Saturday* We left for the airport around 9 am for our 11 am flight. We even got out the door a few minutes early!! Shocking!
* Arrived at the airport and checked in with no problems. We were at the airport at the beginning of the Sundance Film Festival and we saw lots of paparazzi and caught a glimpse of Susan Sarandon. She is short.
*Kids were great on the flight and we had plenty of room since the plane was more than half empty (or half full if you're an optimist like me!!!).
* My favorite part of the flight was Alex patting on his legs at take-off like they do in Little Einsteins to help Rocket fly. Too cute!!!
* Arrived in Santa Ana, got rental car and drove to the condo.
* Stripped off clothes and ran naked in the warmth.
* Went to the grocery store to stock up on supplies for the kitchen and got some lunch.
* We drove around to look for an Old Navy to buy some shorts (it was hot!) but the kids were being rotten so we went back to the condo, had a small dinner and put the kids to bed.
* You don't want to hear about the rest of Andy's and my night (wink, wink!!).
Sunday*We woke up early - courtesy of the time change and the children! - and got ready for the hour and a half drive to Sea World
* We got to Sea World just before 10 am and went straight in to the whale training area and had Breakfast with Shamu.
* We sat in the sun and ate a yummy buffet breakfast and watched the whales swim and train and learned a little bit about them.
* I'm certain I enjoyed the breakfast more than anyone else since I love marine life. Well, not so much marine life as just whales and dolphins and the cute, smart ones. The ugly, gross ones not so much!
* Sea World was a big hit for everyone and we had a great day. We went to all the shows we could fit in, I got a HUGE yummy Pepsi in a hideous cup that I brought home, the kids were great and the Sesame Street area was a great thing for the kids to be able to run around and get some energy out.
* On the way home we stopped at the Chart House for dinner which was delicious. We caught the sunset and were lucky enough to see a pod of dolphins swimming in the ocean and playing around. It's quite different to see them in the wild as opposed to jumping and clapping for an audience.
* Both kids passed out in the car on the drive home and for the first time in their little lives we were able to carry them from the car and into bed without a fuss and they slept the night!!! If you know my kids at all, you know how amazing that is!!
Monday* We woke up a little later on Monday and had a leisurely morning in the condo watching cartoons and playing around.
* Finally around 10 am we headed to the beach.
* California beaches suck. There is washed up stinky marine life and the water is FRIGID! I prefer soft, white sandy beaches, but I'm from Utah.....I can't afford to be picky!
* The sun hid behind the clouds but it was still warm for us and we dug in the sand and made sand castles and just played around for an hour.
* We went and picked up some lunch and took it back to the condo and ate, cleaned up and tried to get the kids to nap.
* Alex took a great nap and Samantha rested for a little while.
* Once Alex woke up we went to the pool but the water wasn't very warm and the sun was on it's way to setting, so we didn't stay long there either.
* We went to a grocery store to pick up some BBQ fixins since the condo had a grill outside. But upon our return the grill was occupied so we cooked our food inside, which, was not too pleasant for Andy since he didn't have all the necessary equipment. But it was edible.
* Bathtime and bedtime
Tuesday* Disneyland!!!
* We arrived at Disneyland an hour before the park opened like we were instructed to do. It turned out to be a good thing because our friends the Fausts were there and got us in early with their passes.
* It was so great to see our friends and their adorable family. Little Adam is 7 months old and so squishable!!
* The kids had a rough start and were so confused by the whole concept of Disneyland (their faces were like "what the hell??" But really, who's face wouldn't be like that? Most of the rides are dark and creepy and make no sense unless you're on drugs! Even the puny Winnie the Pooh ride. INSANE!!! But I digress.) . We rode Dumbo and the Teacups which they both loved and that kind of got them into the swing of things. We went to Pixie Hollow and Samantha got to meet Tinkerbell and another Fairy which she loved. Alex couldn't have cared less! That's my boy!!
* We rode rides. Kids cried. Samantha drew blood on Andy's arm. Samantha screamed. Andy and I laughed. We spent money. Lots of money.
* We ate lunch at the Blue Bayou which is attached to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride and Andy and I clogged our arteries with Monte Cristo sandwiches. Greasy and tasty!
* Andy told Alex he would buy him pirate junk if he went on the Pirate ride. So he did. He cried, but said he wanted to go on it again as he was wearing his Pirate Mickey ears (adorable!).
* Took both kids on Splash Mountain. I have never seen anyone as scared as Samantha was. Slightly sad, slightly funny. She was tough though.
* Ate ice cream, went on more rides, spent more money.
* When we decided we were done with Disneyland we left the park and found a yummy taco place where we all shoved chips and guacamole in our mouths. Especially Samantha. Guacamole whore.
* We weren't even out of the parking lot before Samantha was fast asleep clutching her baby Minnie Mouse doll. Alex was too pumped up to fall asleep in the car, but slept well at night.
Wednesday* Kind of a waste of a day. No real plans except to swim and shop but Samantha was an angry little elf so we put her down for an early nap.
* We thought she'd wake up happy and ready to conquer the day. We were wrong.
* We took the kids to lunch at a mall but had to go right back home since Samantha was feeling under the weather and very cranky.
* Andy watched the kids at the condo while I drove to Huntington Beach and got a lovely spa treatment courtesy of my dear husband!
* I relaxed in the sauna. Dipped in the hot tub. Tried the steam room and almost passed out! Received a volcanic body scrub and facial and fell asleep during the whole process! Lovely!
* I got home, we ordered pizza and had an early night.
Thursday* We flew home. Kids were great on the airplane again and we got home early enough to do some laundry and clean up the house.
I would love to take the kids to Disneyland again and next time I think 2 days would be better. I also hope Samantha will get a little more brave and will enjoy more rides next time. Lessons learned!!
Yesterday afternoon we took the kids to the open house for the new Draper Temple. We thought it was important for the kids to have the chance to see inside the temple so it wouldn't be such a mystery to them. The temple was BEAUTIFUL!!! Like pretty much everything the church does it was classy and gorgeous. The woodwork was amazing and the stained glass work was even more amazing. I loved it because it reminded me of Frank Lloyd Wright who I adore!! They also had a great display of temples in the reception afterward with yummy cookies and water. I loved all the pictures of the temples and of Christ. I wish that we would have had a non-member friend to take with us like we did when we went to the open house for the Manhattan temple. We were lucky enough to live in New Jersey when the Manhattan temple had its open house and our friends Ashly and Jesse and Ashly's sister were in town as well. Ashly's sister brought along a co-worker who isn't LDS. It was kind of fun and strange to see it through his eyes. I am not sure the impression it made on him, but I hope that he enjoyed it.
