A Special Find

As we walked through Disneyland, Katie was so excited to find Woody. Of course, she got a picture with him!

Woody is always so much fun!

A Flying Elephant

Nothing says happiness like flying with an elephant!

We were ready to fly!

The Disneyland Castle

One of our favorite sites in Disneyland is the castle. Unfortunately on this trip, the castle was being renovated. It didn't quite look like itself, but we thought it would be funny to get a picture in front of the "castle" anyway!

Aunt Jennifer and I thought we were pretty funny when we stood in front of the castle gates! No one else seemed to want a picture!

Starting with a Smile

On the last morning in Disneyland, we got into the park early. While we waited for the rope drop, we decided to sit on the porch of one of the buildings on Main Street and just observe life around us. It was a good way to begin the day!

Just hanging out!

An Anniversary

Just a small break from our Disneyland pictures to acknowledge an anniversary. Eight years ago today, I was matched with a baby in China after an almost five year wait. It's one of those days that stays completely clear in my mind, and I love the memory. It wasn't long after I received my phone call that I received the first pictures of Fu Jing Tian, soon to become Katie.

This is the first glimpse my mom saw of me eight years ago.

A Valentine Hunt

Disneyland had a Valentine's Day scavenger hunt going on, so Jennifer and Katie decided to take part. They had to go through the park and find the scattered Valentine cards, which each contained a letter, and together, those letters contained a mystery word. It was a lot of walking, but it was fun!

The park had Valentines like right next to the Pizza Planet sign. 

In between looking for Valentines, I took the time to look at some of my favorite things. 

There was another card in the middle of the Finding Nemo ride. 

After finding all of the cards, I ran into an old friend. 

I love Ariel so much! 

She was the very first princess that I loved! 

Before going back to the hotel, we looked at some items that were used in the Mary Poppins Returns movie. I liked the kite!

Meeting a Princess

As we walked through Fantasyland, Katie had the chance to meet two of her favorite characters, Rapunzel and Flynn Rider. What luck!

My purple rain coat fit right in with Rapunzel!

The Churro

Disneyland is famous for their churros, but none of us had ever tried one. On this trip, Katie said, "I want to take a risk and try a churro." I bought her one when she was ready, and she fell in love with it! After trying one, she pointed out every churro cart in the park for the rest of our trip!

I'm always nervous to try new foods. 

Once I had my first bite though, I was sold! 

This is. one of my new favorite foods!

Yummy Popcorn

You may notice that every time we go to Disneyland that Katie almost always has popcorn with her. She loves their popcorn, and it always makes everything just a little bit happier!

Everyone was ready for lunch, but I was happy with my popcorn!

A Favorite Statue

One of our favorite statues is the one with Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse. This was the first time though that Katie has had a picture with it.

I loved the lower crowd sizes! I could get a picture wherever I wanted without having to wait!

Chinese New Year

We were at Disneyland during their Chinese New Year celebration again. However, their special activities often had to get canceled because of all of the rain. We did enjoy the decorations though!

Disneyland always has this wall of wishes during the Chinese New Year. You can write down your wish and hang it on the wall. 

It's always amazing to be here when there is no one else around! 

Aunt Jennifer and I liked this Chinese statue!

Visiting Another Favorite

The next morning, Katie was sporting some new shoes since her other shoes had gotten water-logged the day before. We were off to another of Katie's favorite rides.

I loved my new Minnie Mouse shoes! 

Toy Story Midway Mania is such a fun ride! 

I decided to put my 3-D glasses on upside down for my picture! 

Finishing Up a Rainy Day

Next, we went on Splash Mountain. We made the silly mistake of thinking that the water levels would be lower in the winter like they had been in the past, but the rain must have raised them right back up. Sitting in the front, I got absolutely soaked - wetter than I have ever been on the ride. Mix that with downpours for most of the afternoon, and it made for some cold times.

As we were soaked, we ate lunch in the rain, went on a few rides with small lines, and did a little shopping. Then we went back to the hotel for a bit to put on dry clothes and warm up!

We didn't pay for a clear picture of our Splash Mountain ride, but I'm the one hiding in the poncho, and I stayed the driest! 

After that, we went to the outdoor eating at The Tropical Hideaway, where we stayed cold. 

It was pouring! 

We spent part of our time shopping, so we could just be indoors. Aunt Jennifer gave me the money to play this game and make Pinnochio dance.

Grandma helped me figure it out. 

He was so cute! 

Do you like the Mickey ears that Grandma found? 

We tried to find some indoor rides to go on, but it was always still raining when we got out of them. 

Aunt Jennifer waited with me to go on the Finding Nemo submarine while my mom and Grandma went inside a building. 

When we got back to the hotel, I immediately put on warm, comfortable clothes. 

Then I enjoyed my delicious, Disneyland popcorn!

Meeting Some "Friends"

My sister, Jennifer, watches a Disneyland vlog every day, and the people who make it almost always film on Saturday. The funny thing is that we have only been to Disneyland on three Saturdays, and we have come across them on each of the three Saturdays. It's so surprising when you consider the crowds.

The first time we saw them, we were in a horse-drawn carriage, and they were on the sidewalk filming. The second time, we passed them on a sidewalk and said hello and talked for a short time. This time, we were in The Haunted Mansion, when Katie spotted them filming right next to Jennifer. This time, Jennifer asked them if she could get a picture with them since Katie has wished for a picture the last time. They are such nice people. If you want to check out their YouTube channel, their vlog is called Fresh Baked.

I was so happy to get my picture with David and Liz! I feel like I know them from seeing them on YouTube with Aunt Jennifer!

Going on a Favorite Ride

One of Katie's first requests for a ride was her old favorite, Small World!

We were ready for our cruise! 

We all love this ride! Who couldn't be happy on it?

Fun with Tinkerbell

The nice thing about going to Disneyland when it's raining is that the crowds are way down in size. On our first morning, Katie was able to walk up to visit Tinkerbell, and as she got there, the person with Tinkerbell was just leaving. No wait at all!

It had been awhile since I had seen Tinkerbell! 

We had some catching up to do! 

She has a lot of spunk! 

I think we could be life-long friends!

I just love her! 

 While I talked to Tinkerbell, Aunt Jennifer got distracted with the duck in Tinkerbell's area.

 I think the duck wanted to be life-long friends too!

A Heart-Filled Welcome

After our late flight, we just headed to the hotel for the night. The next morning, we headed to our favorite, Disneyland and was greeted with hearts and rain.

Disneyland hasn't decorated for Valentine's Day for awhile, but they did this year, and I loved the hearts!

Getting on the Plane

We left for our trip after the school day was over, and Katie couldn't wait to get on the plane.

I think it's so exciting when you finally get on a plane!

Some Last Minute Cuddles

When we had packed for our trip, General Washington decided he needed to hang out on Katie's suitcase. Katie took some time to make sure he knew he was loved.

I wish I could take you with us, General!

Don't Look Yet

Sometimes when Katie writes stories, she likes to keep them a surprise until she is completely done.

You can't look yet! I'm not done!

A Jolly Surprise

Katie was so excited to get a postcard in the mail from Santa! She was glad to know he was taking a vacation after his busy holiday season!

I loved hearing from Santa!