Ashley's Birthday!

Ashley flew all the way to San Francisco just to hop in the trusty Accord the next morning and drive down to SoCal for what I'm sure was her best birthday celebration with her most favorite people EVER! After checking into our hotel, we hopped back in the car and went to the Newport Beach temple. Beautiful. And if the usual fountain entertainment wasn't enough for our boys, there were dozens of wild rabbits to chase. They were a little too fast for us, but we had so much fun. For dinner we ate at Spaghetti Factory, where Blake surprised Ashley by having the waiters come over and sing. Lucky girl. But don't worry, as soon as she blew out her candle, she handed the yummy spumoni over to us. Spaghetti Factory is the best with Ashley!
On Ashley's birthday morning we thought we'd let the boys sleep in as long as they wanted and then head over to the happiest place. Well, the cock crowed at 6 am and we were at Disneyland as the gates opened, ready for a fun day. And let me tell you, we maximized every minute we had. Since we had four tickets available for fast passes, but only two riders since one of us always had to stay with the boys, we always had a fast pass ready for someone. But I'm getting ahead of myself--first things first--we had to go on Dumbo. And the carousel. Then Alice and Wonderland. Then Teacups. THEN we split up--Ash and I went on Space Mountain while Blake and the boys went on Buzz Lightyear. Then Blake waited in line at Nemo while the rest of us went on Autopia. Then on Nemo. Then lunch.

Then Indiana Jones, the Jungle Cruise, Jack falls asleep, Pirates (Did you know Pirates is Ashley's favorite? That's what she originally told Max on the way down in the car and then when she tried to change to Space Mountain, he wouldn't let her.), Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Indiana Jones again, the train, Toontown Rollercoaster, Roger Rabbit, Matterhorn, Space Mountain again, It's a Small World, and the carousel one last time.

And somewhere in between all that fun we met some of our favorite people. Jack has never waited more patiently in a line than when we waited to meet Minnie. He pointed and waved at her the entire time. When we finally got up there he couldn't stop staring at her, reaching for her nose, and blowing her kisses. I'm sure it was the best day so far in his short life.
We made it home in record time, only stopping to switch drivers. Happy Birthday Ashley! Thanks for inviting us to your party!