Mickey Says "Hi"

Well, actually, Mickey Mouse doesn't talk at Disneyland, but I'm sure he would have said hello if he could!

We're back from the Magic Kingdom. It was a great family trip, although a bit wild. Of course everyone is aware of the California wildfires and the devastation that ensued. We were up close and personal with one of the fires.

Last Sunday we traveled a little further south of Anaheim to meet my cousins and their families (who are California natives) for dinner. As we finished up dinner and our long conversations, we began smelling smoke. Stepping out of the restaurant we were amazed at the site. Our eyes burned from the wind and flying debris. The air was so thick with smoke and ashes that it hurt to breath. As we all hurried to our cars and said goodbye, we could see flames on the hillside in the distance. I have to admit we're all glad to be home. The smoke-filled skies, intense Santa Anna winds, and unseasonably warm weather (98 degrees) in California made coming home to the cool northwest that much sweeter.

These are the happy faces of my big kids as we explored Disney's California Adventure.

And the picture below is our family after experiencing Grizzly River Run for the first time. (I'm seriously considering using this as our Christmas card!) I got absolutely SOAKED! I was hard pressed to find a dry spot. In fact, this was the last picture taken on our digital camera which became a victim of water damage from the ride. Thankfully the picture card was still okay and we salvaged the few pictures we had taken. The rest of the trip was finished out with several disposable Kodaks!