Fausetts go to Disneyland!!

     We had the wonderful opportunity to take the kids to Disneyland back in May.  It was so much fun!  We were able to go thanks to all the support we got for Dustin's Kickstarter campaign.  He ended up getting funded and coming away with enough to pay our way to Disneyland.  We also had many blessings along the way.  Family in California that welcomed us into their homes so that we had free lodging.  Camber still lived in California and was able to get the SoCal resident discount for us.  AND we went literally right before the prices all went up!  All in all, we ended up saving hundreds of dollars here and there.  Then we spent those hundreds that we saved elsewhere on our trip. :)  But we still came in under budget!
     My tips for anyone going to Disneyland with small kids are this:  Pinterest!  That's where I found all my tips and tricks.  Also, pack your own lunch and bring crap loads of water/gatorade if you go when it's hot.  We packed lunch for every day and then felt okay to spend $10-$15/person on dinner in the park.  I didn't even like the lunches I packed but choked them down anyway and I think that alone saved us about $100.  They also have salads and things other than greasy foods.  We went when it was stinkin' hot and food was not appealing, but fruits and salads were.  They had fruit stands in both parks and salads almost everywhere, I think.  Also, save a nice chunk of change by opting out of park hoppers.  Well worth it!  I also hear it takes about as much time to switch between the parks as it would take to wait in line and ride a ride.  Not worth it in my opinion.
     Anyway, pictures!  The kids loved it.  I loved it.  Dustin loved it and I can't wait to go back!  Also, I apologize in advance for all the trifle details, but this is my journal and I don't want to forget anything. :)

Shirts we bought beforehand to save some money.

I love them!  Holding hands during the long drive.

Playing in the pool at the hotel.

It was so nice because it had a really large step that basically was our kiddie pool.

Drying off after.

Getting ready for bed.  Baylee and Tate were pretty thrilled to be able to sleep in a big bed.  I think Tate was just happy he wasn't sleeping in a crib.

Tate found some interesting ways to pass the time...

Interesting and disgusting.

He loves dogs!

And Uncle Ray:)

I know I must be biased, but isn't she the most beautiful little girl ever?!:)

I think Tate gives Baylee courage to try new things a lot of times.  She ended up liking Havoc.

We had lots of fun with Aunt Camber.  They created a crowd of kids playing with the balloons and then a little old lady came up and cut them off and tied them on her walker and walked off with them!  A lot of kids (and adults) were rather surprised.

Sharing homemade ice cream at Uncle Tom and Aunt Donna's house.  They host the best dinners ever!  They spoil us with delicious tri-tip and vegetables from their garden.  So yummy!

We made it!

In front of the castle.

We rode Peter Pan very first.  Tate was pretty scared.  He did not love the rides.

Baylee was soo excited!  She claimed Peter Pan as a favorite.  I may have talked it up well before our trip.  But seriously, it's a classic.

The boat safari was not a huge hit among our kids.  I think they were pretty scared.

Flynn and Rapunzel.  I was so happy that Baylee was too shy to wait in line and talk to the princesses.  We just walked by and sometimes waved, but I tried to snap pictures of all the characters we saw so she would at least have that later.  But Rapunzel looked right at Baylee and smiled and waved and asked how she was doing.  She made a great Disney princess:)

Dumbo!

We were actually going to go up close to see Tinkerbell but it was closed off.  We tried peeking through the "bushes" to see her and ended up getting photo bombed by a lot of different Disney crew members.  It was great.

This guy got me the most.

Rocket rides.  I learned that these types of rides (Dumbo too) make me very sick and I do not like them anymore.  When did I get too old for roller coasters?:(

I love these two!

I love her so much!  Dustin's daughter right here.  Always pulling funny faces.

We went to Toon Town right before Disneyland closed.  We totally forgot about it and got to spend about 15 minutes there before the park closed.  The up side was there were hardly any other people there.  The kids ran around freely.  Also...

...uncanny, isn't it?  Me and Jen back in 1996.

And the first day was a success!

California Adventure we rode Little Mermaid first.

Poor Baylee said her eyes were watering and it was bad.  It kept her from enjoying herself.  I was so upset because it was the very start of our second day and she wasn't going to have fun.  We went to the "hospital" type thing they have in the park and got her a little medicine.  Baylee's eyes usually water when a sickness is on setting itself.  She got better and we enjoyed our day.

The Atrium.  Tate's ultimate favorite.  It was a room full of huge screens and movies and pictures all over them.  It was also the perfect, shaded, air conditioned place to eat our lunch.

I got tackled.

Baylee was so excited to ride the ferris wheel.

She loved it.

Tate liked it fine, too.

Radiator Springs was pretty awesome!  Baylee loved it!  We rode it lots thanks to fast passes and parent passes.  Also, we went to Payless on our way to California Adventure the second day and bought Baylee some new shoes with a little bit of a heel on them.  She was too short for the rides at Disneyland and I was so sad.  With her new shoes and socks on, and another pair of socks stuffed carefully into each heel, she made it onto the big kid rides.

And the end of the second day, after the light show, we had a mini dance party.  It's one of my favorite memories already.

Playing in the water by the carousel.  I got off a ride and found Dustin with the kids letting them IN the little water.  I asked if it was okay and he said some other kids were in there so he figured why not?  Well, those kids were gone now and it was just our kids splashing around in it.  Dustin went and took his turn on the ride and I watched the kids.  Shortly after Dustin left, a worker came over and said this was not okay.  I was a little mortified.  For those of you who don't know me, I'm apparently a goody goody who is terrified of breaking any sort of rules.  It's embarrassing and I'm trying to get over this enough to make me normal.

I love this picture so much because of Baylee.  She's saying "Hi."

Riding the carousel together.  Seriously, Tate did not like the rides.

Boo's door outside the Monsters Inc. ride.

Waiting in line.

In line for Toy Story Mania.

Isn't he cute?  Great ride, by the way.  It was one of my favorites, it was very fun but I never beat Dustin.  

:)

Waiting for the Aladdin show to start.  It was pretty awesome.

We made Baylee go on Tower of Terror.  We're bad parents.

At first glance, you might think she's okay, not really loving it but not afraid either.  She was afraid.  She told me she was holding her breath.  Hahaha poor girl!  We didn't make her go again.  

Top left.  We just finished the Aladdin show and did our best "Friend Like Me" pose.  We're awesome.

Playing at the splash pad.

This is more like how she actually plays with water.  Apparently she got tagged in the face pretty good and was done after that.

Bad picture of Tate but I love this because of Baylee!  I feel like this is their relationship and showcases Baylee's personality and kindness towards Tate.  She's always asking him if he needs anything and helping him in any way she can.  She's such a sweetheart!

Dustin's face. :)  Too bad Baylee doesn't show up in any of the Cars pictures.

Waiting in line.

He is good at making his own fun.  And a picture showing Baylee!

And then she crashed as we ate dinner.

Tate insisted that I wear both glasses.  He even put them on my face for me and everything.

Radiator Springs was so awesome!  They did such a good job at replicating it.

Ultimately, we liked California Adventure better than Disneyland itself.  It seemed cleaner, newer, and lots of indoor type rides and places to cool off and rest a little.  Little Mermaid was ideal because the wait time is seriously minimal and it's air conditioned in the ride.  We ended up spending two days here and the first day at Disneyland, though I look forward to going back and getting some more things done in both parks.

Our last day we went to Long Beach Aquarium.  Tate was in his element here.  He didn't like Disneyland all that much but he loved the aquarium.  Also, we ended up getting in for free.  How could we beat that?

She's so cute.

Loved it!

Huge fish bigger than both my kids.

Tate didn't mind the size of the fish.

The touch tank.  Baylee was brave and didn't mind touching things.  I, however, may have freaked out a little and needed some coercing.

Oh by the way, I hate ocean life.  It freaks me out.  

Again, for those who don't know me, I'm crazy obsessed/TERRIFIED of sharks!  But here I have proof of me petting a shark!!  I know they are babies and all, but it's something for me.

Bigger sharks.  We do not pet these.

Baylee checking out the black tip shark.

More hotels.

This was supposed to be our beach day in between Disneyland days.  We ended up sleeping all day and going over to Aunt Camber's house later and eating Otter Pops.

The kids enjoyed running around on the grass and hitting each other with their stuffed animals in front of the St. George Temple.

This was the best family picture we were going to get from them.  Maybe next time they will at least turn their heads.  We had a great trip and I'd love to do it again soon.  It was exhausting, but looking back through pictures, I'm so grateful and I miss it already.