Chasing My Joy

My journey to becoming an Ultra Runner and Ironman

Friday Favorites – Travel

Now that I have finally finished my recaps of our European Travels it seemed appropriate to share some of our favorites from our International travel with the kids.

One of the things I was most surprised about loving was Rick Steves travel guide for Germany. My parents offered us their 2016 version since they had bought an updated 2019 version. At first I though what is the point, you can just google anything you wanted to know. But while on the road this thing was GOLD. While we were in towns we could look up anything we wanted and read about what we were seeing. I don’ think I will travel again without one of his guides.

We bought new travel Strollers for the trip and they worked really well. They were cheap and light so I was worried they wouldn’t hold up against all the walking and cobble stone streets. Surprisingly the strollers held up great! We also got rain covers for them which was critical for our soggy trip.

Another favorite that was really helpful was our Fire Tablets. Sometimes the kids just needed some down time or distractions while traveling. The kid safe cases work so well, I can’t say how many times these have been chucked onto the ground and they haven’t broken or scratched.

We also had kid safe headphones that Emmy won’t really wear but work great for Cannon.

Emmy’s Patagonia Puffer Jacket was also key for our trip. It rained and was often chilly. This jacket kept her dry and warm and packs down small when we want to stow it away.

This jacket was actually Cannon’s when he was this age and has held up so well. Cannon wore it for over a year and it still looks new!

This year we are getting both Cannon and Emmy this coat.

I hope you are having a wonderful Friday!

Happy Weekend!!!

EUROPEAN ADVENTURE – Innsbruck + Munich

For our second day in Austria we decided to drive down to Innsbruck.

We were excited to see more of Austria and visit the Alpine Zoo that we had heard great things about. We had trouble finding parking that would work for the RV, we eventually found something that was just for a couple hours near the university.

We walked into town and enjoyed a delicious lunch.

After lunch Cory took Cannon with him to look for longer parking while Emmy and I walked through town.

The downtown area was so gorgeous we could have spent way more time there.

We made it to the river where there were views of the mountains.

Unfortunately Cory and Cannon didn’t find any parking that could fit the RV for long enough to visit the zoo.

This was the first time having the RV was a liability, better planning would have helped us, we just assumed we would find parking. We decided to throw in the towel . We found a little park to give the kids a chance to play before we needed to get on the road back to Germany.

The next morning we drove into Munich to return the RV where we caught a ride to the airport. Our flight wasn’t until the next day but we didn’t want to lug around the carseats and extra luggage with us. The Munich airport offers a luggage storage service where you can leave your luggage for up to several days. After dropping our extra gear we caught the train into Munich to get to our Airbnb. We got settled into our room and were ready to explore Munich. We took a bus over to the English Garden. There is a wave right at the entrance of the park that is popular with surfers.

It was odd and really cool to see people surfing in the middle of the city. After watching the surfers for a little while the kids were ready to play so we found a park where they could have some fun.

These two really are best friends.

After we had our chance to play we walked through Munich’s Old Town.

Munich was beautiful and like most places I wished we had more time there.

We made it to the Marienplatz in time to watch the Glockenspiel.

The kids thought the clock was pretty fun to watch.

We then found a little family run Italian restaurant for dinner, the food was amazing.

After dinner we picked up treats for the next mornings breakfast.

Germans are serious about their pastries!

Back to the Marienplatz to catch the S-BAHN (subway) back to our rental.

The next morning we had to wake up very early to catch a bus, to the train to the airport. Getting out of Munich was quite the task, we had to wait in (long) lines many times to have our passports checked four times. Even with what we thought was plenty of time we still almost missed our flight.

We loved our adventure as a family but were ready to get home to our puppy, house and normal life.

Even though we had to compromise a lot of what we did because the kids were so little I wouldn’t change a thing!

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European Adventure Posts

EUROPEAN ADVENTURE – BERLIN DAYS 1-3

EUROPEAN ADVENTURE – BERLIN DAYS 4-6

EUROPEAN ADVENTURE – TRAVEL DAY + NUREMBERG

EUROPEAN ADVENTURE – EUROPA PARK

EUROPEAN ADVENTURE – SWITZERLAND

European Adventure – Neuschwanstein Castle and Ehrenberg Castle Ruins

After our time in Switzerland we drove to Fussen, Germany so we could visit Neuschwanstein Castle.

“The Neuschwanstein Castle is one of the most visited castles in Germany and one of the most popular tourist destinations in Europe.The castle is located in Bavaria, near the town of Fussen. It was built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria, also known as the “Fairytale King”. See our Neuschwanstein Castle Tour page.King Ludwig was a great admirer and supporter of Richard Wagner, the world-renowned composer. Neuschwanstein Castle was built in his honor and many rooms in the castle’s interior were inspired by Wagner’s characters. The third floor particularly reflects Ludwig’s admiration of Wagner’s operas.The Singers Hall, which occupies the entire fourth floor of Neuschwanstein also contains characters from Wagner’s operas. Neuschwanstein literally means “New Swan Castle” referencing of “the Swan Knight” one of the Wagner’s characters.” – Source

We woke up early and drove to town to look for coffee and breakfast. We then drove just a few minutes to the parking lot for Neuschwanstein. We made the decision to not take the strollers because we weren’t sure what the condition of the trail to the castle was. That was a mistake, we got about a third of the way up the hill and Cannon refused to walk any further. I didn’t think I could make it carrying him all the way so we caught a horse drawn carriage.

It’s a pretty long hike so it was a good choice to catch a ride.

Failed attempt to walk to the top…

The castle really is like a fairytale.

The castle almost didn’t feel real it was so pretty.

We walked around the castle and up to a bridge, Cannon had found his hiking legs at this point.

There were some amazing views along the way.

We walked around the courtyard but opted not to take the tour of the inside.

My brother had just visited last December and said the tour was boring. I am sure it would be amazing to see the inside but the kids were hungry and tired so we marched back down the hill (Cannon can apparently handle down hill hiking).

We went back to Fussen and found a nice little Indian Restaurant to have lunch.

After lunch we drove back out of Germany to Austria to take care of some boring essentials like groceries and laundry.

The next day we visited the Ehrenberg Castle Ruins. We were really excited to see a real piece of history and explore the ruins.

“Built in 1296, Ehrenberg Castle offers everything you would expect from a medieval castle, defensive walls, tall towers and a lot of history. The gothic castle complex was home to emperors and kings, princes and tzars. True history was written here. For a long period of time, Ehrenberg could lead a peaceful existence. This changed with the outbreak of the religious wars. Ehrenberg was in the center of wartime battles several times. In 1546, the Protestant Schmalkalden occupied the fortress. In 1552, it was taken by the Elector Moritz of Saxony. In 1632 the Swedes stopped in front of its walls. In 1703, Ehrenberg fell into the hands of the Bavarians during the War of the Spanish Succession. From 1716 to 1717, Ehrenberg became the exile of Russian Tsarevich Alexei, who fled from his father, Tsar Peter the Great. Even in the Napoleonic Wars, it played a role. Beginning in 1971, Fridolin Schennach from Reutte took over the condemned ruin and initiated a rescue operation with numerous other idealists. – Source

There was a really cute playground at the base of the hill that the kids enjoyed while we got tickets to ride the tram to the ruin.

Cannon and Emmy enjoyed the ride up.

The ruins were breathtaking and it was fun to think of all of the history that happened there.

We then traveled back to the valley where there was a wonderful Austrian restaurant.

It made me laugh that the beer on the menu was cheeper than the soda.

We had the best time in Bavaria, it was amazing to see the castles. On to Innsbruck, Munich then home!

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European Adventure Posts

EUROPEAN ADVENTURE – BERLIN DAYS 1-3

EUROPEAN ADVENTURE – BERLIN DAYS 4-6

EUROPEAN ADVENTURE – TRAVEL DAY + NUREMBERG

EUROPEAN ADVENTURE – EUROPA PARK

EUROPEAN ADVENTURE – SWITZERLAND

EUROPEAN ADVENTURE – Switzerland

In researching for our trip we decided to stay in a small town near Interlaken was where we wanted to visit in Switzerland. We wanted to avoid the big cities and experience the Swiss Alps. We drove in from Rust, Germany to Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland. The drive wasn’t bad, it was just unfortunate that it was dark and we missed some amazing views along the way!

Morning View

We made our way into town and found the best little coffee shop.

Even with unfortunate cloud cover and rain it was so enchanting!

We walked through town checking out the sites then made our way to the tram, to get to the train to Murren.

“Mürren is a Swiss mountain village at the foot of the Schilthorn peak, which is accessible by cable car. Featured in a James Bond film, the Piz Gloria revolving restaurant contains the Bond World 007 exhibit and has views of Mont Blanc. Near Mürren is the Lauterbrunnen Valley, with its subterranean, glacial Trümmelbach Falls. Themed trails on the Allmendhubel peak include the Flower Panorama and North Face paths” – Source

We rode up a cable car to get to the train station.

Train to Murren

Murren is a cute little town with fantastic views. It would have been incredible without the cloud cover and rain!

We spent some time checking out the town and trying not to get soaked.

Everything was so gorgeous I wish I could see it in the summer and winter as well!

[Source]

We were planning and so excited to take the kids to this alpine playground we saw online. It looked unreal it was so beautiful. We didn’t end up going because it was raining so much and was cold, we didn’t think it was a good idea to let the kids get completely soaked and then have a long commute back down the mountain.

We had lunch at a cute hotel with fantastic views, the kids had schnitzel while Cory and I shared fondue.

After lunch we traveled back to Lauterbrunnen. The rain had mostly let up and we found another playground to let the kids enjoy.

Walking a little further into the valley we found a tall waterfall that you can hike up behind.

We weren’t sure how far we would make it, the kids had already had a long day but we figured we could turn around at any point.

The hike was steep but fun, then you entered a long dark tunnel into the rock. The the hike got very slippery so I was holding onto Cannon’s hand and trying not to crush it.

Cannon hiked the entire way up and back, which was amazing. Cory also gets a gold star for carrying Emmy up and back.

Again the views were incredible.

After our hike it was time to hit the road, we had castles to explore! We left a little earlier so we got to enjoy driving in the Swiss countryside.

Cory was even generous enough to drive through Lucern to get some coffee and to see the famous Chapel Bridge.

[Source]

Then it was back to Germany!

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European Adventure Posts

EUROPEAN ADVENTURE – BERLIN DAYS 1-3

EUROPEAN ADVENTURE – BERLIN DAYS 4-6

EUROPEAN ADVENTURE – TRAVEL DAY + NUREMBERG

EUROPEAN ADVENTURE – EUROPA PARK

EUROPEAN ADVENTURE – Europa Park

We decided to add a theme park to our trip so we would be sure the kids had some time to run around and have some magical fun. Europa Park really hit that spot for us. I was so surprised about how magical and beautiful the park was. Europa park is large and famous for it’s amazing roller coasters so I thought it would be like a Six Flags but it was much more like Disneyland with the theming and trees and decorations.

We stayed in the resort’s RV park which had a cute old west theme. It was a very nice stay with plenty of restaurants, shops and facilities available.

A short walk got us directly to the main gate of the park.

There was no wait to get in and the “main street” entrance was beautifully decorated for fall.

The park is broken up into themed areas based on countries.

The kids had fun just running around the park.

There were lots of cute little boat rides and suspended rides that gave us beautiful views of the park.

Ireland was specifically built for little kids and had a large indoor (multilevel) playhouse and giant slides. We could have stayed there all day!

There was an enchanted forest area that was adorable.

There were even some rides that Cannon could do all on his own. I was nervous that he would jump out but he did great and loved it!

I was most excited about taking Cannon on a ride called “Arthur” it is a very fun ride that Cannon was just barley tall enough for. I was worried that it may be too scary for him but he loved it and so did I!

He actually rode it three times total before we were done.

Given that Cannon had just gotten taller than 40 inches he could do a lot of rides at Emmy couldn’t.

There was still plenty of things for Emmy to enjoy.

The theming is just beautiful.

There was plenty to do all together as well.

Cory and I didn’t get to do many of the big roller coasters but they looked amazing. We agreed that we need to come back when the kids are teens so we can ride everything together.

After two days in the park we still hadn’t done everything but it was time to move on to Switzerland. We had a nice dinner in the park then it was time to get back to the RV and leave Germany.

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European Adventure Posts

EUROPEAN ADVENTURE – BERLIN DAYS 1-3

EUROPEAN ADVENTURE – BERLIN DAYS 4-6

EUROPEAN ADVENTURE – TRAVEL DAY + NUREMBERG

European Adventure – Travel Day + Nuremberg

After leaving Berlin we had a travel day to get ourselves from Berlin (You can read about our time in Berlin HERE and HERE) to Nuremberg.

Our travel day included an Uber to the train station then lugging all of our things and the kiddos through the station to the lower levels where the high speed trains are.

The train ride went smoothly and we had wonderful Germans who shared our table gave us advice on what to visit during our travels.

When we arrived in Berlin we ate lunch at the train station then grabbed a cab and headed out to where we were picking up our Motorhome.

When we told people we were traveling by RV a few people thought we were crazy. We are so glad we traveled this way rather than renting a car or trying to get around by train. The kids loved having a place they were used to and we loved not having to pack up all the time. We also liked that we could “eat in” more often, eating out gets old when you do it all day for almost three weeks.

The kids had fun checking out the property, playing with the chickens and exploring the RV. Once we were on the road we hit a local grocery store. The kids had done so well being cooped up traveling all day so we didn’t want to ask them to sit still in a restaurant. We found a very cute playground where we could have a picnic.

After dinner we loaded the kids into their carseats (they both fall asleep easily in the car) and drove to Nuremberg.

We found a great place to park overnight just outside the city and settled in for the night.

A quick breakfast then off to catch the train into Nuremberg. I was so excited to see this city, it felt just like I wanted Germany to be.

“Nuremberg, a city in northern Bavaria, is distinguished by medieval architecture such as the fortifications and stone towers of its Altstadt (Old Town). At the northern edge of the Altstadt, surrounded by red-roofed buildings, stands Kaiserburg Castle. The Hauptmarkt (central square) contains the Schöner Brunnen, the gilded “beautiful fountain” with tiers of figures, and Frauenkirche, a 14th-century Gothic church.” – Source

There is way too much to share from our day but it was like a fairytale.

We walked from the train station directly across the street into old town.

Holy Ghost Hospital

We did a ton of walking and checking out the sites. We then found our way to the Hauptmarkt, where the famous Christmas markets are held.

Cannon loved exploring Schöner Brunnen, a 14th century fountain.

The fountain has a gold ring that when turned three times is supposed to bring luck.

We then caught a tram tour of the town so we could see some sites outside of the main walk.

After our tour we went on the search for lunch. We found the cutest little local restaurant called Bratwursthausle.

Nuremberg is famous for their bratwurst, tiny little pinky sized sausages, they were delicious and so was the potato salad (very different than American potato salad).

Terrible photo but the inside of the restaurant was really cute.

After lunch we climbed the hill up to the imperial castle.

“Nuremberg Castle is a group of medieval fortified buildings on a sandstone ridge dominating the historical center of Nuremberg in Bavaria, Germany. The castle, together with the city walls, is considered to be one of Europe’s most formidable medieval fortifications.” – Source

We spent some time exploring the castle on foot, there were incredible views.

We would have liked to have taken a tour but the kids were DONE with getting in and out of their strollers and not getting to run free.

It started to rain so we made quick tracks back to the train station and back to the RV.

We had dinner in the RV then settled the kids in so we cold drive to Rust, Germany.

Up next, Europa Park!

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European Adventure Posts

EUROPEAN ADVENTURE – BERLIN DAYS 1-3

EUROPEAN ADVENTURE – BERLIN DAYS 4-6

European Adventure – Berlin Days 1-3

When we arrived in Berlin (you can read about traveling there HERE) we were tired but after a rest we headed out for some fresh air.

We were so happy that our phones worked so we could use google maps (although the data was very slow). We found a park near our hotel so the kids could run and play after such a long time traveling.

It’s always fun (and necessary) to see what local parks are like when we travel. We then found a cute little Mexican restaurant near our hotel before heading back and to bed early.

DAY 2

On our second day in Berlin we decided to do a “hop on hop off” bus tour of Berlin.

We walked from our hotel to where the busses were parked and we etertained ourselves checking out the square in front of  Fernsehturm (Berlin’s historic TV tower).

Once on the tour we saw many sites around Berlin including the Brandenburg Gate, Reichstag, Tiergarten, President’s house and lots more.

Cannon enjoyed the ride and Emmy enjoyed a nap. We rode on the top of a double decker bus. Too bad it was raining otherwise you get to ride with the top open. We got to see parts of the Berlin wall and Checkpoint Charlie. We didn’t do much World War II history touring while we were in there because I felt it wasn’t appropriate for the kids but it’s still very present in Berlin and I can’t believe the wall only came down so recently. This year is the 30th anniversary of the wall coming down!

After the tour we took a rainy stroll to a local brewery called Brewdog

The pizza and beer were delicious and the kids made some local friends to play with.

After dinner we found a grocery store to pick up some supplies. The big thing I forgot to pack was the kids’ toothbrushes and toothpaste. I don’t know why but I get a kick out of this German toothpaste.

Our hotel room had a mini-fridge so we were able to get some milk for the kids and of corse chocolate, diapers and snacks.

DAY 3

Our third day in Berlin started nice and early, we had reservations to tour Reichstag . We decided to walk over from our hotel and it was a beautiful way to see the city.

Reichstag is a glass dome on top of the German Parliament building. The tour includes an audio portion that describes the views from the dome and the city’s interesting history.

We enjoyed the tour and the beautiful views of the city from the dome.

By the end the kids were very over being in their strollers so we walked back to the hotel for lunch. We grabbed sandwiches from a sweet little shop to eat in our hotel room. There is only so many times we can ask these kids to be quiet and sit in a restaurant so we tried to give them opportunities to eat and play. We then ran back out to take a boat tour of the Spree River.

There are many options for boat tours, we decided on an hour tour of the Spree. Cory and I would have loved a longer tour but the kids’ attention span can’t last that long.

It was really fun to see so much of the city from the water and hear about the city’s past. After we got off the boat we walked to the Tiergarten (think central park) to let the kids run around and get some energy out.

There are many beautiful statues in the park including a memorial to the Russian soldiers who dies in WWII.

Our third day in Berlin was my birthday so I got to choose the restaurant. I wanted something very authentically German and we found just that.

After dinner we found a little bakery around the corner from our hotel to get some cake to celebrate.

After cake we went back to our hotel, we stayed at Hotel Augustinenhof it was in a cute old building that definitely didn’t feel like a chain hotel.

We had the perfect room for the four of us with a separate bedroom. The hotel offered breakfast every morning, that made things much easier to get the day going!

Emmy enjoyed her high chair.

That’s it for our first three days in Berlin. Will be back to cover days 4-6 soon!

International Travel With Small Children

I wanted to get my thoughts down about our trip to Europe with Cannon (3 years old) and Emmy (1 year old) before it all fades and all I remember is the fun! We had a great time and spent almost three weeks abroad.

We flew over and spent the first week in Berlin with my parents. It was nice to have a couple additional sets of hands for the flight as we had no idea about how it was going to go. We had only flown once with the kids before and that was just for our trip to Disneyland in February (recaps HERE and HERE ) We left for a red eye flight at 4pm Denver time and landed about 10 am in Munich then a quick flight from Munich to Berlin. Because the flight is about 10 hours and we left later in the day it worked out well for the kids’ sleep schedule.

We loaded onto the plane and enjoyed take-off. Cannon liked watching out the window and checking out everything in the armrest between seats. We did take both car seats with us but checked them instead of using them on the plane. My research before the trip found that kids aren’t really safer in their carseats while flying so it was easier not to lug them through the airport and both were happier without them anyway.

Soon after take-off they served us dinner which took up some time.

After dinner Cannon was happy to watch a movie, we flew Lufthansa and they had a ton of kid friendly movies. Emmy was happy to hop between people’s laps and make friends with the other passengers. Emmy liked watching part of Life of Pets 2. We packed lots of blankets to snuggle, snacks and kid appropriate headphones.

After dinner they darkened the plane so we could sleep. Around the kids normal bedtime we “got them ready for bed” we took them to the potty, changed Emmy’s diaper and made sure the movies were off when we got back to our seats. Cannon settled right down in his own seat, Emmy had a little trouble. We did have a seat for her but she was happier sitting with someone, she cried for a little while trying to get her down but she fell asleep after that and slept through. Cory and I shared time holding her while she slept. When we got close to time to land they lit up the plane and served us breakfast.

It was not as long as the kids normally sleep at home but Cannon still thought it was awesome to eat on the plane.

We had a short transition time to get to an hour flight between Munich and Berlin. This was a little stressful basically running through the airport and waiting in the passport check. When we got to Berlin we took a car to the hotel and settled in a bit. We were all tired and off our schedule but ventured out into the city to stretch our legs and found a park for the kids to play at. It took a few days to get the kids used to the time change (Berlin is 8 hours ahead of Denver). Emerald had the hardest time adjusting but after 3 nights was doing fine.

While in Europe we spent our time getting around by bus or train ( I will detail our adventures later and just cover travel for now). We took Kolcraft Cloud Umbrella Strollers with us and they were great for getting on and off public transit. We were even able to carry them up stairs from the subway in the strollers when it was hard to find elevators.

We also got good rain covers for the strollers that were key because it rained a fair bit while we were traveling. Instead of my normal diaper bag we used Cory’s REI backpack that also had a rain cover and that saved our stuff from getting soaked.

On our train ride from Berlin to Munich we used our Kids Fire Tablets to keep the kids entertained.

Our flight home left at 11 am Munich time so I was worried about a 11 hour flight that did not include overnight sleep time.

Again Emmy had her own seat but spent zero minutes in it. She bounced between sharing with me and Cory but her favorite was to sit next to Cannon.

Emmy did nap a little on the flight but Cannon didn’t sleep at all. He got a little restless but was always happy to visit the potty, watch a movie (or 6) and eat meals when they were served. We were very pleased with how the kids did on the flight with no big meltdowns. Once we got into Denver and were waiting to get through customs Cannon was DONE it was about 11PM Munich time and he hadn’t had any sleep. We had a pretty epic meltdown while waiting for our luggage.

That is Cannon sleeping on the airport floor. Overall I consider it a win with just one meltdown. Once home we settled in and tried to get back to normal life. Just like on the way there it took about 2-3 days to get back on local time.

It was definitely a different trip than if we had gone without the kids. We didn’t spend time in museums, shopping or lavish dinners. There were many times I would have liked to relax in a coffee shop for awhile but that was just not possible with our two little ones. All kids are different so some might be more okay with these type of activities. Both Cannon and Emerald have a lot of energy and need to be on the move. Even though we missed out on some things we gained so much going on this trip as a family. I really enjoyed sharing this experience with them.

If you are considering travel with small children, I say go for it! Where is the best place you have taken your kids?

Disneyland Trip 2019 – Days 3 – 5

If you missed it you can find days 1-2 from our trip HERE.

Day three started our second day in Disneyland. It was another rainy morning but we made the most of it with our Magic Morning Pass. We got in an hour early but only Fantasyland and Tomorrowland were open so it was pretty crowded.

We tried to hit all the rides and activities that we missed on day one. We also had to go back to Pirates because it was just so much fun. We did miss a few things we really wanted to do including riding the Rivers of America Boat and visiting Tom Sawyer’s Island. The island was often closed due to the rain, I guess that just saves us something new for our next visit =).

We had some great food for lunch but made sure to save room for the Kitchen Sink Sundae. This thing was huge and we were glad to have all five of us to help finish it. Cannon was actually really into eating this and he isn’t one to get excited about food.

We cleaned up the bowl and got a Minnie bowl (without the ice cream) to take home with us. I am looking forward to the kids eating ice cream out of these bowls when they are older and telling them about this trip.

Again we got epic stroller naps and cuddles from the kids.

We had the best time and Cannon was so brave on all the ride.

My mom had one request for the day and it was for Emerald to meet a princes. We had almost given up but as we were walking to dinner we found Ariel. My mom was right that even though the characters terrified her, she loved meeting a princess.

Her face says it all.

We had dinner in at the Grand Californian where I had the best burger ever! It was nice to sit and eat in the warmth and the kids did surprising well at a restaurant after such a busy day.

After dinner we said goodnight to my parents and headed back into Disneyland. We got to see some off Mickey’s Mix Magic projection show and it was really cute, but our main objective was to get to Autopia. We had been talking about letting Cannon drive there for so long and we couldn’t miss the opportunity. I felt like the ride had too many fumes and was too noisy for Emerald so we watched from the sideline. Cannon got to steer and had the best time.

On our last day at the parks we headed over to Disney California Adventure. The rain had passed and it was sunny and blue skies all day. This meant there were many more people in the park and it was much harder to get around, fast passes were selling out and lines were longer.

Grandma, Grandpa, Cannon and Emerald are in the red car!

We found there to be fewer rides at DCA that Cannon and Emmy could ride than in Disneyland. This is partially due to the fact the The Bugs Land used to be geared toward little kids has been closed. Although the new Marvel Land I hear that is to replace it doesn’t look like it is being built for toddlers. Even so we found plenty to do riding the Little Mermaid, the golden Zeppelins and the Grandparents took Cannon and Emerald on the ferris wheel while Cory and I got to ride the Incredicoaster. We had a blast but had to hurry to Cars Land to use a fast pass on Radiator Springs Racers.

Sadly Cannon and Emerald weren’t big enough to ride so Cory hung out with them in Cars land while the rest of us went to race (we lost). Cory said he didn’t like the ride that much so he didn’t mind missing it, I think he was just being nice. Mom and Dad had never ridden it before so it was important that they got to ride.

Cannon still had a good time seeing all the fun Cars in Cars Land.

We then spent a good amount of time at the Grizzly Peak Adventure area. Rides are great and fun but both Cannon and Emerald needed some time to run, play, climb and crawl. Mom and Dad even found sometime to ride some adult rides.

Then it was Midway Mania with the kids. In our last couple of visits to DCA we haven’t gone on Midway Mania because the lines have always been so long. They have added a fastpass now so the wait was more reasonable.

Cannon kind of got the idea of pulling the string on his shooter and made about 1% of his shots (I only did slightly better, LOL).

After that we went to Pacific Wharf for lunch. Then took our time wondering around with sleeping babies. After lunch and naps we lined up for the live Frozen show. Cannon wasn’t sure he was ready to be awake but we made the right call since he loved the show. Emmy loved the show too dancing a smiling to all the songs.

After the show we fit in a couple more rides including Mater’s and Monsters Inc.

We had dinner reservations at the Wine Country Trattoria . The restaurant was very pretty with excellent views but I would not go there again. We had to wait twenty minutes to be seated, even though we had reservations and the food was not that great.

After dinner Cory and I had fast passes for Mission Breakout. I loved this ride when it was Tower of Terror so I was excited to see if it was still as good. I would say the new overlay seemed to not quite fit but the animatronics were great and I thought the actual ride was even better! While we were on the ride Mom and Dad took the kids shopping. Cannon scored a bubble wand, I can’t wait for it to be warm enough for him to play with it in the back yard.

After that the park was closing, I felt like our time had gone so quickly and was sad to leave. I can only hope that we will be back in a couple of years.

Our fifth and final day of the trip was just a travel day. We spent the morning packing up and called an Uber for our 11am flight.

Emmy helping us pack

Cannon was still pretty excited about the planes.

On the way to California Cannon stayed up and watched movies. On the way home he passed out.

I guess we tired him out a bit this week.

We were so happy to get home and see the puppies that had been staying at my brother’s house.

The first picture was from when we dropped them off, the second the day before we picked them up. The weather changed a bit while we were gone. Coming home to seven degrees and six inches of snow was shock to the system.

Overall we had a great trip, it was more fun than I thought it would be. I would highly recommend taking a baby and a toddler to Disneyland, you may not get in as many rides as you used to but it’s so much more magical.

Disneyland Trip 2019 – Days 1 and 2

Our flight to Orange County left Denver at noon on Sunday so we had plenty of time to get up and get all packed into the car without having to get up too early. Even though our trip was only 5 days total it still seemed like we had to bring so many things. Traveling with a toddler and a baby is no joke. At least we knew from our last trip that Emmy was not going to sleep in a pack and play so we did not bother bringing one.

We had to pack carseats for both kids just so they could ride in a Uber to and from the airport in California. We were checking two suitcases and the carseats, I wanted to try Cannon just sitting in the airline seat and it worked out well. We pulled up and got in line to curb-check our luggage then Cory took Cannon to park the car while I had Emmy in the stroller that we gate-checked. I was worried about having a big double stroller in the airport but it was not a problem at all and much better than holding or trying to chase both kids through security and to our gate. Luckily my Mom and Dad showed up right as we were so I had an extra set of hands.

Emmy was pretty excited to have Grandma and Grandpa along for the adventure!

Cannon really enjoyed riding the bus after parking the car. It was a pretty epic day for him including planes, trains and automobiles. We picked up sandwiches from Einsteins Bagels to eat on the plane and made our way to the gate. There was just enough time to let Cannon run around and look at the planes and break down the stroller before it was time to board. We flew Southwest and didn’t pay for early seating, luckily family boarding did get us three seats together, we didn’t get a seat for Emmy as when we originally bought these tickets she was only four months old. She did great and slept the last couple hours of the flight in Cory’s arms. I am happy that when we fly again in September Emmy will have her own seat, she will be 17 months then!

The flight from Denver to Orange County (we flew to John Wayne airport instead of LAX because it’s closer to Disneyland) is just about three hours. I was a little nervous about how the kids would do on the plane but they both did great, neither of them cried at all. Cannon sat at the window and watched take-off and landing. For the middle part of the flight he happily watched movies on his tablet.

Cannon’s first flight! I still love seeing his name printed on anything.

We landed in California, got our luggage and ordered an Uber with no issue. It was a bit of a pain to have to install and remove both carseats for a 20 minute ride but it was necessary.

We got to our hotel about 3pm and unpacked a bit. A hotel room isn’t a great place to entertain a baby and toddler so we packed them into the stroller and headed for Downtown Disney. We intentionally planned to not go into the parks on our first day because we thought all the travel would be enough excitement for the kids. It was pretty fun to see the rides from outside the park! Our hotel was a little less than a mile from the entrance gates, it felt good to walk and not too far.

We met my parents and walked through Downtown Disney checking out all the shops and restaurants.

We decided to go to La Brea Bakery where I had the best clam chowder of my life.

After dinner we said our goodnights and rolled back to the hotel. Both kids were warm and snuggly so they fell asleep on the way back.

We got to bed as quickly as we could to rest up for our first day in Disneyland.

We started out or day with a Character Breakfast at the Grand Californian, where my parents were staying. While this was fun I wouldn’t do it again until the kids are both much older. The costumed characters were scary for both Cannon and Emmy plus the buffet was hard to navigate with a baby and toddler.

After breakfast it was time to head into Disneyland and we were all so excited!

The park was decorated for both Valentine’s Day and Mickey and Minnie’s 90th Birthday. It was all really cute.

We decided that It’s s Small World would be our first ride. We had heard that dark rides can be scary for some toddlers so we didn’t want to start with something that would put Cannon off all other rides.

Both Cannon and Emmy loved it and were ready to hit some more rides.

We had lunch in Toontown as we had heard some of the birthday food was worth trying. I especially liked the Minnie cupcake. Both kids had fallen asleep in the stroller so we let them nap for a while before it was time to play again!

Cannon enjoyed getting out to play and Emmy enjoyed lots of snuggles. I originally thought we might take a mid-day break back at the hotel for naps but both kids took great naps in the stroller so there was no need to leave the park.

You may have noticed from the photos that it was pretty rainy while we were there but we had some good rain gear and the stroller kept the kids warm and dry. It ended up being a good thing for us as we never had to wait in line more than twenty minutes.

We were so lucky to have my parents with us for this trip! Not only did we get to share the magic of the kids first trip to Disney with them but they also deepened their bond with these kiddos. Also they were kind enough to take the kids to do fun rides or go shop while Cory and I got a chance to do rides that were too big for the kids. Grandma and Grandpa got in their favorites too!

Some of Cannon’s favorites from the day were:

  • It’s a Small World
  • Pirates of the Caribbean ( I thought this might be too scary but he loved it)
  • Winnie the Pooh

Later we had dinner reservations at the Blue Bayou. If you haven’t been there it is the restaurant that is right at the begining of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. It’s dark and fun to hear all the riders in the boats and the food is amazing.

After dinner my parents called it a night but we were still ready to have fun so we got in a few more rides including Alice in Wonderland which was my childhood favorite.

This time of year Disneyland closes pretty early at 8pm and we were headed out right before they closed. We would have liked to have watched the parade but you have to claim a spot really early and at nine months and two and a half years old my kids aren’t ready to sit and wait for an hour. Some things will just have to happen on later trips.

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Days 3-5 coming in another post.

Are you a big Disney person? I really do love Disneyland it has a really special place in my heart from when I was a child.

Cory and I also went just the two of us a couple times. I know some people think that’s odd but we loved it. We went for our second anniversary back in 2008.

We went again in the fall of 2015, that trip was really fun because they had all the Halloween decorations up.

That trip was extra special because on the last morning right before leaving for our flight I found out I was pregnant with Cannon. It made a fun trip that much more memorable (and explained why I was so tired and not feeling great, LOL).