Disneyland!

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

We had a Magic Morning pass for Tuesday morning and it was so nice!! They open the park 1 hour earlier than normal for those with a Magic Morning pass and then you can ride on anything in Tomorrow Land or Fantasy Land. So we ran right to Star Tours. Courtney and Bryan then went to the castle in Fantasy Land and to the Tea Cups (Bryan must really love Courtney because he hates that ride) while Ethan and I went to the Buzz Lightyear ride and rode on the rockets.





We then met up again and got in line for the submarine ride, which has really been updated since we were there last...10 years ago. (If anyone wants to see the submarine ride, we have photos of every stage of the ride, thanks to Ethan.) While the kids and I waited in line for the submarine, Bryan ran over to Autopia to get a fast pass. So when we finished the sub ride, we went and drove cars...which really wasn't very impressive.

Then we went to over to get a fast pass for Indiana Jones and ride on Pirates of the Caribbean (which has changed since the last time too). The kids really liked that ride. Then we went to the Haunted House, which took a lot of persuading after their Tower of Terror experience. Courtney really liked it but Ethan wasn't very excited.

We then split up and Bryan took Courtney on Splash Mountain (with rain gear on) while Ethan and I rode Indiana Jones. Courtney got SOAKED! And she doesn't like being wet unless she is swimming, so Bryan took her back to the hotel for a change of clothes and nap while Ethan and I played around.

We had so much fun going from one ride to the next. Ethan was again the official photographer so we have a lot of photos. We went on the Casey Jr. train ride, Dumbo ride, Storybook boat ride (which we have all the photos from, so if you want to see the ride, we have it all documented), the Tea Cups, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride and some others. We even went into Toon Town to ride their rides, but Ethan wasn't too impressed.







At 4 p.m. we met up with Bryan and Courtney and rode some rides together. We also got to meet the Princesses and Tinker Bell. Courtney was in heaven!! Ethan was just tired by this point and sat in the stroller for a long time trying to recover.







It was a great day. Then the kids decided that, instead of riding rides while everyone else watched the parade, they wanted to watch the parade again. So we found a good spot on the side of the parade route and waited. They loved it! While we waited, Ethan bought Courtney a souvenir, it was cute.

During the parade they grab kids out of the audience to dance with them and Courtney loved it. She wasn't afraid to get right out there and dance. She was part of the conga line and some other dances. It was cute!





Then we went back to our hotel, ate dinner and watched a movie until the kids wound down enough to go to sleep.

Good Day!

California Adventure

Monday, March 8, 2010

The kids woke up early again and were so excited to get going. We got ready, ate breakfast and took off for Disneyland's California Adventure. We had reserved a hotel right across from the entrance of Disneyland but we weren't checking in until later in the day. Not wanting to pay for parking, we stopped at the hotel to see if they would let us check in early...and they did. So we were able to unload the van, park it in covered parking and get everything ready to go. It was so nice.

We made our lunches, packed our cooler, got the stroller set and walked across the street. The gates to California Adventure were open but they stop you right inside the gate so you can't get to the rides. So we had a bit of time to figure out what we wanted to do. I had it all mapped out beforehand but wasn't sure if it would work, so we kind of just went on the fly. The kids like California Soaring, Toy Story, the Grizzly ride which gets you wet, but few other rides. We spent the day running around riding things and having fun. Courtney spent most of the time on Bryan's shoulders.




It was a great week to go because there weren't many lines and we were able to enjoy a lot of the rides. I wanted to go on the Tower of Terror and so Bryan bought the kids some cotton candy to keep they busy while I went on the ride. There wasn't a line so it wasn't too long before I was back. I liked the ride. It was a bit scary but not too bad. While I was gone the kids decided they wanted to ride on it. Courtney was tall enough and I didn't think it was too bad, so we loaded on the ride. They were okay until the elevator dropped...then they both freaked out. Yeah, slight lapse on the good parental sense on my part. But they lived through it.

We ended the day at Bug's Life and the kids really liked that. We saw a 3D show and then drove bumper cars. I thought it was a really fun day...in spite of the Tower of Terror bit.







At 5:15 p.m. there was a parade so we got there early to get a good spot on the sidewalk. It was a great parade with all kinds of characters. Courtney spent most of her time waving at the characters and dancing to the music.

When that parade was over and California Adventure closed, we walked over to Disneyland and went in. We took the train ride around to show the kids what the park looked like and then we found a spot on the side of Main Street Square to watch their parade. The logic behind this being that we could ride all the long-line rides the next night when everyone else would be at the parade. But it didn't quite work out that way with our kids.






Courtney and Ethan loved the parade. Right before it began, Bryan took Ethan with him to buy ear hats for both the kids. It was so cute to see Ethan give Courtney her hat. She was so excited. She also danced along with the parade and they both had a great time.





Here's a movie of what happened when Courtney played with her ear hat elastic. Watch her flinch..but she was too involved in the parade to cry about it.


When the parade was finished so were we. We walked, with the masses, back across the street, got the kids ready for bed, and slept...after a while. They were pretty wound up and had to take a bit of time to relax. We ate some dinner we had brought and then went to sleep.

Huntington Beach

Sunday, March 7, 2010

The kids still haven't figured out how to sleep in. But it was finally late enough that we decided it would be okay for Ethan to get up and play with his new Lego set he bought.

After a bit of a debate about showering (Courtney has a weird temperature control where everything is either too hot or too cold) we got ready for Church. Mark and Kristina have a good ward and Courtney loved playing tic-tac-toe with Kristina during Sacrament Meeting. After Sacrament was over, Courtney happily went with Kristina to Primary. We watched, wondering what was going to happen. Bryan followed along and, as expected, Courtney lost it when she got to the Primary room. Kristina was a trooper and tried to help her calm down, but it just wasn't to be. Bryan finally got her calmed down and she ended up in Ethan's class. Ethan had been a bit nervous about going to a new class, but he did great. They had a great time.

After Church we went to Huntington Beach to walk around. The kids really wanted to see the ocean so they got a chance to. It was windy and pretty cold, but they had fun gathering sea shells.





We then had a great dinner at Mark and Kristina's. Mark does some great BBQ ribs and Bryan was in heaven. Kevin and Jeanette came over with their two boys and Kirk came so we got to see them and have a great time visiting.

I then stayed up, again, way too late gabbing with Kristina before crashing into bed.

Home Depot and Legoland

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Since our bodies were still on Utah time, the kids were up at 6 a.m. and ready to go. We had to keep them quiet and in the bedroom for a while until we thought it would be safe to unleash them. ;) Actually, it wasn't too bad. We ate cereal for breakfast, got ready and were off for Carlsbad.

Now, since it was the first Saturday of the month we had to find a Home Depot in Carlsbad where we could go to the Kids Workshop. They just couldn't miss a month of building something and had even brought their aprons. We found a Home Depot, had our safety lesson and then Bryan helped Courtney while I watched Ethan make his rain gauge. They were in heaven. It was a bit windy and overcast, but they had a great time.




When we were finished, we loaded in the van and drove to Legoland. We got there just in time to park (we got a spot very close to the gates), get the stroller loaded, buy tickets (Ethan and Courtney had free entry coupons, a big plus!), and go in the gate. We had about 5 minutes to look at a map before the park opened the rides. It worked out great!

We had been to Legoland before but it was when Ethan was 4. Ethan and Courtney were super excited. It was a Saturday but it looked like rain was coming and so there weren't that many people. The kids had a great time riding the rollercoasters, watching shows, checking out all the Legos for sale (Courtney finally got her pink Lego set she has wanted for years) and driving cars. We had so much fun. Ethan was the official photographer so it you want to know what any of the rides look like, just ask, we have the photos! ;)








We ended the day in the creative room where they had tons of Legos you could use to build a car. When you finished the car you could race it down a track. They both had a lot of fun. Then it was announced that the park was closing and when we went outside it started to rain. So it was great timing on the weather.

We then drove to our friends, the McEvoy's, house for dinner and to visit. Then we drove back to Mark and Kristina's and I stayed up way too late gabbing with Kristina. It was a fun day!

On Our Way!

Friday, March 5, 2010

After Ethan got home from school and the car was all packed, we left for CALIFORNIA to go to Legoland and Disneyland!



The kids have been looking forward to this for a year and we have been planning and planning. I had things all mapped out, tickets purchased, a hotel ready and the cooler packed with 5 days worth of food.

We drove to Garden Grove and spent the night at my cousin Kristina's house with her and her husband, Mark. It was a long drive and Courtney's bottom was "really tired" by the time we got there, but it was a pretty smooth drive. I stayed up late talking and was pretty tired, but it was great to see them.

Kindergarten Registration

March is that time of the year when all the elementary schools hold Kindergarten registration. That means we had to have Courtney's physical and immunizations. So on Tuesday we went to her doctor's appointment and she did AWESOME! Before he left for school, Ethan quietly asked me if Courtney would be having shots. I told him that she would and he immediately went over, wrapped his arms around Courtney, and gave her a little pep talk about being brave. He told her that he believed in her and that she would be just fine because she was a brave girl. It was so cute and...it totally worked!! She did awesome during her appointment. She didn't even cry when they gave her 3 huge shots...she actually sat there and watched without flinching. The nurse, who knows Courtney and what her lungs are capable of, was prepared for the worst and had me hold Courtney's hands tightly so she wouldn't fight, but it wasn't needed. I was so happy.

The doctor said that Courtney is very ready to go to kindergarten and that she is very healthy. She had a great time telling him all about her life. It was a good visit!

Dr Seuss Day

This week is Ethan's school Read-a-Thon which coincides with Dr. Seuss' birthday.

Monday they read the book "Cloudy with a chance of meatballs" in each class and then each student gets to put a paper meatball on a display near the office for each book they read during the week.

Today is Dr. Seuss day where each student gets to wear their "Cat in the Hat" hat. We hadn't bought Ethan one in the previous years but he really wanted one this year. I went to the school and bought him a green and white one yesterday and he is so excited to wear it today. He even requested green eggs for breakfast.

Here he is:


Wednesday they have the Dixie State athletic teams coming to the school to read to them. Thursday is "Mystery Reader" day where someone will read a book over the intercom and then each class has one guess as to who it is. Then Friday is their big read-a-thon where they go to school in pjs and then read all day long and collect donations for their reading. Ethan is so excited because he LOVES to read and can't believe the school will just let him read all day long.

It's a fun week!