San Diego---Day 4 & LA--Day5

The most beautiful day we were in California was Thursday, the day we went to San Diego. On the way to Sea World, we stopped at the temple for a family photo-op.

We were prepared for water at Sea World. The kids wanted to sit in the soak zones for all of the shows we went to. Although they sat pretty close, we didn't get too wet! (I was thankful, but the kids were bummed.) Rachel, however, got really wet and really uncomfortable on the river raft ride.

The kids had fun hibernating like polar bears:Sophie loved the Beluga Whales (maybe because we have them at "our" zoo here?) She loved all of the fish/whales! Now whenever we read stories or sea pictures with dolphins or whales, she says, "I saw that at Sea World!"
At the end of the day, as the park was closing, Sophie insisted on riding the "tea cups." We knew we'd have a melt down all the way back to Anaheim if we didn't indulge her. So, Steve, the great dad that he is, went on the tea cups with all the kids. Thanks, Steve! (You can't really see her face, but Sophie was VERY happy!)On the way back to our hotel, we stopped at Mission Beach at sundown. We found Luigi's Pizzeria and at some yummy pizza! They claim to be home of the 30" pizza. The boys insisted they were hungry, but we weren't that hungry!The next day, we got up early and checked out of our hotel. We had some time to kill before our plane left, so we drove to Hollywood. Duh! We went on the Friday before Oscars, so everything was blocked off. I wish we'd spent our time somewhere else! It was definitely not the highlight of the trip!

Next, we drove by Grandpa and Grandma Andrew's house. It was so sad to see it renovated. It just wasn't the same as I remembered it. But it was fun seeing the MarVista chapel and seeing Colonial Drive. It was fun pointing out to the kids that as a little girl, I used to run up and down the street playing with my cousins. We drove by Venice High where my mom went to school.

Then we went to Venice Beach--the actual beach. The kids had fun playing with shells and chasing birds. We told them they couldn't play in the water because we had a plane to catch! The weather was in the 70's that day which is lots warmer than a Washington Beach in the middle of the summer! This is where Steve and I came for our honeymoon, we we had some romantic reminiscing (as much as you can with 4 kids, anyway!)We finally pulled ourselves away and caught our plane. We're looking forward to going to California again--We figured we'd probably go again in the space of time after Steven gets home from his mission and before Ben leaves. We created lots of fun memories!

California Adventure--Day 3

Our 3rd day we started at Disneyland because it opened an hour before California Adventure. When the park opened, we made a mad dash to Thunder Mountain. We were able to go a few times without standing in line. (In this picture, we are in the last car where it feels a little more intense than riding in the front. I (Tammy) don't know the physics of it all, but next time, I'm definitely NOT riding in back!) Wednesday we had gorgeous weather!!! We actually felt like we were in California.

At 10:00 a.m. we went to California Adventure. I took Sophie over to Playhouse Disney while the older kids, Steve, and Natalie went on all the wild and crazy rides. Sophie loved seeing the characters from one of her favorite shows, Little Einsteins. (I didn't have the camera with me--so no pictures.)

For lunch, Natalie, Rachel, Sophie, and I went to eat at Ariel's Grotto. This is an interactive lunch where you eat yummy food while 5 of the princesses wander from table to table signing autographs and taking pictures. (If you're planning on going, you need to make reservations up to 60 days in advance.) They gave the girls crowns to decorate with stickers and wear. Doesn't my sister, Natalie, look like Miss America?!?They started out by bringing us appetizers. Sophie's favorite was the cheese sticks that had been cut into little spears. And she loved the watermelon, too!
My favorite part of the lunch was when Sophie kept asking the princesses, especially Snow White, "You want some?" as she held out her fork of macaroni to the princesses.Here's Sophie and Rachel with Sophie's favorite princess, Princess Aurora. My favorite princess was Belle because she was the nicest one. ;) She spent so much time talking to Rachel.
Cinderella was really nice, too!
Sophie's favorite part of the whole experience was the food--especially dessert! It was really yummy--we were hoping she'd let us have hers--but she ate almost every bite! After eating all of the food, we had to go on rides--ugh! Actually we had a lot of fun. I really liked the Tower of Terror. (But it was definitely NOT Ben's favorite ride.) Everyone else like California Screamin'--they'd gone on it while I'd had Sophie at Playhouse Disney. They were excited to see how I'd like it--in the copy of the picture that they automatically take, I look like maybe I'm having fun--I wasn't! :)Sophie had fun in Bug's Life Land. We went to the 4-D Bug's Life Movie which she didn't like so much, but the rest of us did. The movie was a little scary. I just covered her eyes and she was fine.

My favorite ride was Soarin' over California. It's a simulator that makes you feel like you're hang gliding over different scenic areas of California. Natalie knew where to get us seats so we were in the front row in the very center of the screen. It was so much fun!

Another favorite part of the day (no pictures, because we were tired of pictures by then!) was when we went to the tortilla-making factory and the sourdough bread factory where they give out samples. Until now, my kids have refused to eat sourdough bread because they say it's disgusting. . .after eating it at California Adventure, they (especially Ben) now love it! In fact, for dinner, we ate sour dough bread bowls with either chili or clam chowder.

After California Adventure closed, we sent Sophie back to the hotel with Natalie and went on a few last rides in Disneyland. We love Disneyland, but we were talking about all of the other fun things we want to do while our kids are young, and we figured that we probably won't go again until Sophie is Ben or Steven's age. How sad!

Disneyland--Day 2

In my last entry, I neglected to mention that my sister, Natalie, who lives in San Diego met us at our hotel Monday night. She has an annual pass to Disneyland, so she was our guide, babysitter, sanity-saver, and Fast-pass collector. She also makes the best PBJ sandwiches! Our kids loved them! (And of course, spending time with Aunt Natalie!)

Our second day of Disneyland started out at 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday morning. We had bought a 3-day pass that allowed us early-entry on Tuesday, so we got there right as the gates opened and rode Space Mountain--again! Here's our "pose."When we came out, it was pouring, so we pulled out our rain ponchos and headed for It's a Small World. (Steve, Sophie, and Natalie had to go to the store to buy lunch and leather shoes for Rachel since hers were so wet!) As you can see from Ben's picture, we were a little drenched! But we weren't complaining because it kept the crowds away!The next stop was to the Princess Fanfare. This was Sophie's highlight of the day! For weeks, she's been telling everyone she's "going to Disneyland to meet Princess Aurora!" Luckily, Princess Aurora was one of the 3 princesses who was there to greet the little girls that day!Rachel enjoyed chatting with Snow White. . .We met up with our friends, the Carman's and the Kristensen's, who also went to Disneyland that day. We were all able to fit on the Jungle Cruise and we hung out at Toon Town together. Here are Rachel and Amber stuck in the pretend jail.Here is Ben getting shocked at the door that says, "No matter what, do not open this door!" (or something like that!)


We had to get another pose of our family with Pooh Bear. We had one taken 5 years ago . . .And here we are in 2009. . .Steven had fun posing and bouncing with Tigger. . .The boys were jealous when Rachel was the one chosen to participate in the Jedi Training Academy. . .But they made up for it by purchasing their very own custom-made light sabers that make different noises depending on what sound chips you put in them. (Sorry--no picture)

We also had to take a comparison picture of Steven pulling out the sword from the Sword and the Stone. Here is Feb. 2004. . .And here he is in 2009. . .Just one more comparison photo of Rachel from 2004. . .
And in 2009. . .
That night, we went out to dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, Mimi's Cafe, which was less than a block from our hotel. It brought back memories of fun friends' lunches we used to have when we lived in Utah! After dinner, we sent Sophie to bed while Aunt Natalie watched her and the rest of us went to Fantasmic, a fantastic water and light show with all of the Disney characters. I had to save our seats for over an hour to get a good spot to see it. (Again, Natalie had told us where to sit to get a good seat.) Steve's favorite part was when the Peter Pan pirate ship came on the river and Captain Hook and Peter Pan are fighting up in the masts. One of my favorite parts was when most of the characters rode by on the steamboat. This picture doesn't even do it justice. I'd highly recommend the wait if you can see it!

The Happiest Place on Earth--Day 1

We had so much fun on our vacation to Southern California during mid-winter break. The boys had fun playing video games and watching their Zune on the plane. Sophie was excited to ride in the clouds. She kept telling everyone in the airport, "I go to Disneyland to see princesses!" The excitement started with our roller coaster flight. Thank goodness we had the kids with us to say "woo hoo" as the plane went up and down during the last 45 minutes of the flight, or I would have been a little more scared. They were excited! Sophie was starting to look a little "green" as we were landing. I'm glad we landed when we did!

After renting a van, we drove straight to our hotel in Anaheim. We stayed at the Carousel Inn & Suites right across the street from Disneyland. We had to get a suite because we had too many people to stay in one room. We were put in a view suite that looked right into Disneyland! There had been a huge storm that came in that day, so when we went in the gates at 5:00 p.m., they told us they would close at 9:00 p.m. instead of 11:00 and that there weren't going to be any fireworks. Because it was in the 60's and partly sunny, I said, "Oh, come on! It's nice outside!" After all, 60 degrees and partly sunny is June/July weather in Washington!

But it was actually great that the weather wasn't super because we were able to quickly go through the shorter lines! We came prepared with ponchos this year. Last time we went, we got so wet, we had to buy an expensive Disneyland outfit for Rachel (which Sophie wore this time!) We did have to go out and buy leather shoes for Rachel at a nearby store Monday morning because her shoes got soaked! We didn't even think about bringing rain boots!

We separated and I went on the little kiddie rides with Sophie, while Steve explored the more adventuresome rides with the older kids. Sophie loved the Dumbo ride!

The older kids loved riding on the Matterhorn which was my favorite ride as a kid!Rachel was excited to try her racing skills at Autopia! She was a pretty crazy driver. :)

The kids LOVED standing in line. . .Ben even saw one of his classmates in line one day! (Not in this picture.)
Sophie's favorite part that night was the Nemo submarine ride. Since coming home, she has been fascinated with Nemo! It was too dark to take a picture of her in the ride, so here's a picture of her entertaining herself standing in line to get in! She kept climbing up on the poles--one time she almost did a face plant--luckily the lady standing in line behind us caught her before she fell!