At the beginning of March, we decided to add on a trip to California onto our what's-seeming-like-annual trip to Arizona. Our first afternoon was spent in California at Little Corona Beach (south of Corona Del Mar State Beach), and it was a good place to explore - a very rocky beach with little tide pools. It's very small and secluded, which made it kind of fun. We were there with one other family from Utah. :) The kids could have stayed for the whole day, but we needed to feed them before things got ugly.
That evening, we went to Long Beach and rented one of those bikes with a canopy that rides the whole family at the same time. Thankfully, we only rented it for one hour - they were very difficult to peddle and Brandon and I totally got a workout! It also goes way slower than we anticipated - the joggers were easily passing us. We still had a great time and used it as a good opportunity to try to embarrass the kids!
We stayed at Castle Inn & Suites across the street from Disneyland for two nights and went to Disneyland only for one day. I hesitate saying this, but I don't think that we are big Disneyland people. We really just wanted to take Kendall since she had never been. We chose a Thursday on a week that all the traffic calendars said it was a "ghost town", but everyone must have checked the same calendar because it was super busy!! It took 40 minutes just to get through the security and entrance lines. The kids were already tired of one another, Kendall's shoe was bothering her, and complaining ensued by all. Once we finally got in the park, it was just a few minutes before it was officially open and we were there waiting with thousands of people. We hurried and got a fast pass and went on a ride. We went over to Jedi training 20 minutes after the park opened and they were booked for the whole day. Geez!! Brandon and I worked the fast pass system as best as we could and him or I were hauling across the park trying to anticipate where we'd go next for the passes. The lines and rides were really busy, and although we were there from the second it opened, till the second it closed, we weren't able to ride on every single ride. However, we did hit all the ones we really wanted to and went twice on a couple of the absolute favorites.
Rachel's favorite rides: Space Mountain, Star Tours, Thunder Mountain, Teacups
Andrew's favorite rides: NOT Splash Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, Star Tours
Kendall's favorite rides: Small World, Teacups, Rockets
Andrew really hates fast/tall rollercoaster rides, so he hung with me for some of the time (which worked out just fine since there are lots of pregnancy restrictions). However, we did make him go one ride - Splash Mountain - and he cried the entire time in the fast pass line and the entire ride. The picture shows his face very red and it looks like he stopped breathing for a few seconds. Poor guy, but he did it!
The kids worked to earn some Disneyland money, plus they got some money from Nana and so they picked out some fun toys. Rachel picked a large Angel (poochie poo) from Lilo and Stitch & a baby Lady. Andrew picked baby Pluto and baby Pegasus (Hercules). Kendall picked baby Ana, baby Elsa, baby Angel (poochie poo). They all got suckers for the car ride too.
On our way out of the park late at night, Andrew said to Brandon, "What's next? What are we doing next?" and his reply was, "That's it, buddy. We were at Disneyland all day long, and now it's time to go back to the hotel and go to bed." Andrew's response was classic - he said, "You mean, we wasted our whole day at Disneyland?!" ha ha ha What a classic response after spending $500 on D-land tickets for our family's one day at the happiest place on earth!! Although there were lots of magical moments, I think the kids as a whole would have enjoyed the beach much better (when we asked Andrew if he liked Disneyland or the beach better, he straight up picked the beach). And it was pretty fun to take Kendall, who hadn't been before, and really had a great time overall.
Next up was Arizona, and we stayed with Kasey & Danny's family. My kids love it at their house, and they are the best hosts. We keep them up late, eat all their food, and play with all their toys. Andrew especially loved Cooper & Cole's hover boards, and picked it up surprisingly quickly. Rachel absolutely loves their baby turtles, and Kendall loves the chickens and toyroom (with a slide).
When we looked up Cubs spring training tickets, they had almost tripled in price since their World Series win, so we opted to take the kids to a White Sox vs. Padres game in Peoria. That was a good call because their appreciation level was very low, and all they wanted was endless snacks and to play on the playground. Hopefully they will appreciate baseball someday!
While Brandon went to a Cubs vs. Dodgers game ($50/seat), we went to Mesa Riverview park with friends and Chick-Fil-A for lunch (a Mesa favorite outing for the kids). Then they had play dates at some of their friend's houses, while I arranged for a "play date" with my friends and I met up with Sarah and Kasey. We also were able to sneak in and attend a Lehi Crossing ward activity for breakfast, which was a great way to see and catch up with lots of friends.
On Sunday, we attended our old ward (which had recently split due to a lot of growth in that area) and went to the Mesa temple visitors center. Then we met up with the Gunnell's and Tompkinson's for dinner. They are wonderful to us, and our kids just adore their kids!
It was certainly a jam-packed whirlwind of a trip, and the kids were physically and emotionally exhausted. In fact, I had an epiphany of sorts (Brandon was wiser than I and saw it coming a mile away) and I hesitantly realized that the kids may not be old/mature enough to handle keeping in touch with these dear Arizona friends. I know that sounds harsh, but really, it is quite complicated for their little hearts. Part of my issue, is that I am a loyal soul - and I can't not see friends if I am there for a visit - but am I imposing this strong sense of loyalty on our children? Would it be possible to do a family trip to Arizona without seeing everyone? It's difficult, because the people were one of the things we all loved most about living there. As we were leaving Arizona and headed back to Utah, the kids were all crying and saying things like, "Can't daddy get a job in Arizona?" and "Why did we have to move?". I knew that they didn't really mean those things, and we haven't even heard about it since then, but the emotions were very high as we left, and it tugged on my momma heart strings. I will have keep thinking and tweaking. We are still figuring out what a "family vacation" looks like for us and what works and what doesn't. When we lived away from family, our family trips were pretty much going to Utah twice a year. And ironically, we have been to Arizona three times since moving away a year and a half ago. Hmmmm...
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