"I'm Going to Disneyland!"

That's how Steven answered anyone who asked what he was going to do after finishing STEP. :) (Speaking of, he got his score back today and felt really good about it--hurray!)

Steve took the dreaded USMLE STEP 1 exam on April 1st, and 24 hours later we were boarding a plane to fly out to LAX. The kids did great on the flight, we stayed at a cute B&B with his fam that night, and then had Charlie's blessing on April 3rd. And the next day, it was off to the Magic Kingdom with Steve's family. We couldn't wait to take Gracie there again now that she was old enough to know what was going on!

We started off with a quick ride on Pirates (one of my all-time faves), and Gracie was IN HEAVEN being carried around by Eric, her uncle and idol. She kept walking over to him and holding out her arms to be picked up.

Then we headed over to meet Winnie the Pooh & co, and ride on their ride.

Gracie thought all the characters were just lovely and treated them like giant stuffed animals, complete with cuddling and thumb-sucking, which she only does to her most snuggly stuffed animals.

Steve's parents met Charlie for the first time that weekend, and were pretty excited to take photos with all their grandbabies (Curt & Adelaide the younger, Gracie & Tigger, Charlie, Michelle & Adelaide the elder).

And here we are ready to party on the Winnie the Pooh ride...

Then we went on the Haunted Mansion (when the lights turned out Gracie very calmly said, "I want to leave." We were quite impressed that she stuck it out with us.) and later everyone hit Indiana Jones while Steve's parents took charge of their pack of grandbabies.

Speaking of which, Steve and I also finally got to meet our newest niece, Kevin & Rachel's baby Adelaide. She was the sweetest little thing--very happy to be held and played with, and pretty much in a good mood all day. We love her!!!

Steve and Adelaide were purple twins.

Rachel & Charlie bonded, too:

And of course Adelaide and Charlie met each other:

The highlight of Gracie's day (besides Uncle Eric) was the princesses at Princess Pavilion. We had to wait in line for nearly an hour, but at the end of it she got to meet three princesses, all by herself. And lucky duck, two of them were her very favorites, Ariel and Belle. She walked into the little princess walkway, saw them, and couldn't move or speak. It was the cutest thing, and made the whole day worth it (and that is saying something, because Disneyland with two kids is no walk in the park. No pun intended. Haha.).

We stayed for princess story time, where Jasmine told the story of Aladdin (when she mentioned that Aladdin had lied to her about his identity, Gracie, who has been learning about not lying lately, turned to me and said, shocked, "He LIIIIIIIED!!!").

By this time the kiddos were pretty wiped out. Poor Grace hadn't had a good nap in days, and was pretty overwhelmed by the whole Disneyland thing. (She LOVED it, but it is definitely a lot to take in, especially when you're two.) So we had some low-key time for a while. Steve took Gracie to a Toon Town park and I fed Charlie, then we hung out in the shade for a little bit.

Grace rallied and we all met up to ride It's A Small World. I got to sit next to a really cute guy.

And then, Grace's favorite ride of the day--teacups with her cousins and aunties.

They went on twice, and both times got in trouble for having too many people. Emily was always able to sweet talk the attendant, so they all got to stay in their cup. Grace shrieked with laughter the entire time. Meanwhile the rest of us hung out on the sidelines, happy to keep our lunches inside us. And Grandpa and Charlie chilled together and took partial naps.

As always, we had a blast with the extended Walton family. So far we've gone to Disneyland with them the same weekend every time we've had a baby blessed. Hopefully we can make it a tradition. :)