California Vacation: Day 5 - California Adventure

On Monday we went to California Adventure and met my parents there. They were awesome and got there before us; one of them waited in the Fast Pass line for the new Guardians of the Galaxy Ride and the other waited in the actual ride line. Once we got there, Dave, Jett and I got in the line and my parents took Cruise and Miles to Cars Land. The three of us waited in the line for about 50 minutes until we finally got on. And I will have to say, it was totally worth it! Such a good ride and even more intense than the previous Tower of Terror ride. 

We got to the end of line right before we were to get on the actual ride, when Jett says to me, "Mom, I gotta go poop!" I looked at him and in my most serious voice said, "And you're going to wait." There was no way I was going to wait in that line again. Plus, I knew I had a change of clothes for him. LOL! Nah, he was fine. It was just the nervous poops.

My parents took Cruise and Jett on a couple rides in Cars Land while they waited for us. They went on the new Luigi's ride.

And then on Mater's tractor ride.

After meeting up, we grabbed some lunch.

And then Dave, Cruise, Jett and I went on the Cars ride (I had grabbed some Fast Pass tickets on our way into the park), and my parents took Miles to A Bug's Land. 

We got to see Mater and Red.

Here are Miles and Papa at Bug's Land.

Dave, Cruise, Jett and Dad waited in line for Grizzly Rapids and got a stroller pass so I could go on it later with the boys.

While they were on that, Mom and I took Miles on the Little Mermaid ride. He loved the bubble maker my parents got him. He stood in line, blowing bubbles and letting other kids pop them. 

Then I took Miles on the Zeppelin and we saw the army men from Toy Story playing their drums. 

We met up with everyone else in Hollywood Land. My dad took Jett on the Guardians of the Galaxy ride (Fast Pass) while the rest of us went to the cartooning class and learned how to draw Eeyore. 

Dave took Miles on Monsters, Inc. while the rest of us waited for Dad and Jett to get off the ride. Then I went on the Monsters, Inc. ride with Miles.

We then headed over to Toy Story Midway Mania and waited in the long line. Luckily it was in the shade so it was bearable.

I got to go on Grizzly Rapids with the older two and get nice and wet.

And then met up with everyone after that. While we waited for them to get off a ride, Cruise and Jett did an impromptu contemporary dance. 

Next up was Screamin' California, which ended up being Cruise and Jett's favorite ride. It took some convincing to get Cruise to go, but once he did, he wanted to go over and over and over again. I think they ended up going about 4 times. 

Miles and Jett went on the carousel.

For dinner, we left the park to Downtown Disney and ate at a restaurant where we got some amazing food. I had some delicious salmon and Dave got short ribs. They were amazing.

 After dinner, we went to the Ghiradelli shop and got dessert. Dave and the boys tried to get on Guardians of the Galaxy again, but the wait was over 2 hours, so that didn't happen. Finally we all headed over to Flying Over the World ride to cash in our Fast Passes. Unfortunately, Miles was just a couple inches too short, so he stayed outside with my parents. The ride was really relaxing and fun and a good way to end the day!

The boys loved having Grandma & Papa there to play with us. And it was really nice having a few extra hands. They definitely spoiled us, and the kids got some fun toys. It was a very busy day but a lot of fun too!

And that was day 5!

California Vacation: Day 4 - Sunday

Sunday morning after breakfast, we packed up and checked out of our hotel in Carlsbad. We drove for about an hour and stopped at Downtown Disney so we could pick up our tickets at will-call. The boys got really hungry, so we bought the least expensive thing there: Wetzel's Pretzels hot dogs and pizzas. Dave ran over to the taco shop next door to grab some tacos for me and a burrito for him. We chilled in the shade, ate our lunch, and then headed back to the car. 

We drove from there to Seal Beach where my parents live. They were still at church, so we let ourselves in and I immediately turned on their A/C and began to put in a load of laundry. I had packed for only 4 days to save space in the luggage, so I had to wash most of the clothes to wear again for the rest of the week.

While I did that, Dave and the boys went out and, of course, went lizard hunting. They caught this big guy sunning on a rock. Miles really wanted to take him home to Utah but I had to tell him that the lizard needed to stay in California with his family. He understood.

Eventually, my parents got home and then Ruth's family showed up as well. Her boys had fun with the lizard as well. 

After the lizard party, we had dinner that my mom had prepared, the boys played some baseball with Papa, I snuggled babies and Baby Nate fell asleep on me and I was in heaven for a half hour. Cruise got to discuss his comic books with Fernando, and we all got to chat and catch up. It was a really nice Sabbath. 

We said goodbye to everyone and did a late check-in at the new hotel, which was also a Hampton Inn, but this was located in Cypress, which is less than 30 minutes to Disneyland. First thing we did was request a roll-away for Miles. I slept really well the rest of the trip. Well, other than the fact that the A/C was not consistent and I had to keep getting up in the middle of the night to turn it back on. But, I can't complain about the bed. So comfortable! 

And that was Day 4!

California Vacation: Day 3 - Beach Day!

Day 3 was a really nice break. Especially for my feet. Holy cow, my feet hurt. Since we were in Carlsbad and my parents and Ruth's family were further north, we decided to meet half way at Linda Lane Beach in San Clemente.

While we waited for everyone to show, the boys played at the playground and walk around finding all sorts of fun animals. Squirrels, lizards, and birds. 

After everyone showed up, we moved the party to a picnic area just up the hill from the beach. Dave, the boys, and Ruth's boys all went lizard hunting while we chatted, snuggled the twins, and set up for lunch. 

Fernando set up a small tent by the picnic table so Ruth could change Nate and Peter and let them nap. They were so adorable and I wanted to snuggle them all day.

Mom and Dad went and picked up pizza for all the boys and Subway for the adults. It was so much fun watching the boys interact with each other.

After everyone was fed and sunscreened up (I was in charge of that, and of course, forgot to slather myself), we headed down the hill to the beach. Unfortunately, there was a shark warning, so we couldn't really swim, but it was fun playing in the shallow area, feeling the sand between my toes, and building a sandcastle. The tide kept coming in further and further until it hit my backpack, our towels, and our camp chairs. But we had so much fun nonetheless. 

Dave scoured the beach for shark teeth and ended up finding a broken one, but it got lost when the tide came in too far. 

Cruise found all sorts of awesome shells and rocks. He collected them and made sure we brought them home.

Everyone except Mom, who was taking the picture.

Mikey, Fernando, Sammie, Cruise, Dave, Gabe, Jett, Me, Nate, Miles, Ruth, Peter (in the sling), and Dad/Grandpa.

Once the tide got everything wet, we decided to pack it up, say goodbye, and head back to the hotel. I got totally sunburned on my back and I got a couple sun blisters on my scalp. Not cool.

Once we got back to the hotel, we jumped into the pool and the hot tub. I started to feel kind of crappy on account of the sunburn, so we went inside, showered, and Dave went and grabbed us some dinner from Spaghetti Factory and stopped by the pharmacy to get me some aloe for my back.

We got the roll-away for Miles, finally, and I slept a little better, but the sunburn made it hard to be completely comfortable. I was really exhausted, so it still was great to just sleep, sunburn or no sunburn.

And that was Day 3!