DisneyLand!

While on our drive home we stopped for a few days at Disneyland.  It was so fun!  Last time our kids were younger and so we had to deal with a lot more meltdowns, mostly from our 1-year-old, but this time we didn't really have that problem.  We had a few difficult moments here and there, but overall it was great!

I did a few things different this time around.  The biggest change was that we stayed three days.  It cost more money, but one day just wasn't enough and I think it was worth it.  We also got a great hotel across the street from Disneyland.  It was the closest hotel to the park, had a great breakfast, a pool (we didn't use it) and was reasonably priced.  One day I had to run back to the hotel after we got to the park and it only took me a few minutes.  It was nice.

I also splurged and got mouse ears for us to wear.  I bought them on amazon a couple days beforehand so they were much cheaper then if bought at disneyland.  Tucker said he didn't want any so I only got four pairs.  But after the first day he said he would wear them.  We ended up sharing the ears.

I took this picture while waiting in line.  We waited in lots of lines but the kids were pretty good about it.  

Our first day we spend most of the time in the Star Wars area.  I'll post all about star wars tomorrow.  We did and saw lot of other fun things too.  Like spiderman, Leon was to scared to get up close to some of the characters.

I knew the kids would love the  Buzz Lightyear ride and we ended up doing it quite a few times.  The line always goes quickly and it is near other rides for taller people.  So Bob would take the kids on Star tours and Leon and I would go on this ride.  Then Bob would come out and do it with Leon and I went on the ride with whomever wanted to do that again.  It was a pretty good system.  We also did it for Hyperspace Mountain.

For those who don't know Hyperspace Mountian is a fast roller coaster that is in complete darkness.  It was one of our favorites!  This was one of our first rides and because they were in a rush no one checked Leon's height.  This was the only 42" ride he made it on.  He is really too short but the line was long and we didn't want to deal with a parent swap, so we tried to sneak him on.  Anways, after the ride the kids were scared to go on more rides.  It was a little fast for them.  They were troopers though, especially Leon.  I sat next to him and he didn't cry or anything.  We had to do a lot of convincing to get the kids to go on some of the rides.  I didn't want to force them onto anything, but I also didn't want them to miss out because they were scared.
Another traumatizing ride was the haunted mansion.  It really wasn't that bad, and all ages can ride on it. But Tucker is in a stage where he scares quite easily.  I was a little embarrassed because for this ride you go in with a whole group and when Tucker found out it was a little creepy he started to freak out.  I should have saved this ride for the end because he really mellowed out by the third day and became more adventurous.

Here we played on Tarzan's Treehouse.  The kids played while we took turns on Indiana Jones.  I think that was one of the jerkiest rides but because we did it at the end of the day Tucker wanted to go and liked it.  Everyone else wanted to play in the tree house more.

We did so much and I wish I took more pictures, but I also wanted to just enjoy my time there without messing with the camera the whole time.  The kids also enjoyed splashmountian and the Winnie the Pooh ride.  I think they rode the Winnie the Pooh ride 6 times.  We went there at night and there was absolutely no line so we let them just ride it again and again.  It was pretty hilarious because Leon doesn't know about Winnie the Pooh and kept calling him Winnie the Poop.

Lastly we did the parade and fireworks.

It was crowded but we got a pretty decent spot.  We got there about 20 minutes early and found a spot where everyone could see so I count that as a success.  By this time the kids were all very tired and were happy for the 20 minutes to just sit down.

I originally wanted to stop and eat lunch and dinner at restaurants in the park but that didn't really happen.  We were always so busy with things to do and see that we never wanted to take the time to stop and eat.  Instead we had a big breakfast at the hotel and packed tons of snacks that we randomly ate throughout the day while waiting in lines. Our staples were gogurts, bagels, apples, carrots, granola bars, and crackers.  Then after the firework show we headed back.  The kids and Bob went into the hotel and I ran over to McDonalds and picked up a late dinner for everyone.  We were exhausted every night and even though we were all in the same room everyone went right to sleep.

The NAT and Science Center

We took advantage of the museum free day and checked out the NAT (natural history museum) and the Science center.  The kids had fun at both, but for one reason or another most of these pictures are from the NAT.

The kids have seen The Night at the Museum and were especially excited to see the dinosaur right when we walked in the front door.

The chalkboard seemed to be one of the kids favorite things.  I tried to move them along to something else, something we don't have at home... like the sculls.  It was fun trying to guess which animal they matched with.

Sorry the picture quality wasn't great.  We went on one of the few cloudy rainy days we had in San Diego and the lighting wasn't ideal for pictures (plus these are all from my phone).

Our whole family was cracking up over this machine.  It would take your picture and then let you put different facial features on top of your own.  The mouths and eyes even blinked and moved.  It was pretty hilarious.  I'm sure there are probably apps or websites that do it too.  I should look into that.  I could see the kids spending hours on something like that at home.

Although the science center seemed geared mostly towards children, that had a specific area that was similar to other children's museums we'd been to before.  With balls that go into suction things, and play kitchens and that sort of thing.  This was the kids favorite part, and we spent a considerable amount of time there.

One of my favorite things about homeschooling is that we can get out of the house/classroom and learn in other ways! 

Last Beach Day

After what felt like a three month long vacation we had to leave sunny San Diego and come back home to Washington.  What felt like a vacation for me and the kids was really a work trip for Bob.  We spent most of our last full day packing the condo.  But I really wanted to have one last night on the beach.  So we went outside to play on the beach and watch one last sunset.

It was really nice.  Bob wasn't even working and he said that playing on the beach was going to make him sad to go home.

We had an amazing time while we were away from home.  And I really felt like we made the best use of our time there.  When we went to Japan we got sent home early and I left feeling like I still had a lot left to do.  Leaving San Diego wasn't the same for me.  There are a few things that I was looking forward to back in Washington, and the kids were ready to go home.  I had a great time there and hope to go back one day, but if that doesn't happen, I can still look back at our time on the beach as a very happy memory.

Beach Photography

This is my all time favorite picture from our SanDiego trip!  Leon was not happy about being thrown up in the air.  So of course we had to do it more than once. The first picture was ok but not exactly how I wanted it so we had to do it again.  Bob made sure to throw him really high so I had time to get the shot.  I think it turned out perfectly.

Tucker loves this next picture.  He was trying to be some sort of scary guy.  I included it because I love the sunset!

And the last picture is just sweet.

Potato Chip Rock take 2

After hiking potato chip rock with the family I got home and realized I wasn't happy with the pictures.  Go here to see the post.  I think most normal people would just say oh well and move on.  I tried but I couldn't seem to let it go.  The kids did not want to hike it again and I couldn't take pictures of myself, so I went with a friend.  

This time we went earlier in the morning and on a weekday so it wouldn't be crowded.  There were still about 10 other people hanging around the rock but it wasn't nearly as bad as last time.  We hiked it much faster and it wasn't as cold either.  The hard part was that Bob wasn't there to help me get up.  I had to ask a stranger.  I think I could have done it on my own, but there was a chance I would have fallen into the crack and hurt myself.  I felt much more comfortable with someone there in case I fell. Once on the rock I was fine.  There is just this tricky spot you have to get past to get on the main rock in all the pictures.

Speaking of pictures I do like how these ones turned out!  Thanks, Kim for taking them and coming with me.

This next one was by far my scariest pose.  The rock angles down a little near the edge and I did not feel comfortable hanging my feet off it.  You can tell I'm trying to lean back in the picture.

I felt comfortable walking around on the top.  While up there it just looks like a regular rock.  I didn't think about how thin and high it was.  I read online that someday it will break.  That scared me too, but once again I didn't think about it while up there.

Kim and I haven't spent time together since in high school and even then we really saw each other more in junior high.  I love getting to hang out with her and her family while in SanDiego!  It was just like old times.

San Diego Zoo Centennial

While in San Diego we went to the zoo at least once a week.  After the first month we were a bit further away, but still much closer than we regularly are to a zoo.

Every week we would go to the library and check out books about any animal the kids choose.  They would read them all week and then we would make sure to see them in person the next time we went to the zoo.  Penelope's favorite animal was the flamingo.  

Tucker loved the orangutans.  This is a picture of Janie, she was giving kisses to the window.  She will do her hair.  She used to to live with a person, do her make up and smoke.  People would throw cigarets in and she would pick them up and smoke.

These pictures are from a few different visits.  I thought I would skip posting every time we went to the zoo and just combine with my favorite pictures here.

The hippos were fun to watch.  This particular time the baby kept bouncing up and down by the glass.

The San Diego zoo has been around for 100 years now, that is longer than Disney Land.  They had a special show to celebrate.

Scarlett's favorite animal to see was always the scarlet macaw.  They were pretty, but I felt bad for them because they weren't caged and their wings were clipped so much they couldn't fly.  I used to have a bird and we clipped her wings.  But looking back it just seems a little sad to be a bird and not able to fly.

I love koala bears!  I'm not sure if I have a favorite animal, but if I did it might be these.  They are just so cute.  They are almost always sleeping when we see them.  But this particular time the trainer was in there feeding them so they were awake.

We talked about how much we like the rhinos.  Bob thinks it is because they look like a dinosaurs.

The giraffes are always pretty.

Most of the time the polar bears aren't near the glass, but this time they were playing and swimming near the window.

Every time we went Leon wanted to see the lions.  We sat and stared at the sleeping lions (they are usually asleep too) for at least 10 minutes, and just went we were getting ready to go they got up and started walking around.  He loved it!

I saved this picture for last because we have a similar picture of our family by this lion taken last time we came to San Diego.  You can check it out here.  the kids sure are a lot bigger now.

It was fantastic to be able to go to the zoo so many times.  We never had to worry about seeing the whole thing.  We usually went for about 3 hours and that is when people started to get tired and we would go home.  But in the end we saw everything many many times.