to be a kid again

Casey took work off on Friday, we left the kids with Grandma Willard, and the two of us headed to Disneyland! where we acted like kids for a whole day. We're both newbies to the whole California Adventure thing, so we spent most of our day gathering Fast Passes and going on rides.
First things first though....last time I was here, I saw someone eating the HUGEST corn dog I'd ever seen. I swore I would get one the next time I came. I mean corn dogs are good and they're even better on a hot day with carnival rides. Casey was skeptical of their size. But the Corn Dog Castle totally delivered. They were huge! (I did take a picture, but it's too obnoxiously gross to show). Our favorites in C.A. were: Soarin Over California and California Screamin. That rollercoaster is fast from the get-go and never slows down.

Next we jumped to Disneyland and enjoyed classic Space and Thunder Mountains.
Me on Main Street and Casey with the Mark Twain:
Of course, the highlight of the day-long adventure was when we met up with my sister Camille and her husband Bryan that night. We had dinner at the Wine Country Trattoria and then duh, duh, duhhhhhhh.....we headed to the Tower of Terror! I SERIOUSLY have never been so scared with anticipation in my life (actually, I have. It reminded me of coming to Disneyland as a kid with the whole family. We always had to go on Matterhorn first, which freaked me out. I hated it and felt sick the whole drive there because I knew what was coming. On the ride, I always sat next to my dad, squeezed his arm and shut my eyes tight to avoid the snow monster's red glare). But this night we sat on the Tower of Terror waiting for it to start, my hands TIGHT around the iron bars, my heart pounding in my chest, and each time the door opened I thought here we go! Of course they kept building the anticipation by closing the door and opening it again until finally, we dropped! Ahhhhh!!! It was so fun. I would do it again. It's fun to freak yourself out sometimes. Very clever and well-done ride.
Here we are after our scary stay at the Hollywood Hotel (Tower of Terror):
Next it was time for treats. Camille and I got Burr-bank ice cream while Casey and Bryan enjoyed funnel cakes and watched the Main Street Electrical Parade together. Um, special.
To finish the evening, we headed to Buzz LightYear's Astro Blasters. Totally fun! It's a live video game....and we did it twice. Camille and Bryan are high scorers (600,000 points!) Casey and I need a little more practice (though Casey's already perfected the gamer face):
We had so much fun the whole day and night! It was great to feel like kids again and we loved joining up with Camille and Bryan. They are fun Disneylanders.
Thank you Linda for watching the kids. I know they had a great time with Grandma and Grandpa. Of course I was happy to see them again. Wouldn't you be too?
Here's to many more Disney and California Adventures!