Our Trip to California

Sorry for all of the pictures, but I just had to post them! We just got back from a little trip to California. It was great to be back in Carlsbad- we realized that it had been three years since we'd even been to the beach. That is pretty pathetic. So, this trip was long overdue! The kids were great, and the weather was nice. I know we'll be back before three more years go by!

We got to stay with Peter's brother's family. Thanks, Jack and Kathy! The kids had so much fun jumping on the tramp in the back and playing on their swing set. The weather was perfect and they really played hard!

We took the kids to the beach on Saturday with their cousins. We put sunscreen all over them, but we forgot Jonah's hands, and I didn't put any on. I don't know why, but for some reason, I never feel like I will get burnt when it's overcast. And like usual, I was wrong! My back and shoulders got charred, and poor Jonah had red hands! Peter forgot to put sunscreen on his feet and burned them pretty bad too. And he didn't stop complaining about it the whole trip (although they did look bad)!

The kids had fun wading in the water and running away from the waves, which caught them a couple of times. It was pretty cold, but not too bad. It was fun for the kids to hang out with their cousins. Levi was pretty cute at the beach. He just loved touching the sand. I didn't think he was going to put it in his mouth, but then...wrong again. He got a nice little taste of Oceanside sand. Yum!

Sunday, after church, we went over to my Grandpa and Grandma's house. We got to pick some lemons from Grandpa's tree. The kids loved walking around in the garden and exploring the backyard. It was Levi's first time to meet his Great-Grandparents. He was in a really good mood (like usual) and loved being held and playing with everyone! He was really smitten with Grandma and Aunt Lisa!

The kids had fun playing and Jonah even sang and danced for everyone. We got to meet some new faces, too. A few babies have joined the family, and it was great to see them for the first time. It had been a long time since I had seen some of my cousins, and it was fun to catch up and learn the new craze- 8 person Make-a-Million. I admit, I wish there were more people around here so I could play more often.

Monday was a big day! We did Disneyland with the two oldest. A HUGE thanks to Kathy and Jack for watching Levi for the entire day (and most of the night)! We missed him a lot, but I don't think we could have done it with three kids!

We had been prepping the kids for Disneyland by getting some Mickey Mouse movies for them and telling them they were going to meet Mickey Mouse. But I don't think they understood until we got there! We spent a lot of time in the new (well, new to me) Tomorrowland.

The kids got better and better at waiting in line during the day. They were doing great until we went on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. They got pretty freaked out. I had never been on it, and I was even freaked out a little! They calmed down after a while, but then we freaked them out again with the Haunted Mansion. They were really only scared at the beginning, and started getting better throughout the ride. It was pretty dark in there for them, though.

Jonah liked the Mad Hatter Shop, and Eden liked Minnie's House in Toon Town!

They had plenty of fun. We got to see Mickey and Goofy, and they saw Buzz Lightyear walking through the crowd as we waited for a ride. They loved the Buzz Lightyear ride, which we went on twice, Toon Town, the train, The Jungle Cruise, and Pirates. But they really loved Autopia! I wish I had a better camera, because the look on the kids' faces was priceless and my pictures came out kind of blurry. Jonah was laughing so hard! We went on that ride twice in a row.

I had been worried that it might be crowded, since we were going in June, but school wasn't out for most places yet, and the lines were really pretty short. I think the longest line we waited in was 45 minutes for the rockets in Tomorrowland. We also waited about that long to see Mickey in Toon Town. We only waited about 10-15 mintues for every other ride.

We got to see the band play in New Orleans. The kids liked that. Jonah just watched it so seriously! Eden started dancing in the stroller:

We had a really fun time, but the kids were so pooped at the end on the day, they fell asleep within seconds of getting them in the car! It was a lot of fun. Next time, I think we'll take Levi. He will be one soon, and there are actually a lot of rides we could take him on.

We came home on Tuesday, after getting some shaved ice, cruising the beach one last time and doing a little bit of shopping. It was really nice to be back in Carlsbad. I fell asleep on the way home and woke up in 100-degree barren desert Yuma. I thought, "Yep, we are definitely back in Arizona!"