Family Vacation

The last few family vacations we took were to Disneyland.  We were planning on going somewhere new for a change.  We thought we had enough skymiles saved up to take everyone to Hawaii.  After looking into things, we were a little short on miles, and would have had to pay for one ticket.  That one ticket would have been $1000.  Scratch that idea!  My parents have season passes to Disneyland, and were up to going with us.  It's always more fun with Grandparents.  So we took advantage of the opportunity.  Hawaii can wait for another year, right?  The kids are still at that age where they love all things Disney.  So we were off.

 

We ended up leaving on a Sunday after church, so we only drove as far as Vegas.  My kids and hotels don't mix.  They goof around and refuse to go to sleep.  I didn't want to deal with the frustration of getting them to sleep.  So we were horrible and took our kids to the strip at 11:30 pm to see the water fountains at the Bellagio.  I can't believe I am admitting to this!  But it worked.  We got back to the hotel room, and they fell fast asleep without having to yell at them even once. 

 

The next day we stopped to visit with Jon's sister Carrie for a while.  The kids got to play with their cousins and enjoy being out of the car.

 

 

I was so excited to see how Calla enjoyed Disneyland.  The last two times we went, we ended up taking Anika to see the princesses.  We would wait in line forever, and then Anika was so shy she wouldn't even look at them.  This year Calla is a HUGE Minnie Mouse fan.  We decided to skip the princesses and take her to meet Minnie.  Once again, we waited in line forever.  Minnie took 3 different breaks before we made it to the front of the line.

Calla was so excited to see her from a distance.  But the instant we got up to her, she freaked out.  This is the only picture we got of her not totally arching her back away....but she had to have both me and Jon between them.

 

Once Minnie was out of the picture, she had a great time exploring her house.  Turns out she is just like her sister.

The kids had a great time having Nana and Grandpa with them.  Once the trip was over, I found out about the "secret treats" they would buy for the kids when Jon and I weren't around.

 

The first night at the park my parents bought everyone ice cream to eat on the walk home.  Calla insisted on having her own.  That is one messy, but very happy face.

 

The boys with Grandpa on the jungle cruise.  They are huge thrill ride fans, but always enjoy this ride.

Last time we were at Disneyland, Tanner discovered Tom Sawyer Island.  It ended up being one of his favorite things.  He loves all the caves and paths to explore.  I wasn't with him last time, and he just couldn't wait to show me all they things he had told me about.

 

Nathan has loved the big roller coasters for a while now.  This is the year that Tanner really got into them.  He would do them before, but this year he was LOVING them.  While Jon took them on one ride, the girls talked me into the teacups.  But mistake.  Calla became addicted.  We got to ride them over and over and over, and then still dealt with the temper tantrum once she had to leave them.  Anika loved them too, although her big ride was Splash Mountain.  Last time we went she was big enough to go on it, but it was closed.  She had been waiting and waiting for the chance to get to go this trip.  She really liked it, but I think the teacups were still a favorite.  She was also brave enough to try all the big roller coasters as well.

 

A rare moment when Goofy was just walking through the park.  Nobody else was around, and he just walked right up to us for a picture.  Calla was scared to death.

 

 

After Disneyland we continued our trip down to San Diego to visit my sister Tara.  Each time we go to San Diego we try to do something new.  This year was Legoland.  I heard from lots of people that it was lots of fun, so I bought a two day pass for the family.  Big mistake.  Maybe it was because we had just been to Disneyland, but we found it to be pretty disappointing.  Tanner is a huge StarWars fan, and he enjoyed the Starwars display, but we won't be going back...ever.

 

We always have to take a drive out to the temple after church when we are there on a Sunday.

 

We decided to ditch the second day of Legoland and try Coronado beach instead.  We usually go to a beach closer to my sister's house, but wanted to try something new.  It was definitely more fun than another day at Legoland.  Of all the times we have been to San Diego, this was the first time we actually hit a day sunny and warm enough that our kids didn't get too cold to play after a while.  We ended up spending hours playing and relaxing.

Tanner and his cousin Ty were boogie board buddies.  He caught on really quick and rode the waves over and over.

 

Nathan's favorite activity was throwing objects at the seagulls.  Serves them right for always trying to get our food.

Tanner kept digging huge pits and burying his body.  You can't tell from the picture, but he is standing up in a hole, burried to his waist.

 

Calla absolutely loved everything about the beach.  The water, and especially the sand.  She was so brave...a little too brave for my nerves.  Anika's favorite activity was looking for seashells, which were plentiful.

 

We had such a great time.  It was hard to leave for home, even with the whole summer ahead of us.