Well since plans to Canada and China didn't pan out this summer, we decided to take the money we were going to use for that and buy Disneyland passes. That decision was made when I realized that Sophia was tall enough to ride most of the fun rides. We didn't tell the kids about Disneyland, and just told them we were spending time with the Hellewells and at the beach. They were complaining a bit about that, because they were having some feuds with their kids over the holiday, but when we arrived, you would have never known! The kids were like best friends, as they disappeared all having fun playing their various activities. The boys bunked with their boys and had fun doing boy things, and Sophia had fun playing with the younger two. Aubrie was the odd girl out, and just did her own thing. We had a nice surprise when we arrived, as we both saw Kristen's stomach was a little bigger than normal. She is having another girl, and we are super excited for them! I immediately had her gift made for her for the next trip we took out there a few weeks later.
Sophia making herself at home!
Kristen and I went to Costco to get food for the next day, and while there I found Aubrie's bedroom set, that we got her when we got back. So going to California served us many purposes! When we got back from shopping we met up with the Hendricksons at our Yummy Mexican food place for dinner, and then came back to play cards !
It was GREAT going out like old times. They are amazing friends who we can easily pick up where we left off, no matter how much time its been. It was like the college days all over again. We finally cut the night off around midnight, because we had a big day ahead of us which started off with a crepe breakfast with everyone. Mark and I had some chatter on facebook about the crepes he taught me to make, and how the Hendrickson's have never had them. It was a joke of course, but we decided a crepe breakfast was in order. It was super yummy, and the kids had a great time eating and playing. As soon as breakfast was over, we cleaned up and packed up for the beach.
I LOVE the beach we go to there. It's Mark's parents private access beach. So it's not overly crowded and I feel really safe there. The kids run around and explore and I don't feel overly stressed, especially since there are a few lifeguards in such a small space. At first the kids complained about the sand, but by the end of the day they were covered and didn't care. The adults just sat around and talked. It was so much fun, and so RELAXING!!! After the beach, we hurried home to get cleaned up and go out to dinner. We went to some cool place down by the beach. The music was really loud, and it was hard to hear, but the environment was fun and the food was good. After dinner, we went home and went to bed, to prepare for our day at Disneyland!!
The kids thought we were going to Danny's. On the way, one of the kids complained they had to go to the bathroom, right around the Disney exit. It was perfect! Ben got off, pretending to find a bathroom, and the kids were like, "There is Disneyland!" We were like, "Yeah, how cool is that! Can't wait till Sophia is tall enough so we can go!" Ben pulled up the Marriot we usually stay at and said, "I know the bathrooms here are clean." The glitch was that during the day they now have a parking attendant you have to check in with before you pull in the lot. We knew the secret would be revealed right then. She asked if we were guests and when Ben said, "Yes, we are checking in today!" the kids were screaming and jumping in their seats with excitement. I wish I was ready with my phone to record it. It was the best surprise, next to the time we went with the Lorenzana's and they showed up at our door on a school day and we said, "Hey! Lets go to Disneyland!" I think this one was even better because we haven't been in so long!
We parked the car, and quickly went to the park. We got fast passes for the new Star Taurs and then got in line for it. When we got to the front it broke down, so they gave us a fast pass for later. So our first ride we did was Space Mountain. I can't even explain the amazing rush I had as we took off, knowing that my whole family was on the ride with me. It was a feeling of excitement, and completeness. All these years of parent passes and trading off kids to ride rides, and here I was with all my kids on my favorite Disney ride. I almost had a tear in my eye, and I'm sure it was part happiness and part sadness knowing my babies are all grown up!
Sophia wasn't too fond of the ride, but surprisingly rode it again later in the day. That shocked me because she cried the first time. You can see here that she wasn't too thrilled!
Our next stop was the Jedi training. We were hoping they would pick Sophia and Ethan, and they ended up picking Aubrie. She was a good sport and went along with it, after trying to get Ethan to switch spots with her.
He was afraid he would get in trouble! LOL
After the Jedi training we rode the new Star Taurs twice in row. There are over 50 different ride experiences, and our goal was to experience each segment before our trip was over. It was SO much fun! The kids LOVED it, and it fun to see if they will pick one of us to be the spies and put our picture on the screen, and also to see what combination you will get. By the end of our trip we hadn't seen all the segments, so it definitely made coming back a few weeks later that more exciting. I swore I would never do Disney in the summer again, but this particular weekend wasn't too bad because of some massive freeway construction that shut roads down for that weekend. It was less busy then when I took Aubrie in February. We got all the rides in at Disney, and then some on the first day. Sophia got to see the princesses, and we were able to get her on the Nemo ride in 15 minutes! We even had time to see the Firework show, front in center. Something we haven't done in a long time. We had to wait for about 30 minutes, and this is what the kids did to bide their time!
The fire work show was amazing, and we were so tired! We pushed till closing that night. We were in line at Midnight for ice cream, and by the time we got it all the kids were all asleep at the table they were saving for us. We definitely feel we got our money's worth that day! The following day we went to the Magic Kingdom for a few hours to get in Star Taurs and Splash Mountain a few more times. It was so empty when we first go there, we were able to ride Splash twice in a row.
We all love that ride, especially Sophia. Ben then took Sophia to see the princesses, while we did something else, that I can't remember now! Ha!
Then we met up with Lou Ann and her kids at California Adventure. It started to get crowded and hot, and so we hit the Grizzly Rapids. Ben hung back with Sophia.
(Aubrie in pink and Jamie and Kori to the left)
Our last stop of the day, before we headed home, was Tower of Terror. Sophia was clueless what the ride entailed because you can't see what it does until you are actually on it. Everyone just kept saying the ride was fun. When it was over Sophia said in a very displeased voice, "THAT RIDE WAS NOT FUN!" Can you tell? I'm not sure making that her last ride was the best choice. You'll find out why soon! After the ride, we said our goodbye's and headed home! What a GREAT vacation! It wasn't China, and it wasn't Canada, but it was a great time with good friends, and the family at Disney!
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