Family Vacation 2012

         Honestly, we have only taken the girls on about three family vacations. Once to Disneyland when Ashlee was a baby, once to Salt Lake (which the girls loved & STILL talk about) and then again to Disneyland! We were so excited to be able to go again and couldn't wait to surprise the girls with it. I ended up making each of them a vacation bag with crayons,coloring books,beach stuff, cameras and marker boards. They loved it! The marker boards were a big hit! We sat them down and asked them if they could go anywhere...where would it be? We thought Disneyland would definitely be their first response. Wrong! Ha, we found out our girls are easier to please than we thought. They were excited though. We made a countdown and also had the girls earning their own money to spend. It felt like it took forever for the day to come, but when it did....we all were more than ready to go!

        Day 1-  We got up early so that we could be out of town by 6:00 am. My original plan was that the girls would go back to sleep and stay that way for at least half of the drive, but they never did! They both did really well though and kept themselves entertained coloring and watching movies. Joe's family always had a tradition to stop in Barstow on the way and eat at the McDonald's for breakfast, so we decided to carry it on. It is a neat little place, you eat inside train box cars. We ate and then were on our way. Once we got into California, we decided to go check out the hotel and see if it was possible to check in early. We were all a little tired and ready to be out of the car. Unfortunately, the hotel had been booked the night before, so we had to wait. We decided to head to the closest beach (Pacific Beach) and kill some time.

            It was a bit crowded and dirty, but the girls didn't seem to notice and we all had a great time.


            Day 2-  Joe's only request this whole entire trip, was that we would be able to go to a baseball game. I honestly wasn't that excited to go....I didn't really know what to expect, but was willing to try it out. He was so excited! We were able to get tickets online to see the Anaheim Angels vs. Texas Rangers. It ended up not being until that evening, so we had all day to kill. Now, my only request was that I got to do a little shopping.  Funny thing is, it ended up being Target, the Dollar Store,the Disney Store, and much to my disappointment a Smart & Final. Here I am thinking it's like a TJ Max, and we walk in and it's a grocery store! We walked right back out :) 
             Four o'clock finally rolled around and it was time to head to the baseball game. Now, in my head I had pictured a decent sized crowd, not a HUGE (like 42,000) crowd! I almost had a panic attack as we were looking for a parking spot, and I think Joe was second guessing bringing us girls. Once we got in, found our seats and got settled I calmed down. We were right in the middle of Season ticket holder central!! Joe was there to cheer for the Texas Rangers, but quickly decided against it. It ended up being a LOT of fun and honestly was my favorite thing about the whole trip. I told Joe we need to make it our tradition.

               Days 3 & 4-    Both of these days were spent at Disneyland! This is where I get to put in a few tips first though. I was well prepared for this trip to Disneyland ( much better than last time) and had studied up on Pinterest.  Tip #1: Get up EARLY! I dreaded this both days, but was so glad that we did it! We were at the park when it opened and were able to get right on the rides, not to mention the princesses without a two hour wait. We were able to get in a lot of rides before it got too hot and crowded, and then go back to the hotel for naps and come back around dinner time. It was so nice!
Tip #2: Pack your own food! I had a bag full of snacks and then a cooler with water bottles (frozen) and uncrustables. It worked out so well and we only paid for one meal in the park.  Tip #3: Plan out your day. I had heard about this software called RideMax, that you could purchase for cheap. You tell it what day and what rides you would like to go on and it maps out the entire day for you. It tells you exactly when to be at a ride and how long your wait would be. We did not wait for a ride longer than 15 minutes the whole trip! It was so nice!
                The first day we enjoyed the Disneyland Park. Ashlee's favorite ride was It's a Small World and Macey's was Alice in Wonderland. Their least favorite? Pirates of the Caribbean. Poor Ashlee cried and begged us not to go back! They were able to see and get pictures with six princesses. The only one we missed was Rapunzel, hopefully next trip!

               The second day of Disneyland, we got to enjoy California Adventure Park. The girls most favorite ride? Ariel! We went on it four times, and I'm sure they would have gone another dozen times. We hurried over to go on the Toy Story Mania ride, but it was closed down so we decided to head over to the Ferris Wheel. Dummy me, didn't notice that there were two different lines ( swinging & non swinging) until we were already up to the front of the swinging line. I didn't want to change, so we stayed where we were....BAD choice! Once that puppy started swinging, I braced myself for the worst and the girls and I wanted off! Joe just thought it was funny. Lesson learned I guess. We walked around and enjoyed Bugs Land, then went to check out the new Cars Land. It is so stinkin cute and well done! It looks exactly like the movie. We then headed back to the hotel for our daily nap and when we got back, decided to eat in the park. I had heard that the soup bowls at the Pacific Wharf were amazing....and they didn't disappoint! I have been craving it ever since. Earlier in the day, we had gotten a fast pass for the World of Color. We headed over two hours early to see if there was a line. Luckily, Joe got up to the front and waited while I took the girls on another ride. We ended up getting good seats and waited another hour for it to start. The girls did so well entertaining themselves. Once it started, you are standing the whole time...holding two girls gets tiring! It was awesome though and definitely worth it!

 Once it was over we headed over to Cars Land to see it at night when everything is all lit up. We were able to see Mater and Lightning McQueen drive right by us!

               Day 5-  Our last day of vacation! It came too soon for Joe and I, but I think the girls were ready to get home. We got up and got the van packed and headed for Huntington Beach. It was much less crowded and a lot cleaner than the last beach we went to. The girls made sand castles and hunted for sea shells and then it was time to head home.

                 It was such a great trip and I'm so thankful we were able to go. I can't wait until the next one!