A Relaxing Day in California...

We haven't gotten many days like this on our California vacation. We slept in, ate a nice breakfast, cleaned three more loads of laundry, went swimming, and just generally relaxed. After swimming we cleaned the kids up and took them out to lunch at Sonic (yum!). Then we took them to Downtown Disney and let them pick out souvenirs. Amanda picked another stuffed cat (does that surprise you?), Nicole picked out a picture holder, and Nate picked out a Disney pin. We got them all another pin and a lanyard to start their pin collections. We've decided (a little late) that they will collect pins from their many travels. Now we have to find pins for Legoland, San Diego Zoo, SeaWorld, USS Midway, California Adventure, and Universal Studios. It should be fun!

Tomorrow we're off to Universal Studios. We're not sure how the kids will like it, but we have tickets so we're going! Time for bed...

Two Theme Park Tuesday...

Today we got the kids up early and were at Disneyland for early entry at 7am. We got in the lines for our favorite rides (Dumbo, the Teacups, Alice in Wonderland, etc.) when they opened and got in 10 rides before 10am when we hopped over to California Adventure. We went on Muholland's Madness (2x), Orange Stinger (2x), the Golden Zephyr, Soaring Over California, California Screamin (3x), the ferris wheel, and Grizzly Rapids (3x). John's really got FastPass down to a science so we didn't wait long for any of the rides. We figured we rode on 20+rides today and watched a show or two. The kids even got their first experience going on rides by themselves in "It's a Bug's Land". They were a little worried at first but got over it quickly.

We brought them to the room, let them play in the pool, fed them dinner, then put them to bed and we were all asleep by 9pm. We're going to let them sleep in tomorrow and have a rest and relaxation day. We really need it!

It's all about Disney!

We finally made it to DISNEYLAND today! We got the kids up early and were at the gate when Disneyland opened. We used a book to get to all the best rides first thing, collecting FastPasses as we went. We rode the Matterhorn, Indiana Jones, Buzz Lightyear (twice), Winnie the Pooh, Splash Mountain (twice!), Thunder Mountain (twice), Explorer Canoes, Space Mountain, Autopia, and Alice in Wonderland. We had a fantastic time and can't wait to do it all again tomorrow!

Touring the USS Midway...

We had breakfast with Mom and dropped her off at the airport today. We were all very sad to see her go. After we got our stuff packed up we took the kids to the San Diego Bay to tour the USS Midway. We got a personalized tour of the "Island" (the bridge, pri-fly, and chart room), toured the flight deck, the brig, the mess rooms, and the sleeping berths. It's hard to believe that they can fit 32 men in a room the size of a closet! They had to sleep in a fetal position to fit in the bed because it was so short. It was so interesting! We found out that John's Dad worked on the ship while it was in for refurb years ago.

After the tour, we were off to Anaheim. We checked into our hotel and took the kids down for playtime in the pool. John joined us after he emptied the van and we played for quite a while. We went out to dinner then brought the kids back to the hotel and collapsed for the night. We are going to just have an easy day tomorrow in preparation for a Disney marathon and a day at Universal Studios this week.

SeaWorld Mania!!!

Today was the was the day we've all been waiting for. We all went to SEAWORLD today! The kids and I have never been there, and John and his mom last went when John was little. It was truly a special day! We went up on the Sky Tower first of all to see all the things we wanted to try. Then we went to the "Bay of Play" and let the kids ride a couple of rides. After that we went to the Shamu Show! It was so amazing!! We sat in the "Soak Zone" and boy did we ever get wet. The kids just couldn't stop laughing. After Shamu, we went to the Dolphin show and met Dolly the Dolphin.

That was almost as great as the Shamu show. John and I wanted to go back to Shamu, but we got out voted. The kids were ready to play on the rides! We went down the Shipwreck Rapids ride and petted the horse (that one was for Amanda!), then down the Journey to Atlantis rollercoaster ride. At the end the kids wrapped our day up with a net climb in the Bay of Play. We went to our new favorite restaurant, came home and took showers, and were all collapsed in bed by 9:30pm after 9 hours of playing at SeaWorld.

Tomorow we have to move our family to Los Angeles, Anaheim to be exact. Now we're on to Disneyland, California Adventure, and Universal Studios. We've got a lot of work to do to get packed out of our hotel!

On a down note, Mom goes home tomorrow. We've really enjoyed having her play with us and helping to keep us organized. She's worked so hard the entire vacation and we really appreciate it. When I told Amanda she was going home, she started crying. She said "I don't want her to go, we're having too much fun with her!". I know none of us will ever forget having her go on such a thrilling vacation with us! Thanks so much for helping to make this trip possible and so incredibly special, Mom! We love you!

Koalas, Pandas, and Trams, oh my!

We went to the San Diego Zoo today. We asked the kids what their favorite part of the day was. Nicole answered "seeing the Koalas because that is my favorite animal (and they are not bears!)". Amanda's answer was "seeing the pandas". Nate loved riding the tram over the zoo. They all had a wonderful time, and so did Mom and I! Want to know what Shari's favorite part of the day was? Picking up John from the airport!!! We've had a wonderful time on this vacation, but the only thing that's been missing is John. He's finally here and enjoying the vacation as much as we are. He came into a manager's hosted barbecue at the hotel and they really know how to throw a barbecue! Tomorrow we're going to Seaworld. I can't wait!!!

San Diego Sea Lions...

We arranged our schedule a little and decided to go down to Seaport Village and ride the amphibious vehicle around the bay and into the water.

We saw lots and lots of Sea Lions and sea birds like pelicans, terns, seagulls, and other wildlife. Nicole and I even saw a dolphin being trained by the military for underwater marine assistance. The tour guide said they will go out into the bay and let a trainer know if a boat needs to steer clear of obstacles in the bay. It was an overcast but still very beautiful day! After we rode the ducks (that's what we call them in Seattle), we shopped in the stores at Seaport Village, ate lunch on the grass there, and then let the kids play at a play structure right on the water. For dinner we took them to a wonderful restaurant called "Souplantation". They loved it and so did we! Tomorrow we're off to the Zoo...