Parks and Recreation

We just got back from a 10 day vacation to Seal Beach.

I fear this post may feel as long as our vacation.

It just can't be helped.  We had such an amazing time.

We got to the condo on Saturday night.  After our LONG drive we felt it was necessary to walk to the beach and play.  Cord got to fly his new kite and the kids got to dig their toes in the sand.

Sunday was Mother's Day.  It was a beautiful day.  We went over to the local farmers market and stocked up on fresh fruits and veggies.  I got a beautiful bouquet of flowers.  All of the vendors were wishing me a happy mothers day.  I felt so celebrated.  Afterward, the condo was having a Mother's Day brunch.  We had all sorts of yummy foods to eat.  They even served champagne and orange juice to all the mothers.  Luckily, Cord noticed the champagne!  I almost drank some.  :)  It looked so lovely in the elegant flute glasses.  Everyone serving us was so nice to wish me a Happy Mother's Day.  I had never experienced such a big "to do" about the day before.  I really felt special.

That night afternoon Dax and Monica came into town.  It was nice to welcome them to Seal Beach!

We checked out the boats after the Farmers Market

Monday we headed over Disneyland!

Our bags were full of snacks, our skin was covered in sun screen, and our feet were ready for skipping.

We got lucky.  It was a pretty low key day at Disney.  The lines weren't bad at all.

We were able to get on pretty much everything in one day.

The girls were in heaven.

 

Of course, their favorite ride was the carasoul.

 

 

 

  Gage wasn't so sure about this big mouse.  He liked to look from a distance.

 

Tuesday we went to California Adventure. 

I had never been before.  It was so fun!  There is so much to do.

We stopped by to see the mouse first.  He is just so darn cute!

We ran into Jessie and Woody here too.  This whole area was like a big carnival.  The music was upbeat, we had some cotton candy, and played some games on the Toy Story ride. 

 

Next we went over to this giant tree house land.  The kids got to run around and go down log slides, walk across rope bridges, and do some rock climbing.  It was a giant playground.  It was the perfect spot to bust out our lunches and have a break.  I almost started to think we were really in the woods.

Really, that is one of the coolest things about the Disney parks.  They can take you to a different world.  You are totally immersed in new lands and places.  It is amazing. 

We went to a show called Disney Jr. Live.  This was my FAVORITE part of our day in Cali Adventure.  It was a puppet show of the girls favorite shows from the Disney Channel.  Natalie was so into it.  I watched her most of the time.  She was clapping and singing and dancing and laughing. 

Lib loved it too.  It was right up her alley.

Libby really wanted this popcorn.  That smile was worth the $4.50 right?  

Gotta love theme park food prices! 

And we can't forget about the Bugs Life show.  It was way too scary for Gage.  I felt so bad.  He was totally nervous the whole time.  I held him close and kept him distracted when the big scary bugs were trying to eat us.  :)

 

More time on the carousel.  We really did it like six times.

 

That night we stayed to see the World of Color show.  It is pretty much like the water show in Las Vegas at the Beliagio but in COLOR and with cool Disney Holograms in it.  It really is spectacular.  However, this was the only time I was actually annoyed on the vacation.  We had to stand in our spot for over an hour before it started and we were already worn out from being at the park all day.  Then,

 two HUGE dudes stood in front of me and I could barely see.  I had to go on my tip toes to catch glimpses.  GRRR.  It was worth it even still.

Gage LOVED it.  He sat on daddy's shoulders and danced to the music.  He was mesmerized by the lights.  Both he and Natty fell asleep during the show.  :)

 

We took Wednesday off from the parks and did some beach/pool time.

The kids were excited to just relax and play in the sand.  It was really windy at the beach.  Cord tried to fly his kite again, but the wind was so strong the KITE FLEW HIM instead.  He got whisked off his feet and across the sand.  He got quite the sand burn on his leg and arm from the ride.  Yikes!

No pics of the kite this trip.  I didn't have my camera at the beach either time!  Whoops.

We decided the pool was a safer place to play!

 

Can you tell we needed a day of rest?

 Thursday we were back at the Parks! 

This was the day of PRINCESSES!

The princess line was a mere 90 minutes.  Cord taught the girls how to play rock, paper, scissors, to pass the time.  I couldn't believe how good they were to sit and wait.  They were really excited to see their favorite ladies!

 

Rapenzal has a tower in Fairytale land.  We got to wait in line for 75 minutes to see her.  (actually, I waited in line and let the kids jump in at the end.  Natalie got a nice long nap in the stroller!)  

It was worth it though.  The kids were delighted to see her long hair!  

P.S.  Isn't Tangled the cutest movie ever???

 

Just can't be cuter than this!

 

We let the kids choose a souvenir.  HOW do you decide??? 

memo to myself:  Do not let Natalie choose a different prize than Libby.  She will just want to trade with Lib the rest of the trip!

 

These girls are best friends!  They were sooooooo good!

 

Friday!  Can you belive it is Friday already?  We couldn't either.

We decided to take the kayaks over to Little Italy.  Cord and I and Dax and Monica took turns out on the boats while the kids played on the shore.  Silly me didn't think to put the kids in swimming suits! 

One thing is for certain, if you bring a kid to water they will get in.  (Swimming suit or not!)

So, it was a mess.  But they had a blast.  Kayacking was fun too.  It is amazing to see all the big houses and boats.  People have some serious cash'ola.

 

That afternoon we went house shopping again.  I think I will buy next time.  ;)  

Then we went to Seal Beach Pier.  We stopped by Cold Stone and got a sugar fix and walked on the pier.  That night we soaked our tired bones in the hot tubs.  Ahhhhh.....

This is Nat's after ice cream face!  

 

Saturday we had Cord's BIG RACE.  

It is called The Traverse.  It is a 45 mile mountain bike ride with over 7,000 feet of elevation gain!  What the???  I know.  It is insane. 

Cord, of course, did AMAZING.  He is such a great athlete.  He finished in 5 hours and 58 minutes. 

Can you even imagine sitting on a bike that long, let alone riding it up crazy steep hills?

What a man.  And to top it off, he got third place in his division.  

Sweet.

 

 

I'm pretty sure he isn't interested in doing it again any time soon!

Needless to say, we went back to soak in the hot tub again that night...

SUNDAY came way too fast.  We cleaned up shop and got on the road to Las Vegas. 

We stayed at a condo there for the night.  It was such a great place.

We floated in the lazy river, swam in the HUGE kid pool, (it was 3 feet deep everywhere), ordered some take out food, and watched a movie.  Loved it!

And, Monday, we came home.  

What a fun time we had.  Love our kids.  Love my California.