California Trip Part I

So many firsts for this trip. This was our first road trip as a family, and my first time driving through the night. That was a good decision. Ryan and I switched every few hours and the kids slept on and off through most of the drive.

The first full day we were there the kids got to go to Legoland with their grandpa and auntie. They also got to go on their first roller coaster. It was a little traumatic for Ari at first, but she bawled after the first ride, but loved the rest. 

Collecting pinecones from grandpa'sback patio

While the kids were out getting spoiled rotten, Ryan and I enjoyed having the day to ourselves and exploring San Diego. We went to Sunset Cliffs and walked around a bit. It was beautiful and had wonderful views.

After Sunset Cliffs we went to Belmont Park. We did some shopping, and a warm up roller coaster. I have had vertigo on and off for the past few years, so I was a little nervous about how I would feel doing some of the rides at Disneyland. Thankfully I felt fine the entire time!

The next day we woke up early, packed up our things and drove to Disneyland. The kids were so excited. We spent the day riding rides, eating snacks and Ari even got to do some Jedi training.

Our little Jedi

She was a little sad and nervous at first going up in front of people she doesn't know. Luckily all of the actors and people helping out were so good and would go up and talk to her and comfort her.

She lit up and was happy the second she saw Darth Vader. Getting him with her light-saber was definitely a highlight. The actor playing the main Jedi trainer had some pretty great commentary, making the whole thing quite comical.

Mickey Boys!

Kids definitely loved the roller coasters. Any non-roller coaster ride just wasn't big enough or fast enough for them. Thunder Mountain was Ari's favorite and we did it multiple times. Space Mountain was Hunter's favorite.

We ended the day with the firework show and it didn't take long for the kids to fall asleep once we were back at our hotel.

The following day we did California Adventure. There were hardly any people there when we first arrived. We got to enjoy a lot of rides without waiting in line forever. The kids were a little disappointed that there weren't any big roller coasters they could go on, but they had a lot of fun exploring Car's Town and A Bug's Land. They insisted on riding the Ferris wheel. I don't mind Ferris wheels, however, they wanted to go in the swinging basket. It was pretty terrifying for me, and I will definitely not be doing that one again.

We cooled off on Soarin' Around the World and Grizzly River Run. We even got stuck on Goofy's Sky School. We were at the font of the line when someone's hat flew off and they had to shut the ride down to retrieve it. After they got it fixed we decided to try it again. We got through most of the ride when it stopped again. Luckily we got a FastPass for our wait and we did one more ride before heading home.