On day 1 we arrived in the evening and settled into our condo. Usually we share condos with family, but we ended up having one to ourselves. This was equal parts awesome and lonely. Awesome because we didn't have to worry about our kids waking everyone up, and we had plenty of space, and we could sleep in our underwear and do laundry whenever we wanted. Lonely because we had lots of other family members who were staying on another floor in condos of their own. They were there but not there.
On day 2 we woke up early and headed to the California Science Center. I have plugged the science center before, but it's been a while, so I'll just throw this out there... If you are ever in the LA area with some downtime, go to the California Science Center. It is free (just pay $12 to park), and it is really cool!
The museum has some interesting exhibits on space - the types of things that make me completely sure that I am not cut out for space travel, like 185 lb. space suits.
The space shuttle Endeavour is there, which is amazing to see and learn about.
Have you ever wondered how astronauts go potty? You can watch a video about it, and see the toilet at the museum. This, above all, is the most fascinating part of the exhibit (I was so enthusiastic about it that I even taught a Family Home Evening lesson about it later that night)!
In another exhibit, there's a touch pool where you can touch star fish and other freakish creatures of the sea.
But why would you want to? Cuz sea creatures are Ew!
(I have major starfish aversion. I can't touch them! I just can't!)
Day 3 was spent at the beach. It wasn't the warmest of days, but when you live in Utah and you have the chance to go to the beach, you go rain or shine!
That night, we went to dinner at Ruby's (all 17 of us!) and I loved their deep fried green beans so much that I had to go back a few days later and eat two more orders of them (I left feeling rather ill).
On day 4 we went to Disneyland, and we learned an important lesson. Are you listening? DO NOT GO TO DISNEYLAND ON YOM KIPPUR! It's was crazy crowded, and a lady who works for one of the school districts told me that it's because a lot of the schools are out for Yom Kippur. When we first got there in the morning, it was great, but by 11:00, it was shoulder to shoulder.
Zoe is tall enough to go on the big rides, so she took her first ride on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. She liked it so much, she got off the ride and planked.
Zoe is tall enough to go on the big rides, so she took her first ride on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. She liked it so much, she got off the ride and planked.
(Everyone gets that urge, right?)
On day 5 we went to California Adventure. The crowds were much smaller, but the crowd patterns were really weird. I had to wait in line for 20 minutes just to get fast passes to ride Soarin' Around the World (formerly Soarin' Over California). Tower of Terror was shut down for most of the day, and Little Mermaid was unexpectedly closed for the entire day.
Luckily, Scotty was watching Tower of Terror like a hawk, so when it opened in the afternoon, he was able to grab fast passes. They ended up running out quickly, and the wait was 120 minutes for the rest of the day. Since Tower of Terror is closing soon, it would have been devastating if we hadn't gotten on for one last ride!
Sadly, they have already started working on the exterior of the building. I felt like they were burying my grandma alive. Give the Tower some dignity! Sheesh!
Scotty took Zoe on Tower. She hated it (of course), but it was literally a once in a lifetime opportunity, so he had to.
Other than the strange crowd patterns, our day at California Adventure was really great. Oh! Except for one little thing...
Whenever I ride Screamin' with one of the kids, we wait for the front (it is seriously magical)! But when we rode at dusk, we ended up hitting several swarms of bugs with our faces. At the end of the ride, I had to pull dead bugs out of my eyeballs!
Sadly, they have already started working on the exterior of the building. I felt like they were burying my grandma alive. Give the Tower some dignity! Sheesh!
Scotty took Zoe on Tower. She hated it (of course), but it was literally a once in a lifetime opportunity, so he had to.
Other than the strange crowd patterns, our day at California Adventure was really great. Oh! Except for one little thing...
Whenever I ride Screamin' with one of the kids, we wait for the front (it is seriously magical)! But when we rode at dusk, we ended up hitting several swarms of bugs with our faces. At the end of the ride, I had to pull dead bugs out of my eyeballs!
So here's the lesson. Are you listening? NO FRONT ROW AT DUSK! Let someone else's face break up the swarms!
On day 6 we hung out at the condo for the morning, and my mother-in-law fell in the hot tub with her pants on (she'll be pleased I mentioned that).
My in-laws flew out in the early afternoon, so it was just my family left. We went to the mall where we enjoyed foot massages at Brookstone, and I took Zoe and Daisy into Sephora and let them put on make-up.
Day 7 meant it was time to go home. We packed up our van and took the long ride back to Salt Lake.
This vacation flew by and seemed crazy fast! We feel like we didn't get our fix, so I guess we'll just have to go back again soon!
*An estimate since we have long lost track of how many times our family has been to Disneyland
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