Todd's Birthday- Beach Day!

For Todd's Birthday we left for Disneyland in the morning but as we approached it, the parking garage was full, the nearby parking lots were crawling with masses of people.  It was a Friday and the volume of people would surely be much higher in the parks than on Thursday.  Using the app to see how far out the fast passes were already for the rides we wanted, we weren't confident the day would be best spent at Disneyland.  Rather than lose the inevitable amount of time finding a parking spot and possibly not get to ride the rides we were hoping for, we chose to make today a beach day and brave the park again tomorrow during Magic Hour.  Our City passes included Lego Land, multiple days at Disneyland, and magic hour, the one hour prior to public hours of operation at Disneyland.  This plan actually worked beautifully.

First, before the beach, a relaxing breakfast out.

Then, as the morning heated up, we hit Huntington Beach.

We had an uneventful drive home, stopping in Vegas for the night so we could eat at a buffet.  We also stopped at Devan's house briefly in Salt Lake to say hi.

And then we were home sweet home.

 

We got home on our 13th anniversary.  We didn't celebrate it with a weekend away like we usually do because we had... just... been away.  We figured later in the year we'd leave to celebrate. For now, being home was a treat after being gone.

Clippers Game

This was a lot of fun!  The Clippers stadium was roaring with fans and the game was close, but we won!  Our family LOVES Chris Paul and he put on a spectacular show for everyone. 

Lainey didn't love the Clippers shirt we bought her.  The collar bugged her. 

She felt it made a better hat.

Lainey's B-Day at Disneyland

What better place to spend your 7th Birthday than Disneyland?! 

Lainey was in Heaven!

Being Spring Break, the crowds were just ridiculous.  The kids didn't mind and that's who we were there for.  But I'm not a theme park person myself because I don't really enjoy the rides.  I'd be much more up for a hike or rock climbing or a more natural thrill.  But when you add crowds like this to the picture!!!????  Not my thing.  But I put a smile on for my kids and they had a great time.

We gave Lainey her Birthday present at the RV and let her play a while as everyone was getting ready for the Clippers game.  She got the Little Live Pets mice.

Spring Break- LA Road Trip, Lego Land

For Spring Break the kids got to use their Christmas gifts- tickets to a Los Angeles Clippers NBA basketball game.  We drove our motorhome there.  We took the scenic route through Tahoe, which was beginning to snow out as we arrived.  We ate a yummy dinner out, shopped around a little, bought Todd's birthday present at the Patagonia shop, grazed the candy shop, and watched the new movie, "Miracles Can Happen" in the theater, and stayed the night in an RV park there. 

I saw this painting at a Tahoe restaurant and want to make my own wall photo with our jeep!

In the morning we had to shovel our way out of the RV Park.  The city roads were pretty wild, but the interstate was clear.  Still,they wouldn't let vehicles on the highway without chains until the temperature rose a certain amount.  So we pulled off to the side of the road and waited for about 45 minutes, wishing we had slept in rather than push for an early start.  It could have been a much longer wait, however, so we were grateful.  And then we were on our way and the roads rapidly improved as we descended elevation.

We did this puzzle in the motorhome going with the coastal theme of our trip.

The next day we went to Lego Land!

We knew it wasn't as grand as Disneyland so we went there first.  Otherwise it would have been a huge let down.  It was really more for a younger age than our kids.  Still, Ashton's always wanted to go and he enjoyed it, but was trying to enjoy it where the little ones don't have to "try". 

A mini lego RV park!

Lego New York

After being squirted a ton on the above ride, Ashton and Lainey saw no harm in running through the splash pad and completing the "soaked" state they were in.

Which was fine because they have massive people dryers next to the splash pad. 

Our kids LOVED this.

Brielle had to test it, even though she was dry. 

Ashton's face shows he disapproves...

These Apple Fries and whipped cream were a huge hit!

The kids loved the free trade throughout the park.  If you have a Lego mini figure with you, you can trade it at various stations throughout the park for free.  Ashton ended up with the Lego Knight.