California Here We Come!

In March, we took a family vacation to California.  We left early Saturday morning (the 20th) and headed toward San Diego to see David and Kara's family.  We took a long detour in Las Vegas at the outlets, and we hit construction and traffic on the freeways, so we didn't get there as early as we wanted to.  I called my brother when we were getting close, and then his family got in their car and we all headed to Dave and Buster's for dinner.  It was a Saturday night during March Madness, so it was very busy, but we still had a blast!  The kids love playing the arcade games and then redeeming their points for prizes in the store.

On Sunday, we relaxed while they went to church.  Then the kids were able to play for a few hours.  Bart helped the boys set up a network so they could play half life against each other (I'm sure Kara was happy about that).  We also got to go see their new house - talk about gorgeous!!!  We had a roast for dinner and it was delicious! Then we packed up and headed to Anaheim.  They thought we were crazy to drive to San Diego to see them for such a short visit, but we really wanted to see them, so it was worth it!  



Me and my favorite (only) brother David!



Keegan, Zach and Josh playing Half Life



Maddy and Rachel

All of the cousins - Maddy, Rachel, Josh, Zach and Keegan

Monday morning, we got up early so that we could be at Disneyland when it opened.  We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express which we chose for the free breakfast - the cinnamon rolls are delicious.  After we ate, we went to the shuttle stop, but the shuttle never came.  We finally gave up and started walking, but then a shuttle bus stopped at a different stop that we passed, so we hopped on.  We didn't make it to Disneyland quite as early as we wanted, but it was pretty soon after 8:00.  Bart went to get a locker while the kids and I headed to Tomorrow Land.  I dropped them off at Buzz Lightyear and then headed to Space Mountain to get a fast pass.  For some reason, that is what we do every time we go.  We go on Buzz a couple of times, and then we are able to go on Space Mountain once or twice without the fast pass and then we use the fast pass to go again.  We are really obsessed with fast pass.  We always send a runner to get them as soon as it lets us, so we always have several of them at a time.  We often send someone back and forth to California Adventure so that we have them at both parks.  We are a little crazy, but its fun!  We never have to wait in line for the big rides.  In fact, the only line we had to wait in was for Toy Story Mania.  It is the only new ride since the last time we went to Disneyland.  We had no idea what to expect, but Maddy's old coach (Sara) was always talking about it being her favorite ride, so we were excited to check it out.  We waited in line about 40 minutes and then were able to go on it.  It was very fun! We got right back in line and went again.  After spending most of the day at the park, we decided to leave to go eat dinner and change into warmer clothes for the evening.  Since we had ridden the wrong shuttle in the morning, we didn't know which one we were supposed to take back to the hotel, so it took a little longer than we planned.  We ate dinner at the California Pizza Kitchen which was very close to the hotel.  It was yummy!  Then we went back to the hotel to change and then went back to Disneyland for the rest of the night.  We didn't seek out a great view for the fireworks, we just happened to be at the Mad Hatter's Tea Party when they started, so we stood by the Storybook Land Canal boats and got a great view of the fireworks that were going off in Toon Town.   

On Tuesday, we woke up and headed for Hollywood!  We went to Universal Studios which my kids have never been to and its been about 20 years since I last went there.  We were in rush hour traffic, so the drive took a lot longer than I had planned.  Still, we arrived not long after the park opened.  Bart and the kids absolutely love The Simpson's, so the first place we headed was to the Simpson's ride.  I had no idea what to expect, but it didn't disappoint.  I think we went on it 3-4 more times before the day ended.  Then, we went on the Studio Tour.  It had many of the classic things I remember from when I was a kid, but it also had many new things that were awesome.  We also went on rides like Jurassic Park and The Mummy.  They were great!  They had a Shrek 4D show that is very cool and Bart and Keegan went to Terminator 2: 3D while Maddy and I went to the Animal Actors show.  It sounds like I missed out, but we didn't have time for both.  Bart and the kids ended the day with The Simpson's ride, but I didn't think my motion sickness could handle it one more time, so I sat the last one out.  After buying souvenirs, we exited the park just around closing time. 

Then, we ate dinner at Tony Roma's at Universal City Walk (right outside the park).  Maddy and I love Tony Roma's and really miss the one in Layton, so we try to eat there whenever we go on a vacation to somewhere that has one.  It was delicious!  After dinner we went to Popcornopolis and each got a bag of popcorn - Bart went with Caramel, Keegan got cheese, Maddy got "Zebra" and I got White Chocolate Macadamia nut.  We all could have shared one bag, but we got our own anyway - it was buy 3 get 1 free.  They lasted until a couple of weeks after we got home from our trip. 

While we were at dinner, we decided to make a change to our itinerary.  We had originally planned on coming back to Hollywood and going to Griffith Observatory, La Brea Tar Pits and Grauman's Chinese Theater and the "stars", but I was not up for another hour and a half drive in traffic, so we decided to squeeze some of it in that night.  First we drove down Hollywood Boulevard and drove past the Kodak Theater and Grauman's Chinese Theater.  Then Bart dropped the kids and I off on a corner so we could go see the stars and handprints.  Let me tell you - Hollywood Blvd is a little scary at night.  The kids had fun finding people they knew.  Most of the time I had to tell them "this is so and so from such and such"  and then they knew who it was.  Bart found a scary side street to park the car and then came and found us.  After we looked around, we decided to go to the fancy Hollywood McDonald's for dessert.  They still had value menu pricing - I was very impressed.  We finally got back to our car, and then we drove to La Brea Tar Pits - not very exciting in the dark.  Then we drove down Rodeo Drive and finally headed back to the hotel.  It was a very busy day!

Harry, Ron and Hermione

Jackie Chan

Will Smith

Keegan was exhausted by the time we got to McDonald's

On Wednesday, we slept in and went to the pool while we did some laundry.  Then we went shopping at Downtown Disney.  Keegan loves to go to the LEGO store.  He probably cared more about going there than going to Disneyland.  We also went to the big World of Disney store to buy some souvenirs and got fresh dipped Haegen Dazs ice cream bars.  Yum!  That night we went to California Adventure in the evening.  Keegan and I got separated from Bart and Maddy when they left us to go on Tower of Terror.  We had four fast passes, but Keegan and I didn't want to go.  Keegan and I wandered the whole park looking for a pretzel and the only ones we found were on a beer cart and looked burnt, so we didn't get one.  Finally, I bought him a croissant at the bakery.  I really wanted a sourdough soup bowl, so I stood in line for forever and by the time I got up there, they said it would be a ten minute wait.  I was so frustrated, so instead of waiting, I bought myself a croissant and Keegan an apple juice box.  That was our dinner. Meanwhile, Maddy and Bart made friends with a dad and his two kids from Oregon.  After they got off the ride, they went to get back in line and they saw the kids again - this time with their mom.  She was so confused when they all started talking to each other.  Anyway, I had been trying to call Bart to meet back up with them, and his cell phone had died.  He ended up using a pay phone and our 1 minute call cost $20.  We finally found each other and stayed to watch the Electric Parade.  As we exited the park we were able to stop and watch the fireworks at Disneyland. 

A rare picture of me in the pool. (If I wasn't training for the triathlon it never would have happened.)

On Thursday, we woke up early and got to Disneyland before it opened.  This time, we started out with Pirates of the Carribean, and then walked over to California Adventure to be there when it opened at 9.  We were one of the first groups on Toy Story Mania.  We spent the day going on all of our favorite rides as well as the rides that we hadn't got to the first day and a half.  We even had time to try out some new things like Billy Hill and the Hillbillies at the Golden Horseshoe.  My brother (even though I was sure it was my sister) told us it was his family's favorite thing at Disneyland, so I had to go see it.  While we were waiting, we got a sundae in a waffle cone bowl and a rootbeer float.  They were yummy!  The show was so funny and they are very talented musicians.  I definitely recommend it if you haven't seen it before.  We ended up staying at the park until it closed at midnight.  (Actually, we did leave to go eat dinner - CPK again - and change our clothes, but we weren't gone long.)  We were all exhausted after our 16 hour day at Disneyland. 

Pirates of the Carribean with Tarzan's Treehouse in the background

Keegan loves the Tiki Room

Bart and the kids with the Matterhorn in the background

Toy Story Mania

A picture of our picture on California Screamin' (I was too freaked out to get my fingers right in time for the camera shot.)

The Jungle Boat Cruise - A Classic

Billy Hill and the Hillbillies - If you haven't seen them, you must!

Maddy fighting Darth Maul at Jedi Training

Midnight - Goodbye Disneyland

Friday was beach day!  After sleeping in and taking our time in the morning, we headed for Huntington Beach.  It was beautiful and not very crowded.  Unfortunately, it was very cold and windy, and Bart was not feeling very good, so it was not as enjoyable as we had hoped.  Keegan made a sand sculpture and dug a big hole.  Bart and Maddy braved the ocean, but Keegan only touched it enough to fill his bucket for his sand sculpture.  I just laid on the blanket in my sweats and read and then I sat in the hole Keegan dug to get out of the wind.  I was really hoping to get a tan, but it was too cold for that.  Bart took the kids for a walk down to the pier and on their way, he stepped in some tar.  He couldn't get it off and we had to stop at a store later to buy a scrub brush so he could try to get it off.  It wasn't our best beach day ever, but I think the kids still had a good time.  I did manage to get a few pictures while we were there!

After the beach, we went back to the hotel to get cleaned up and then we went to The Cheesecake Factory for dinner.  It was delicious, and even Keegan found something good to eat.  Maddy and I got the red velvet cheesecake to share.  We only ate a few bites and then took the rest back to the hotel fridge.  (We finished it on our drive the next day.  It was so good.)  Then, Bart took the kids down to the pool while I starting packing up everything we weren't going to need the rest of the trip.  The kids didn't want to get out of the pool, but they finally came up and we went to bed.

The kids in the pool.

Maddy loved the elevator in the hotel. She liked to put on a show every time we rode in it.

Saturday morning, we packed up and headed for Las Vegas!  We timed our trip so that we could have lunch in Barstow.  Bart likes to eat at the Baja Fresh there.  Maddy and I decided to eat at In-N-Out Burger this time.  I had never eaten there before.  I don't normally eat fast food hamburgers, but it was very good.  Then we continued our drive and finally got to Las Vegas and checked in at our hotel at South Pointe.  The hotel was far from the strip, but was right across the street from the condos Rick and Myrna were staying at.  It was very nice and had a beautiful pool.  We were on the 21st floor and our room overlooked the pool.  After we got settled in, Rick and Myrna took the kids swimming while Bart and I went to the outlets up the street.  Then we all went to dinner at Chili's. 

Sunday morning, we had breakfast with Rick and Myrna in the cafe at the hotel and then packed up and checked out.  We stopped at the Las Vegas Premium Outlets for a few hours before heading out of town.  We ate dinner at Cafe Rio in Cedar City and then finally made it home.  It was a great trip!