once upon a time...

my cousin's daughter is almost exactly the same age as the bean - she's literally a week older.  both kids turned 16 this year, and when they invited us to join them as they celebrated her birthday at disneyland for the weekend - well, you know we weren't going to say no.

she'd created an optional dress code for everyone, and the first night had us dressed like the little green men from "toy story" to complement her buzz lightyear disneybounding outfit.  we ordered the pieces from amazon as directed, and left the house looking like this:

it was easy to spot them once we got inside the parks and headed into the san fransokyo square area where they were having dinner.  our first ride together was the little mermaid:

and then i went with the bean and the birthday girl's little sister for a ride on jumpin' jellyfish, which i love despite the fact that it's a little kid ride.  it always offers such a pretty view of the park.

once we got off the ride, we rejoined the rest of the group at the waterfront where they'd snagged a spot with a great view of the world of color show.  i hadn't seen it in a few years, and it was fun to get to see the halloween version of it.

the next day had been designated as princess day - and the closest we got was the bean's "raya and the lost dragon" themed shirt while i threw on one of my me-made disney dresses and topped it with a tiara (any excuse to wear it is a-ok with me).

we found the old lady on duty as we entered the park and snagged a quick selfie with her:

i was happy to be chauffeured around by my child in the autopia ride.

and we said hello to our little filipina friend over at "it's a small world."

a little later, we headed back to the grand californian where they were staying.  it was a pretty warm day and the kids all changed into swimsuits and hit the pool.  i opted for relaxing on one of their surprisingly comfortable chaise lounges and ordered a drink and a snack.

meanwhile, my cousins had gone back up to the room to do a little birthday decorating.

we'd been invited to stay with them in their room, but since the dogs were home alone i had to go home.  the bean was happy to stay though, and the next morning i took my time getting up and heading back down to anaheim for a third day in a row.  when i got there, they were having lunch in san fransokyo square again and while i waited for my food order i caught a glimpse of baymax in the corner, greeting guests and taking lots of pictures.

it was one of their oogie boogie halloween party nights, so the park was closing early for those who didn't have tickets.  totally cool since we'd already been at the parks all weekend.

the kids wanted to ride the incredicoaster, and while i typically love that ride i wasn't really feeling it that day.  my cousin and i decided to stay back, chatting and catching up and watching the riders take off from the starting point of the ride.  as we stood there, i noticed someone with a very familiar face walk past us - ginnifer goodwin, from "once upon a time" and the voice of judy hopps in "zootopia" and countless other movies and shows.  i'd just finished rewatching every season of OUAT, so it was really hard to keep myself from going over to say hello - she had one of her kids with her, and i didn't want to intrude on family time.  i guess i should feel bad for sneaking this picture, but i made sure not to get her little one in it so that makes it kind of okay?  heh.

joke was totally on me though, because as it turned out, the kids happened to be right in front of josh dallas - ginnifer's husband and co-star on OUAT.  i'd also watched every season of "manifest" and so you know i'm a big fan.  they got off of the ride and were falling all over themselves to tell us the story - the birthday girl had recognized him but couldn't remember what his name was.  google told her that he was "david nolan" and when they asked him if his name was david, he played it coy and said "well...i played a guy named david..."

they saw him again at the end of the ride and when he spotted the birthday gear, he happily stopped to pose for a photo.  you KNOW i was completely green with envy over this one.

and that was pretty much how we ended our weekend at disneyland.  good times.