Disneyland Vacation

Okay, so we've been home from vacation for about two weeks now and thanks to a bug that I caught on the way home I haven't been feeling well enough to do much since then. I am just now getting back into the swing of things and I've been dying to write about our trip. Our vacation was jam packed with fun things to do and see, so I have an overwhelming number of pictures. I decided to pick out some of my favorites to tell about the trip and there's a slide show at the end with more (if you can believe it) pictures.

Of coarse every vacation begins with the planning and the packing. I hate packing! It takes me forever because I try to think of everything we could possibly need. I tend to over pack a little, but when you have little kids it's hard not to. I even packed Jason's things this time because he was so busy with school, flying and test prep studies. The kids were pretty excited when I got the suitcases out. Tressa knew what that meant, but Corbin may have been a little confused. He was trying to pack himself and his few favorite items (blankie, dinosaur, Elmo, and fishy crackers) in my suitcase. I think he was afraid of being left behind....he did not want to get out of that suitcase!



We had an early flight (6:00 am!) and our friend gave us a ride to the airport. We had to leave at 4:30 - now that's a true friend....thanks Carney! Despite the early flight time, our kids were awake and excited. They love airplanes and traveling.



After a long trip (about six hours if you count our layover in Dallas) we made it to California! Tressa was so excited to get there that she was the only one who didn't really sleep on the plane. But as soon as we got in our rental car (where she could actually see California) she zonked right out!

Our first stop in California (Jason's top priority) was In n' Out Burgers. We ate outside and the weather was beautiful...good old Southern Cal! Jason and I enjoyed our burgers while the kids fed leftover french fries to the pigeons.



We were the first in our family to arrive and we couldn't check in to the hotel until late afternoon. Since we had some time to kill we thought we'd walk the pier at Seal Beach. This was a great idea because not only was it beautiful and scenic, it warmed our kids up to the idea of spending a day at the beach. They got to see the ocean for the first time and watch everyone having fun in the sand from a safe distance up on the pier. (You might remember that my kids had a bad experience with sand at the lake on Memorial Day). They loved running up and down the pier and looking at the water (and in Corbin's case trying to climb over the edge).



Later that evening my sister Emily and her family arrived at the hotel. It was a much anticipated reunion...especially for Tressa and Rachel who couldn't wait to get their matching princess jammies on.



The next day was spent at Huntington Beach. Despite my fears, the kids actually did pretty well at the beach (those beach socks worked like a charm!). Neither one really liked being in the water, I think the sound and movement of the waves was a little too frightening for them. But they loved playing in the sand (more so away from the water), looking for seashells, pointing out palm trees (which Tressa said are actually called "beach trees") and just hanging out with the family.





Here's my brother-in-law Ethan burying Rachel (my niece) in the sand.



Here's my bestest (and only) sister, Emily with cutie pie Zeke.



And here's our traditional feet-in-the-sand photo. Me and my sister have some weird obsession with photographing our feet.



Thumbs up! Can you do this with your toes? It's a special talent that runs in my family...much to Jason's dismay (he hates feet and this is all I have to do to gross him out.)



This post is getting really long and you haven't even seen pictures from Disneyland yet...so here goes!

We had a 3-day park hopper pass that I thought would be more than enough time at Disneyland and the California Adventure Park....but there is SO much to do there! We didn't see everything, but I don't know if our kids and our feet could have lasted much longer anyway. So the three days was just about perfect. The very best thing about Disneyland was that my parents came with us....they were a HUGE help with the kids. They didn't have an agenda of their own other than to be with their kids and grand kids...they were so helpful and they made it a magical and meaningful trip for all of us.



Highlights for me and Jason were the rides we got to do together, the time we spent with my family, and the kids' reactions to all the fun things they got to see and do.

The fam at the Disneyland entrance:



Me & J on the Matterhorn:



J right before he got drenched on Splash Mountain:



Me and Em at California Adventure:



Highlights for Tressa were seeing the castle, meeting the princesses, the rides, cousin Rachel, the sparkly sidewalks, her Cinderella doll, her Minnie mouse balloon and the special time she spent with grandma and grandpa.

The top three things on Tressa's list of things to see were the castle,



the merry go round (of all things?!),



and Cinderella. We almost didn't get to meet Cinderella. She wasn't at the princess breakfast we went to so later that day we (actually grandma) stood in line for almost an hour to see 3 more "surprise" princesses at the Princess Fantasy Fair. My heart sank when we went behind the curtain and didn't see Cinderella anywhere. Tressa was happy to see Pocahantas, Snow White, and Belle, but I knew she was really hoping to meet her favorite princess. Then, just as we were taking photos with the last princess Cinderella came walking up to take her place. The dramatic last minute entrance made it even more special! Cinderalla could tell that Tressa was a big fan (since she had a Cinderella doll, necklace, etc.) and gave her some extra hugs and attention. I was so relieved and Tressa was just beaming!



After she met the princesses, learned how to dance and walk like a princess, and had story time with Sleeping Beauty my Mom paid for her to get her face painted. From all the excitement she fell right asleep in Grandmas arms soon after.



Disneyland is so magical for someone her age. That made it fun for me and Jason too. On our last day at Disneyland as we walked toward the park entrance she looked down at the sidewalk and said "Mom, the sidewalk is sparkley...I think it's because Disneyland is such a magical place!" Then we practically bumped into the man who was selling balloons. Tressa had her eye on one the day before, but we never saw the balloon guy again after that. Even though they were charging seven bucks, I couldn't resist. Tressa got the last Minnie Mouse balloon and is STILL talking about it constantly. On the shuttle to our car she said "I had a wish to get this balloon and it came true Mommy!" She was SO happy.



Highlights for Corbin were the playgrounds, the parade, certain rides (he wasn't so sure about some of them), toon town, his mickey ball, and all the attention he got from the family.

Here he is on one of the playgrounds. This one was shaped like a ship and had a nautical theme. He loved steering the boat and pushing all the buttons.


Here we are right before the parade started.



Not looking too sure about this train ride!



Trying to lift the dumbbell in toon town. Look at those muscles!



Grandma and Grandpa bought him this mickey basketball and he LOVED it! He still cannot be seperated from it.



As if that wasn't enough fun...we got to spend a couple more days in California after Disneyland. We went to a Dodgers game, went swimming at the hotel, explored a local children's museum and I even tried sushi for the first time at a restaurant called Tadai.

The Angels are Jason's favorite baseball team but they were out of town all week. He wasn't going to leave without seeing a baseball game so we caught a Dodgers game one afternoon. The stadium was pretty getto and the Dodgers lost, but we enjoyed just being there and the kids even got to run the bases at the end.





Here are some pictures from the pool. The kids had a blast.




The museum was really fun too! They especially liked the Bob the Builder exhibit.




And here we are at the mall after our sushi dinner. I thought it was a nice picture of our family.



What a fabulous vacation! We can't wait to go back.

Tressa's First Attempt at Swimming Lessons

I decided to put Tressa in swimming lessons this month for her first time. I was hoping to get her a little more comfortable with the water in time for our vacation next week. I think we accomplished that goal, but she is still pretty timid in the water. Time will tell, but I'm not sure if swimming is her thing. Bless her heart, she tried so hard to be excited about it each day and she always came running to me after lessons as proud as can be, but she looked just miserable out there. She was a really good sport. She listened to her teacher and went through the motions, but I think she's still just a little too fearful. It hit me how far behind the other kids she was when a mom sitting next to me said "Gosh, you just don't realize how much coordination it takes!" when the teacher was working with Tressa on scoops and kicks (I'm sure she meant well). Granted, Tressa was the youngest in her class....but she is naturally a pretty careful and timid child. I don't think I was a very good swimmer either. I took lessons and got through all the levels, but I think it was only because I was so darn competitive....if the other kids could do it so could I. I loved doing tricks off the diving board and meeting friends at the pool, but I can't say I loved or was actually very good at swimming. Jason, on the other hand, is a really good swimmer. He was a life guard as a teenager. So maybe there's still hope for Tressa. I'm just going to keep exposing her to it so that she can at least learn to be safe in the water. We've gone to our pool a couple times since the lessons and she is doing better and better each time. And despite the fact that she's not a very good swimmer, she still really enjoys the water. She's been asking to go to the pool almost every day. I'm really proud of her for not giving up. Here are a few pictures from the last two weeks of lessons.

I'm really trying to like this Mom!


Back float (Tressa called it a starfish...I think this was her favorite part of swimming lessons. She'd always say, "Mom, I hope I get to be the first one to do my starfish today!")


Practicing kicks


Her face says it all....She was supposed to be in the water with the rest of the class holding on to the wall, but I think she just couldn't do it any longer. This was the last day of class. She asked her teacher if she could sit on the side until it was her turn.


I think these might be a little tight! She only agreed to go all the way under the water once...and she insisted on wearing these to do so.


Jumping in...way to go sweetie!


I love my "comfty cozy" princess towel.

Jason's 31!

Here are a few photos from Jason’s birthday on Friday. It has been a long hard year for him and this week was busier than ever with the instructor test prep course he’s been taking. I am so proud of what he’s accomplished and I’m excited for him to start seeing the fruits of his labors in the upcoming year. At the end of the 7 week course he’ll be taking his final flight test to get his instructor certification and he’s already got an instructor job lined up. Then he’ll just instruct and build his hours until he’s able to find a job with the airlines. I admire him so much for having a dream, knowing what he wants, and going for it. Happy Birthday Hon!

Here's Tressa helping Dad unwrap his present from her. She was so excited about her gift that she insisted he open it first...and she helped him open it...and she told him what it was before he could lift the lid! Jason got a good laugh out of it. He made her day by wearing the outfit she got him for dinner that night.


I think it might be time to switch to those little candles with numbers on them!


My little cake eater!

Rain, Rain Go Away!

With all the rain the past several days Corbin has become my little weather man. Here he is watching a storm one evening.



Every time he heard the thunder crack he'd look at us and say "dat!" or "what dat!?" He didn't seem to be frightened by it, just curious.



Although he liked watching the storms and pointing out the rain, he was pretty bummed that we couldn't spend much time outside this week. He kept asking to play T-ball (he calls it B-ball) and I had to tell him that it was too wet. For days he kept pointing out the puddles and saying "rain." Today the ground was finally somewhat dry at our apartment and the weather was nice. The first time we left the house this morning he excitedly exclaimed, "No rain.....B-Ball!!!" It was a pretty busy day, but I couldn't turn him down after he had waited so patiently all week. We made some time for T-ball this afternoon and he was all smiles.

Tutu Tressa

Tressa has been loving her gymnastics class, but her heart is really set on ballet. So, I found an inexpensive ballet class for her to try out this summer. I made the mistake of telling her about it 2 weeks before it actually started. She’s been asking me about it and trying on her ballet clothes almost daily.







Here she is putting on a “ballet conference” for me.

I didn’t get any pictures of her first day of class last week because Corbin was climbing all over me, but she was just glowing! She was grinning ear to ear the entire time and she did such a good job listening to the teacher and trying to do the steps. The teacher was surprised that this was her first lesson because she did so well. I explained that she’s never had a formal lesson, but that she’s been practicing at home. She also loves checking out “Angelina Ballerina” videos and ballet books from the library and she even has a ballet card game (which she asks me to play with her almost every day). Even Corbin is picking up some moves (much to Jason’s dismay)! His favorite one is plié, which he does more like a squat and jump.

Mmmmm...Ice Cream!

Here's Corbin having an ice cream cone "Ah Daddy" (with Daddy) at the mall. He's really going to town with that thing....I'm surprised he gave Daddy a lick!

Beach Bummer

Here's Tressa and Corbin having a blast playing in the sand at the park. These pictures were taken exactly six days before Memorial Day.













Okay. Now here's Tressa and Corbin at the lake on Memorial Day. You would have thought we were trying to drown them with the fuss they were making!



Do you like the 80's aerobics instructor look Tressa is sporting? She insisted on putting her shoes and socks back on because she didn't like the sand sticking to her feet. Corbin wanted his shoes back on too. Neither one wanted much to do with the beach, period. Granted, it rained that morning so the sand was wet and sticking to everything, but none of the other kids seemed to mind...some of them were literally rolling in it! On top of the sticky sand and a sand castle that was kicked into Corbin's lap, it was just about nap time and I don't think either of them was feeling that great to begin with. Corbin was just getting over something - which he so kindly passed on to Tressa. So, I probably shouldn't have even tried to bring them. But it sounded like so much fun and I was sure the kids would enjoy themselves despite the fact that they weren't 100%!

Oh well. It wasn't a total loss. Before the traumatic beach incident we did manage to spend some time with our friends. We barbecued, the girls chatted, the guys played catch, the kids played T-ball & ran around..... and the scenery was beautiful! We were disappointed to have to leave early, but I could see that our little beach bums were not going to buck up and get used to it, so we called it a day.

Here they are 30 seconds into our drive home.




Anyone want to wish us luck on our Disneyland vacation in a few weeks?!