The de Arrieta Family: Happiest Place on Earth

Spring Break was full of happiness as we flew to California to celebrate some spring weather, thrilling rides, and time together with Nana. The tickets were given as a Christmas gift by Papa Jim White, which was very generous of him. We spent 4 days at the park and here are the breakdowns of everyone's favorites

BrookLynn - Pirates of The Caribbean and Thunder Mountain were her favorite. Brook would throw her hands up like she was going on a huge roller coaster, even if it was just the downward plunge of Pirates. She actually did very well with the characters, something I was really worried about since she hadn't been able to even get close to Santa or the Easter Bunny. She was a trooper and stayed awake till after 10:00 most nights. She loved the princesses and had to get a picture with many of them. Mini's house was also a favorite.

Xandry - Loved World of Color even though we got drenched! She too adored Pirates and wanted to go on it multiple times. We could not go past a cotton candy stand and not have her beg for it each time. She also became a big fan of ribs and clam chowder. She wanted mouse ears so bad and finally got them the last night. She started trading the Disney pins and even got one that was 1 of 1,000. She added to her snow globe collection too.

Dalton - The Jedi Training show was the most memorable experience for him. When we first went to the performance Dalton was not chosen. He was so upset. The people right next to us had a sign that read, "The force is strong in this one!" Their child was chosen and gave the sign to us stating that it had been given to them by a kid who was chosen during the first show, it worked for them, and hoped that it would work for us. After riding some rides Dalton & I made it back for another Jedi Training. Dalton raised that sign and jumped around and sure enough, he was chosen! Talk about one serious student. Dalton listened, watched, and was ready to take on Darth Vader and Dark Mal. It was a hoot to watch him. When he was presented with his certificate stating he was an Official Padawan, Dalton turned to me and said, "Mom, I can't lose this because if I do I won't be a Padawan anymore." It was the sweetest.

Drew - Drew once again loved the Screamer at California Adventure. Bless his heart, he had to go on it by himself since all of us were chicken. He got a singles pass and was able to skip the over an hour regular line. He was all smiles. He also loved going with Dalton and Xandry on Indiana Jones. I think he secretly loved that the kids fought over who got to ride with daddy. He was a trooper carrying around Brookie when needed, and dealing with me and the camera.

Me - I loved having Doris there to help, to have the kids build those memories with her, and for her generosity in watching the kids one night so Drew and I could go on a date. We were able to eat at the restaurant that you see on Pirates. It was a wonderful dinner, where we were able to talk, have fun, and for just a bit, feel like we were dating again. It was fun going on some rides just the two of us. We got stuck right by the carousal when the fireworks started. It was thrilling to see fireworks booming on both sides of us when all of a sudden Tinkerbell zoomed over our heads. That night we were also treated with a super light and camera show displayed on "It's a Small World" that was set to music.