I think it’s pretty appropriate to be blogging about Amelia’s Frozen-inspired 4th birthday, considering that Frozen 2 comes out in theaters today too! Amelia doesn’t know that though, because there’s no way I’m going to sit through a movie with a theatre packed full of screaming Elsa-obsessed kids! So we’ll just have to wait a week or so until things calm down. So, if you’re anything like me, here’s a little frosting of Frozen to tide you over!

The plan has always been to take both kids to Disney on their 5th birthdays.  Easton had a blast on his! They’re tall enough to ride almost all the rides, they can survive the day without a nap, and there’s a greater chance they’ll remember the very costly trip! But, knowing that Logan was going to be deployed for Amelia’s 5th birthday next year, we decided to push the Disney trip up a year earlier and go for her 4th birthday.

We celebrated Amelia’s actual birthday at home before we left with a homemade Elsa cake, presents, and a few of our wonderful neighbors.

I love getting to make the kids’ birthday cakes each year and Amelia was thrilled with how this one turned out!

Amelia is quite the ham. She fake cried while everyone sang happy birthday to her, putting her head in her hands…oh, this girl!

Frozen gifts all around!

Two days later, we met up with Grandma, KiKi, and Growler at Disneyland/California Adventures and the fun began! We stayed on the property this time which was super nice being able to get into the park an hour early each day. California Adventures was up first!

After a few pictures, we made a Bee-line to Radiator Springs to ride “Cars”. It really is, in my opinion, one of the best rides at California Adventures. Luckily, Amelia was tall enough to ride it (there really wasn’t much she couldn’t ride).

We were able to ride it a good four times before a line started! Hooray!

We walked around California Adventures riding all the rides, (even Guardians of the Galaxy which used to be Tower of Terror), winning prizes, and grabbing lunch before heading back to the hotel for a quick nap.

After a short nap for everyone, it was present time for Amelia! Among her favorites were a pink caboodle case, and a new Anna costume, complete with matching boots! The boots were a huge hit!

Then it was off to see her besties, Anna and Elsa! The smile she had while talking to them was absolutely priceless!

We finished out our day there before heading back to the hotel to prepare for another early wake up call, but not before a few of us snuck out to ride Grizzly River Run, one of the perks of staying in the resort! Up next, Disneyland!

Amelia wore her new Elsa costume and I was able to snap a few pictures of her in front of the castle while waiting to take our family photo. 

Then Amelia and I went to look at princess dresses while the rest of our crew held our spots to get into the new Star Wars land, Galaxy’s Edge.

When they dropped the rope to open the access to the side of the park that Star Wars was on, people were sprinting! It was a little intense! We made it there safely though and the new land was pretty spectacular. I’m not really a Star Wars fan and I really enjoyed it.

My sister made us reservations at the highly coveted Oga’s Cantina, located inside the Galaxy’s Edge. It was a pretty neat experience! The only thing that could have made it better would have been if we’d gotten a table to sit down at. You are assigned seating, whether it be seated at a table, or standing at the bar. The atmosphere definitely made up for our tired legs and the drink I ordered made my top lip go numb!

We walked around the rest of Galaxy’s Edge exploring and of course Amelia came across a new friend that she didn’t want to put down. Typical of her to pick out the oddest thing there! ???? 

Once we’d gotten our fill of Star Wars, we spent the rest of the afternoon riding all the rides! Here’s a collage of us from some of the rides we rode on at both parks. We got soaked on Splash Mountain, but it was both of the kids’ favorite ride!

After some food and naps, we spent the rest of the evening inside California Adventures, and I got to ride my favorite ride, Guardians of the Galaxy, one more time! That ride gets me every time!

It was hot outside and I wanted Amelia to wait until it cooled down some to put her Elsa dress back on. But two and a half days of walking, irregular naps, and extra sweets makes Amelia, well, you get the picture…

Amelia sweated it out the rest of the evening in her Elsa costume and with heavy eyes, we made it to the Main Street Electrical Parade to end out our amazing time at Disney.

Everyone was thrilled to be able to sleep in and relax at the hotel pool for a few hours before heading back home.

It was definitely a trip for the memory books! My feet won’t forget it for a long time either. We walked almost 20 miles during the two and a half days we were there! Whoo! How do people spend an entire week here?  Nothing screams Disney success like tired feet and empty wallets! ????I’m so glad that Logan and my family were here to help us celebrate. What on earth am I going to do for her 5th birthday next year now?