California Vacation

Recently we spent 10 days on vacation. We had a great time. We went with my sister and her family. She has two kids. And my parents went with us too. Here is what we did each day.
Day 1- Left after my family got off work to drive to Las Vegas and stayed at my grandma’s house. Got in late and went to bed.
Day 2- We went to Costco to get some food. Then we spent the rest of the day and early evening swimming. The kids were in the pool for almost 5 hours.
Day 3- Father’s Day! Drove to California. Got in before we could check into the hotel so we drove down to the beach. We walked out on Balboa Point and drove through Newport. Checked into the hotel, went to get some dinner, and went to bed early.
Day 4- Disneyland. With our vacation package we got into Toon Town an hour before it opened. This was perfect for the kids to meet the characters, get their signatures, and pictures taken. They also did a program where Mickey made all the kids Honorary Mayors of Toon Town like him. We spent the rest of the day in Disneyland. After Toon Town we waited in line to see the princesses. We were able to see Cinderella, Ariel, and Jasmine. Sydney loved seeing them although she was a little shy. Cinderella was especially cute with her talking with her and asking her questions. Tyler liked them too – he blew kisses bye bye as we walked away.
Day 5- Again with our vacation package we got in an hour before the park opened to visit Fantasyland. It was perfect because all those kid rides that have long lines we only had a 5 minute wait. We got all the Fantasyland rides done in an hour and half. We then spent the rest of the day at California Adventure. Sydney and Tyler liked these rides. They were both tired from the long day before, but enjoyed the Tea Cups and Dumbo the best. Sydney didn’t like going in the air on the Peter Pan ride, but enjoyed Dumbo. Her favorite ride of all was the Carousel. She absolutely LOVED this ride. It was a good one for her to like because there wasn’t a long line.
Day 6- We got up to go to Goofy’s Kitchen for breakfast. This was a lot of fun. Although after the first day Tyler decided he didn’t like any characters that he couldn’t see their faces. At one point in the meal Goofy came over and put his nose in front of Tyler. It was priceless because Tyler didn’t realize he was there for a few seconds and then when he looked up he freaked out! It was funny. He did like Alice from Alice in Wonderland. He danced with her and thought she was really cute. Sydney liked Dale the best. He drew this picture of him and her on the paper that was really cute. It said Dale and Sydney BBF. We loved the breakfast. We had visits from Goofy, Pluto, Chip and Dale, Alice in Wonderland, and Baloo. We got to help Goofy make a cake too. Then we did whatever anybody wanted to do for a second time. Sydney really liked the Carousel and Autopia (she is a crazy driver!). Tyler loved the Pirates of the Caribbean. He was asleep the first time but today we went and did it again. He has been singing the “Yo ho yo ho a pirates life for me” ever since. DARLING! We also see Fantasmic which we waited for our spots for 3 hours so we could get good seats. After the show we watched the fireworks which were amazing. Disneyland really does a good job with fireworks. We really enjoyed sitting so close to watch all of the show.

We all had a good time at Disneyland. They were long days and very tiring. The kids each took at least 1 nap a day. The first day we ate lunch around 1 and Sydney literally fell asleep while she was eating. We had to wake her up enough to finish chewing her food so she wouldn’t choke. I really appreciate all the help we got from my family while we were there. Thanks for holding the kids while they were sleeping and staying off rides while we went on the “big kid rides.” We loved being able to go and spend time with everyone.
Day 7- Checked out of our hotel. Drove down the coast towards San Diego. We went to the beach in La Jolla. Sydney loved the beach and was playing in the sand. Tyler had had enough of the fun was pretty cranky today. He didn’t really enjoy much of the beach. I did get him into picking up seashells and he seemed to like that. This was our coldest day of the whole trip. Checked into our hotel in San Diego.
Day 8- Sea World. We saw all the shows and aquariums. Tyler and Sydney both took really good naps today at the park, so they enjoyed a lot in the afternoon. They especially liked the Starfish and Sting Rays that we were able to touch. Before we left Alisa ordered the Showtime Picnic for lunch with Shamu. This was really fun. The kids got a lunch box of Shamu and the lunch was really good. This was the only day that we got some sort of sunburn. Pretty good for a week in California.
Day 9- Drove to Las Vegas. We had to hurry back so we could eat dinner at Red Rock. We then swam for a few hours before going to bed.
Day 10- Drove home. A big thanks to my Mom and Dad for letting us ride with them. The kids were very good in the car. They loved watching movies and having people back in the back to talk to them and be with them. Sydney especially liked playing princesses with Grandma. It was a great trip!