Vacation Days #3 - #7

When I started blogging about our vacation I thought I would split it up, so it wouldn't seem so overwhelming. Little did I know that I would be bombarded with reports that my kids had to do for school and church. I can say that I have learned a lot about Ireland and Ronald Reagan (did you know that there is close to 3, 000 members of the church in all of Ireland and that Ronald Reagan is famous for "Reaganomics"?). Seeing that I will never catch up, I am cramming everything into one giant post .... happy reading.

Day3-

I was warned by my sisters that the 2nd day of Disneyland is the worst! I have to say that it was actually our best day! We stayed in the park all day and rode all the rest of the park we hadn't gotten to the previous day. Dust and I split up with the kids. He took the boys and rode the rides the girls couldn't or didn't want to ride. Since I had the camera, here are a few shots of what we girls were up to.

First we took a ride together on Splash Mountain. This picture convinced us not to be taking Becca on big rides anymore.

We spilt up in Critter Country and we waited in line to see Pooh and friends while the others went on Big Thunder Mountain.

We then went to Toon Town to Mickey and Minnie's homes. The girls loved it there. They were sad we missed seeing Minnie.

We met up and finished the day off together. Casey Jr is another of my favorite rides. We all posed for a picture trying to claim our true royalty. I thought I'd share mine and Dustin's.

We went back and the kids really wanted KFC. Dustin took the kids swimming while I ran and got it. He said take your time, so I did. I stopped and got t-shirts for the kids and I didn't know it would take 45 minutes to get our chicken. I didn't have my phone to call him, so when I got back I had a husband who was very worried. He was just getting ready to call the police. Note to self: always carry your phone.

Day #4- Last day in Disneyland and California Adventures

We had the 3 day hopper pass, but since there wasn't a whole lot our kids could do we spent 1 day in California Adventures. I do have to tell you about an incident at the hotel. Ryan was excited to ride a "real" roller coaster. He wanted to be prepared, so he suggested we take the "barf bags" from the bathroom in case we got sick on a ride. I told him I thought we'd be okay. I couldn't explain to him that carrying around little bags that say "Sanitary Napkins" on them wasn't the best idea.

We woke up early and spent the morning in Disneyland. We were able to get a few snapshots with the characters. Dustin and I spilt up again, but this time Ryan and I broke away from the group. Aaron was feeling sick and was puking, I guess we should have brought the "barf bags."

We met up and headed over to California Adventures. We had a blast. We did have to split up for while since the girls didn't want to ride the big rides. We hung out on the Zeppelin ride and Jumping Jellyfish ride. They loved them. Then it was my turn to ride the rides with the boys. I love BIG rides, so it was nice to have kids to ride them with.

WE rode the Mali Boomer, and the Screamer

I was so proud of Grace. Really all my kids, I know they were sacred, but they did it!

Then we headed over to A Bug's World and The Brother Bear park. Kate and Bec had been so patient to wait. Dustin also took the other kids on Grizzly Rapids.

We hurried back to Disneyland for a couple of the kids favorite rides while we waited out our fast pass for Soaring California. We had a whole issue with Bec not being tall enough, but complained enough that they let us on. How does a girl ride all the 40" rides at Disneyland and then doesn't even come close at the California park? I would type the whole story, but that's A LOT of typing. I was glad that was our last ride because it was a favorite of all of ours!

Day # 5 - #7

We left for Vegas in the morning. We were happy to break up the long drive. It was also really nice to spend time with my family. My Grandma Betty lives with my mom now, so it was fun to visit. We spent time at the park and just hanging out and talking. The kids flew kites and played football. We were bale to see the tree planted for my dad there as well. Kate was fascinated by that.

On Sunday we grabbed my boys from Lea Ann's and our dog too, the we were off. Thanks Lea Ann and kids for watching our little Acer. It was nice not to have to worry about him. He enjoyed it there.

I am so happy we were able to take our kids to the place of their dreams. It is nice not being asked when we get to go. We will do it again, but not for a good five years!