Day 4

Sunday, April 19, 2009

I feel like I’m in a time warp or something. As I began to type this I literally couldn’t even remember the month! But Sunday was a nice relaxing day. We probably should have gone to church…we held our own little “primary” in the hotel. Sang a few songs- read from the Book of Mormon- looked at pictures from the Ensign and talked about them. It was actually a very good little hour that we spent together. Probably got more out of that then they would have if we’d forced them to go to a new primary. But we slept in that morning and just hung out until we were ready to go.

There had to be a few mishaps in our vacation and my idea to go see where all the stars live was one of them!!! We drove to Hollywood and got completely lost. It was amazing to me that as soon as we got off the freeway into Hollywood- which is a dump- the spirit literally left. There is no goodness in that town what-so-ever. It was creepy and I wanted to leave as quickly as possible. We were definitely not where all the stars hung out- I think it must have been star wannabees. And the great side walk of stars- Ted said, “Okay kids, look out the window…see those stars on the side walk? They have famous people’s names on them. That’s as close as you’re going to get.” Oh- I had the hibee-gibee’s the whole time! And then we really were lost! Ted was trying to use his trustee Google maps ap- and it wasn’t so trustee this time.

Eventually we found my grandparents house. My sister Michelle told me a few weeks ago that ‘s it’s amazing to her how it gets smaller every time she sees it- and I agree. I can’t believe they have lived there for over 60 years! It is so impressive that my grandpa has a huge garden in their backyard- in the middle of LA- 1 mile from LAX!!!! He has raspberries, orange trees, lemon trees, passion fruit, tomatoes, cucumbers, avocados, all sorts of peppers, artichokes, and more!

I was so glad to be able to visit with them and let my kids see their home- the home that I grew up visiting every summer when I got to go to Disneyland for 1 day- and come home and crash on the floor. Man, my kids are spoiled! But they didn’t know that my Mom- Nana- is an artist! Her pictures- which are quite stunning- are hanging all over the house and after we’d been there for a couple of hours I asked James and Emma whom they thought painted the pictures and they both gave me a blank look. When I told them it was Nana they were amazed!

My grandparents always humble me and remind me of true frugality and loyalty. They’ve been happily married for 65 years and lived and retired off two teachers salaries- and traveled the globe too! They were just smart and happy with what they had. A very different mind set and generation. I was glad that Emma and James got to listen to my Grandpa’s war stories- he is a WWII veteran. He was in the Navy and has some amazing stories. He also loves to tell the stories he knows about Disneyland. He says that when they started to build it- they took a bus load of teachers out to watch it be built- it was amazing. Walt Disney was an amazing man.

And I was so grateful that they actually ate all their dinner. I was so worried that they would complain it was yucky or something. And I know my Grandma has a hard enough time cooking dinner without a bunch of whiners. But we’d actually talked about it a lot with the older three- and Kyle must have tuned in to because they all ate everything on their plate and gave their compliments to the chef and said please and thank you. We should eat there more often! I do have good kids! And there were even olives in the casserole- they hate olives!

When I could tell emotions were starting to strain- I mean no good behavior left in the little two- we took off. Ted really wanted to watch airplanes land- because he hadn’t gotten to hear Kyle swear at the rental car place- so we went in search of somewhere to watch. We found a small- seriously very very small- patch of grass near the entrance to the airport and sat and watched the airplanes land. Then Ted wanted to watch the airplanes take off. So we thought we’d head down to the beach…2nd bad idea of the day. Last day of spring break for them, 88 degrees and gorgeous, millions of people in LA- and they were all at the beach. All the African American’s that is- I told Ted to please go back- after we had looked for a parking spot for an hour without seeing one white person get out of a car, seriously! Wrong beach.

Mistake #3…I got on the phone to chat with my Mom and let Ted try to make it back to the hotel. If the following scene had not made my kids cry it would have been hilarious. Ted decided to put way too much trust in his GPS- it was almost like that episode of the office where Michael ends up in the pond—anyways. I was boiling mad that he just didn’t take the normal freeway down- he had to follow the GPS directions. I have no idea where we ended up or how we finally got back on route but the kids were crying and Ted and I were yelling at eachother. It was very funny now that I look back.

We threw the kids in the pool for a few minutes and headed to IHOP when we got back. Kids eat free every night! Yippeee!!! A nice gentleman was sitting behind us and I turned to him half way through our meal and said, “We must be very entertaining to watch.” He laughed- and on his way out leaned over to us and said, “You may think your kids are a handful- but I can tell that you have four great kids.” Man, another nice compliment- it’s better then report card week. I am a lucky Mommy. The kids went to bed anticipating an amazing Disney Day…which it turned out to be!

Adam got a hold of the camera at one point and desperate to keep him occupied he got free reign- I've included a few of his portraits.

Day 3

Saturday, April 18, 2009

No running this morning- my plantar stuff had flared up so badly by the end of yesterday I could barely walk. I wish I had my boot! The hotel had a fantastic breakfast- the kids loved making those big waffles. After we loaded up on food- we made our bagels for the day- I think that will be our lunch the whole time- it’s easy and I don’t have to get paranoid about mayo going bad. We emptied the hotel room and headed for day #2 at Lego land. We were glad that we decided to do the 2 day pass. It was only $10.00 more and we hadn’t had a chance to play on the cool water toy!

We also had included admission into the aquarium with our ticket so we started off there. It was a very cool aquarium. The kids got to see sharks, an octopus- some neat displays. I think it was our education for the week! We spent about an hour there- then off to…

We started them off at the fort again- they must have pooped themselves out the day before because they didn’t last very long- only an hour or so. We went on a couple more rides- an airplane ride for Kyle and a helicopter ride for the little boys. We met a family from Utah in line at the helicopters- they’ll be at Disneyland next week too! I bet we’ll bump into them again.

The older kids did a pully ride that was cool and then we headed over to the water area that they all had been begging to do all morning. And of course- even though it was 75 degrees and perfect outside- they were all cold in about 7 minutes. I told them we were never coming back here again- until they brought their own kids in 30 years- so they’d better go play. They lasted about another hour. It really was packed with kids- I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed it too much either. But- c’mon!

We let them each pick a Lego kit on the way out- and told Emma she could get 2 things at Disneyland if she didn’t want Lego’s- she opted for the Disney package! Smart girl. Kyle and Ted put his little airplane kit together when we got to the hotel in Anaheim- and he hasn’t let go of it since! He flies it around in the air yelling, “Shet! Shet!”

We went into Downtown Disney and had sandwiches for dinner. Yummy and fresh! Even downtown Disney is magical- they have all these different bands playing and the kids were mesmerized by a man playing a smoking piano that rose up and down. He was a very good piano player.

Back to the Hotel for a swim…and then to bed- to bed- sleepyheads!

Ted went across the street to Target for supplies- and the kids crashed- AGAIN! But…were up bright and early this morning

Day 2

Friday, April 17, 2009

I have to admit that my favorite part of the day was at 6:30am. I woke up to go for a run and it was one of the prettiest runs I’ve had in a while. I probably ended up going about 6 miles- which was a little too far to go before a full day of walking- but I couldn’t turn around- the ocean was so beautiful. I was mesmerized and the air was clear and just the right temperature. The sky was big and blue with little puffs of clouds- and the wind was…absent!

But I eventually found my way back to the hotel and got things moving for our day of fun at Lego Land! Now part of the reason we decided to go to LegoLand is because all three of our boys are quite literally obsessed with Lego’s. We are a lego family. Emma kind of got dragged into it- but she is such a good sport- she just turns everything into a song!

We were welcomed by huge Lego welcome letters- very cool. Everything was lego---I just think it’s amazing that they do this! Who does it? We started on a couple little roller coasters for the little kids then headed over towards the race tracks. They had a race track for 3-5 year olds and one for 6-13 year olds. We decided to let Kyle go anyways- and of course when the attendant at the front of the line asked him how old he was he held up two pudgy fingers and said, “Two!” And I lied! I laughed and said, “He’s three…” Oh my, I felt a little bit sick. But he could drive better then all the 5 year olds there- he’s a pro driver from driving his jeep like a maniac all over the neighborhood. Ted said the consequence is going to be when we go to Disneyland and they ask him at the front gate how old he is and he holds up 3 pudgy little innocent fingers and says, “three!” and we have to buy him a pass!!! Adam didn’t want to drive. James and Emma headed over to the big race track that was set up like a little town with stop signs and lights that actually changed and police officers on the corner- lego police officer’s of course.

After a bumper boat ride, where Mom and Adam had a very difficult time navigating and luckily Dad was behind us to bump us in the right direction…we headed over to a show in Adventureland. We ate lunch while we waited for the doors to open. The kids all loved the show! It was a little goofy- and I’m mean because I compare everything to Disney- but at the end of the day when we asked everyone what they liked best Adam piped up and said, “The show!” I thought that was so funny!

From there we discovered pirate land! They actually had a couple of really fun rides and we were able to hop off- run around the line and hop right back on a few times. The kids loved the ride where you got to squirt people with water. We discovered there was a big water playground and told the kids we’d come back on Saturday with towels and swim suits! So we headed on to MiniLand USA. First we took a boat tour around so that we could see all the cool Lego structures on the water- animals and the Eiffel tower, Mt. Rushmore. It was incredible! And then Kyle literally spent hours just walking around the Miniland yelling, “Cool cars!” They had all these little cars and buses made out of Legos driving around. While Kyle and Emma and I walked around James and Adam and Daddy built Lego kits in the builder area. It took them about an hour- they worked very hard to make these little cars that actually drove…and then Adam was very upset when you had to turn the kit back in…he didn’t understand that you were just checking them out.

I broke off with the older kids at that point to hit a couple of roller coasters and Ted headed towards the squirty pirate ride. James and Emma loved their first roller coaster! James kept his hands up the whole time- he doesn’t know what he’s in for next week at Disney California- the best roller coaster ever! We went to meet up with Ted who had never made it to the pirate ride. They had found this amazing tree house play structure. It was huge and the best playground I’ve ever been on! Kyle was hilarious! We couldn’t keep up with him- he was literally speeding through the fort at top speed! I don’t know how he had that much energy at the end of the long day. But we just stayed there until the park closed because the kids were having a blast. Hands down the best part of the day- made it worth every penny!

Off to Round Table Pizza and then Target- where Daddy bought some new shorts for himself- thank goodness! We opted to not swim in the puked in pool. We realized that every public pool has been puked in- but we just couldn’t bring ourselves to do it after Ted had seen it happen the night before- he said, “No!” So that’s the first thing we did when we got to our hotel in Anaheim!!

The kids crashed- and so did Ted and I!

I have to say that the kids were all troopers- hardly any whining. And especially Emma who does not have that great an investment or interest in Lego’s. My boys play with them for hours on end so they really immersed themselves in the experience. Emma just had fun- she can make anything fun- and I’m proud of her good attitude! Worth the extra two days in my opinion- if you have kids that love Lego’s.

Day 1

Thursday, April 16, 2009

The day started very early for us! The night before I put the kids to bed at 7:00- James told me that he felt like it was his birthday or Christmas the next day…I agreed! They had a little bit of a hard time falling asleep but they all hopped willingly out of bed the next morning at 4:45 when I came to get them. Said goodbye to Parker the barker and loaded them all up. Angie drove us to the airport and we were on our way to a great family adventure.

Kyle could not believe that we were on an airplane! He loved every minute of it! Looking out the windows and squealing at the tiny cars. After the flight from Kennewick to Seattle as we were getting off the plane the flight attendant was smiling at Kyle’s exuberance and told us that she had never had such well behaved kids on a flight and said it was really a reflection of their parents. I thought that was such a nice compliment. We made it to LA in one piece and headed for the rental car agency where the kids and I waited outside while Ted went in to get the van. We waited for a long long time- probably an hour. But I could honestly say that Kyle would have gone home content right then because we were in the landing path for LAX and we probably saw at least 20 huge jumbo jets land right over our heads- it looked like they were going to land on us. You could see them coming from a distance, their lights getting bigger and bigger and Kyle would start to yell, “Shet! Shet! Big shet coming!” And yell it until it was right over our heads where he went, “Wooaahhh, big shet!”


Ted and I were both disappointed that we got the one van that wasn’t a Sienna- it was a Kia- and they told us we could wait another 30 minutes for a Sienna- but we were ready to be on our way. We stopped at El Pollo Loco for lunch and I called Allison to see how Parker was doing- I can’t believe I have a dog. And by following the directions on Ted’s palm- which has been very helpful- we ended up on a toll freeway driving through some beautiful parts of the coastal areas on our way down to San Diego.

I was explaining to the kids about the old Catholic missions from when California first started. And I saw the temple and said, "Like that one!" And then we drove past and Ted said, "I think that's an angel Moroni on top." And it was- so apparantly it was not a Catholic mission. But a gorgeous LDS temple. You should look up a picture sometime.

We'd had a late lunch so we checked into the hotel and headed down to the beach. We were just going to look at it because we were'nt equiped for beachiness...but the kids couldn't help themselves. Who can at the ocean?

When it started to get too cold we headed back to the hotel to swim. Like I said, we weren't equipped for the beach so we folded the seats down in the van and made the very sandy kids sit in the back! Agghhh! It was long two miles back to the hotel for me worrying that someone was going to rearend us! Well that plan was thwarted when we got there and the pool was closed because someone threw up in it. Okay- plan #2...dinner. Bennihana's was right around the corner we thought that would be fun- over an hour wait. We tried to find a California Pizza Kitchen- we found one actually but it wasn't open yet- so we ended up at In n Out. Had to do hamburgers at least once right? Then off to the grocery store for lunch stuff for LegoLand- home and the kids CRASHED!

I just have been praying that I could be laid back and roll with the punches and enjoy every moment of this time I have with my family. It's just such a relief to be together and enjoying one another. We needed a vacation! What a blessing it is to be able to do this.

Another thought I had today was that I understand why people sacrifice to live in a place like this- it is sort of a sacrifice time (traffic) and money- for obvious reasons- maybe not such a huge house- not so much land space...but it is just breathtakingly gorgeous- and most of the year. My spirit needed this lift. Today I stood in line at LegoLand and just enjoyed viewing the different plants. There was a plant with furry leaves...and purple flowers that were bursting everywhere like fire crackers. The ocean is stunning- the waves are so powerful and white and delicate at the same time. What a beautiful world we live in.