Southern California!

[Picture Overload]

We are back from Southern California and it was awesome! The kids did so great! They did have a rough time in the car about ten hours into our first day and a hard time in the car when we were stuck in traffic the second day but other than that they did so good. If we do this trip again we might decide to fly instead of drive. I have to give thanks to my in-laws who let us take their SUV on our trip because we weren't able to fit everything in our Prius. We had so much leg room and space in their car and it was amazing. We ended each day feeling completely exhausted because our days were so packed and fun. We got the Southern California City Pass which included one day at Sea World, one day at Legoland, and three days at Disneyland and California Adventure. Definitely one of my favorite family trips to date. I'm already looking forward to when we can go back.

Day 1:

The first day was mostly driving. We stopped at St. George for lunch and both kids were able to stretch and get their wiggles out before driving again. We made another stop at a place called Seven Magic Mountains which was just passed Las Vegas. I was looking forward to this place because I had seen a picture of it on Instagram so I made Danny take a stop there. Addie thought it was so cool and I did too. Danny thought they were as cool as colored rocks could get (not very cool). Hudson I think was just so happy to get out of the car again. It was a long day in the car. San Diego is over ten hours away from home and we with us making stops we were already at ten hours and still not near our destination. We actually left a day early so to give some leeway in our driving plans. We had a hotel booked in San Diego for our second night but we decided not to book a place in advance for our first night because we wanted to see how far we could get without feeling rushed or behind on time. We drove as far as we could before we felt like the kids couldn't take it anymore which was pretty far. We made it to Baker California which was a little over three and a half hours to San Diego where we wanted to be the next day. The place we stayed at was not the nicest place but it had beds and we cannot complain since we decided not to look for a place in advance. It worked for our needs and we got on the road early the next morning. 

Burning some energy in St. George.

My inlaws are awesome and let us borrow their vehicle.

Our place for the night.

Day 2:

We dressed for church and found a church house with a 1pm meeting in San Diego and started heading that way. We left with good timing but unfortunately we did not plan on being stuck in traffic for a couple hours. We thought we would only be spending three hours in the car that day but the horrible traffic delayed our plans and we spent almost six hours in the car. By the time we finally got to San Diego church was over. We had tickets to Legoland which we had planned on using after church but by the time we finally got to our hotel all we wanted to do was relax. It was okay because we planned on being quite flexible with our plans this trip. With two young kids you kind of have to be. We spent that night at Mission Bay Beach which Addie loved because they had a humongous playground. It was also only ten minutes from our hotel which we liked. Our kids were still in their church clothes which was okay. They didn't seem to mind. :)

Day 3:

Sea World! This place was so fun with all of the animals. Addie loved the dolphins and Hudson loved the Orcas. He kept his eyes on them the whole time and loved every time they jumped. We were in the gift shop and he got so excited when he saw the little killer whale stuffed animals. I wish I had taken a video of him hugging his new toy. Addie chose a turtle. Danny and I collect keychains from all the places we visit so we got ourselves one from their gift shop to add to our collection. It was fun. I think my favorite animal to watch was the sea lions. They were so cute. They would do tricks in hopes that you'd throw them some fish but the real trick was trying to get the fish to them without birds swooping in and stealing it. I'm guessing on what Danny's favorite animal was but I would say it would be a toss up between the Walruses and the Manta Rays. Danny, Addie and I all got to handfeed the Mantra Rays with little fish which was fun.

 

Wiped out.

Day 4:

Disneyland! Our day did not start the way we anticipated. At all. I was just about to get Hudson out of the bath and Danny was with Addie in the other room. They were both ready and dressed and were waiting for Hudson and I so that we could head out the door. Something people should know about Danny is that he loves dancing. He's good at it too. Anyway he started dancing to get Addie excited for our first day at Disney. Well, his happy dance took a turn and next thing I know he is screaming in pain on the floor. I thought he was joking and thought it was weird that he was taking this joke a little too far. He was far from joking. I've never seen him in pain like this before. He was convinced that his foot was broken and I thought so too. I had Hudson in the bath still and Danny on the floor. I hurry and take Hudson out so that he's not left alone and get him dressed as fast as I could. I got both kids in the car before coming back for Danny. I helped Danny get into the car and then we headed to the hospital. I have never been so nervous driving a car as I did driving that car. It was my first time and that car is huge! I was so rushed that I didn't adjust the settings to my levels so I could barely see anything over the wheel. I just prayed that I wouldn't crash the car. We got to the hospital and Danny was one of the first people seen. The doctor and nurses were all extremely nice and by that point our nerves had calmed down. We started laughing at the situation that we were in. Danny felt so bad and kept apologizing and I tried to reassure him that it was an accident and not to worry about it. Luckily for us Danny's foot was not broken. It was just a bad sprain. We left with crutches, pain medication and a note the doctor wrote for Disney so that Danny could get access to a wheelchair. By the time we got to Disneyland it was 3pm. Addie finally got to see what Disneyland was all about. Up to that point she had been a little disappointed because she thought the hospital was Disneyland. We were able to get on a few rides before a Disneyland worker noticed Danny's foot and that he was struggling a little with walking. She explained to us how the disability passes work and directed us in how to get one. It was the best thing ever. After getting that pass we never had to wait more than a few minutes for each ride. We missed half of a day in the hospital but all that time was quickly made up by qualifying for the wheelchair pass. I told Danny we can never visit Disneyland in the future unless one of us is sick or injured. That little hiccup in our vacation turned into a blessing. 

Day 5:

Disneyland and California Adventure! Before we left to California I had called and made a reservation for the character dining. Since this vacation was a celebration of Addie and her upcoming birthday I chose 'Breakfast with Minnie and Friends'. She loves Minnie Mouse and I wanted to guarantee that she would be able to meet Minnie Mouse on this trip. She loved it. I knew she would. The one I was a little nervous for was Hudson. I didn't know if he would do well meeting characters but I didn't need to be hesistant because he loved it even more than Addie did! He wasn't nervous at all and was so cute with everyone who approached us. He especially loved kissing (eating) their noses and was so funny with all of them. I tried to take as many pictures as I could because I was absolutely loving this experience. It was a great way to start off our second day at the park. We took full advantage of our disability pass and went on as many rides as we could. Danny and I were also able to experience an adult ride while Hudson napped. We took turns staying with Addie and the stroller where Hudson was sleeping while the other parent got to ride on Indiana Jones. This is our favorite ride so I'm glad that we were both able to go on it. The only thing that would have made it perfect would have been if we were able to ride it together. It was just a little sacrifice we made traveling with little kids. We also went on Pirates of the Caribbean and I was impressed that Hudson did so well through it all. He LOVED the two drops at the beginning and was smiling from beginning to end. Nothing scared him. To him it was all just music and lights but with Addie being a little older she was more aware of things. She never complained or mentioned that she was scared on any of the rides but I could tell if she liked one ride over another. On the Pirates ride she would tense up and hold on real tight for the drops and loud noises but she still said it was fun. Loud but fun. When asked if she wanted to go again she said no haha. I think Hudson is going to be the thrill seeker in our family. This second day was probably my most favorite day of the trip. We ventured into California Adventure that evening but didn't stay long. We only went on one ride before heading back to our hotel because it was getting really late. We wanted to make sure we went on the Little Mermaid ride because she's Addie's favorite princess. Danny and I wanted to check out the Cars Land area but there just wasn't enough time and Addie was just barely under the height restrictions. One of our regrets was not going back to that area but we still enjoyed the things we were able to do.

Day 6:

Our last day at Disneyland and we accomplished everything we wanted to do there. Almost everything, we wanted to see Daisy and Donald Duck because those were the only two characters we didn't get to see but we kept missing them. That's okay though. Addie can say that she has been on almost every ride for her age in all of Disneyland. This is thanks to Danny's foot sprain. We wouldn't have been able to get on all of these rides if we had to wait the normal wait times. We spent a lot of time relaxing in Toon Town today. We found a nice spot in the shade where we ate our lunch and Hudson took a nap in the stroller. The spot ended up being right next to a door that would open every fifteen minutes and a character would walk out. We didn't plan on that but it ended up being really cool. One of the times Pluto walked out and grabbed Addie by the hand and the two of them took a little stroll. It was really cute. A lot of people ran to try and catch up and then there's little Addie being personally guided by her friend Pluto. I hope this is a memory that she'll keep for awhile. I know I definitely won't forget it. This day was a more relaxing day in my opinion. We didn't do as many rides as we did our second day but by our choice. We did more exploring and just enjoying each other. I absolutely loved our time at Disney. We thought we would turn one of our Disney Days into a beach day but there's so much to do at Disney that I personally feel you need more than three days there (Danny thinks one day is just fine haha). 

Day 7:

Heading home! Well not really. We headed to St. George, Utah! Danny's parents had a pre-planned get away for the weekend in St. George and we were invited to stop there on our way home. It was so kind of them to do that. They even found us a place to stay and booked it for us. All we had to do was show up. We arrived there in good timing and joined them for dinner at Brick Oven Pizza. The food was pretty good. They had to head out to their play that they had tickets for and we headed back to our hotel. We thought we would look around the city and explore it a little but our double stroller ended up breaking the night before so we instead enjoyed ourselves in the hotel room. Our kids didn't seem to mind that at all.

Day 8:

After breakfast we headed to the Dinosaur Museum in St. George. This is a place that Danny has had his eye on. We were finally able to cross it off his bucket list on this trip. It was also nice to do something before getting on the road again for the drive home. Addie enjoyed running around (even though that wasn't allowed) and Hudson loved not being in the car. It wasn't a very big museum but we still spent close to an hour there. They had a sand box where you can dig up dinosaur fossils and Addie liked that. We got back on the road and finally made it home. I immediately got everything unpacked and was able to watch the LDS Women's Conference. It was exactly what my soul needed.

It was fun, exhausting, and everything I wanted it to be. I would do it again in a heartbeat. 

List of Disney rides

* Addie insisted we start off everyday with both the Dumbo and Carrousel ride. She loved both.

Day 1:

King Arthur Carrousel

Dumbo The Flying Elephant

Mad Tea Party

It's A Small World

Casey Jr. Circus Train

Peter Pan's Flight

Pinocchio's Daring Journey

Day 2:

Breakfast with Minnie and Friends

Dumbo The Flying Elephant

King Arthur Carrousel

Mr Toad's Wild Ride

Storybook Land Canal Boats

Pixie Hollow

Indiana Jones Adventure

Jungle Cruise

The Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh

Splash Mountain (only Danny rode this)

Pirates of The Carribean

Ariel's Undersea Adventure

Day 3:

(A lot of character signing)

Dumbo The Flying Elephant

King Arthur Carrousel

Alice In Wonderland

Toon Town - Donald's Boat House + Mickey's House

Buzz Lightyear Astro Blast