The type of Disneyland annual passes we have, Saturdays are blocked out from the month of March through the entire summer until the Saturday after Labor Day. But about a month ago, Amy noticed that today was not blocked out for some reason, so the date was saved and put on the calendar it went. It was suppose to be a day of the entire families shared Disney Magic, but Keith's dad is sick and recovering from chemo, and he went to spend the weekend with him, therefore, Steven was granted the wish of staying home. LOL.
Amy had never been to Disneyland at opening before. We'd tried to make it there for opening once before, but missed it for some reason. So, on this bright and sunny Saturday morning, we left my house about 6:45 in anticipation of getting there for the 8:00 opening. We made it, however, unlike 'usual' they didn't open the gates until 8:00. Usually Main Street is at least open and they drop the rope to get into the rest of the park, etc, etc. They didn't do that today. So Amy didn't get the true effect of a Disneyland opening. :)
But because we were there so early, we had a plan as to what attractions to hit first. Attractions that normally have long wait times as the day goes on. Amy and the kids had never been on the Finding Nemo submarines, so we went there first. Rachel loves Nemo! Despite being the first line we went to, the line was still forty five minutes to an hour long. But once off, everyone was glad to have experienced the ride.
After Nemo, we headed across the way to California Adventure to be at the gates of it's 10:00 opening to get in line for the new attraction, Toy Story Mania. Amy also has not been on this ride yet either, so we hoped in line, only to be told after waiting for about 20 minutes, the ride would not be opening just yet. We waited anyways, and it's a good thing cause it did eventually open and we were able to experience that ride before the line became over an hours wait. Rachel loves this ride, everyone else did too!
Following Toy Story Mania, the kids did the Carrousel, and then we found shaded tables and ate our picnic lunch. While Amy, Rachel, and I sat and finished our lunches, Hannah, Eli, and Bethany went and did a few nearby rides. The wait times were minimal and that was nice.
In recent months, Steven and I have both noticed that it appeared that Rachel was stretching and really growing. Just by chance, I decided to see if she was tall enough for Jumping Jellyfish, and she was!!!!! This is a huge milestone in our house! That means she is now tall enough for Soarin Over California, Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain Rail Road, and Splash Mountain!! Wahooo! And being the little bruiser and rowdy girl that she is, she's excited she's tall enough to ride rides she's not been big enough for until now. She loved Jumpin Jellyfish and called Daddy afterwards to tell him she was finally 'big enough'.
Giving a 'thumbs up' for meeting the height requirment.
After hitting a few more things in California Adventure, we decided to head back over to Disneyland. With Rachel's birthday only a week away, I wasn't sure if I'd make it back this week to get her a birthday button, so we stopped off at City Hall to get her a birthday button! She is so excited about this birthday and was even more excited when she got a special call from Goofy, wishing her a Happy Birthday!
We did some browsing through the shops of Main Street and then hit the mid afternoon show of the new Indiana Jones show in Adventureland. It was a first for all of us and it was good. The girls enjoyed seeing Indiana, as they've been playing the Indiana Jones Legos on the Wii in recent months.
From there, we made our way to our cars and then headed to the nearby Disney Outlet Store and scored on a few things and then made a stop for dinner before heading home. We had a fun day and did a lot of stuff, including new things for us and for Amy and the kids. And of course, my little Rachel is already asking when we'll go to Disneyland again....
After splashing about in the pools and the slip n slide, and riding our abundance of outdoor toys, everyone gathered under the shade and it was present time!
And for the grand finale...a big girl bike!!! We found this in a thrift store last month when we were camping at the beach. With some training wheels and new frills coming off the handle bars, it was like new!
After presents, it was cake time! There were miniature cupcakes for all the kids and this cake for Rachel and the adults. On our way home from church, we stopped at the grocery store and Rachel picked out the flavors of ice cream. She chose Cookie Dough, and Peanut Butter Cup! 
Not long after the cake and ice cream and more playing was had, friends started leaving, but the party really didn't end there. After the majority of party guests had left, and it was just family left and one special friend, the party continued when we ordered pizza and pasta and fired up the Wii and Playstation for Singstar! Rachel had so much fun having all the extra time to play with her cousins and friend Bethany. They played dress up and restaurant and eventually had their turn signing some High School Musical tunes. 
Rachel had such a great time at her party and then her 'extended party' that lasted just before 10:00! It was a great day filled with lots of fun and special blessings! And now comes more fun...playing with all her new loot!
