California Trip

*Long post.  Consider yourself warned.

Back in August the girls and I took a trip to California.  There was no way Mark could take a week off of work if we still wanted to go through with our Europe trip in October so I picked up my mom in Mesquite and headed to San Clemente for a girl’s vacation!  I got home from girl’s camp on a Friday and left for California on Monday.  I only had a few days to prepare but the timing was right for the Woolley Hotel where we would be staying.

The kids were great on the ride there, except Piper definitely wasn’t feeling well.  She refused to eat anything all day.  She thankfully waited until we were stopped at the last toll road (just 20 minutes from my uncle’s house) to start throwing up.  And thankfully Téa had the bright idea of hanging a plastic bag over the arm rest closest to Piper the day before for trash so I just turned around and grabbed the bag which minimized the mess and I was able to ‘catch’ most of it. 

I really wanted to just get a hotel room instead of staying at my uncle’s house so we wouldn’t spread whatever Piper had but my cousin insisted we stay and I just crossed my fingers.  Thankfully just before bed Piper had perked up and I deemed her ready to go to LEGOLAND the next morning.  Side note: no one else got sick. Phew. 

We had two-day passes for LEGOLAND and the kids couldn’t wait to get started.  Those two days were so much fun.  My mom, Lady Di, my cousin Alli and her three kids made it a total blast!  I’m kicking myself for not taking a ton of pictures.  But sometimes that is a sign of a good time.  You are taking everything in and all of a sudden it’s the end of the day and you realized you didn’t whip out the camera. 

The second day I did a little better.  Here is Ian (Alli’s oldest) with Téa and Piper with a life-size Lego guy.

Piper sure enjoyed the Lego cars.  She did a great job staying away from the curbs and not hitting any other cars.

The great thing about LEGOLAND is they have statues everywhere; all made out of Legos.  The girls loved the plumber guy.

I really want one of these signs for our bathrooms since we are a house of girls and my my kids always wait ‘til the last minute and they have that face and do the potty dance.

Allison promised Ainsley some rock climbing (which she is amazing at!) and so my oldest two wanted in on the action.  Calista and Ainsley are the same age and totally hit it off this trip and Calista didn’t want to be left out of the fun.  She at least made it to the green line.  Ainsley made it all the way to the top and rang the bell. 

I’m was so proud of Téa for wanting to (and going through with) rock climbing.  She has a real fear of heights but she wanted to at least try it.  She made it just above the green line.  Awesome!

I think Piper was pretty tired by this point but she was still willing to crawl into the shark’s mouth.

Ainsley, Calista and Téa. Oh and the Sea Captain.

Ahhh!

Here’s the whole gang of kids.  Ainsley, Piper, Zachy, Téa, Ian and Calista.

We definitely need to go back to LEGOLAND with Mark.  They have the coolest section of Star Wars figures made out of Legos.  Chewy was a little frightening with his gun.  Pardon me for not knowing the exact make and model of his gun. 

The girls love R2D2.

Calista has always wanted to be Leia Organa for Halloween.  Not sure why we’ve never done it. 

Piper and Zachy waiting patiently in line for the ‘horsey ride’. 

Still waiting in line…we killed time by taking lots of pictures.

Ainsley and Calista.

Finally on the ride.

Saying good-bye to LEGOLAND.  We will go back for sure.  Next time with Mark.

The last morning before we left Charlie got out his longboard and took the kids for a ride down the cul-de-sac. It’s the perfect hill with no cars to worry about.  Téa was first. 

Piper was a little hesitant since she didn’t spend much time with Charlie during the week since he had to work but she warmed up instantly to him. 

I got Charlie’s happy face but missed Piper’s.  She was grinning from ear to ear coming down the hill.

Unfortunately we had to leave to head back home.  It was a fun week and a much needed vacation for me.  It gave me a small break from things that were demanding my time.  I loved that my kids hit it off instantly with Alli’s kids.  They each had a playmate their age but at times they would all play together.  Ian was a perfect fit for Téa, getting her to try new rides at LEGOLAND and handled her ‘intense’ moments well.  Calista and Ainsley were attached at the hip immediately and Zachy and Piper enjoyed each other’s company and had a great time together. 

It was great just hanging out with my mom, Lady Di and Alli.  I have such great memories with the PLWs growing up.  And I love that we can see each other after a long time and still have that bond and enjoy each other’s company.  So, thanks Woolleys/Smiths for a great week that included late-night Olympic watching, super late-night chats (and a certain cockroach hand puppet), a bee sting, a razor scooter wipeout, fun times at LEGOLAND and yummy food!