although technically her second halloween, this was a year of many firsts for ellie. every year since 1982 on every third sunday in october, the hollis family attends the pumpkin festival in half moon bay. we’ve brought many different friends along over the years, but i can’t remember being so excited about introducing another person to it as i was this year.

we got up before the sun, packed a lunch and met pop and uncle danny for the drive to the coast. the looming clouds threatened rain, but the weather couldn’t dampen our spirits. after all, the pumpkin festival is the first real sign that the holidays are just around the corner. a little rain only meant the change of seasons was truly upon us!

we left early enough to beat the traffic and kicked off the festival down on main street, which was lined for blocks on either side with tents full of some of the most impressive photography and handmade arts & crafts you’ll ever see.

ellie was happiest, of course, when she was free from the confines of her stroller and able to walk alongside us :) as usual, i was impressed with her obedience and listening skills when i told her to stay close to us and not to touch anything.

after the art portion of the festival we headed out of town and back up the highway toward the pumpkin patches in search of the prettiest pumpkins in all the land. ellie’s favorite thing to do was find the heaviest ones she could and try to pick them up. case in point:

the hmb pumpkin festival definitely ranks among my top three favorite family traditions, and this year’s was probably the best one yet. we left with a new christmas ornament, three beautiful pumpkins and some wonderful new memories. thanks to pop and uncle danny for sharing such a special day with us <3

we arrived at disneyland bright and early on friday morning and took our time strolling down main street so we could take in the sites. the park was decorated beautifully in all shades of orange, and sleeping beauty’s castle already had “snow” on it for the upcoming holiday season. we were greeted by goofy in a skeleton suit, although ellie made it clear she preferred to watch him from afar :)

next, we made our way over to the jungle cruise in adventureland. i thought ellie would be really into it because of her fascination with animals, but she kept a tight grip around my neck most of the time. it wasn’t until we got to the teacups in fantasyland that she really began to enjoy herself :)

after the teacups we ate lunch, went on the alice in wonderland ride and pirates of the caribbean (again) and made our way back over to main street for some shopping and the big parade. we found a prime spot on the curb and shared a big strawberry-flavored lollipop to pass the time.

the parade was great. every character you can imagine – mickey, minnie, donald, daisy, goofy, pluto, chip & dale, lilo & stitch, even mary poppins – stopped and danced right in front of us. ellie was in awe.

after the parade we decided to head over to disney california adventure, but not before buying ellie her first mouse ears, complete with personalization, just like mommy and daddy when we were little <3

california adventure was less eventful, but we did go on the monsters, inc. ride and the humongous ferris wheel. it turns out i am much more afraid of heights than ellie is ;) ryan also took some great pictures of us in front of paradise pier.

by the time we were done at the parks it was around five o’clock and all three of us were exhausted. it was the first time we had pushed ellie an entire day without a nap, but she did great and it was well worth it. we went back to the hotel, had a bite to eat, packed for the trip home and fell asleep early.

after a smooth flight on saturday morning we returned home with plenty of time to take naps, watch the giants game and carve our pumpkins in time for halloween.

we had an amazing time at disneyland and look forward to going back soon <3

we’ve been to disneyland in the springtime. we’ve been to disneyland in the summer. we’ve even been to disneyland at christmastime. but we had never been to disneyland at halloween [and ellie had never been to disneyland EVER] … until last weekend <3

the flight down was a breeze. there was an open seat between us, so ellie had plenty of room to play with her coveted new “bobbie,” aka barbie. it definitely helped that we were prepared with plenty of snacks and goodies and that the flight was only an hour long.

we got to the hotel and immediately tested the king-sized bed by JUMPING ON IT! a lack family tradition :) then we watched a little caillou on youtube and met auntie danielle at red robin for dinner.

our first full day in socal was thursday and it was a very important day for ryan’s work. we drove him to the disneyland corporate HQ and dropped him off for his 14-hour day, as there was a big event for the launch of elecTRONica, an attraction for the new movie TRON. fancy, huh?

so, it was up to me to keep ellie entertained for the day. we spent the morning sipping smoothies and shopping in downtown disney.

we went back to the hotel for a midday nap when ryan texted that there were tickets waiting for us at guest relations, should we choose to head over to the parks that afternoon. i have to admit, the idea of taking ellie to disneyland by myself was a little daunting, but how could i pass up the opportunity? i didn’t think we’d be able to go until friday; thursday afternoon was a bonus … so we went!

we had a great time, just me and ells. we rode the train around the park, visited mickey and minnie’s houses, and we even went on pirates of the caribbean! she was a little spooked by the drops and all the darkness, but once she was safe back in her stroller, it was all she could talk about :)

we stayed at the park until about 7 and then went back to the hotel for dinner, a bath and bed. we needed to rest up for our return the next day, which would be even more fun because ryan would be joining us <3

to be continued…