Disney Day 1

We spent 2 days at Disney parks, and the first day was at Disneyland. It really is a magical place to go to. We walked a LOT these two days and the kids didn't complain at all. They couldn't wait for the next ride and area of the park. Meeting all of the characters was a highlight, although Mickey is near impossible to get near. We was him but never got a picture with him. We all loved the Toy Story ride and Splash mountain here. All of the Star Wars exhibits the have is so much fun to look at. The last 2 rides we tried to do at the end of the day broke down just as we got to the front of the line. 

Emery did not like the Matterhorn. We thought Jacks may get scared but it was Emery. Brad heard her screaming and thought maybe it was a fun one, but quickly figured out it wasn't a fun yell. 

She did however like to drive. Camden said his went slow because he had a hard time pressing the peddle down. 

Beck had to touch the apple to hear the witch laugh. 

One of our favorite rides, we did it 2 times

No one could get the sword in the stone out. 

The have a Jedi Training that the 3 boys did. They loved it and it was fun to watch them. The two older boys fought the sixth sister and Jacks fought Darth Vader. 

They told them to concentrate and use the force to lift the building up, Jacks really used the force. 

They all used the force to get Vader back into the cave. 

Then Kylo Ren came out. It was fun how much every kid got into it. 

After the show all of the kids were excited to go to the store and make their own light saber. Beckham was the only one who decided in the end he didn't want one. 

It was a lot of fun meeting characters. Some of them were able to talk and a few just moved around. The kids had autograph books for the ones that were signing things. 

Jacks was amazed with how big Chewie was.

Vader tried to get Jacks to join the dark side. Jackson was nervous talking to him, so he just said yes to everything he said to him. 

The princesses were so sweet and Beck got a little nervous, especially around Cinderella. 

We all loved Splash Mountain, probably because we were really hot at the time we went on it. The boys decided that for the picture we should pretend we are sleeping. Emery and Jacks didn't get the memo though. 

Pirates of the Caribbean has changed since I went on it. The kids liked that it went alone with the movie. The line for this was huge but moved really fast. 

Since school is started the parks closed at 8, but that was still plenty of time. We had fast passes all day, so we really didn't ever have to wait too long for a ride. We spent lots of time walking around, seeing characters and looking in shops. Day one was a lot of fun and even though we were tired, we were all just as excited for day two. 

Beach Day

The second day in California we went to the beach. It was Labor Day so we decided to try and stay away from parks that would have big crowds. We went to Huntington beach and it was really nice. It was a little cloudy, but I think it made it a perfect day. Beck loved the beach and the waves, Camden and Jacks were iffy and Emery didn't like it at all. She held on my hand for a while, letting the waves hit her and watched how it also made her feet sink, but pretty quick she started to worry. She kept telling Beck to be careful because he was sitting letting the waves hit him. (we was close and safe, she just couldn't see that) Then as we were letting waves hit us a big wave came that went up to by belly button, so really high on her and she was done. She ran up to Brad and wouldn't go back out. She also got emotional worrying about the boys in the water. I'm not sure she'll be too excited to go the beach again anytime soon. 

When we went back to the hotel we went swimming. There was a Target near us that the kids bought a bear tube and pool noodles at. It was so nice that they had their own money. They loved buying whatever they wanted but realized how much things cost and how fast money goes. 

We went to an outdoor mall near us to walk around and eat dinner. 

We went to a place called Fire and Ice that was really cool. It is like Mongolian bbq but better. You can make almost anything. The boys had burgers, Emery had pasta, Jacks had pizza and I had fajitas. 

We left our mark on the chalk wall there too. 

Near our hotel was a place called Joe's Italian Ice and it was the best thing we ate there. We all loved it so much we left Disney 30 min early the last day just to get it again. 

Flying and the Zoo

The time finally came for us to head out to California for our first big family trip. Time flew by from the time we told the kids our plans until we were headed to Utah, but we were all more than ready to go. We decided to go down the night before our flight so we didn't have to get up really early and drive. Plus it gave us time to swim in the pool at the hotel, which the kids loved. 

I'm not sure how much the kids slept that night, but we were up bright and early to get to the airport. Emery and Jacks were excited for their first time to fly and the boys were ready to show them the ropes. I think Cam was a little nervous again to fly, but Southwest is 100% better than the last fight we took. For me (and Brad) flying is such a good idea, until you start to take off. I am so glad we were able to fly, but I really don't like flying. I'm nervous the whole time. 

Jacks and Emery loved it. It was like a big amusement ride to them. 

We flew into San Diego and went right to the zoo. I think a half day is perfect for a zoo. They're cool, but not an all day thing for me. At the end we searched for a red panda for Camden to see, it was the one animal he wanted to see. The lion got a little energy while we walked by and started to roar, which was cool to hear. The hippo was really active and swam around and around. One of the small monkeys was really friendly and was hoping we'd feed him. He even tried to throw us a stick in exchange for food. Apparently he wins a lot because there were signs all over his exhibit that said to not feed him. 

Next we drove to Anaheim for our hotel and realized why I will never live in California. We realized this a LOT when it took us over 2 hours to get maybe 30 miles a few times. The kids were actually really good in the car, so that made it a little better. The hotel we stayed in was really nice. Everyone had a bed, which by the end of the day we all were thankful for and crashed. There was a nice pool and even a small arcade. Each kid had $10 in quarters to spend, which they spent a little in that room. 

We were right next to the Toy Story Parking lot, so each day we just walked a little and were able to take a bus to Disney. That's when the real fun started.