Summer Trip Part 3: DisneyLand

During our time in Southern California this year, we managed to make it to Disneyland three (yes, three!) times. We were able to meet many many characters, including most of the princesses that Ella is fascinated with right now. Our dear friend Angie came to spend a weekend with us and went with us the first day we went to Disney.  Grandma Cope joined us for our second day at California Adventure.  And our friends Jason & Tiffany and their boys spent some time with us on our third day. 

This was a really fun year to do Disney.  Both of the girls were tall enough for nearly every ride.  And they both bravely rode every ride we wanted to do.  Some of the rides elicited comments like, "That was too scary!  I don't want to do that again!" (Tower of Terror, Thunder Mountain Railroad and Splash Mountain), but they were amazingly good sports and we only had one small meltdown in 3 days at the parks. 

First roller coaster of the day.  



That's Ella with her hands up ready to ride!


Just a shot of Toon Town.  That blue sky is REAL sky.  The amazing thing about Toon Town is that Interstate 5 is right on the other side of that backdrop, but you would never know.




The Mad Hatter and Alice.


It was HOT while we were there- this marble ball rotated and spilled water down the sides. 


My chauffeur.


We were so lucky to get our turn with Rosetta (one of Tinkerbell's fairy friends) just at the time when Silvermist came out to take her place.  The girls got this photo with their favorite fairies.  And in fact, the souvenir they chose to take home from Disney (with their own money) were plush dolls of these 2 fairies.


Alexis was kind of fickle about being in photos with some of the characters.  She would act scared of some of them and hide behind me. So either I or Ella had to stand in first (here I am with TinkerBell and Terrence) before Alexis would warm up.  Unexpected behavior from her, but I guess Disney can be a little overwhelming?








Fireworks at DisneyLand.  Tinkerbell and Dumbo fly over the castle during the evening show.  Very exciting!






















The third day we went, we were joined by our friends Jason&Tiffany and their boys Trevor&Dylan.  Here are kids are all paired up- hand in hand.  Alexis & Trevor and Dylan & Ella.


Alexis rode in the front seat on Splash Mountain.  She got drenched!








Sleeping Beauty is Ella's favorite princess.  She also happened to be the very first one we saw on our first day there.






The teacups make me sick, but Angie and the girls took a spin.

Summer Trip Part 2: Northern California

After leaving Oregon, we drove into Northern California to spend a weekend with Matt's brother and family.  It's been at least 7 years since we've seen Keith, and in those 7 years, we had only spent a couple of hours with his wife Sara.  So we were happy to get some decent time with them & their boys at their beautiful home.



The girls love love loved the chickens that roamed around the backyard and spent, literally, HOURS chasing them, feeding them, collecting their eggs, holding & terrorizing them.  Alexis could not get enough of them.  If we ever live in a single family home, we might just have to get ourselves some chickens.  We got to eat some of their eggs, too. Delicious.










We spent some time at a nearby lake:






And playing around at home:








After a few days with them, we drove down to the Bay Area and spent a night in a hotel (thanks to Keith & Sara!)  We swam in the pool and the girls were beside themselves with glee to sleep in such an amazing place.  We tore the blankets off the bed and let them sleep sideways so they each had a little more room between them.


The next morning we stopped by the Jelly Belly Factory for a tour and to be with some friends- my former mission companion Katie and her family- Mark & Isabella.  So wonderful to see them again.  (They lived underneath us here in NYC when they were first married before moving to California).  The tour was actually really interesting- and kind of moved a little too fast for me!  We got several tastes throughout the tour as well, and a free packet of Jelly Bellies at the end. And you are required to wear those paper hats in the factory at all times.







After the JB factory, we drove over to Muir Woods where we spent a couple of hours enjoying the amazing redwoods.  This park was so much more busy than any of us anticipated.  We had planned to meet up with my college roommate Natalyn and her kids, but parking was crazy and our cell phones didn't work in the area.  We actually did end up crossing paths, but could only spend about 30 minutes together since we needed to get on the road to Los Angeles.  But still wonderful to see her!
















On the way out of town, we made sure to drive over the Golden Gate Bridge.  So beautiful!  San Francisco deserves its own trip for sure.  We went there on our honeymoon and I am itching to go back. 




Then it took us until after midnight to get into Los Angeles, thanks in large part to the rush hour traffic we met going through San Francisco.  Long day, but quite enjoyable.  I'm glad we did it.  The kids were super in the car.  They really are great & cooperative little travelers.