Jaime Byrdak Designs: When you wish upon a star

For some time, I've been hoping to plan a family vacation to Disney World. The last time we visited Kyleigh was 13 months old! While it was wonderful, we could not wait to bring her again and share the magic with her younger brothers! We had hopes of planning a trip to Florida at the end of the year, but it was looking like 2015 family vacation was in our future.

{Kyleigh with Mickey and Minnie in 2011}

Scott and I are known to be very impulsive…on that note, late November a business trip to LA came up at work, with a little last minute planning {one week to be exact} Disneyland here we come! We didn't have a lot of time to research, but everything came together as we found a flight, rental car and a hotel!

Only a few hiccups which included searching the house the night before our flight for the kids birth certificates and a mad dash to find Scott's wallet as we were packing up the car heading to the airport. All turned up and the best part of the 3am wake up call was surprising the kiddos with the news. Kyleigh was so confused and kept asking why she was going to school while it was still dark out. it took a bit for the news to register, but after I confirmed daddy is not teasing the excitement came in full force!

We made it just in time for our flight, and had 2 rows to ourselves! The 4 hour flight went very smooth but after we landed at LAX our stroller did not await us and that is where the real fun began. When it finally appeared, and Scott gave me both boys to hold while opening it up, I found myself ont he ground of the airport holding onto Christian's foot in one hand and Caleb's in the other as they attempted to make a run for it. While it was a little hectic at the airport, all ended up great and we made it to Santa Monica where I worked the day, and then enjoyed family time at the Santa Monica Pier at night.

{in flight ORD to LAX}

{santa monica pier}

Day 2, Disneyland here we come! The drive was not bad from Santa Monica to Anaheim and we decided to go for a walk at Downtown Disney to begin our trip. Our first stop with our tour guide Kyleigh was Goofy's Kitchen to see if we could secure a reservation during our trip….and to our surprise we got one the first night!

The Downtown Disney area looked so festive for Christmas and the Frozen Ice Rink was beautiful. Kyleigh and Scott went ice skating for a few hours prior to dinner while the boys and I looked on.

Next up was dinner at Goofy Mickey's. Kyleigh and Caleb loved the characters while Christian screamed and kept his distance but he did love watching them {just not hugging}.

{Goofy even took Caleb's hand and walked us to our table}

{Christian enjoying the characters and music from afar}

Day 3, so exciting Magic Kingdom here we come! We walked to a quick breakfast and then off to Disneyland.

{Caleb is hiding on my back}

The kids selected Dumbo as their first ride! Tea cups were a definite favorite as well as we rode several times. Small World, which was one of my favorites as a child did not impress Caleb as he fell asleep mid -ride, Kyleigh didn't really like....but Chistian loved it bopping around to all of the different songs.

First dumbo ride….if you look closely you can see Scott and Caleb behind us!

First Tea Cup ride of MANY!

We also spent some time in Toon Town and met Mickey and Minnie in their cute homes!

A few more rides and we called it a night for the boy, I walked them back to the hotel while daddy and Kyleigh took advantage of the merry-go-round and stayed to watch the parade. All in all a wonderful day and we could not wait to go back again tomorrow!

Day 4 up early and at Disneyland again by 9am. Scott and I really got a workout between Kyleigh on his shoulders and one of the boys on my back. I didn't know Scott only brought the double stroller and not a single for Kyleigh until we landed in LA, but all turned out great with the baby carrier + stroller.

We went on a lot of the same rides several times as well as the cars that Kyleigh loved driving and the submarine. Around 6:45 everyone was getting ready for the parade and we were trying to decide if I should take the boys back to the hotel or stay. We found a great trick. No lines for the rides tea cups and a straight view of the parade....I believe we stayed on them 5 times in a row with no lines! Great view of parade and off to the hotel we go!

Our final day in LA, we didn't have a plan as our flight was early evening. We decided to go to downtown Disney ESPN Zone for breakfast and then out to Venice Beach.