Is It Really Dec? – I just looked at the calendar and noticed that it says December 1st. Is that correct? How did that happen? Then as I browsed Instagram and I noticed a number of bloggers that already have their tree and pretty Christmas decor up. Meanwhile, I’ve got scarecrows flying around the front porch during this winter storm and I’m tripping over plastic trick or treat pumpkins as I’m still doing laundry from our Thanksgiving trip. I’ve got until tonight to get all the fall decor down and at least get the Advent wreath and calendar project done so I’ve got to make this a fast 7 Quick Take/ {pretty, happy, funny, real} mash-up sharing a few highlights of our trip.

We’re Never Doing This Again!…Until Next Year. – For the last few years we’ve had the tradition of spending Thanksgiving week in So Cal. We are at Disneyland the first half of the week then we head to my family’s house for the rest of the week. The kids and I count down the days and debate which ride we will go on first (even though it is always It’s A Small World.) Brian on the other hand, well, Disneyland is more of an exercise of erasing any time he may have accumulated in purgatory.

However, to be honest, as much as we love the staff and larger rooms at Howard Johnson, there is always a moment (or two) during our hotel stay when I ready to lose my mind! At that point everything is usually chaos…the kids are hyped up and jumping from bed to bed, Matthew is emptying out the mini fridge again and pouring milk into our clothes drawer, not to mention that I forgot to pack a family member’s undies (hence, I even have to make a Target run while on vacay.) I remember at one point I told Brian that he should video record this moment and play it for me anytime that I have the ridiculous idea of taking this trip again. But he knew it was of no use since, as usual, a little time passes and I forget all the horror moments and only remember the warm and fuzzy times. Heck, it’s only been two weeks and I’m already marking off the calendar for next year’s trip! So with that, enjoy the photos. 🙂

One of the evenings we camped out on Main Street to countdown the lighting of the Christmas Tree and Main Street, followed by the Christmas parade. Granted, we had to bribe ourselves to sit there on the hard sidewalk with coffee, hot chocolate and churros but it was worth it.

I think the kids were most excited about going to Disney California Adventure and seeing the new Cars Land. It is so cute!! For lunch we ate at Flo’s V8 Café where the boys got Christmas Lightning McQueen kid meals. They couldn’t have cared less about the food, they just wanted the car!

I loved that we were able to meet up with family members while we were at DL.

Somehow I didn’t get a photo of my bro Rob with Maria & Max. Ugh!! And as for my parents, well, they are old school in thinking that you keep your private life private and not post it for everyone to see. Go figure. 😉

On our final night there, the lights were off and I was trying to get the kids to sleep in vain. Then at 9:30 pm the fireworks started pounding the sky so they crawled out of bed to watch from the window.

Finally, Brian was rewarded with his favorite part of the trip…leaving all the crowds and the noise and getting to the quiet and subtle beauty of the desert where my family is now living.

The kids also got the treat of watching the original Star Wars for the very first time. Of course they then begged me for their own light sabers, and being the sucker that I am, I made another quick Target run.

All in all, it was a lovely trip and we had plenty to be thankful for, especially for (almost) all the family being together and for the new friends/loved ones that shared the day with us.

Have a great weekend! xoxo