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Mickey’s Halloween Party

One of my favorite times at Disneyland is almost here! Starting September 9th all of the Halloween haunts will fill the park. I talk about Disneyland a lot, and I mean a lot (which reminds me that I never got to writing about our WDW trip!) If you haven’t gone to Mickey’s Halloween party you should really consider it. You can check out my top five reasons why it’s one of the best times to attend the park. The ticket is a special admission, ranging from $79-$99 depending on when you attend, Halloween being the most expensive. The ticket doesn’t include parking this year so that’s a bummer but we usually stay the night, which I highly recommend. Last year was the most enjoyable for us, the year before was way too crowded and just not as fun compared to last year. The park was crowded at first as the regular admission guests and special ticket holders fill the park. Once the haunts begin (and no, it’s not scary. I get the question all the time) the park thinned out. We pretty much walked onto every ride we wanted to go on. The treat trails were enjoyable and the cast members were happier than the year before.

The Dapper Dan’s transform into Cadaver Dan’s and it’s amazing! I wish I caught their facial expressions but I caught this just as their performance ended. It was spectacular!

Like I said in my top five reasons on why to attend, the treats are pretty darn good. Last year we skipped a lot of the candy and went straight for the healthier treats. We love the: apple chips, the graham bug crackers, carrots (once we got a lot of these we started getting candy if that was the only other option), and fresh apple packs.

The best part of the experience for us is dressing up a family. We always get so many ideas as we walk around but in the end I always ask the kids what they would like to do as a family instead. For 2015, we did Alice in Wonderland. The hubby and I went as Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, I DIY’ed our costumes. Payton was the perfect Alice, missing teeth and all. Brayden had two options: Mad Hatter or White Rabbit and he went for the White Rabbit, he loved saying, “I’m late, I’m late for a very important date!”

This year our costume theme was chosen by Brayden, if you know him you know right away he said Star Wars. His costume will be purchased, as he wants to be a Storm Trooper, he won’t be wearing a mask to the park because masks cannot be worn. The only exception is if your eyes show, so the Storm Trooper mask is out but Payton’s Darth Vader is okay. I am going as an Ewok and Jim as Han Solo. I will be DIY’ing ours again.

For the White Rabbit I purchased a vest suit from Walmart for around $12. On the vest I added a felt heart and clock. I purchased this hat and red bow tie (this was a men’s and it was fine).

For Alice, I purchased the dress from Etsy, her headband and black heart flats were from Target and White Rabbit purse here.

For the Tweedle’s I found the yellow shirts at a t-shirt mart. The red hats and Jim’s pants were from Amazon. The tricky part of the hat was making sure the flag’s stood up. I had altered them for Halloween night using a blue and white striped paper straw. The bibs were made from white felt and the bow’s I purchased from Michael’s. I literally eye-balled everything in my typical fashion. Jim had Alice socks on too from Vans which were cool.

The Halloween party, plus the evening stay is our tradition for Brayden’s birthday. Last year we did breakfast at Goofy’s Kitchen the morning after and had a cake for him and my parents who were celebrating their 45th wedding anniversary.

I always look forward to the seasonal treats. Did you know I have a Disneyland Treats Instagram account? Go follow me. I try and post all the fun goodies as soon as they come out.

Have you gone? Are you planning on attending? I would love to hear your favorite thing about Mickey’s Halloween Party!

first day

After all the stress last night the kids (and I) survived the first day of the school year. The day didn’t really go as planned, our back-to-school traditions weren’t done, but I am the only one who really noticed. Payton loves her teacher and is so happy that her best friends are in the same class. Brayden loved his day, though it was too long and hot for him, he survived. This school year is going to be a good one.

the unofficial end of summer

As I lay wide awake just hours before both my babies enter elementary school, I am pondering how we got here so quickly. I know this is the most redundant question a parent asks themselves over the course of a lifetime, but seriously, why does it happen so fast? Payton is entering first grade and Brayden is beginning transitional kindergarten. Payton is over-the-moon excited that she got the teacher she wanted and the friends she cannot live without. Brayden has no idea what to expect, but has been very clear that he does not want to do homework and wants to play as much as he can. When he lined up today during a practice run of what to do when the bell rings, I found myself (yet again) looking over at my son. I was beaming with pride that 1). he did not cry 2). he handled walking in late to orientation and after I urged him to sit in back, he walked right up front and plopped himself front and center 3). he is the second tallest and though he gets scared with learning and tends to quit I know he is going to kick butt in TK.

Our Summer vacation was fast and while it seemed to me that we did nothing, we did. The first weekend of vacation we made a bucket list as a family. Most of the items seemed to be way easier but as the days moved quickly so did our work schedules. We joked that the kids would only gets baths in the pool and we would be lucky if they washed their hair. This was almost a correct assumption as the first month was swim lessons every day and then post lessons they were in our pool until the sun went down. The good thing is, we escaped without green hair and Payton didn’t end up with dreds, parenting win I tell you! Theres still time to knock a few things off our list like: baking cinnamon rolls, a Padre game (this week to be exact), Palm Springs, library visits and a backyard light show. I am sad that Summer is unofficially over with the school year beginning, but I am also excited for my kids. I love watching them become better tiny humans with larger hearts and sarcastic souls.

A big thank you to Little Blue Bow Photography for capturing our beautiful blue eyed babes!

Bunny Brunch at American Girl

Over the weekend my Mom treated all her girls to the bunny brunch + an amazing shop trip at the American Girl store in LA. It called for an early morning wake-up call but it was worth seeing the girls so excited. My nieces had been to the store before but it was a first for Payton. She got a doll for her birthday at one of the holiday pop-up shops so going to the mecca was outstandingly overwhelming. We arrived to the store quarter to nine. The store was quiet, every doll in place, every outfit perfectly hung. We made our way upstairs to the café and were seated at table one. They quickly helped the girls get their dolls in their seats and brought over the signature cinnamon rolls. They were tasty, but doll sized. Since it was a brunch we had four options to choose from: blueberry pancakes, buttermilk pancakes, french toast or scrambled eggs with potatoes. Since there were six of us I nibbled on everything. Everything was good, my sister said that their lunch menu was more impressive. As we were done eating it was our turn to take a picture with the Easter bunny. Each girl got an individual photo with the bunny and then we had the option to take a group photo with our own camera. When we returned to the table dessert was served. It was the signature flower pot chocolate mousse and a bunny sugar cookie. Both were very good but rich. The meal experience was memorable but the girls could not wait to start shopping. My original plan was to only let her doll get her hair done and ears pierced plus an outfit. That plan quickly changed once her cousins were getting a new doll. We now have a new member of our family, Lea, the doll of the year. I couldn’t say no to this doll, she’s adorable and with our upcoming family trip to Hawaii in the Fall she was the perfect addition with her island flair.

After the doll shopping we made our way to Nordstrom where Grandma spoiled them even further. Matching dresses, mini Easter stuffed animals, sandals, etc. If it couldn’t get any sweeter we ended at Dylan’s Candy Bar where there was no limit. It was a magical day for the girls. They truly have one amazing Grandma!

Disney’s Zootopia

Last Friday my family had the privilege of screening Disney’s Zootopia a few weeks early. We were already on our way to Disneyland and cut our trip short to make it back down to San Diego. From the previews a few months ago, my kids have been dying to see those silly, slow paced sloths! They were so excited to see the silly tale of two unlikely friends immersed in their crazy pursuit! I loved Judy Hopps’ story, small town girl with a big dream. She makes her dream a reality and moves to the big city. I love this message for any child, but for young girls this was a great one! The silly story of Nick Wilde (that sly, sly fox) is one you do not want to miss. My four-year-old did get a little scared at one point but I have to be honest that I even jumped back out of my seat as well. My husband and I could not stop laughing, they really worked in adult humor and sarcasm making it a fun movie for all ages! If you’re a Breaking Bad fan you’ll love the reference, don’t fret though, unless you’ve let your kids watch the show it should fly right over their heads. Don’t miss the animated movie of the year, Disney’s Zootopia hits theaters Friday, March 4th.

Download the fun coloring pages: zootopia-coloring-pages