We made a last minute trip to So. Cal to visit Todd's cousin and her family, Disneyland and the beach! This trip happened so last minute as we had originally planned to head to Tahoe for an annual trip with our friends. The weather was supposed to be really bad and then suddenly the invite came and with Todd's limited time off we could not resist heading to the warmer weather. We are so lucky our friends understood. (They went anyway and froze!)
On our way into L.A. we made a quick stop at the American Girl Place so that Emma could check it out and have one of her doll's ears pierced. She had a fab time checking out all the dolls and the all the stuff, while the boys spent 2 hours riding the escalators. They had no interest in anything in that store at all. It was pretty funny to see their relief when we were ready to go. While we were there Emma also bought a new doll with money she had been saving. This brings her doll count to four and holding for now. It takes a long time for a 10 year old to save that kind of money and she seems happy with the diverse collection of girls that she has.
Disneyland was a grand adventure as we had not been since Emma was little. It was the first time for Noah and Daegan and it was fun seeing it through their eyes. Our first of 3 days at the park was a Saturday and we expected it to be busy, but it was actually not bad at all. (One bonus to our terrible school year schedule.) All of the summer fireworks were scheduled to start the following week, but we were lucky enough to see a test show of Nightastic, which was very cool and one of the highlights of the day for the kids. For Noah, Disneyland was all about the roller coasters, so he and Todd made a few trips off on their own throughout the 2 days Todd was with us. Emma rode a few roller coasters, but was easy to please and happy to do whatever. Daegan has some motion issues, so he was always a little scared when getting on a new ride. He did great though and somehow survived a ride on the Tower of Terror which he got onto sort of by mistake.
Disneyland/California Adventure Favorites:
Emma: "I like everything, I can't really pick one."
(I think she liked Buzz and the Dole Pineapple Whip at the Tikki Room. )
Noah: "Space Mountain and Screamin' Calfornia."
Daegan: "I like the Buzz Lightyear ride the best."
(We rode Buzz at least 7 times)
Todd's cousin AnnaBeth and her family live in Seal Beach, about 20 minutes to Disneyland. It was a perfect location, and they were great hosts! While there while we were there we managed two trips to 2 different beaches. Seal Beach is great and just a minute from their house. Emma found some pretty shells there and we caught some glimpses of Dolphins swimming off shore. Todd flew home to get back to work and so I spent a day with the kids at Newport beach. It was a perfect day and very quiet. (All the locals still in school.) The weather was mild and AnnaBeth was apologetic for the June Gloom, but we loved it. It was perfect theme park weather in the 70's and still very nice at the beach.
I drove the kids back myself which was a crazy adventure itself. I realized it is so much better to leave early in the morning than to drive late at night, but this gave us one last day at Disney and a quick trip back in the A.G. Store to pick up a doll brush.
All 5 days of the trip were great and I've decided that spontaneous trips sometimes turn out to be the best!
