spring break 2009: part I

With the boys being out of school for their spring break, we took off to California to see Gpa and Gma Airplane and the rest of the family. We were sorry to miss Aunt Martha--she hasn't been well lately and wasn't up to visiting with us.

We spent the first night in Las Vegas, and then made it to Upland the next day. It was beautiful weather until we hit Cajon Pass, and then it was drizzly and dreary the rest of the day.

The boys didn't care about the rain--they were bound and determined to play outside anyway. The favorite toy for sure this trip has been the little red go-cart. I don't know how many times they pushed that thing up the hill next to Gma's house and rode down like banshees! The neighbor offered them a crash helmet today, but that only lasted one time down.

It is so beautiful this time of year in Southern California--everything is so green and lush still before it turns brown from all the summer heat.

By the end of the day the boys were dead tired, and they all managed to sleep in the same bed.

Disneyland--part 1

Thanks to Gpa and Gma for coming and surviving a day at Disneyland with us! It was a birthday celebration for the twins upcoming birthday--they love to talk every year about the fact that they get to go to Disneyland for their birthdays. What's better than that?!

Many firsts...

It was the boy's first time going on quite a few rides--I've always loved It's a Small World, but Ben thought it was pretty boring, "because all you do is just sit in the boat." It was also a day Ben had been looking forward to for years--when he was finally tall enough to drive his own car in Autopia. Oh the concentration!

I don't know if it got better, though, than being on Space Mountain the first time the twins went on it, or being with Jake the first time he went on the Indiana Jones ride! Will LOVED Space Mountain and might have been on it all day if he could have! He would have been so sad to know that we went on the Indy ride without him, but it might be years before he is tall enough to go on it!! Jake barely made it, and he's 4" taller than Weeya.

Mark Twain's Riverboat Ride

Will was so excited to go on the Mark Twain Steamboat ride!! It was a beautiful day there--around the low 60's.

Jake is ALWAYS such a character and a poser!! Will stole my camera for a minute and caught Grandma Airplane taking a quick rest on the boat.

Tom Sawyer's Island--aka: a boy's paradise playground!!

I remember playing on this island as a kid, and it's been a long time since I have been there, but I re-visited it today. It was soooo much fun for the boys--they could have stayed there the rest of the day and been happy as ever. (Does that seem to be a common theme?!)

The treehouses and caves were amazing. The boys couldn't believe what a wonderful playgroud they had found. The guy who ferried the raft over to the island had said that you couldn't return to the "mainland" until you found the hidden treasure...and the boys took that challenge to heart.

Will was dying to show me the treasure map up in the first tree they climbed. I took a picture of it so they would be able to follow it as they searched for the treasure. It took some time, including climbing through some rather short and narrow caves, but the treasure was finally discovered. And we only lost the boys a few times!! It's too bad we couldn't really let them roam around the island as freely as they would have liked.

Dinner!

We made reservations for the Blue Bayou a couple months ago, just to make sure we could get in. I have wanted to eat there since I was a little girl, and this was finally the year. I always loved looking at this restaurant as you ride the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, and it is really that dim in there. We had dinner reservations at 4pm (we were all starving by then!), so we missed trying their famous Monte Cristo sandwich, but maybe someday we'll get back there again. It was good food, and really just fun to be there.

We were really slow getting to Ben's favorite ride, Thunder Mountain, and by the time we finally made it there after dinner, it shut down while we were in line...thank goodness it was only a temporary shut down--Ben would have been devestated if he didn't get to go on it! We spent the rest of the evening doing a little shopping and riding Thunder Mountain a couple of times.

Jake was pretty excited about his big sucker he got as we waited for people to clear out the park, and Ben was more than happy to show off his new Indy hat!! (At this point Will was zonked out, so he didn't get in the pictures) We stayed until almost the last person left...at least that's what it seemed like! What a fun day it was!!!!

We began a practice that night that became common place for us almost every night during this trip--dressing the boys in their p.j.'s and giving them their blankets so they could fall asleep in the car on the way home. It's worked quite well, but I'm dreading having to get them up early for school next week!!