Nana and Grandpa's "Thank You" Day!

This summer we moved.  There was A LOT to be done compared to our last move, when we didn't pack ourselves, and we had a lot of help.  Nana and Grandpa provided much of that help and we wanted to say THANK YOU in a special way.  So, today we took them to Disneyland!!  I made them all take a picture at the entrance like the Disney "what's next?" campaign from the late 80s and early 90s...  "Paul, we worked Nana and Grandpa to the bone in our move.  Where are you taking them now?!" "We're going to Disneyland!"

Then I let them take a regular picture.  :)

It was a chilly day and there was a 30% chance of rain starting at noon.  It had already rained by the time we arrived.  Oops.  Our first stop was a new favorite ride in California Adventure, "Mater's Junkyard Jamboree."

It started drizzling while we were in line...

but we had fun anyway.

By the end of our ride, the rain was starting to pick up and so we raced over to The Little Mermaid's indoor ride...

and then swam over to King Triton's carousel.

It was then that we decided that we had to get out of the rain and into a show.  Unfortunately, we had to wait a little while for a show to start.  That "little while" was enough to have us (myself at least) wondering if we could stand a whole day of the rain and cold.  But, we made it inside eventually and enjoyed a great Disney Junior show where the kids forgot about how cold they had been just minutes before. 

Once out of the show, we found Pluto and Mickey hiding in the lobby of the restaurant next door.  Emily was very excited to see Pluto...

 but Everett wasn't so sure that he needed to be anywhere near the big doggie.

Luckily, Mickey protected him...

and didn't really want to let Everett go after the pictures were taken.

The rain, thankfully, had let up a lot while we were in the show and we were very hopeful for better weather as we headed into Disneyland.

Our first stop, after much fruitless searching for indoor dining, was an outdoor lunch.  Emily and Everett had already eaten their packed lunch, so they just enjoyed some hot cocoa and warmed themselves up a bit...

before we went over to It's A Small World.

While in that line, we finally saw the sun and some blue skies!!!!!

Yes!

After our cruise,

everybody else went on Buzz Lightyear's ride...

while I waited for them to join me on the curb where I was saving spots...

for the parade!

 (As soon as Emily saw the princesses arriving...

she felt the need to stand up!)

(Again, she received many kisses and was delighted to the core.)

It was a great parade and not everyone was prepared to leave when it was over.

But, when we left, we went straight for the Mad Hatters so the kids could pick out some ears.  I have little doubt that Emily will drag her groom to Disney and wear these "bride" ears...

 but she did quickly select her first set of ears right after trying those on.

Everett, on the other hand, was a bit of a mad hatter himself and tried on several...

before ending up with his final selection.

It was a cold and wet day but we sure had fun!  Hopefully Nana and Grandpa will be ready to help us again the next time we move!! ;)  And, thanks for our new Disney duds!

*We split from Nana and Grandpa after one more ride, about 4:30pm, and they stayed to see two shows that they really enjoyed.  Hooray!