Tuesday, July 30, 2013

California DAY 4

DAY 4 THE BEACH

You can't go to California without going to the beach!!! Cory has a brother that lives out in Cali and we wanted to spend time with them so we hooked up and spend the day at the beach together.  Their kids and ours get along really well. They are all very loud and rambunctious so it is CRAZY when they are all together but, they love it and have so much fun. What a better way to take out all that energy than at the beach.  

This time that we went to the beach we were a little more prepared with swim suits and body boards. The second we got there they were in the water trying out their body surfing skills again. They were easy to keep track of because with Ashton where ever he was there was Bridgette and with Ty where ever he was there was Jesse.
 Little dudes body boarding
 After Reggie's day 1 experience with the ocean he wouldn't get back in so he just spent the day on the beach eating. Aunt Melissa had a ingenious invention of putting corn starch into nylons and then you rub it on your body where the sand is and it takes it off without scratching and it helps dry you too. It was such a cool idea. So Reggied had powder all over him all day to keep the sand off because he wouldn't stop eating.
 My little surfer girl
 Is it the lockness monster? No it's just Cory! They ocean is one of his favorite things ever.
 Macey enjoying the sand
 Double surfing! They are so cute I love these kids.
 Reggie loved doing army crawls in the sand. Everyone around us was watching him and laughing.
My older surfer boys. They loved it so much they wouldn't get out of the water when it was time to go. When we asked them what their favorite thing about the trip was Ashton said the Ocean (typical, the thing that is free) and every since we have been home he keeps talking about it and asking when we get to go back. It was such a GREAT trip!!! We had our little melt down here or there but, over all they kids were troopers and did really well. Cory was so good and patient with the kids even better than I was. I was so impressed with him. It really was so fun and it made us realize that we need to go on family trips more often. So hopefully you'll see another one soon!

California DAY 3

DAY 3 California Adventures

We decided to hit Disneyland all in one day and do California Adventures the next day instead of getting a hopper pass. We are glad we did. It would have been too much to try and do both in one day. It was almost too much to do in two days. The kids were pretty hammered this day. Jordyn insisted on a stroller this day and we had to get the boys a Coke to get them up and going. 


 Since we heard the new hot ride was the CARS ride we decided to head over to CARS LAND first. It was so cute it really did look just like the movie!


We didn't get there until around noon and the fast passes were already gone for the whole day. So, Ty Jordyn and I decided to just get in line right then and then get the toddler pass or Cory and Ashton to go on later (Reggie was too small). We figured the line would just get longer as the day went on. This is in line there was a wall of old glass bottles and some of the kids were rock climbing for entertainment. It took us an hour and a half to two hours to get through the line. It was ridiculous! They had to stop the ride a couple of times and then they had to stop the line because a lady passed out in line and they had to get room to get her out. Thank goodness I got a little bit of money from Cory before we went in so we could buy water bottles. It was so hot and the kids were getting bored. We tried looking at pictures on the camera, playing thumb wars, and eye spy but, Jordyn got fed up and when we were about fifteen minutes away tried to leave without me to find dad. We had reservations for lunch at Ariel's Grotto that I was stressing we were going to have to get out of line to make. We paid too much money to miss it. After talking her into waiting just a little longer we finally made it!

This was are got rod! It really was a fun ride, worth a almost two hour wait i am not so sure but, hey we made it and it was fun. Luckily we had that toddler pass and Cory and Ashton didn't have to wait so long.

 After our one ride of the day we barely made it to Ariel's Grotto for our lunch reservation. We didn't want to put Jordyn in a dress all day because of the heat and we thought it would just bug her. But, when we got there all the little girls were in dresses. Daddy couldn't have his Princess sad so he hit the local shop to find her a dress. Note: bring your own to change into to because the price WHOA! She was happy and looked beautiful so I guess that is what matters right? Ariel is Jordyn's favorite Princess and she was waiting at the entrance to greet her guests for book signings and pictures.
                                                                        So Cute!!!
When you get inside it is just a big dining room and then when you sit down one at a time they announce the Princesses and they come out and make there rounds to every table meeting there guests. They give the kids crowns to make and everyone gets the same food. You do get a couple of options on the main course though.
I didn't put every picture of the Princesses in here but, there was Snow White, Belle, Tianna, Jasmine, Cinderella, and Ariel at the beginning that we got to see.
After lunch while Cory and Ashton hit the CARS ride the rest of us went and checked out some of the other rides in CARS LAND. This is Luigi's floating tires. They didn't quite get the concept of leaning to steer the tire so they just ended up fighting. Not their favorite ride.
                     Because Reggie was with me he got the leaning down and he liked it
                     This is Mator's Tractor pull. This was a fun ride we all liked this one.
After CARS Land we hit some other rides we headed over to the Tower of  Terror. This is a ride like the rocket at Lagoon or the Stratosphere in Las Vegas. It shoots you up really high and then drop three or four times. It is pretty scary and fun at the same time. I went with the boys and they wined the whole way up the line but, I told them they were doing it anyway. They had all the people in line around us talking them into it. I'll admit it was pretty freaky but, when it was all done the boys thought it was fun. I was a little shaken! Then it was Cory and Jordyn's turn. I tried to talk her out of it because I thought it might give her nightmares or something but, she insisted on going. She was so brave, she came out still shaking and saying mommy I faced my fear. I was so proud of her, she made me giggle, she was tougher than her big brothers. Cory was a little shaken up too and had a bruise on his leg because the lady next to him grabbed his leg so hard.
While Cory and Jordyn were on the Tower of Terror Reggie made a friend out front. They were so cute they were playing peek a boo around the pole.
A flying rocket ride. This was one of the last of the day. We did go on the big roller coaster in this place called SCREAMIN', it was my favorite ride here. Cory went with Ty that was fearless on almost all the rides and then I went with Ashton who was crying not to go but, we made him. I was laughing so hard. He closed his eyes most of the ride and I was laughing so hard telling him to open them and trying to tickle him. He in turn was yelling at me saying "leave me alone" and "I am not opening them". It was fun to tease him. But, when it was all said and done I think he really liked it.


Once again at the end of the night they were all out in under a minute it was so unusual, good, but unusual.
The hotel room we got was really cool. It was a two bedroom two bathroom suite. So the boys got their own room which had its own tv, own bathroom, and bunk beds.



Thursday, July 25, 2013

California DAY 2

DISNEYLAND

Another first for my kids is Disneyland and Cory and I haven't been in twenty years or so. Right when we first walked in there was Mickey and Minnie to greet us. Reggie wanted a picture with Micky but, by the time we got through Minnie's line he went on break so we admired him from a far.


Then we got to see Pluto! We had autograph book to get all the characters signature so we got a lot but I didn't post all the pics. Pluto was cute though:)
How white man
Pirates of the Caribbean. My kids love these movies. By the end of the ride Reggie was on Dads lap because he got a little nervous
There was a lot of Jack Sparrows in there we tried to count them all but, this was my favorite
Don't you just love TIGGER
Wild and Crazy Pooh's Adventure ride
Stopping for a not very good and expensive lunch
The famous Cinderella's Castle
After trying and trying no one could get the Sword in the Stone out but, they tried really really hard
Toads Wild Ride. I love Ty's driving face!
When Cory and the Boys went on the Matterhorn I took Reggie and Jordyn to get face paint. Because Reggie wouldn't hold still his got very smeared so she didn't even make me pay for it. NICE!
Under the Sea Princess
I read on pinterest or something where the best spot for the nightly parade is and they were right it was perfect. The parade goes through this small strip behind the Matterhorn so it can't be very crowded and people can only sit on one side so the character only look your way. Plus my kids are not shy and are very animated so they got a lot of special attention. It was so GREAT! You do have to get there an hour early though to get the spot but, you can eat dinner or have snacks and take a much needed break. It was so worth it for front rows seats.
Minnie looking right at us
Ariel Jordyn's favorite
Belle blowing kisses Ty and Jordyn
Tinkerbelle giving special attention
Cory and his Crazy eyes perfect for the Haunted Mansion
Ashton's crazy eyes
Other than a couple of small melt downs from Reggie (one due to them not letting him go on splash mountain) the kids were troopers and the day went really well.

We got back to the Hotel, ate some dinner, took bathes, and hit the sack. Literally the kids were out in about one minute with there latest souvenirs snuggled with them. We wore them out good:)

California DAY 1


Since Cory and I have had kids other than some fun family reunions and an over nighter in dinosaur land we have never planned and been on a family trip. Finally we were in a place to do it and we decided it was time. We needed to get away from the stresses of life for a bit and enjoy each other. So we took off to CALI  for five days. We took off on a Tuesday night and drove through the night. After getting to the hotel and getting a few winks and some breakfast we headed to the beach.

DAY 1 OF FUN

None of kids have ever been to the OCEAN. They all love to swim and have no fear of water and we have talked about the ocean a lot and they were so excited to see it for the first time. It wasn't a very warm day so are plan was to just take them to dip their feet in, enjoy the view, and collect sea shells. But, I should have know better with my kids they all ended up soaked!

 Still in his clothes and jacket Reggie went closer than expected and got hit with a wave and tumbled. He was not a happy camper and didn't want to go back in the Ocean the rest of the trip:(
 On the other hand the other three didn't seem to mind the waves in fact they loved them. With none of us in swim suites, Cory was trying to teach the boys how to body surf from the shore. He wasn't up to getting in that day.
 Enjoying the boys attempts at body surfing
 Freezing cold but lovin' it
 After I talked Reggie into a shower and some dry clothes (the only one I had a change for) he liked snuggling on the shore, playing in the sand, and looking for shells.
 One shell, two shell, three shell, four
This is how I enjoyed the BEACH

After a day at the beach Cory and the kids went swimming at the hotel, we grabbed food, and just chilled. We had to save energy for the next day.