One of the major perks of rain: no crowds! This is Toon Town and according to Brenda, seeing it empty like this is super rare.

Our little crew, ponchos and umbrellas in hand.

Meeting the very friendly Pluto.

Meeting Minnie–no line!

And the big Mouse himself!

We also got to ride the Monorail. Because of some delays, and because the kids and I were sitting up the very front with the conductor, she gave us fast passes to ride Space Mountain! This was perfect since the first time we rode Space Mountain, Amelie was too nervous to ride. Of course, she was heartbroken after we got off the ride and wished that she had gone on. These fast passes made that possible and she loved it!

Easton showing off his posing skills. He got to ride Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters something like 5 times with Grandma while the rest of us went on Space Mountain!

Another cute pose.

We got to see a fun show called Mickey and the Magical Map.

And Easton’s blankie that Aunt Christy made for him when he was born had to come, too, of course.

One of my favorite parts of our trips was the Christmas parade–really uplifting and fun!

Hard to get a great picture in the dark, but Santa even came by during the parade!

We got to finish our amazing trip by watching the fireworks from Small World. Great view of the fireworks and we got to see the ride all lit up!

Our visit ended on a purely magical note when “snow” fell after the fireworks and they played music. The kids loved it and I thought it was the perfect ending to a perfect trip.

The lights are always amazing. So gorgeous.

Goofy kid.

Little loves. Somewhere on Temple Square is a little sock. Liam can’t stand socks on his feet when we’re outside (of course he is always asking to have them put on when we’re inside). By the time I noticed his little bare feet, both socks were gone. I back tracked and found one sock that he had discarded by the Nauvoo bell–who knows where the other one got tossed…

Santa! In years past, we’ve always visited him down at the Riverwoods in Provo. Now we’re too far away for that location, but we found a wonderful place to visit him at Trolley Square. No professional photographer trying to make you buy a package of photos–just a great visit with Santa.

Whispering about Christmas magic.

Giving Santa a thank you card.

Holiday smiles.

Chefs Easton and Calder hard at work. Easton’s preschool teachers made him the cute little apron.

Two detail-oriented decorators.

Happy about the selection of mini M&Ms!

His finished masterpiece.

I love the little shingles on his roof.

Stockpiling Hershey’s Kisses for winter.

Amelie’s house, complete with a Hershey’s Kiss tree.

Our big gingerbread house this year. The kids were such great helpers!

They love to see the lights glowing through the candy windows. They call them “stained glass.”

View from the back of the house.

All glowing and pretty.

We were first in line to ride Luigi’s tires.

Amelie and Brenda riding Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree and having a lovely time.

Don’t I have a darling daughter?

Easton turned out to be quite the poser during this trip. I call this the “Vanna White”. His little leg is up and everything!

Waiting in line to see Aladdin. Even waiting in line was fun with Grandma and Grandpa!

This was a pretty spectacular Broadway show. Loved it.

Meeting Mickey.

Riding Soarin’ Over California. Mark took this picture–you can see the feet of all the rest of us!

All prepared for Grizzly Rapids.

Meeting Sofia the First. Easton was pretty smitten.

Riding Radiator Springs Racers. Although Easton declared it to be, “too scary” right after riding it, a couple minutes later he said, “actually, it was super fun!”

Here’s us before watching the World of Color water show, a.k.a. “The Great Drenching.” See how we’re smiling and carefree? Little did we know the wind would send the water from the show cascading onto us during the last half of the show, completely drenching all of us! It was hilarious and very very wet. We headed back to the hotel for warm showers and baths after this.

All ready for our first day in the parks!

A very serious young Jedi in training.

Bryce and Brenda, the only ones brave enough for the Tower of Terror.

While Bryce and Brenda did the Tower of Terror, Mark and I took the kids around Bugs’ Land. It has tons of great rides perfect for little ones. Here’s Amelie showing Grandpa a giant leaf she found.

On the Chew Chew Train (yes, I spelled that right).

Eating lunch. It was super delicious which is what makes this picture even more classic. What on earth was on my hand?

On the Nemo Submarines.

Another bug ride with the kids.