April 10, 2010
-
We are back from spring break vacation! This year, we went to southern California … Disneyland, California Adventure, and Legoland. We also met up with some friends and family. It was a great trip – the kids were generally well behaved, and Zachary was tall enough to go on a lot more rides.
Day 1: Most of the day was spent driving down. Around 4pm, we checked into the California Grand Hotel. Then we went to a story telling event before heading to The Rainforest Café to meet up with Larisa’s family. The kids got presents from their cousins – thank you!
Day 2: Disneyland! Zachary surprised us by going on rollercoasters this year. He has now conquered Space Mountain, the Matterhorn, and Thunder Mountain (x2!) Despite it being spring break, the lines were pretty short (20 minutes or less.) Mid-day, Calie needed to take a nap, so we went back to our hotel. While James stayed with Calie in the room, I took Zachary swimming. (Tip #1: Staying on-site is a great convenience and highly recommended to those who have young children.)
Day 3: Disneyland again – this time, starting in Toon Town. I still remember Zachary playing in this area of the park when he was a year and 3-years-old. Now at almost 6, Zachary went on the Gadget rollercoaster 4x, but has otherwise outgrown this section of Disneyland. On the other hand, I’m pretty sure it was Calie’s favorite part, although she also really enjoyed the Small World boat ride.
(Tip #2: If you have the energy and funds, take your kids once as a toddler and once as an older child … it’s a different experience!) Since we were checking out the next morning (and will not have access to a room), we went to Grizzly Run in California Adventure before calling it a night!
Day 4: California Adventures – since Disney opened earlier, we got in a few extra rides there in the morning. Grand total, Zachary rode the Buzz Lightyear ride 5x … pretty sure that was his favorite.
Last time he was at California Adventures ( 4-yrs-old), Zachary was half an inch too short to ride Soarin’ Over California. This time, he rode it twice … and also went on the Tower of Terror! When we left Anaheim that night, Zachary had gone on every single ride in Disney/California except Indian Jones, Maliboomer, and California Screamin’ due to height restrictions. I was impressed by how fearless he was.
Day 5: Legoland! We met up with James’ friend and her two sons. Since we stayed on-site and came through a private entrance, we were able to get on a lot of rides in the back of the park before the crowds hit. End of the day, Zachary got to pick out a Lego set from my parents for his birthday next week. Thank you mom and dad!
(Tip #3: Legoland is not worth going if you’re just looking for rides … the structures are amazing though! And to set expectations, they’re not as organized as Disney … no Fastpass or single rider lines or baby/child swap.) That said, the kids had a lot of fun and were pretty well behaved, so we decided to extend our stay last minute.
Day 6: More of Legoland … we hit more rides and saw some live shows. While it was fun for Zachary, Calie wasn’t tall enough to go on many rides. There was one small train ride and 2 family boat rides for her. (Tip #4: Legoland is geared for kids 3-6 years old. They are very conservative with the height limits and almost all rides require 34”)
We also went to SeaLife, a somewhat recent extension to Legoland … totally worth the $10 admission. It’s a small aquarium (took less than 2 hours to go through), but it was well done and the kids really enjoyed it. (Tip #5: There are better food options at SeaLife … more natural and organic choices. And you get a free first refill on the big soda cups vs $1.50 at the main Legoland cafeterias.)
End of the day, we drove to Manhattan Beach to stay with Larisa and her family. The kids love playing with their cousins. Brandon even had an Easter egg hunt ready right when we arrived. Zachary was excited to sleep in Brandon’s room on his trundle – first sleepover ever! And he got to read the official bedtime story. Thanks to Larisa for her hospitality!
Day 7: We had breakfast at Larisa’s house and then started our trek back north.
I was hesitant at first since Alex was less than 2 weeks old, but my friend Jenny insisted we stop by for a visit. All I can say is that no one with a newborn should have that much energy and look that good. She had the flat tummy of someone who adopted a baby … there was no evidence of any pregnancy! Baby Alex was already sleeping 4 hour stretches, and napped the entire 1 hour visit despite all our chatter. At around noon, we met up with my Grandparents for lunch. It was the first time they met Calie, and she scored a red envelope for her savings account.
It was great to see everyone and too soon, it was back in the car for the 6-7 hour drive home. What a great vacation overall and to quote Zachary, “I don’t want vacation to end!”
We got back Friday before Easter. The next morning, we went to the annual city egg hunt. Before the hunt, we walked around and played carnival games, met vendors, and did small art/craft projects. Then I took Calie over to the under 2 field, while James and Zachary headed to the 5-6 field.
Calie did not like stepping on wet grass and refused to pick up eggs. I had to pick one for her to show her there were prizes inside … she picked one more and she was done. Egg hunt FAIL! Zachary, on the other hand, was quite successful … 31 eggs, a personal best! Next year will be much harder for him, since he’ll be on the super aggressive 7+ field.
After the hunt, we went to Home Depot to make a butterfly house. You’re supposed to put in fruit to attract them, but I’m skeptical. I’m thinking we made a mini compost box. Then it was next door to decorate Easter pails at Michaels – free sand toy for both tots, yea!
Afterwards, we went to Alex and Nicole’s Easter brunch playdate. The food was excellent (homemade quiche!) and they had eggs for the kids to dye. Unfortunately, we had a strawberry incident. While a picky eater, Zachary would usually take a bite of something to try (too bad 99% of the time he doesn’t like it.) He refused to try a bite of strawberry because he knew it was “yucky” based on a previous attempt “on October 2009.” No amount of cajoling would work. We finally threatened to leave (usually very effective) and had to follow through on our discipline. In the car, Zachary finally took a bite – we thought we won for a few seconds… until he threw up. I was insistent that he eat a fruit though, so when we got home, he ate an Asian pear. Sunday was much more laid back. Last minute, we decided to go to Easter brunch at Bistro 33. It was pretty good! I think the kids were pretty hungry too – Zachary had 2 helpings of scrambled eggs, a waffle, and a huge cookie. I can’t list all the things Calie ate, but she did have 6 different (bite-size) desserts. She’ll do well on a cruise.
April 6th was Zachary’s 6th birthday! He celebrated at school with cupcakes, and we went to Red Robin (his favorite restaurant) for dinner. Happy 6th Birthday to Zachary! We’ll be hosting a party for him this weekend. Thursday, my girlfriends and I went to Olive Garden to celebrate Rachel’s birthday. What a fun group of gals – Happy Birthday Rachel!
