Christmas was great this year, but Mom and Dad's big Christmas present to the kids made it even better--a trip to California. We left two days after Christmas flying into Los Angeles with plans to visit Disneyland, Lego Land (to which we had never been) and Universal Studios. We settled in to the Candy Cane Inn, rather appropriate for the time of year, and prepared to see Mickey the next day.

There was no question as to where we would spend the first day. Any vacation starts out right at Disneyland--a forever favorite. Some day we will be able to chronicle the life of our family by our pictures at the enterances of Disneyland and Disneyworld. And of course, there is always someone willing to take a picture of the family, as long as you take a picture of their family as well. Though we packed for the cold weather we had been experiencing in Safford, the temperature was fantastic. Long sleeves took the slight chill out of the mornings and evenings for the kids, and remained comfortable even during the mid day. Despite taking every coat we owned, we never needed any of them. Arriving on Disneyland property revealed the great hussle and bussle they had been going through for the last year. Their "California Adventure" theme park has been under construction filling what used to be their parking lot with a huge Mickey Mouse roller coaster, a giant farris wheel, and many other large buildings. We missed the parking mess made by the construction as residing at the Candy Cane Inn put us within a ten minute walk to the enterance of the park as well as provided us with shuttled service from door to door. Though Greg was disappointed we were not staying in the Disneyland Hotel, he felt better once we arrived and realized the Monorail was not running because of the construction.

Excited to welcome all of the guests, Alice happily posed for pictures and signed autographs for Preston and Brooklyn. They have both been collecting autographs for the last three years, but this was the first time they had met Alice. A photo and an autograph were great, but Preston sure would have liked having her phone number as well. Though many were coming through the gates when we did, we learned Disneyland has extended its hours. They now open at 6:30 a.m., much too early for our family.

With the kids a little older, it was hard to convince them to stick to Mom's side making Dumbo our first ride. No, with age comes better things and Tomorrow Land promised much more excitement than Dumbo. By the time we made it to the latest Disneyland addition, the line had already formed for the Rocket Rods in Tomorrow Land. Last year, Greg, Susan and Preston were able to ride the new Rocket Rods which replaced the People Mover, but Brooklyn just wasn't tall enough. Of course part of our great theme park tradition has always included Greg getting Brooklyn onto rides she wasn't tall enough for by stuffing a tremendous amount of napkins under her heels. However, growth and time was about to change that.

Proud of her great improvement in height, Brooklyn proudly shows the ride attendant that she meets the ride requirements. No more baby swap passes for this family. It's amazing what drinking all of that milk can do; she didn't just make the height requirement, she cleared it by two inches. Susan was relieved that Brooklyn can now ride "safely" while Greg was devastated that his little girl was growing up, and the challenge of cheating a few inches was gone. Of course Susan and the kids reassured him that if he would give in and have another baby, his "beat the ride" challenge could start all over again! He didn't fall for that one.

The thrill and excitement of Space Mountain pulled Brooklyn to vote for that to be ride number two. Preston, good sport that he always is, reluctantly agreed. See, he could do without any of the thrill rides, and it wouldn't bother him a bit. With Mom's help, he makes it through most ride with a stern face, closed eyes, and ears covered. And going to the 3D Honey I Shrunk the Audience attraction doesn't thrill him either. Crossing through Tomorrow Land, we ran into the cast from Toy Story. Unfortunately, we were too late to get pictures, but Preston did manage to get an autograph of Dave the Army man as he was exiting.

Big or small, Toon Town is never outgrown. And what is a trip to Toon Town without a picture on the crazy fire engine? When Preston was younger, he was always amazed at the barking fire dog that came out of the top window. There is no place like Toon Town.

Obviously built without a level, nothing is straight in Toon Town. Dressed in Christmas decorations did give the town a special spirit and made the 70 degree weather feel just a little chillier. While waiting in line for the Roger Rabbit ride, we learned how the new "ride reservation" system worked. Greg headed back to the Small World ride to give it a try, while we stayed in line in Toon Town. He was back in a flash, and we now had walkup reservations for Small World that could be used sometime during an hour period which began about forty-five minutes from then. It sounded cool, but we were anxious to try it after seeing the over hour-long line to Small World as we entered Toon Town.

The Toon Town Jail only provides a temporary resting place as Preston and Brooklyn scurry through the small crazy houses exploring every nook and cranny. It doesn't take long for both kids to squeeze through the bars and hurry on their way. Filled with buttons go push, doors to open, and crazy sounds everywhere, this playground environment tempts them both to explore everything.

Preston's favorite place to play in Toon Town is Donald Duck's ship, and this year it was extra special because Mom actually let them go in alone. Sitting by the fountain in front of the ship, it was great fun to watch Preston and Brooklyn run around in circles trying to find one another on the ship. Preston would end up on top and Brooklyn would end up on the bottom. We would point them out to one another and then Preston ended up on the bottom and Brooklyn on top. After Toon Town we experienced our first ride with reservations. We walked past the long line for Small World into the Fast Pass line and waited no more than five minutes to get on a boat. From then on we were sold on this new system and anxious to use it again.

Patience is one thing, but enough was enough. Both Preston and Brooklyn finally insisted they could wait no more; it was time for Tom Sawyer's Island. This was one area into which Greg and Susan had never ventured until having kids. Once they had kids, they realized this was a good place to let them wear themselves out. However, the excitement of the place just gives the kids more energy and fun. Actually, the kids would be completely happy to stay on the island all day.

An exciting part of the island contains a bridge over water supported by barrels. You would think two or three times would be enough, but no, we counted the kids crossing the bridge 18 times before they decided to move on. This wasn't too bad since it provided a great time for Greg to take a nap. Lying back on a bench with his head in Susan's lap made the Island one of Greg's favorites too.

An early Christmas present for the family was a new digital video and still shop camera. One of the great feature on the camera is its night vision. Using night vision made it possible for Greg to captured Preston in the cave looking for indians swimming to the island. All he shot were tourists, but he still had fun. Brooklyn had a great time taking mom through the dark, small caves. Though she promised to stay with mom, it was more fun to run off laughing and pop out somewhere to watch mom scream.

After almost two hours of Island fun, we headed to Bear Country. We immediately signed up for reservations for Splash Mountain and were assigned a time within an hour. A few minutes for pictures with Eeyore provided a great diversion. We stopped for lunch and then enjoyed the great Christmas special of the Bear Country Jamboree. By then it was time for Splash Mountain. Walking past the over two hour-long line, the Fast Pass line took us about 10 minutes, the fastest we have ever gotten on that ride.

Feeling lucky to be in front, Brooklyn leads the family down stream on Splash Mountain. Hands up, or at least out, is the only way to go! Gladly getting wet during the "big fall", Splash Mountain has to be one of Brooklyn's favorite rides. The Haunted Mansion and the Pirates of the Caribbean continued to be enjoyable, but a great new addition was Tarzan's new Tree House. Converted from the Swiss Robinson's Family Tree House, the Tarzan Tree House was expanded and had a new look. Once again, Preston and Brooklyn felt grown up as mom and dad let them walk through alone. Waiting at the exit, mom did start to pace as time went on and was relieved when both kids were finally down. For her first time ever, Brooklyn was tall enough for Indiana Jones. This really revealed her growth last year Greg couldn't even use napkins to get her on she was so short of making it. Brooklyn was excited and though it was late, we waited in the longest line of the day. Afterwards, Brooklyn's face proved the wait was worth it. We finished off the day deciding to skip the parade and head down Main Street towards our hotel. The lines had been longer than we can ever remember, but we still had a great day and enjoyed the cool weather and the Christmas spirit of being at Disneyland in December. To enjoy the rest of our vacation, click on Lego Land, Universal or get dried off and go home...