We left Sunday and drove to St. George.
Early the next morning we headed out and drove to California
Visited Seal Beach and then checked into our hotel
Spent the next three days at Disneyland/California Adventure
Drove to San Diego and checked into our hotel
Spent time at Sea World, walked along the harbor, and ended our trip at Cabrillo Point
Got an early start Sunday and made the 12 hour drive home all in one day
The good:
The kids were absolutely amazing in the car. I went to the dollar store and stocked up on new coloring books, blank notebooks, and a couple small toys for each kid. I packed a box with stickers, treats, presents, pipe cleaners, and didn't even have to use most of it. They spent most of their time coloring. We also had some books on cd to listen to (side note: love is renting the Berenstain Bears cd from the library even though you know it's hugely annoying, with synthesized cheesy music in the background and ridiculously overdone voices and side effects, but those childrens do love it). We brought our car dvd player along and didn't even get it out of the bag, which was a huge win for me. Call me old fashioned, but I think it's important for my kids to learn to deal with boredom without just plugging into a device all the time; this trip showed me that they are on their way. Even Alice did awesome. Good thing she had her fingers to suck on, though. They were really the lifesaver.
Overall, the kids were well behaved all week, barring tired/sick/hungry tantrums (see The Bad below). No children were (really) lost or sunburned during the making of these memories.
The weather was just about perfect. It actually felt a little hot at Seaworld, even though the weather said it was only in the high 60s. Mid-70s and sunshine all week.
Moderate crowds at Disneyland, and almost no lines at all at California Adventure. We didn't have any trouble getting in to see all the shows at Seaworld.
Being able to spend the week with no distractions from the kids. At home I have so many other things on my mind it's hard to focus on them. No housework, cooking, Relief Society stuff--it was so nice to just focus on my kids and enjoy their personalities.
The bad:
Everybody in the family (except me, amazingly, knock on wood) got a cold the week before we left, so everyone was on the uphill side of things by the time we left. All except Alice. Her cough got worse and developed a slight fever our first night. (It's fitting, though--I, the youngest in my family, was sick during my first trip to Disneyland at age 5. My parents just kept giving my tylenol when I started to flag and then I'd be off again to play.) So we gave her some motrin when she needed it and she spent a lot of time napping in the stroller. Poor kid.
Clara seems to have a habit of licking her food rather than eating it. Then, when it's become sufficiently slimy and disgusting (think of a well-licked banana), will quietly throw it away and say that she's full. We have such a hard time getting her to eat a full meal at home, and it was worse because she was so excited to get going. Then we'd walk to Disneyland, be ready to ride the first ride, and she'd cry that she couldn't go on a ride because she was Too Hungry. This being no more than 10 minutes after we tried to make her eat a snack before we left our hotel room and she insisted she was full. She wanted to constantly snack, all day long, and her temper suffered as a result of her grazing ways.
So that it that and we are home and attempting to adjust to real life again. Are you sure I couldn't just live the rest of my life on vacation?
