2.27.2012

Santa Monica

I realized I never shared about the last day of our California vaycay, so even though it's been 2 weeks, here it is...

Our flight left at 9pm on Saturday, so we pretty much had an entire day to kill. After a long day at Disneyland on Friday, we all slept in, ate breakfast at the hotel and checked out around 11am. Then we headed to...


It's a fun place to do some people watching. It was a little windy, but sunny and beautiful.

We walked up the pier and stopped at the arcade. Zoltar from the movie BIG was there


The boy got a stamped penny souvenir. I'm not a big fan of pennies (they are dirty and smelly), but how do you say no to these sweet, happy faces?


And the kids did some funny little arcade rides and games :)


We enjoyed the sunshine and scenery






And played in the sand



Doesn't this look like it's straight out of Baywatch?

We left the pier and went to In-n-Out for one last animal-style burger, before heading to the airport.

Going through security with 5 suitcases, 4 carry-ons, 3 kids and a carseat was comical! We had about 20 of those little bins filled up will all our shoes, belts, trinkets and junk.

And then, right as my hubby's suitcase was about to go into the scanner, he said "hey, can you grab my toiletries out of there?" So I took them out but forgot to zip the suitcase back up. As he went to pick it up down at the other end...everything came spilling out. You know there was someone watching it all on camera and got a good laugh!

But, it was all totally worth it!

2.23.2012

Thursday

I started a new Bible Study this morning...


It's a half marathon training along with a Bible Study. I'm really excited about it and the girls in our group are awesome! We're all at different levels of running/walking, but we all have a common interest and goal...God and fitness :)

Last night I stayed up waaaaay too late and caught up on Parenthood. Do you watch that show? I can't get enough of it. I can relate to almost each family set on some level. I can't believe the season finale is next week...what's up with that?

Parenthood - Season 1 (2010)
via

After that all-nighter, this tired mama needed some Sonic Happy Hour today


The kids had some friends over and then I whipped up some hot dogs for dinner...real fancy, I know! 

I'm looking forward to the weekend! How 'bout you?

2.22.2012

Disneyland!

I've finally gathered up the best of the photos from our trip to Disneyland. This was the kids' first trip and it was magical! They had such a great time! My parents were able to fly in for the day which was fun for all of us and so helpful to have a few extra hands to help :)

WARNING: there are A LOT of pictures, so get a cup coffee, sit and enjoy. You may be here a while ;)

We parked and got on a shuttle

Lil' Miss Rockstar

At the entrance 


And then headed down Main Street





I love Main Street! It's Walt Disney's dream preserved and is like stepping back in time...in a good way!

Through the castle to Fantasyland was the first stop


BIG smiles!








Grandee took the kids on the Dumbo ride

sleepy girl

Sweet Pea and I went to see the Princesses, which was a highlight of the entire trip for her. She met Ariel...




Belle...



And Tiana...


She wasn't as familiar with Tiana (from The Princess and the Frog), but she still had a beaming smile from cheek to cheek. She was a little disappointed that Snow White wasn't there, but we got see her in the parade, so then she was happy.








During our lunch time, we met up with my college roommate bestie and her fiance. It was so good to see her and after the day was over I was kicking myself that I didn't get any pictures with her...grrrr!

After dinner we headed over to Tomorrowland and the boy got to experience Star Tours, which was one of his favorites

photo taken by my dad :)


hipster flight glasses!

We stopped and got some souvenirs...ears of course!


just trying it on for size :)

We stayed for the fireworks, however there was a tree right in our view. But we got a really good look at the castle :)




We were at Disneyland for a total of 12 hours! We were all exhausted, but it was totally worth it! I think next time, we'll plan to get a 2-day pass, or a park-hopper and do California Adventure too. But for the ages of our kids and with a baby in tow, the one day was perfect.

A few other tips when traveling to Disneyland...

- Bring or rent a stroller. Even the big kids wanted to ride when their feet started hurting (you will do A LOT of walking). You can rent them at the park for $15.

- Pack your lunch. Yes! You can bring food into the park. Bringing your own lunch and snacks will save you a good chunk of dough, since food is super expensive.

- Download an app. There are apps for your phone that will tell you how long the lines are for each ride. We used one called MouseWait and it was awesome! 

So that was our trip and my two cents. If you have any tips to add, I'd love to hear them!