California ~ 2011

California is definitely our favorite vacation spot! We **LOVE** California...that's for sure!

This trip was extra fun because my mom decided to join us, and we are SO glad that she came along. I think that she was a bit nervous about going on a road trip, especially when three kids are involved, but I think that we convinced her that it really wasn't *that* bad. The kids were so, SO good in the car...the only hard part was listening to Noah ask EVERY.FIVE.MINUTES if we were there yet! It was ridiculous, but, I guess I kind of expected it. The good news is that we did make it without any major meltdowns!


Leah won the prize for best road-tripper. She was a total tramp. I think I did pretty well too...I mean, sitting in the back of the car with the kids for 10 hours...I deserve some credit :).
The main destination for this trip was to go to...wait for it...DISNEYLAND! We just love visiting The Happiest Place on Earth! One of the reasons for going on this trip was that Leah was turning three soon...so we decided that we just *had* to go so that we didn't have to pay for her! Good reason, right?! Noah's birthday is also coming up, so this was a great way for us to celebrate both of their special days :).

Our first day was absolutely beautiful! The kids were beyond excited to *finally* be at Disneyland...waiting three whole days was just way too long for them. We jumped right into the fun and started to go on any ride that we could. We were glad that Leah was a bit taller so that she was able to go on more rides with us. She was excited about it too!

Mom was ready to go! Let the fun begin!
Our first ride was Autopia...
Then we took them on the Matterhorn...Leah was a bit nervous, but she ended up loving it!
Bug's Land was a hit, but the show was NOT! We had fun getting a picture in our 3D glasses...I mean, look how cute Isaac looks! BUT, the fun was diminished once the show started. Leah and Isaac were terrified...I had forgotten how loud it was. We ended up being *that* annoying family with the screaming kids who had to leave early...
When Doug was taking Noah on Space Mountain, which he LOVED, Mom and I took Leah on the Carousel. Leah's all about the very happy rides!
She LOVED Dumbo too! I mean, who doesn't?
Day TWO was St. Patrick's Day! I made sure that we all wore our green :).

Family picture with Mickey! I wasn't planning on getting this picture...but Mickey was just walking out when we walked into the park! Score! We only had to wait like 5 minutes to see him, thank goodness!

Ah...how cute is this!
Noah and I in jail in Toon Town.
And, Leah and Isaac's favorite ride, by FAR, was It's a Small World. Oh my goodness...they LOVED this ride so much! I couldn't get that dang song out of my head for the rest of the trip! Ha!
Day THREE was our "relaxing" day, so we decided to head down to the beach in Newport. It was a bit windy and cold, so we didn't stay too long, but we stayed long enough to have a good time :). The kids loved walking on the sand and putting their feet in the water...man, I love the beach!








Day FOUR was our last day at Disneyland. We started the day off by taking Leah to see the Princesses! Noah was just thrilled about waiting to see them...can you tell?
Leah really didn't know what to expect...she was a little shy, but she was sure happy when it was all done and she could look at the pictures of her with...

Ariel...
Belle...
and Tiana...

It was a bit chilly on our last day, but that didn't matter to these two. They were definitely so happy and made the best of our last day.
Waiting in line to go on the Haunted Mansion.
Cute brown eyed boy! Love that boy!
Doug absolutely LOVES this tire ride...me...not so much. So, Doug took Noah on it with him...can you see Noah holding on for dear life in the red hat? I think this was one of Noah's favorite ride.
It was a wonderful trip, and we look forward to going back again...soon! The kids were so incredibely good and had such a wonderful time. I am so glad that my mom was able to come along on this vacation with us...we had so much fun with her and I know that the kids love having her there with us. She was also such a wonderful help with the kids...thank you, mom, for that! This was definitely a trip to remember!