Grand Getaway

We are in the midst of a splendid vacation.... sort of a trifecta of three Chevy Chase vacation movies rolled into one: Vacation, Vegas Vacation & Christmas Vacation! A road trip with a stop in Vegas on our way to Wally World, or in our case, Disneyland!!!

Here we are watching the dancing water in Vegas. Chloe thought it was fantastic! She was mesmerized, then kept giving us kisses. She just LOVED it!!!

Oby, Chloe & Tara at the Bellagio

It was unseasonably cold the night we were in Vegas so we had to bundle the girls up! They looked so cute!!!

Izzy & Chloe keepin' warm on the strip

Then we made it to our destination. They claim it's the happiest place on earth and I'd say they're right, but especially at Christmastime! It's decorated so cute, Christmas music is playing in the streets.... This was my first time at Disneyland during Christmas and I have to say -- it's definitely my favorite time to come!

Our little family at Disneyland

The Bennett cousins had so much fun just being together, it was just a bonus to get to ride some fun rides too!!!

Tonio, Will, PJ, Izzy, Chloe & Henry in Bug Land

The kids at playing in Pooh's honey pots :)

The big kids had fun too!!!!

Mike, Oby, Aisha, Jamie, Taylor & Pete at Tower of Terror

More than anything, we all just had fun being together!

The crew in front of the castle

"Monkeys" is right!!!

The Bennett bugs ;)

Oby, Nana, Papa, Will & Chloe on the monorail

Chloe met lots of fun friends....

Izzy & Chloe meeting Minnie in their Minnie shirts

Izzy & Chloe meeting Sleeping Beauty

Pluto, Minnie, & Goofy came over to meet Chloe!
She was terrified, but I felt honored!

Chloe was a little scared to meet most of the characters -- okay, she was utterly freaked out to meet them. I left out the pictures of Chloe screaming bloody murder at Mr. Incredible, Woody, Buzz, etc, etc.

BUT she was THRILLED to meet Meeska Mooska Mickey Mouse! She was blowing him big kisses before she even got to meet him. Then when she did get to meet him, she was just smiling, laughing and happy as she could be! It was so adorable. The pictures do not do it justice to show how excited she was! Pluto scared her, so he stayed in the background, but snuck in the back for fun :)

She gave Mickey five (or is it 4 with him???) and it was SO heart-warming. I was teary-eyed for quite awhile afterward because it was so fun watching Chloe experience normal childhood excitement and interaction.

Chloe giving Mickey "five"

I tried taking Chloe on as many rides as possible. I was a little hesitant to take her on the ferris wheel with swinging gondolas, afraid it might scare her, but we decided to give it a whirl.

Chloe & Oby on the pier in California Adventure

I was SO glad we took her -- it ended up being her favorite ride! She laughed and kicked and squealed the ENTIRE time!!! The swinging made me nauseous, but I didn't care and took her on it numerous times just to watch her light up. :)

Chloe in heaven on the ferris wheel

One day we got the kids' faces painted. They all looked so dang cute!

William as a pirate, Izzy as a princess, Henry with a flaming baseball, Chloe with a sparkly flower & PJ with tribal war paint

Cute Sparkly Chloe

When they were done painting Izzy's face, she said to her mom, "Don't I look wonderful?!?" Then she stood in front of the mirror and said, "I am a princess. I am a princess." Soooo cute!!!

Izzy's mirror moment

Our two little princesses

All in all, it was a magical week for our little family. We have had so much fun together and truly enjoyed making some pretty special memories....

Oby, Chloe & Tara watching the parade

And to think, we've still got one week of fun and memories ahead of us with my side of the family! Chloe is one lucky little girl!!!

Chloe is all smiles at Lego Land

TTFN!!!