Cheering on my cheerleader

wearing: blue and silver earrings / lipstick / red 3/4 sleeve tee / tan scarf / black belt / Chloe bag / classic cut jeans / spring nail polish / platform sneakers /

OK, you might be wondering why I am sharing an outfit I wore to my daughter’s Cheer Nationals competition without showing a picture of my daughter. Well, all the photos I took of her include other girls from her cheer team. I don’t feel comfortable posting other people’s kids on the Internet, so sadly, there is not a photo of my daughter in this post. You will have to imagine a teenage girl wearing red, blue, and white, with a high ponytail. That’s my daughter!

I cannot begin to tell you how amazing Cheer Nationals was! The event was held in three arenas inside of the Anaheim Convention Center. There were schools from all over the country, and they included JV teams, Varsity teams, co-ed teams, novice teams, advanced teams, small teams, large teams, and everything in-between. It was huge, amazing, and nothing like my daughter has seen before; nor I!

The girls were nervous, but extremely well-prepared. They had stiff competition from across the country, but they were able to perform a flawless routine. While they didn’t finish in the top three, they did finish in the top ten nationwide. That is a huge accomplishment! I am so proud of my daughter and her cheer team. They worked so hard, and they really shined at the competition. The crowd clapped along with their music, cheered with them, and ooohh-ed and aaaahhh-ed at their splits, jumps, and stunts. They really wowed the crowd! It was so much fun! They had a new coach this year, and she really put a lot of passion and love into the cheer team. It showed! They did really well and had so much fun. All of us parents are super proud of the team, and we love the cheer coach! She’s amazing!

When I was in high  school, I was a cheerleader too. That being said, we were never as fabulous as my daughter’s cheer team. We only did local cheer competitions. We never made it to nationals, or even thought we would ever have a chance. It’s so amazing to see my daughter go to nationals and perform so well. Have I told you yet how proud I am? haha, I am a proud mama!

I think a goal for next year is to get tee-shirts made for all of us fan-parents! Since we don’t have parent tee’s, we all wore the team colors which are red, blue, and white. I wore blue earrings, a red tee, and my shoes were white. This outfit was really comfortable and worked well for walking around the arena and sitting in the bleachers. It was a comfortable and festive look. The scarf served me well outside where it was a bit chilly. Inside, the arena was on the warm side. This outfit was perfect for the changing temperatures.

Shop my cheer mom outfit:

Have you been to a cheer competition on this scale before? If so, how was it?

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO
Cathy

 

Disneyland California Adventure Park with the family

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wearing: blue/silver earrings / blue pattern scarf / aqua 3/4 sleeve tee / black handbag / black belt / spring nail polish / cropped skinny jeans (hot for spring!) / Gucci sneakers / adidas sneakers worn by my daughter /

On the first day of cheer nationals, our daughter was busy warming-up, and practicing for their first event. They had a call time in the late evening, so during the day, we had free time. Why not walk across the street to Disneyland?!

When we got to the Disney gates at 7:30am, the lines to get into the original Disneyland Park were so long, they backed up into the gates of California Adventure Park, and snaked back around. We had never seen the lines so long! The new Star Wars section is definitely bringing in a lot of crowds! We decided to wait, and go to California Adventure Park instead. Star Wars will be there awhile, so we can always come back on another trip. We knew we only had one day to go to Disneyland, so we wanted to make sure we could go on a lot of rides.

California Adventure Park was light that day. The lines were short, and we were able to go on a ton of rides. We went on a few rides we had never done before. The Ferris Wheel, roller coaster, and Inside-Out ride were first-timers for us, and we loved them. They were so much fun! We have been missing out by not going on them! We also went on all of our tried and true favorites, which include Mater, the Cars ride, Toy Story, and the classic Merry-Go-Round.

good food disneyland california adventure park

For lunch, we ate at Pasta N’ Pizza. This was our first time eating there, and it was so good! I enjoyed the chicken pasta, and a tiramisu dessert. Yummy! My son enjoyed his pizza too. We will definitely go back to eat there next time!

Since there is a lot of walking involved at Disneyland, I wore my comfy Gucci sneakers so I could be comfortable, and fabulous, at the same time. 😉 haha They were the perfect shoes! My daughter rocked her classic adidas Superstar’s; after all, they are the IT shoe in our town for middle school, and high school girls. She’s always so fabulous 🙂

Shop my Disneyland California Adventure Park outfit online:

What are your favorite rides, and places to eat, at California Adventure Park?

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO
Cathy

what to wear to disneyland

 

Exploring Downtown Disney with the kids

downtown disney outfit paplm trees outside downtown disney

wearing: red and gold earrings / black twist tee / multi-color wrap bracelet (hot trend for spring!) / black belt / black handbag / spring nail polish / classic jeans / black slides /

On my daughter: blue adidas sweatshirt (color sold out, others avl) / black leggings / adidas sneakers /

We are in Anaheim! My daughter’s high school cheer competition is happening at the Anaheim Convention Center, which is located next door to Disneyland; so you know we have to get a taste of Disney!

On day one, we drove down to Anaheim from the Bay Area, and got settled into our hotel. The cheer team flew, and arrived at the hotel about the same time as we did. We were very fortunate to get a hotel room in the same block as our daughter’s team. While she was busy with cheer, we could still get a few moments with her between events and practice; but we still missed her since she traveled separately and was really busy with practice and prep.

Since the cheer team was getting settled, and practicing on our first night in Ahaheim, we decided to go to Downtown Disney for dinner with our two youngest kids. We stayed at the Anaheim Hilton, which is next door to the convention center, so we were in a prime location to walk to Disneyland Park and Downtown Disney. Loved that!

Can you believe we had never been to Downtown Disney?? How crazy is that!! I was super excited to check it out. Plus, the restaurant I made reservations at looked delicious. This would be a fun night!

OK, if you stay near the convention center and walk to Downtown Disney, keep in mind your phone directions will not work. We followed my phone directions, and we ended up behind California Adventure Park in a security driveway. Thankfully the security guard was super nice and gave us directions to get into Downtown Disney. If you are walking, walk behind the Paradise Pier Hotel and follow the path. It will take you to Downtown Disney. Your phone’s walking directions will not. Heed my warning! My feet were very mad at me for the extra walking we did that night going off-course. haha

sushi splitsville downtown disneyspilitsville dessert

Sushi and dessert at Splitsville Restaurant located in Downtown Disney. -apologies for the iPhone photos and their grainy quality. 

The first thing we did was eat! I’m so happy I made reservations at Splitsville Restaurant. It was a busy and popular location, so the reservations were key. I highly recommend making reservations if you want to dine at a specific restaurant in Downtown Disney. The opentable app will hook you up! My husband enjoyed a hamburger, my daughter ate sliders, and my son had pizza. I enjoyed happy hour sushi, and we all shared a sundae for dessert. The food was soooooo good!!

After dinner, we decided to walk around and explore Downtown Disney. My kids were in Disney retail heaven! My heaven began when I spotted these handbags. . .

kate spade disney handbags

Disney themed Kate Spade handbags –  I’m in love!

OMG Disney has designer handbags! They have both Kate Spade, and Dooney & Bourke bags which are Disney themed! The Kate Spade bags shown above were my favorite. I’m kicking myself for not buying that satchel. Isn’t it fabulous?

Shop Disney handbags online:

I’m so happy we took the time to walk over to Downtown Disney. Now, we have another way to enjoy Disneyland when we travel to Anaheim! Have you been to Downtown Disney? If so, which restaurant is your favorite?

Shop my Downtown Disney outfit:

Shop my daughter’s Downtown Disney Outfit:

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO

Cathy

walking to downtown disneytaking selfies downtown disney