We had a great time in California. I was nervous about how the kids would handle all the traveling but they did surprisingly well. I thought I’d share with you some of my favorite highlights.

Emma’s favorite part was of course all the princesses. She wanted to see all of them. She loved the Princes Fantasy Faire where they treat you like a princess, crown you and teach you how to dance and curtsy. I think she could have spent the whole day there. I thought story time with Cinderella was pretty cool too. We didn’t want to wait in line to meet the princess so we just stocked them. We sat by the staff doors where they come out to visit with the kids and then yell and wave at them. Jasmine, Mini Mouse and Belle each gave Emma a special hello calling her princess and sweetheart.

The parade was a hit too. Thank you to all who recommended it because we might have not taken the time to watch it otherwise. Emma was over the moon when Sleeping Beauty gave a special wave just for her.

Isaac was a real headache at times. He hating waiting in any lines. He constantly wanted to be free and running around (anyone surprised?) He was barely tall enough (35 in) to ride on the rides (except the roller coasters.) He liked the rides but it favorite was defiantly Autotopia. Vroom vroom!

Here I am making a fool of myself. Jer had a good laugh over this one. I was trying to make Emma feel comfortable by being screamy and excited. Emma barely hit 40 inches tall allowing her to ride on the bigger rides (all but Indiana Jones.) She even went on Space Mountain (ie. she hated it… but she went on it.)

This is what happens after a long day at Disneyland. The kids were so bushed we never had to put them to bed… They always just collapsed by the end of the day.

Jer had to work one of the days so we headed to the beach. After we had drove an hour to our beach of choice, the weather on the radio firmly announced that it was only 63 at the beaches. Drats. It obviously wasn’t swimsuit weather but turned out quite pleasant when wearing a sweatshirt. Emma had a blast in the sand. Isaac’s initial reaction was terror. He hated the water and didn’t want to go anywhere near it. He’s ticked in this picture because I had set him down with out me. He eventually discovered how fun it was to eat handfuls of sand and was happy from then on.

Sea World was pretty cool too. The shows are super fun and so is petting the dolphins and sting rays. Jeremy always wanted to sit in the soak zones. (The soak zone means just that!!) Emma said that her favorite animal was the polar bears but then she changed it to the dolphins… then when Jer asked her she said Shamu was her fav. I guess all of them were a hit.

We were able to hit the beach another day with the whole family. Our friends took us to this awesome beach with fire pits. The weather was a little bit warmer and we got to watch the sun set over the ocean. It’s amazing how fast it sinks. It was hard not to have feelings of wanting to move to Cali and enjoy this paradise all the time. There is something about sitting on the beach and being at the edge of a massive continent. Ahhh!

We went to dinner one night with one of my roomies from college. While we were waiting outside for our reservation the kids were having fun running around the courtyard. We had just sat 3 hours in LA traffic so I was happy to let them run around before I strapped them into high chairs. Before any of us knew it, (4 capable adults) Isaac was fully submerged in the water feature. I think he was fishing for the coins at the bottom. He wasn’t to happy about it after we pulled him out. Luckily I had some clothes to change him into for dinner.

It’s always good to return home after a long, fun trip.