California Adventure

We were so excited to do California Adventures as a family.  JJ's parents were treating us to Disneyland as part of the trip.  We didn't realize Cars Land wasn't in Disneyland.  We knew we really wanted to do that and so we decided to do that together as a family.  We have spent so many family movie nights enjoying Pixar movies and Cars in particular was a staple at our house for years.  Especially for Lucy.  I think I made a Cars cake for her birthday for several years in a row.  I was thankful to be doing this park with our family.  It was so fun to explore together.  We tried to do everything we could and everything we wanted to.  We got lightening passes so we used those as much as we could.  The Cars ride was closed when we first got there so we rode as many rides as we could until it opened back up.  When we saw the line was around an hour wait, we headed over.  We knew the line was going to be long there and we couldn't use a lightening pass on it.  We ate some lunch and snacks while we waited.  Our wait ended up being around two hours, but it was worth it!  It was such a fun ride and so well done.  We would have loved to ride it again, but the line was long all day.  We explored Cars Land and ended up getting something to eat to hold us over until dinner.  We saw Lightening McQueen was coming so we waited in line to see him.  It was so cool and the whole experience was like a dream for Lucy.  She was in heaven.  We worked our way through the whole park.  Seeing what passes we could get and what lines were short.  We pretty much did everything.  I loved that we could ride almost all the rides together as a family.  We tried to see the water light show but didn't get there early enough to have a good view, so we decided to explore Car's Land with the lights on.  We stayed until the park closed, 14 hours at California Adventure.  We loved every minute.  I am so glad we have all of these fun memories to look back on.         

Back to Seal Beach

Monday, we went to the beach with everyone.  We got up early and went to the store with Amber.  We were in charge of lunch that day for everyone at the beach.  We decided to head back to Seal Beach.  Nolan ran right into the water to play with Strummer.  By time we caught up to him and started to set up things on the beach he was coming out of the water crying.  He had scraped up his skin around the waistband of his swimming suit playing the day before.  All the little cuts were burning in the salt water.  He was in a lot of pain.  We loosened his swimming suit so it would sit a little lower, but he still couldn't get in the water without it bothering him too much.  I felt bad for him because he had so much fun playing in the water the day before.  He played in the sand and tried to make the most of it.  JJ and Garrett had a blast playing on the boogie boards.  They spent most of their time out there together.  Garrett crashed on the sand pretty good and got a bruise on his chest.  It must have been a big wave, he said it hurt pretty good when he crashed.  We relaxed and spent most of the day at the beach.  On the way home we stopped to get some Vaseline for Nolans waist to see if it could start healing.  That night Jason and Tracy were in charge of dinner, and they made really yummy tacos.  We spent the evening relaxing back at the house.     

Seal Beach

We had to get two rooms at the hotel.  The boys all stayed in one room and the girls in another.  It is hard with the two-hour time difference.  We were all up pretty early.  Lucy and Garrett had no problem sleeping longer, especially with how worn out they were from FSY.  None of us slept really well though.  This hotel is on my list of worst places we have ever stayed.  It was questionable as far as safety goes and it definitely wasn't the nicest place.  It also wasn't the cheapest place we have stayed. Being close to the beach in California we still spent a decent amount on our rooms. It was fine for one night.  JJ and Nolan went to a McDonalds nearby for some breakfast. We got packed up and headed to Aldi nearby for some food to eat at the beach.  We decided to go to Seal Beach which was nice.  It had a large sand area and a pier.  The kids were so excited to be at the beach.  Nolans excitement made me so happy.  He ran into the water as soon as we got there.  The boys played hard in the sand and water for hours.  They played in the sand, they played in the waves, they threw the football around and had a blast.  Lucy and I enjoyed relaxing, and I read my book.  It was perfect!  It was a little chilly until afternoon when the sun came out and it got a little warmer.  It was nice to sit out and not be dripping sweat within minutes.  It was so relaxing, and I loved watching everyone enjoy themselves.  When we were done swimming and playing, we rinsed off and walked down the pier.  I was glad we were able to spend this day with our core family.  So much of this trip is about being with JJ's family.  For us it's our last trip before Lucy leaves for college and also our family vacation for the year.  It was important to us to be able to create memories together.  When we were done at the beach we headed to the house to meet up with everyone at the house.         

 

Flying to California

Saturday morning JJ left early to pick up the kids from FSY.  They carpooled up with a group Monday and we were bringing them home.  Lucy and Garrett had a fun week, Lucy said she had the best time!  Garrett said it was okay, not as spiritual as he was hoping it would be.  He didn't have anyone to room with so took a chance on meeting someone new.  He ended up being a strange kid and he snored when he slept.  He kept Garrett up with his snoring.  Lucy and Garrett got put in the same group, or company as they call it.  I was glad I had a conversation with them Sunday before they left about being each other's friends.  I told them to look out for each other but also give each other space.  I was a little nervous when Lucy texted and told me they were together.  I hoped that they would have a fun time together and make some fun memories.  I wish they were better friends and hopefully this week together created some good times before Lucy leaves.  

That afternoon we headed to the airport to fly to California.  It was a busy day with getting the kids.  We hurried and started laundry for them when they got home so they could re-pack.  We got Jack situated with the neighbors and finished cleaning the house.  Just as we got to the airport, we got a text that our flight was delayed.  We were thankful we had a direct flight there, so we weren't worried about making a connecting flight.  We ended up having about an hour and a half delay for our flight.  We got something to eat and walked around knowing we had a long flight ahead of us.  We had a bumpy flight, but it was fun sitting next to Nolan who was so excited.  I loved his excitement for this trip.  He was looking forward to so many things and I wished I could bottle that up.  Oh, to be 11 and so excited for adventure ahead.  We got to Long Beach and it was fun to exit the plane outside and then walk into the airport.  We got our luggage and our rental car and headed to our hotel.  We were all pretty worn out, especially Lucy and Garrett!