The Best Christmas Surprise... Ever!

Last June Katie told us that she and Gabe were going to surprise the kids (Sunny and Thunder) with a Christmas trip to Disneyland and asked us if we wanted to go with them. Of course, we said yes!

The plan was for the kids to open large boxes on Christmas morning filled with balloons that revealed the special Christmas gift. That was surprise #1.

Surprise #2 was that when they arrived at the Disneyland Hotel, Dan and I would go knock on their door and surprise them with our presence.

It all went as planned!

We were in the same tower with rooms right across the hall from each other. We actually watched them walk into the tower from our window and heard them enter their room. Then we went over and knocked and they were surprised again!

We were in the park for three days (yes, we were there when the power went out on Wednesday, that was an experience!) and had a great time. I've always wanted to see Disneyland decorated for Christmas and it was festive and beautiful. 

If you're wondering about the crowds... well... there are crowds. Tuesday, the 26th wasn't bad, but Wednesday and Thursday were extremely crowded. 

Disneyland twice in 18 months... I'm getting used to this!

Disneyland!

This post will be filled with photos - you've been warned!

We had an awesome time in Disneyland. It was truly a dream come true for Dan and I to be able to take this trip with most of our kids/grandkids.

We stayed at the Disneyland Resort Hotel and it was fantastic. The rooms were spacious and comfortable. The cast members at the hotel were friendly and helpful. The swimming pools were lovely with plenty of towels, lounges, and umbrellas.

We booked our trip through AAA and it was a wonderful experience thanks to our travel agent Annette M. We received some great freebies from AAA and from Disney as part of our booking.

I'll let the (tons of) photos tell the rest of the story...

Thunder and Sunny

Katie and Thunder

Grammy and Sunny

Katie, Gramps, Grammy, Sunny, Gabe

Thunder, Storm, Sunny - "what's next?!"

Storm, Thunder, Sunny fast asleep by 7:15 pm in our room while their parents get a night in the park to themselves

My favorite photo!

Janel and JD at the entrance to our hotel

Jessica, Snow, Storm, Adam with Goofy

JD, Janel, Gabe, Dan

You couldn't pay me to ride this ride.

JD and Janel

Jessica, Adam and kids

having a tea party with Alice and the Mad Hatter

Sunny and I were matching one day

This was Storm's favorite ride!

This is the headboard in our room. 

At night you can turn them on and they play a song while the "fireworks" light up. It was really pretty.

All of us!

Guess Where We're Going???

Sunny and Snow - Disney pedicures

(Katie painted Snow's toes - can you believe it?)

Sunny and Thunder receiving the Disney goodie bags we got them for the trip

Katie's Disney themed fingers/toes

Me and Sunny - our toes are ready to go!