California Adventure and Disneyland

So we left on Sunday morning (the 13th) and came home to Santa Clarita, where we picked up Kassandra's friends, John and Katie, and went to California Adventure! We finally had a chance to celebrate Kassandra's birthday! We spent the entire day/evening in California Adventure. Katie had never been before, and everyone ended up going on some new ride. For most of us, it was Toy Story. That is so much fun! Jered had been on that before, but the rest of us hadn't! It was soooooo hot! We were able to go on the Grizzly Rapids Ride, and I got soaked! That was Jered's new ride. Kassandra, Katie and John tackled the Maliboomer (3 or 4 times in a row, there were NO lines!) and Screamin'. Jered sat those two out. Mulholland Madness was a huge hit with all four kids, and they were able to ride 4 times. The longest line was for Soarin', we all love that ride! Katie, John and Kassandra tackled Tower of Terror. Jered passed again, he had been on it before, and wasn't wanting to experience it again. We were able to watch the Pixar Parade and see the Electric Light Parade. We had lunch next to Soarin'. Jered, John and Kassandra also rode the swings. When we left, we got dinner at El Pollo Loco and called it a night at the Holiday Inn Express in Placentia.
We ate breakfast at the hotel and then the kids went swimming for a short while. Then we headed off the Disneyland. Again, the crowds were sparse. We didn't need to use the fast pass option once all day. We conquered Tomorrowland (Star Tours and Space Mountain) with lunch at Pizza Port (this becomes more relevant in a moment). Then on to Autopia. Tere and I were people watching when she got a call on her cell from an unknown number. She answered it only to find out that Jered was calling from a cast member's phone at Pizza Port. He had realized that he threw away his retainer, had gotten out of line and ran to try to retrieve it. Too late. Disney cleans things fast. So he was super upset. And the other three kids? Still in line, not really wondering where Jered had gone! So much for cell phones! He has an appointment Friday, and hopefully will have his new retainer before we leave. Then we went on Buzz Lightyear, Pirates (of course), and the kids waited an hour and a half for Splash Mountain, only to have it break down and close. No worries, they were on to the Matterhorn! Jered chose to climb Tarzan's Treehouse and do the Jungle Cruise instead. At that point we were all exhausted, and so we headed home (after some last minute shopping). We dropped Katie off around midnight and John a few minutes later!
Kassandra says it was the best birthday ever! I think I'm still recovering!