Thursday, June 27, 2013

The Wonderful World of Disney!

We are SO excited!  The Lord provided some extra money for us and we decided to take the kids to Disneyland.  When will we ever be out in Cali again?!  The kids didn't exactly understand what the day was going to be about, but they caught on pretty quick.
Fair warning: There are a TON of pics in this post.  I just could not pick favorites.  This is not all the pictures I took, believe it or not, but they are some of the best.  
 Early morning tram ride from the parking garage to the park.

 The very first ride we went on was Peter Pan.  So cute and fun!  You boarded a little pirate ship and it made you feel like you were flying over London to Neverland.
 Gotta ride Dumbo!
 We picked out Mickey Mouse ears...
The whole atmosphere of the park was simply lovely.  Adults of all ages and kids laughing and playing.  It felt so good to clap and skip with the kids while wearing my Mickey Mouse ears.  :)  I loved being a kid again.
 ...and had a blast going around to the different characters to get their autographs.  I made the kids little books to keep the photos and picture in.



 It's a Small World!
 I was amazed at how short the lines were.  The longest wait was Peter Pan at about 20 minutes.  All the others were 15 or less.


 It's not complete until you race the cars!  I rode with Peter and Justin rode with Brent.  Jane was too short to ride so we switched her off.  I pushed the gas, but Peter steered!
I love Justin's face in this pic!  Click on it to enlarge.  :)
 Adventure Land had Indiana Jones stuff!  They were too short for the ride, but loved looking at the hats and swords.

 We got to tour Tarzan's Tree House!  Woohoo!  It was a steep climb up and you were able to look out over Adventure Land.  They had Tarzan, Jane,  cheetahs, gorillas, and the whole kitchen and lab set up.  They boys LOVED it.


 We rode Pirates of the Caribbean and all three kids left crying with one upset Mamma and Daddy.  It was so scary and had a few steep drops that we were not prepared for.  If you go to Disneyland DO NOT take on small kids.  It took a while to get over....Peter wouldn't go on Winnie the Pooh after that experience, so Brent took Justin.

 Iconic shot!
 Oh I loved meeting the princesses!  Jane was so enthralled and the boys got all shy.  It was sweet.  :)


 It simply cannot be Disneyland without Buzz Lightyear!  The ride was so fun!  You spun along in black light and shot down the Evil Emperor Zurg with laser guns.




Mickey's Toon Town!

 The parade!  So fun to see a lot of the characters dancing by.

Jane really got into it! So did I, for that matter.  It was fun to wave a the characters and clap for them.  

 The boys picked out "glow-up" toys to play with at nighttime.


 Tuckered OUT!
We were so blessed to have this great day!  We praise the Lord for allowing us to enjoy Him and each other. Such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.  We will remember this day for years to come.
 Sleep tight!

Monday, June 24, 2013

Leo Carillo State Beach

 We are still looking for a beach that we love.  We have tried a few, but I think this one will be my favorite.  The water was so cold that I didn't even attempt to get in.  But the kids did.  The rocks were so pretty and during low tide you can see tide pools filled with wildlife.  But I love the beach at sunset.  I have not gotten to see a beach sunset in quite a while, so we went out in the late afternoon in order to let our time include the end of the day.
 

 I was brave and went to pose for a pic....but then the water rushed up and sent me running  back to the dry sand.






We went for dinner and then came back for sunset.  It was freezing, but well worth the 15 windy minutes.  



Just to throw this picture in....across the street from our apartment there is a mountain with a museum at the top...kind of a country western thing.  This beautiful tree is at one of the bends of the hiking trail.  


Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Fairy Round

Griffith Park is the largest urban park in the US behind Central Park.  So we decided that we had to check it out.  They had a carousel that Justin keep calling a "fairy round".  So cute.  You could hear the music when we got out of the car and the excitement mounted as we hiked down the hill. 


Tickets were pretty cheap so we let the kids ride.


Getting ready!  We started to pick which animal we wanted as we waited behind the gate.  

 The kids couldn't ride without an adult.  Ya'll, I'm too old for this.  That ride was the tightest, fastest circle!  SHEW!  I was glad to step off.


 According to the sign, this is the only carousel left in existence that had horses as many as four-across.  Pretty cool.
 In Griffith Park is also Griffith Observatory. You know me.  Telescopes, science exhibits and a beautiful view?!  We had to go.  So we drove up to the tip top of the mountain to find the observatory.
 It over looked LA.  Such a gorgeous view!  I want to go back at night.
 Here is one of two telescopes.  During star parties you can look through them!
 The exhibits were so cool!  This was the room that housed a model of the solar system.
 I sat and pondered a sliver of the universe with Einstein.
 The kids got to touch a meteorite.
 Moon rock :)
Learning about the lunar phases.  Nothing like a good walk through space on a Wednesday afternoon!