Disneyland Adventures!

WARNING: this is the longest recorded post. Ever. So, really, if you don't care to read about our adventure, just look at the slideshow and call it good. The details may be a bit boring but the pictures say a 1,000 words! And, believe it or not, I refrained from posting all the pictures...I took 362 of them!


Our neighbors and friends, the Eaquinto's and the Parkinson's invited us to join them in a week long adventure to DISNEYLAND!! We weren't sure at first; things are a bit rocky with Kim's job, finances are extra tight, and we just weren't sure we could just NOT work for a week. But, after much thought and alot of pressure from the kids, we decided that the bills would still be here when we get home, the fence will make it another summer, and we will only get this chance to make some GREAT memories a few times. We got the taxes done and decided we were up for the adventure!


Day 1/2: Friday: After a month or more of anticipating, planning, arranging and packing, we headed out for St. George Friday after school. Our car was loaded to the max with clothes, food, stroller, activities, golf clubs (we wouldn't want to forget those!). We couldn't have fit ANYTHING else in there! We drove for awhile, stopped for dinner, and then finally arrived at around 9:00 pm. Unloaded the car, arranged beds, and made a quick run to the store for milk and fridge supplies for a few days. Sleep came later in the night after a LONG day packing and getting ready to go.


Day 1: Saturday: The men-folk (Kim, Sam, Troy) had a planned a round of golf, so they took off early. The kids and I stuck around the condo and ate b-fast and got ready for the day. We met Kim after golf and took Buddy the Wonder Dog up to Santa Clara to meet his new family for the week. We stayed for a bit, stopped by my aunt and uncles, and then headed back out to Washington to drop off the kids. Kim and I had to attend a birthday dinner for an old co-worker, so the kids stayed behind and played and we took off to the party. We stayed awhile and then decided that we'd drive to Mesquite with Kim's co-worker and his wife to have All-You-Can-Eat crablegs. Yucky!! Kim, Dave, and Steph thoroughly enjoyed them. I watched from afar while I ate my prime rib and dessert. I'm pretty sure they got their money's worth!! We drove back, picked up kids and got to bed late.


Day 2: Sunday: We packed up the car (again!) and headed out for our drive to CA around 10 am. We had planned on the drive being about 6 hours, so we wanted to get an early start. We met the Parkinson's and the Eaquinto's and caravan-ed down I-15. We stopped for lunch, but other than that we kept plugging along. We finally got to Anaheim around around 4:00, hurried to check in, and then headed to Newport Beach. By the time we arrived and found parking, the sun had started to go down and the weather had gotten a bit chilly. I really thought that the kids would stick their feet in the water, watch the sunset and we'd head back. And, it STARTED that way...first the feet, then the legs, and pretty soon they were all fully soaked from head to toe. It didn't matter that the water was FREEZING and that the wind was blowing. They were jumping in and out of the waves and running into the surf. We finished up after about an hour and took cold, wet, sandy kids back to the hotel. We were really impressed with the hotel set up: we had a 'kid suite'....two rooms, one with a queen size bed and then another room with a set of bunkbeds and a pull out couch. They had a little fridge for drinks and supplies, a decent pool and FREE breakfast! Having that extra room sure made a difference when we had to bring everything but the kitchen sink from home.


Day 3: Monday: Disneyland, Here We Come!! The kids could hardly contain themselves as we readied our caravan of strollers for an all-day adventure. We had decided ahead of time that we would pack in all of our snacks, drinks and lunches (saved us HUNDREDS of dollars, I'm certain) and so we had a little prep time each day as we got ready to go. The hotel had a continental breakfast each morning (another money saver!) and so the kids would run down and eat while we got ready to go. We set off at about 9 am and started out trek to the park (about a half mile walk down the road). We arrived, got our tickets and got into the park just as it opened. We had to stop at the train station as we got into the park to take our family pictures. You'll notice in the slideshow that Natalie was BAWLING in ours - she DID NOT want to stop for pictures!! She wanted to go IN and get started!!! We didn't hardly know where to begin, but ended up at Space Mountain to start the day. Even Natalie jumped right on and got flung through the dark in a speeding roller coaster car! She wasn't certain that she liked it -at first - but by the end of the day, she had adapted to being flung around and clinging to her parents for dear life! She ended up trying just about everything that she was tall enough to ride and LOVING it! The other kids did too. I was very happy to see that they weren't scared of ANYTHING! The lines were short, and so we were able to go from one ride to another all day long. We swapped turns watching babies and were able to go on several rides where all 19 of us could go at once! (Imagine that scene!) We even ran into some neighbors...It's a Small World, after all...no pun intended! The day was LONG, but I don't think anyone lacked for fun. The trek back to the hotel seemed a little longer as we pushed strollers and carried sleeping kids!


Day 4: Tuesday: Up early, quick breakfast, packing lunches, and caravan-ing by stroller to the park. We hit California Adventures on this morning and didn't leave until they kicked us out at 6 pm! Kim and I (and obviously, the kids) had never been here, so everything was new and fun. We did roller coasters, ferris wheels, A Bug's Life Land, Tower of Terror (yikes!) and Soarin' Over California. We walked, ate, stood in line, walked some more, rode rides all day, watched a parade, and had a fabulous time watching all the kids try new rides and have a blast. We ended up over at Disneyland after they kicked us out and spent another couple of hours riding rides and walking and walking! We stopped at Downtown Disney for ice cream and treats on our way back to the hotel. I don't think the kids even changed into PJ's or brushed their teeth...they were EXHAUSTED!!


Day 5: Wednesday: Up again early, more PB&J's and snacks to pack, and more FUN! We got to the park as it opened and started in Disneyland. We hit a few of the busy spots early and spent the entire day doing everything we could squeeze in. We met princesses, saw characters, saw a few meltdowns by tired children, walked 5 miles, and did a little shopping. Try this on for size: One souvenir shop in Toon Town + 13 tired children + 6 cranky parents = CHAOS!! It was truly an adventure to let the kids loose and have them NOT break the bank as they chose some things to spend their money on (we had our kids earning and saving money before we went so they had money to spend!). Abby picked out some cute sunglasses, Jake a hat, Em a watch, and Nat got a Minnie Mouse doll and hat. Kim even came away with 2 hats to add to his pile at home. The day was LONG and CHAOTIC and FUN.


Day 6: Thursday: Our last day at the parks. Once again, we were off and running by 9 am-ish. Strollers loaded with coats, lunches, snacks, camera and kids. It was such a sight, I'm sure, to see our caravan of strollers and kids each day as we walked to the park! A few of us had decided to attend the Character Breakfast Buffet at one of the restaurants in Disneyland - not really knowing how it would turn out. I have to say that it was one of my FAVORITE parts of the whole experience. The food was AMAZING (yet expensive - so we decided that I would only take Em and Nat, who would be the only ones that would appreciate the characters!) and it was so fun to see each of about 7-8 Disney characters come over to our table and interact with the kids. We saw: Minnie Mouse, Chip & Dale, Captain Hook (Natalie wasn't too sure about him!), Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore and then right outside as we were leaving we ran into Alice, the Queen of Hearts and the White Rabbit. A fun time and fabulous food. The rest of the day was spent hitting all of our favorite rides in BOTH parks....miles and miles of walking with 13 kids and 6 adults. We all took turns with the babies and got to do our favorites one last time. I think that my favorite was 'Soarin' Over California' and I think it was Kim's too. You sit in a chair and are virtually flying over the sites in CA - ocean, orange groves, mountains, golf courses, rivers and of course, Disneyland. The special effects are fun - they add in the smell of the oranges, water and things look just like you could reach out and touch them. Very cool. I think Abby's favorite ride was 'Tower of Terror' ( a straight shot into the sky and then back down again a few times. I only did this one ONCE - yikes!) and Jake's was 'California Screamin' (roller coaster). Emily really liked this one too and I was really happy that she was so adventurous the ENTIRE trip. There wasn't ANYTHING that she didn't try. Natalie's favorite ride, by far, was 'Thunder Mountain Railroad'. We literally did this one just about everday, several times. Her favorite was to wait until it was dark - you couldn't see a stinkin' thing as we zoomed through the caves and tunnels. I was so happy that she was tall enough and adventurous enough to try just about everything. The rollercoasters were her favorite! We ate at the park and stayed late for the parade. The kids (and dad's) had had enough by now, so we sent them hiking back to the hotel and some of the girls stayed to shop for souvenirs. A hard time trying to figure out what to take home and still have money to buy gas!! Everything was so expensive, but we finally settled on a few things and headed back. A truly fun, yet exhausting day...again!


Day 7: Friday: It was kind of nice to know that we were not in a hurry to be somewhere. We slept in a little and then started the LONG process of packing back up. It's amazing what a mess you can make in such a small area. The kids bags were torn apart, there were NO clean clothes left, we had snacks and souvenirs EVERYWHERE. It took awhile, needless to say. We ate breakfast, the kids swam, and Kim re-packed the car. We finally checked out around noon and headed about 30 miles north to Los Angeles. Kim had heard from one of his clients about the California Science Center. It ended up being something he really wanted to do, since we weren't too far away from the campus (it is located right on USC campus). We stopped for a quick picnic of Del Taco on the lawn and then headed in. We purchased tickets to see the 3D movie on the IMAX screen - can't think of the name of it, but it was about surfing and how the waves in the ocean are made and it was COOL. The 3D images were sitting right in our laps and it was funny to see the kids reaching out and trying to touch things. The surfing was featured in the movie and was very entertaining. Even Nat sat and watched the entire thing WITHOUT popcorn and snacks! After the movie, we went into the actual science center and let the kids loose. It was totally kid friendly, which was so nice. They tried the hurricane simulator, earthquake simulator, science projects on sound, electronics, and looked at lots of displays. They had a little city set up where you could build a house, play dress up, build things with tinker-toys and even play computer games. We finally had the sense to ask one of the workers about time/traffic in L.A. and were shocked to discover that rush hour traffic in L. A. actually begins at 3:00 p.m. We hurried out to the car (it was already after 3:00 by then) and back onto the freeway. I was thinking the whole time that it wouldn't be that bad....boy was I wrong. The traffic was as bad as I have ever seen it ANYWHERE. We spent 2 hours just trying to navigate through it all and get back to I-15, which would ultimately get us back to St. George that night. We drove from 3:00 to 12:30 am, Utah time. A LONG drive, but amazingly the kids did okay (naps for everyone except Kim who had to drink some Dr. Pepper and take some ibuprofen!). We arrived at the condo, unloaded the car, situated everyone for sleeping and then passed out in bed. A LONG DAY!


Day 8: Saturday: Regardless of the fact that we were up VERY late (again!), Kim and Jake got up early and got their golf on. I know, you're shocked...me neither. The girls and I just hung out at the condo, took it easy, and did LAUNDRY!! Sad to say, but the idea of coming home with suitcases of dirty laundry is perhaps the WORST part about going on vacay. So, since we're staying at the LUECK INN, (mom and dad's virtually always empty condo with washer and dryer!), we spent the better part of Saturday morning doing laundry. It made me happy. Then, because I just couldn't be pestered anymore, we all headed out to April's house and retrieved Buddy the Wonder Dog. I have to say that it was quite cute to see how excited he was to see us all again - I think he was under the impression that we had abandoned him by now. We listened to Mike's stories about almost killing the dog (buddy was seriously naughty a few times....sorry, guys!) and I made a mental note that it will have to be a LONG time before I ask Mike and April to dog-sit again. April made us a FABULOUS Asian chicken salad (which I promptly copied down). It was so nice to eat REAL food - not take out or heaven forbid, a PBJ. I'm so OVER those for awhile. We took Mike and April to a movie to try and say "thank you for watching our seriously naughty dog and keeping him alive to see another day". We got back late and still had to stop at my aunt and uncles. The kids were up until after midnight and ALL of them conked out in the car on the way back to the condo.

Day 9: Sunday: It was finally time to go back to real life. I was ready to go home, although not really ready to go back to the daily grind. It was a morning of packing (again!) and cleaning and driving. We reached home at about 6 pm to find that all was well at home - everyone kept telling me about the 7-8 inches of snow Orem had gotten while we were away....we came home to NOTHING! All the snow was gone. But, instead of that lush, lovely green grass and flowerbeds that we enjoyed each day in Cali, we were back to dreadfully dreary, brown, dead grass at home. I can't wait for spring!!


We spent alot, drove alot, walked alot, enjoyed our children ALOT, and had a fabulous time! Much thanks to the Eaquinto's and the Parkinson's for inviting us and more than that, TOLERATING us! We had a fabulous time.