June 20th: Welcome Summer! And Hello CARSLAND!

Sooooo excited!

It's the REAL Lightening McQueen!! Wow!!!

A little shy around Mater....

New and improved Madder Horn

This roller coaster is so fun! Nice to meet new friends too! :-)

Waiting in line at the Aladdin Show

Got Splashed on Splash Mountain!

He's a winner in MY book! The best prize ever!!!

Mom's face while riding Space Mountain: Priceless

We ushered in summer with an unforgettable day at Disneyland and California adventure! Everyday is a magical day at Disney but I'm thinking we saved the best for last. Our last day was stupendous!

We entered the park around 8:30am and ran straight for radiator springs racers (new Carsland ride) fast pass kiosk. We thought we were being SO smart but little did we know this was about 2 million other people's idea, too. We stood in line to reach the KIOSK for a half an hour and were the LAST ones to get a fast pass for the ride. Let me tell you, I've never had so much anxiety in my life. Can you imagine going all that way and not having the opportunity   to ride your idols new ride? Sure, we could have stood in line for 3 hours but that would have changed the dynamic of our day to disastrous. The goal of fast passes is to even out the flow of people to lessen the strain on lines and you are given a time to return to the ride. Since we were the VERY last ones we were told to come back at 10:30pm. "Ok! We can do this!" we thought. We supplied ourselves with plenty of caffeine and sugar for Parker and we paced ourselves throughout the day.

Spoiler alert: this story has a happy ending. :-)

You know me, I had a plan for the day. The first thing we did was check out Carsland! It was packed but so cool to see! We saw lightening McQueen and Mater and Parker was in heaven! We were handed a fast pass to California screaming, the big roller coaster, so mom took Parker on the carousel while I made a new friend and rode the roller coaster! It was sooo fun! I LOVE that ride! My new friend was a single rider too. You know, like, in life. He was certainly a sweet spirit. He told me he had an annual pass and comes to Disneyland by himself all the time. His mom gave him Money for lunch (was sorry to admit that he was 24 and still living with his mom "for the time being") He was totally stoked to go on the ride and we laughed and screamed together. He was totally awesome. :-)

So, total highlight of the day was seeing the Aladdin show! It was spectacular and so lavish! We had great seats for this 40 minute, broadway like play! Oh man! Can't say enough compliments about this show! We ate some lunch while sitting there and enjoyed a little sit down, air conditioned time. The show was funny and the actors so talented and it was just so very impressive.

We left California Adventure after riding Soarin' over California (a favorite) and cruised over to Disneyland! We got fast passes for Splash Mt (pretty much every ride we went on we used a fast pass) and rode Winnie the Pooh and missed Jon and lil Kim. We got a cookie from the bakery and enjoyed a little snack next to the river in the cool shade watching the canoes, pirate ship, and mark twain cruise by. We were able to ride the new and improved Matterhorn Bobsleds and it's a Small World. We rode the Tea Cups and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. We had a tender mercy on Thunder Mt... Parker was melting a little bit and miraculously a friend from his primary class appeared in front of us in line! He immediately perked up and had a BLAST riding the roller coaster with his buddy. We told him that it was an answer to Bebo's prayer which he said for us that morning- that we would have a good day. :-)

We left mom listening to jazz in new Orleans square while we used our fast pass on splash mt. We got soaked but it felt good because we were HOT! After that we went back over to California Adventure and ate the most delicious dinner at Flo's V8 Cafe! Parker was in heaven. I mean, seriously. The food was amazing and the ambiance was perfect. When we were done eating, the sun was setting and Carsland lit up to be the most beautiful and awesome place! Fun music was playing and we were pumped for an evening of magic!

After cruising around Radiator Springs,which was fascinating and wonderful at night, we went back over to Disneyland to ride Space Mt. Oh yes, even mom. She was such a trooper and I have to admit, I think she liked it! ;-) We found a nice spot on main street to watch the glorious fire work show. I literally cry every time. The fire work show at Disneyland leaves me speechless and full of butterflies. It's inspiring and so gorgeous. I just love it. Especially watching the show cheek to cheek with my favorite son.

And now, for the grand finale. By now it was 10pm. Parker had been up ALL day. And not just awake but laughing and screaming and running! We knew we needed to finish strong so we told him to wiggle his arms and legs, take a deep breath, and we were on our way back to Carsland for the best ride of the day! Even though we had a fast pass we still had to wait about 20 minutes to get on the ride but that was ok because Parker made friends with a cute Canadian boy in front of us. They were the exact same age and both had cool, spinning, light up toys to play with together. They were beyond cute. What a special memory.

Radiator Springs Racers blew us away. It was above and beyond any expectation and SO worth the wait! It was so cool at night! I'm so glad we were able to ride it when it was all lit up! So awesome. Great ride.

We were so tired but still excited when we got home last night. We all hit the hay at around midnight but, as usual, Parker is up at 8 and ready for another day's adventures! :-)

Thanks, mom for making all our dreams come true. You are the best mom in the whole universe. I'm so lucky to have you as my best friend. We have done so many amazing things together, not the least of which is standing at the top of the Eiffel tower together. Disneyland is one that tops the charts for sure. You are extraordinary and I love you so much!

The dreams that you wish DO come true! Xoxoxo