Trying to Get Home

Our shuttle had to take us to the airport a little earlier than we would have liked, but we had to go according to their schedule. That meant that we'd just have some extra time at the airport, which we could manage. Then on the way to the airport, Jennifer found out that our flight had a two hour delay! That meant, we'd be spending a good four or so hours waiting in the airport. Well, our two hour delay turned into a little over a three hour delay. After a trip, it's hard to be faced with a delay that's longer than your actual flight! Katie managed well though. She finds ways to entertain herself. In the last half hour, she kept asking where our plane was, but she was always well-behaved. I really couldn't ask for a better traveler.

Katie fell asleep about ten minutes before we got on the plane and then slept through our whole flight. We finally landed back at home around 1:30 a.m., had to retrieve our car out of long term parking, got home, discovered we were locked out of our house, had to go wake Garyldine up for our extra key, and walked into our house at 2:30. After a bit more excitement for Katie, we finally got to bed. At 7:30 the next morning, Katie woke me up and told me, "Why are you sleeping so late? The sun is up!" Back to our routine!

While we waited in the airport, I turned the handle on Aunt Jennifer's suitcase into a microphone. 

I decided to sing every song I knew and perform a dance with it. I started pretty softly and then got louder and louder.

I think I helped pass the time for everyone! 

This was just part of my performance.

By the time the plane came, I was exhausted!

Mickey Ears

Before we got back to the hotel, I let Katie stop at the store and choose a pair of Mickey Mouse ears. There are so many different ears to choose from, and Katie looked at a lot of them. In the end, she made a choice that shouldn't be surprising!

I chose the princess Mickey Mouse ears with very little hesitation! 

One of my favorite parts was the beautiful veil!

A Rare Opportunity

After her second Tower of Terror experience, my mom headed back to the hotel to wait for our shuttle to the airport. Jennifer and I decided to take Katie back to Disneyland for one final attempt to meet the un-met princesses. Just as we reached the castle, we heard a small band coming our way, and we remembered that someone had told us that Mary Poppins performed with the band once in awhile.

We quickly followed the band to watch their performance, and Mary Poppins did eventually join in for some dancing. It was a thrill for Katie to see Mary Poppins in dancing mode while she had a front row position. Then things got even better! Mary Poppins invited some of the kids to dance with her. It's a rare opportunity to dance with Mary Poppins, and Katie got to enjoy it!

At first, I was just having fun watching the band! 

Then I saw Mary Poppins again, but this time, she was dancing! 

I couldn't believe it when I got a dancing lesson from Mary Poppins! (That's me hiding right in front of her!)

We got to dance by putting our knees up, just like her! 

I truly do love her! 

Then we got to form a long line, and... 

…we danced around the band. It was so much fun!

This was our dance.

Finding Sully

Before we said good-bye to the Disney parks, we went one last time to the California Adventure Park. We walked around the entire park, going on a few rides again, and then gave my mom the chance to go on The Tower of Terror again. (Yes, she requested it!)

Afterward, we found a bench to sit and observe the park, while Katie had her lunch. While we were sitting there, Sully passed by. Of course, we had to track him down!

Sully is a friendly monster!

He gave me a big monster hug before I left him!

A Third Favorite Moment

For several hours during our last morning, we were waiting for one character…Mary Poppins. We stayed close to the Jolly Holiday Cafe looking and looking. Finally, I happened to look around the corner, and I saw her. Jennifer and I took Katie to meet her, which led to her third moment ranking a 10 on the excitement scale. Katie was thrilled to be in her presence!

I couldn't believe what I was seeing! Mary Poppins! 

She noticed my princess nail polish right away, which thrilled me!

Mary Poppins is practically perfect in every way! 

I love you!

Where's Jasmine?

On our last morning in Disneyland, we tried to find the princesses that we hadn't seen yet. One of the princesses that Katie wanted to find was Jasmine. When we were close to where the princesses greet the visitors, we saw the back of Jasmine walking away. Jennifer and I grabbed Katie and took off following her.  Unfortunately we lost track of her, but we ended up at the Aladdin Oasis. We just knew we'd find her in there, but we didn't. Instead we found Aladdin and the Genie just waiting to say hi. They were so nice to Katie, but she was a little hesitant with them. I don't think she quite knew what to do without Jasmine.

After meeting Aladdin and the Genie, she did run into another friendly character.

Aladdin and the Genie liked the ways my shoes lit up. I just wondered where Jasmine was.

Alice was nice when I met her. She tried to warm up my cold hands for me!

Another Parade and Fireworks

After being initiated to Disney parades the night before at California Adventure, we took Katie to the Disneyland parade. As much as Katie loved the previous parade, she loved this one even more. It was a lot of fun for her to see Pooh and Friends, but when the princesses came, it became even more thrilling, and when the Frozen float came, Katie was over-the-moon happy!

After the parade, we went back to the hotel for a short rest, and then we went back to the park for their nightly firework show.

We found a good place to watch the parade. Instead of sitting on the bench, I just stood at the rail the whole time, entertaining people with my excitement. 

Winnie the Pooh and his friends were riding sleds through the streets! 

I was so happy to see Anna and Elsa again!

It was the most exciting part of the parade!

All the other princesses were there too. They were dancing with their princes. 

The parade ended with Santa Claus. I wondered if he had checked over my letter yet. 

The firework show was very crowded, but very pretty. 

After the fireworks, we were in Disney's magical snow.