Mickey's Halloween Party {Trick-or-Treating at Disneyland}

We kicked off our Halloween celebrations with trick-or-treating at Disneyland during Mickey's Halloween Party. It was so. much. fun!!! Seriously, we made some of our most favorite memories at Disneyland ever, which is saying something considering how often we go :). We've been to Disney during Halloweentime before but this was our first time trick-or-treating. Disneyland is already decked out for Halloween -- Jake loved all the "Mickey puhkins" and "Mickey ghosts" around the park -- but they turn it up a notch for Mickey's Party. It is just such a well-done event.

Since it was our first time trick-or-treating at Disneyland, we figured it was only fitting to come dressed as the Mouse family. That is, Mickey and Minnie Mouse.

The upgrades from regular ol' Halloweentime include fog over the Rivers of America, purple/green/spooky lights throughout the park, dimmer lights on Main Street and cobwebs projected onto the storefronts and the castle, pumpkins projected all over It's a Small World and Halloween music playing on the speakers. There are lots of little touches throughout the park; for example, the walk from Frontierland to Big Thunder Ranch is done Haunted Forest style, with spooky lights and music and fog, but minus the creepy people you'd find at a Haunted Forest. Later at night, there is a Halloween show at the castle and lots of fireworks. And the best part is that the classic Mickey characters all dress up, too.

And the trick-or-treating itself? Insane. So. Much. Candy. We didn't even try to get very much candy but still somehow ended up with enough candy to hand out at both our house and my mom's on the real night. Disney has treat stations set up all around the park that you just go up to and walk away with a handful at each place, and then they have "Treat Trails" where you get in line and pass by 4-6 treat stations along the way. The park maps had markers where all the treats were AND had a list of what characters would be where, and they were there all night long. It was fantastic. Jake was so sweet, saying trick-or-treat and profusely thanking the cast members: "gank oo, gank oo, gank oo!" Also, the ride lines? Tiny. So great. 

We went early to try to meet Mickey in his formal attire -- that matched Jake and Matt -- before he got dressed up for Halloween (the characters wear costumes, too!). Mickey was sweet and called a cast member over to make sure Jake got special treatment. They walked along holding hands and Jake got to be one of very few kids that got a picture with him. And then later that night, when we saw Mickey and Minnie, they seriously spent five minutes just hugging Jake and giving him kisses and high fives. They were so great and Jake was in HEAVEN with "Mickey and Mimmie." He blew them kisses when we left and talked about them all night and it was the cutest ever.

Jake is really into Toy Story right now and was excited to meet "Boody."

The only long line of the night was to meet Mickey & Minnie in their Halloween costumes. This is how Jake handled the wait...

This is how Jake watches fireworks -- with his hat covering 99% of his only-slightly-opened eyes, and his mom's hand protecting him. Hahaha

Easter Sunday

Our Easter Sunday began in the best possible way. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and Jake slept in past 8 and then promptly began a family cuddle session complete with a sippy and books. And really, is there anything better? Then, Matt made the most delicious aebleskivers for brunch and we all indulged on our special Easter plates. We worked our Easter magic during Jake's short psuedo nap (in which he sat in bed and read to himself rather than sleeping) and then dressed him up in his Easter Sunday best and showed him the backyard.

We thought we'd have to help Jake know what to do, but that smart little boy was all over it. The second we opened the back door, Jake spotted the basket and the eggs and got to work. He went all over the yard, gathering the eggs and methodically dropping them in his basket one by one. Jake was even all business when he collected the egg on top of his slide -- simply climbed up the ladder, grabbed the egg, slid down the slide, and took the egg to the basket. That boy was on a mission! It was so cute to watch.

At last, all the eggs were collected and we headed to church, which was wonderful as always. We go to church every Sunday, so that is nothing new, but there is definitely something extra special about a Sabbath Day in which the entire world is celebrating our Savior and His resurrection. Later that afternoon, we headed North to Matt's parents' house to have Easter dinner with some of Matt's siblings and their families. It was a beautiful day!

And can we talk about that face for just one second? Because I already can hardly handle all the Jakey cuteness that is running around every day. Then he goes and gets all dressed up in a navy and white seersucker blazer and yellow bow tie with that cute little grin of his... and it killed me. All day long. Seriously. I love that handsome little mister so much!