California Dreamin'

  Back at the beginning of March we were able to go to California for a family vacation.  We were planning on going last fall, but my lovely health issues wouldn't allow that.  Thankfully, we were able to go finally, and what a blast we had.  We decided to drive to save the money, but in retrospect I think we'll fly next time.  (My kids did FANTASTIC in the car.  It was more their mom who had to keep stopping to exercise my legs.  We got really good at cleaning up after being car-sick, too.:)  We stopped overnight in Vegas and had fun at Circus Circus, then left the next morning in order to get to our hotel in Aneheim by around lunchtime.  We hit the beach that first day, although I think the locals thought we were nuts.  To us, 60 degrees was very warm since it was snowing back home, but they were all bundled up in sweatshirts and long pants, if they were even on the beach at all.  We did get a few of them smiling, though.

Jumping the waves with Daddy

Savannah was so excited to find seashells.  Thankfully, we convinced her to leave them at the beach...:)



I just love this picture of Isaiah.  He was THRILLED to see the ocean, and couldn't stop jumping around.

  Next came a few days of Disneyland.  For those of you who've never been during the off-season, I most highly recommend it.  Sure, a few of the rides were closed, but the longest we ever waited in line was 30 minutes, and that was for Space Mountain and Peter Pan.  (The normal wait was about 15 or less.  Awesome!)  I absolutely loved watching my kids react to everything.  They were so excited, they could barely stand it!  There's just something about the magic of that place for kids, and even their parents.:)

This was taken just before we went in.  Do you see those smiles?

Group hug!

There's a great story with this picture.  Mary LOVES Mickey and Minnie Mouse.  We had waited in line to see Mickey, but had yet to really see Minne.  We were walking through California Adventure when Mary suddenly starts jumping up and down and takes off running.  We look up just in time to see her run to Minnie, who was also jumping.:)  We were lucky to get the camera out in time.  Thanks for making my girl's day, Minnie!:)

A Family Portrait (with a little help from Lightning McQueen and Mater)

About halfway through the day, Savannah and Mary decided to start posing for all of the pictures, since I had taken so many.  Aren't they cute?:)

I love how Mary can't even stop looking at Mickey long enough to take the picture.  She was SO thrilled!

  Something else I absolutely loved about this trip was that we decided to just make eating at the park part of the plan, so it was in the budget.  Because of that, we didn't just go to the cheapest places, and as a result had some FABULOUS food.  (Although, most of the food at Disneyland is fabulous.)  My favorite was Cafe Orleans, just outside Pirates of the Carribean.  They have the most amazing parmesean-coated french fries, with a tasty remoulade sauce for dipping.  We loved them so much, I searched the internet for days when we got back until I found the basic recipie, and then played with it in the kitchen until they were replicated.  SO yummy!
  We also hit Sea World while we were at it.  It was a little strange because almost nobody was there, but it was also fun to have everything more to ourselves.  We got great seating for all the shows, and walking between the arenas was a lot more pleasant.

I can't believe I actually got this shot.  My timing had been off with my other attempts, but I decided to give it one last try.  Boy, am I glad I did!

The sea lion show was absolutely hilarious!  Here are some of the performers pretending to be CSI investigators.

Waiting for the pet show...with Angry Birds.  (That's about how the trip went.  Any time we were sitting anywhere for longer than a couple of minutes, whether it was in line, at a show, at the hotel, or in the car, at least one of the kids would say, "Dad, can I play Angry Birds on your phone?"  I think we passed most of the levels off on the first day...:)

Petting the rays in their swimming pool--so fun!

  We had an amazing time, and I can't wait to go back!  Too bad it takes at least three years to save up the money needed in order to go...:)

So long, California!  Hope to see you soon!