Huntington Beach~

For those of us who don't get to experience it often, the beach truly does take your breath away! It is such an amazing thing to experience. I wish we could go back! The weather was quite windy and cold, but that didn't stop us from at least getting a little wet! It was very overcast which made for fabulous pictures, though! I was glad that I brought my nice camera with me to the beach.

The kids could have played in the sand forever! And I was just glad it was the hotel's tub that we got to give them a bath in when they were done :)




Coy was in little boy heaven! That sand was the best entertainment ever.















That wind made my hair pretty wild! It was hard to get a picture without it blowing in someone's face!















Can you tell this next picture was point and shoot? I was glad I brought that camera too so I could take some little videos and do a self portrait with me and Russ.







Those waves were enought to knock Mylie right over, so she was pretty careful and just stayed near the edge, although she did get close to being knocked over quite a few times, since it was pretty windy and wild out there. But Bennett was glad for those big waves that would bring in the biggest shells! That was his mission, to find the best shells! He loved it!!! He really did get quite a few nice ones.









As you can see, we weren't the only crazy ones braving the freezing beach weather!



We had to take a walk down the pier. It was even more FREEZING and windy up there, especially when you are wet and not wearing much.





Coy cheesing it for the camera:

Oh look, the sun is finally starting to peak through the clouds, right when we are ready to leave and go back to the hotel...go figure!





Mylie was going to fly away on the wind with her towel.

Our Trip!

After years and years of planning and waiting, our "Summer of 2012" Disneyland trip finally came...And now it is just a memory! Thank goodness we can so easily take pictures and videos to remember all of those memories made!

My parents came on the trip as well and it was so fun having them along. They helped us out a lot and it was nice to have someone to travel with.

We drove to California, stopping in Vegas for a couple nights to visit some family there. The kids were amazingly good on the drive and had so much fun getting to play with their second cousin, Ella.

We arrived in California on Memorial Day. The kids were super excited to see our hotel! We headed to Downtown Disney to get our tickets and look around. Of course the kids wanted everything they saw.
Then we headed to Knott's Berry Farm to eat dinner. It was so incredibly delicious! Waaay too much food!
Here we are starting our trip! The Anaheim Resort Transit was actually great and the kids loved riding on the buses...Especially Coy. I think he thought he was so big not being in a carseat. I was a little paranoid myself with our first crazy driver, but other than him, the rest were great.
Entering the park at last! We didn't get to do our photograph right in front of the Mickey flowers; that spot was already taken. We would soon find that we chose to go on our trip in the busiest week in May ever. According to regulars there, it was unseasonably crowded. Lucky us! That first day was the worst of all. Imagine being stuck in crowds so thick, you can't even push a stroller through...It was a little discouraging, but we made it through! Good thing we planned on three days to do everything!






The Kids' Favorite Rides:
Coy: Probably It's a Small World. He also loved Haunted Mansion and anything that had to do with "Yee-ah" aka Woody.Mylie: Definitely It's a Small World. Luckily we never had to wait too long for that one, and it was a good one to rest your feet. Mylie tried every ride she was big enough for at least once, including Tower of Terror. But she really liked the cute themed rides with no thrills!Bennett: He still can't decide between Space Mountain and Star Tours. I think it is Space Mountain right now. He also loved Tower of Terror. I think my favorite thing of all was the Parade! I loved seeing all of the characters and feeling that Disney "magic." It was fun seeing the kids getting excited and waving at all of the characters!

On to the second day. We spent most of it in California Adventure. I didn't love that place as much as Disneyland. It doesn't quite have the same overall feel to it. But we had a pretty good time there!






A Note on Souveniers:We gave each of the kids $20 to spend. My parents also gifted them each with $20. So basically they could each choose two things. We tried to help them choose carefully and think about what they really wanted, because believe me, they wanted everything! If they were still thinking about a certain item the next day, then I knew it was something they really wanted. Mylie really wanted these princess Minnie Mouse ears. She saw them the first night at Downtown Disney, and couldn't stop thinking about them. So she found some at Disneyland the next day, and had so much fun wearing them on the trip! She also chose the cutest Snow White doll from the Animator's collection. Bennett chose some Star Wars toys like my mom got years ago. He has always wanted some and after all these years of telling him he could get some when we went to Disneyland, he finally did! He also wanted the Pixar characters that came in the same type of toy. We helped Coy choose a Toy Story Bullseye plush toy that he still sleeps with every night.


On to the third day. Mylie still sporting her Minnie Mouse headband.

Meeting the Princesses! As promised, I was finally able to break away with Mylie so she could do the Princess walk-through. I was surprised after all that waiting that there are only three princesses in there, and you never know which ones they are!




I think Snow White's Wishing Well was about our last stop before we gave up and called it a trip. We also relaxed and watched the parade one last time.


Overall it was a good trip, and the good memories definitely outweigh any bad ones (like the crowds and ornery children). The next day we headed to the beach, so hopefully I will get that on here next!