Disneyland

Our good friends Nick and Tessa Pearson invited us to go to Disneyland with them and their two girls. We left on Friday afternoon (after Chase finished his CPR re-certification class) and drove to Las Vegas where we stayed the night. We got in super late, so just went to bed.

Dinner at Jimmy John's in St George

The next morning, we wandered around Vegas for a bit. It was my birthday, so we tried to celebrate as much as possible that day! We went to the Coca-Cola World store where we took pictures with the polar bear. Juliet was absolutely terrified of it and, to be honest, I don't blame her! We got to taste 16 different sodas from around the world. Some were great and some were AWFUL!!

Then we wandered next door to the M&M World. We walked through the different floors of their shop and drooled over all the chocolate.

We continued our journey onto Anaheim and made it to our hotel after stopping at the wrong one first. Who makes two Ayres Hotels and an Ayres Inn all in Orange County, anyways?! Our hotel was great, we had adjoining rooms, and the front desk staff was amazing. We had great full breakfasts every morning, free parking, and the ART shuttle picked us up at the front door every morning to take us to the park.

That night, we went to dinner at TGI Friday's near our hotel for my birthday dinner. Poor little Ainsley wasn't feeling well during dinner and fell asleep in her Dad's arms. By the time we got to the front door, she really let us know she was sick by vomiting right outside the door. We were all so sad for her, but so happy it didn't happen inside the restaurant or in the car on the way back to the hotel. Luckily, she felt much better by later that evening.

Sunday, we decided to go to the beach for a little R&R. We drove to Huntington Beach and found some parking on the street. We spent a few hours playing in the sand and the water. We had a hard time wanting to get all the way in the water because it was so cold. I know it always is, but it's still rough! It took Juliet a long time to get over her fear of the water, not because of the temperature, but just because of the unknown. She eventually enjoyed it, but Mom or Dad had to be right on her side the entire time. That night, Nick and Tessa took the kids to dinner at Goofy's kitchen to let them in on the surprise we all had been keeping from them this entire time. They had no idea we were going to Disneyland the next day! While they were there, we drove in to Glendora and had Sunday dinner with Chase's Aunt and Uncle and Cousins, the Clark Family. We got to see their new chickens and their bunny and visit with them for a long time. We sure do love them!

Chase and Nick out in the water

 (Blogger won't let me post a big video, so I had to split them up.)

Terrified of the bunny...

...until we all pet it first, then she would.

Monday, we were up early and made it to Disneyland at opening. 

Colton trying to sit up in the high chair - not quite...

Yummy breakfast at the hotel

We spent the morning in Fantasy Land and got to meet lots of princesses, including Anna and Elsa from Frozen. 

Scared inside Ariel's Grotto

Chase and Juliet on the inside horse

Ainsley and Addie's dream!

Juliet is scared of everyone!

Waiting while the big kids ride rides

Small world

Scared of the characters on Small World

Had to sit on Dad's lap

Zonked!

Those are some cool kids right there!

Chase was extremely proud of his score!

Kristi in the back seat - stroller pass meant I went by myself a lot

 The rest of our time spent there over the next three days was filled with rides, naps in the shade (it was SOOOO hot!!), splitting up to cater to everyone's desires, parades, and a bunch of tired kids! We did Disneyland Monday and Tuesday and then California Adventure on Wednesday. We watched the World of Color show that night. Meh, in my opinion. It was cool, but the fact that they made you stand in your place for an hour and a half after you had been walking around the park all day, was not very comfortable. For that reason, it wasn't worth it. I do remember that some guy was trying to sneak a peak while I sat down on the stairs to nurse Colton. That made us all laugh a lot! The Pearson's stayed a day longer than us and did CA Adventure on Thursday also.

Chase and Juliet

Chase, Ainsley, Addie, Nick

Changing her baby's diaper

Happy, hot boy!

Happy, hot boy!

She did ok with Tinker Bell

Not so much when she saw Buzz Lightyear though...

Riding the rockets

Nick and Ainsley

Tessa and Addie

Pirates - sleepy Colton

This girl! So cute!

We drove home on Thursday and had to take a detour. The day after we left for CA, a huge rain storm came through and washed away the highway just west of Mesquite, NV. We were detoured through the Valley of Fire State Park. It was slow going, but at least there was something to look at along the way. Beautiful red rocks and rock formations. We made it home that evening and were sad that our vacation was over. Thanks Nick and Tessa! We had a great time! Glad we're friends!

Lunch Break!