with him.

This is our final moments in the park.  Gordon and Ardeth and Julie Russell saved a bench for the Christmas parade and boy were we grateful for it.  I was able to sneak away and do some Christmas shopping while Julie kept my kids entertained with some cotton candy.  I'm so excited to relive some of the memories and magic Christmas morning.  I can't even begin to express my thanks to my mom and dad for our tickets and all the money and energy they spent making this trip so great.  I really think this was our best trip to Disneyland so far.  We had an eventful ride home with a few wrong turns and Ben's headache but I was determined to not regret a single moment and I don't.  I loved the smiles and the laughter.  I loved the magic and spirit that just wraps me up when I'm there.  I will never forget this trip and I hope my kids never do either.  We took a journey to magical lands and brought home some incredible memories.