M, T, Mc, K & L: November 2018

Legoland/Finale

We made the decision last minute to head to Legoland and I am still debating on whether or not it was worth it. We decided in the end it was about the same price as a day at Lagoon and if I could have the Lego cities IN Lagoon, it might be the best of both worlds. Ty and Jade met us there (Mom, Dad, Britt and Garrisan went to Univeral) and we decided to spend the day- 10 to 5 PM there. We made it the entire day but mostly because the weather was nice it wasn't unbearable being outside. The kids seemed entertained enough but I am sure this is the one and only time we will be visiting. It rounded out our last full day in Cali.

We spent an hour on the freeway in traffic on the way home. Enzo fell dead asleep and then just randomly sits up and yells, "I don't want to go on this ride, dad!". Apparently he was dreaming about all the horrible, awful, fun we made him have at Disneyland.

We finally got Enzo to loosen up on a ride. Mc was too tall to ride.

KING-ston

The coolest and only part worthy of a visit (IMHO) is the city/world scapes made entirely out of legos. We spent more time there than we did in any other part of the park. There were little additions of Santas and reindeer for Christmas. The boys were absolutely enthralled (even Mark). There were moving pieces and replicas of almost anything you can think of- car, boats, buildings, Las Vegas, the Subway, a man on a toilet, babies, dirt bike races).

As we were leaving the park, we decided to stop and take a picture. We had the kids all lined up and noticed that Enzo was missing. We rushed back to the entrance to get back in and the worker wasn't too excited about letting us in (it was almost time to close). Bree booked it through without even asking and I finally did too. Enzo was in the Lego store (one of the biggest I have seen) and didn't even know he was lost.

We came home with an entire suitcase full of Legos. Mr and Mrs Clause, Jack and Sally, a free Crimes of Grindlewald/Harry Potter set for spending so much money. Mickey, a turkey, a witch, a magnet, Kingston's Ant Man souvenir set, Mc's Gamora. So worth it.

Lego Christmas Williamsons

By the end of the trip we were all ready to come home, have a little distance and our own beds. Spending a week going non-stop and then coming home smackdab to Thanksgiving isn't always smart but the weather in Cali for sure makes up for it. It seems like all the planning and preparing is over so quickly and here we are just a few short weeks from Christmas. It was a nice break from our jobs, our callings and laundry. It for sure was NOT a great break for Mc who came home with EIGHT pages of Math homework that had to be done before she went back. It was good to come home to a clean house, g ood to have the blessing of being able to travel, and good to make memories with our little family. Mark swears we aren't doing Disneyland in two years, so I guess we say Disney Cruise 2020!

Electronics always bring everyone together.

Just Keep Swimming

We LOVE the Aquarium of the Pacific. We didn't pick a great day to go because there were gaggles of field trips but, it was still fun. Mc was pretty sure she was having the worst vacation because 5 min in she lost her new Wall-E charm and then when she want back to look for it, lost a pin off her mini back pack. We still had fun touching all the things in the tide pools and getting our booklets stamped.

Aquarium kids

The octopus is always a fan favorite. This one was super active and we got to watch it immediately change colors as it swam away. Such a cool animal. It was mid "wave" here.

One of my favorite parts is when the divers get in the tank and talk to you about the fish, the aquarium and all the neat little factoids about the ocean. This guy has been volunteer diving for 21 years. All the people that work there are elderly volunteers and I wish I was close enough to spend my afternoons there when I am old.

Touching jellyfish. Animals with no brains- only stomachs.

Let it be written that Enzo also hated the aquarium. He was bored out of his mind when we were inside and wasn't a fan of touching anything. We finally thought we had turned a corner when we had gone outside because he and Sully (his new stuffed animal from Disneyland) could just run and do whatever. We were watching the seals and sea lions and Enzo was scaling the bleachers when all the sudden he says, "I am all wet!". He comes down and his head and Sully are covered in bird poop. Totally got pooped on! Just added insult to injury I guess.

We came back and everyone ordered in dinner and we hung out in Mimi's room. Mimi, Papa, Britt and Garrison spent the day at Disney (they went on a day the Matterhorn was open) and everyone was exhausted. This is the kids and Papa all crashed out while we played Cover Your Assets.

3 days of Disney

Our last day at Disney was the day we spent the longest in the park- we started the morning at California Adventure and ended at Disneyland making sure we claimed our last souvenirs, Gingerbread men, hot chocolate and goodies before we boarded the tram for the last time. We decided early on that riding the tram in saved us some time through security (which was also a new development since we were last in Disneyland- they check EVERYONE'S bags. Even in downtown Disney).

Small World- another ride that Enzo didn't hate.

We tried to pull out excalibur, rode almost every ride, at all the Dole Whips, churros, and goodies. We were Disney'ed out by the time we were done and ready for the next few days that didn't involve waiting in line, or hurrying. The kids were konked out when we got home and actually slept in until almost eight the next morning which was a miracle.

Reunited and it tasted so good.

Day 2 at DISNEY

We did our Magic Morning and raced to the park to beat the rush to the Peter Pan ride (like always). There were still 100's of people waiting but, we committed so that's what we did. Once again, Enzo was afraid to ride but rode with Bree and Ty and came out saying he wanted to ride it again (of course since it ALWAYS has a 45 min- hour long wait).

Disney Boys

While we were at Disney, waiting in line to ride the Storybook ride, we heard that Stan Lee had passed away. That meant that we needed to ride the Guardians of the Galaxy in his honor- hence my "broken heart". That ride was AWESOME and one of my favorites of the trip. I miss the Tower of Terror but this one will be a new favorite. The older kids cried the whole time in line and I am pretty sure they hated it- wouldn't ride it again.While the kids and I were waiting for all the big kids to ride again, Groot happened to walk by. We booked it to the line and got to meet him. I am pretty sure that was a highlight of the trip.

Kingston wanted this little Groot since he saw them. We tried to buy it the first day but they were sold out. We just happened to find them in the Guardians ride.

We had lunch at the Blue Bayou- the restaurant inside the Pirates of the Caribbean- it was expensive and we'd had reservations for MONTHS. The Monte Cristo was awesome and the ambiance was cool but that is something I only need to do once. We also decided we could improve the dining experience by getting to leave the restaurant in a boat directly into the ride. so much cooler.

Toy Story ride- the only ride we did a Fast Pass for because Enzo actually wanted to ride it twice. We had fast passes but were clear on the other side of the park- we literally had to RUN ro make our time.

Dad & the littles.

The live Toy Story windows at night were a favorite.

IncrediCoaster

Enzo also not a fan of the Cars ride.

Disneyland

Disney Williamsons

From the second we got in the park, Enzo was pretty sure he wanted to go back to the hotel and watch The Grinch or swim. He was NOT happy to be at Disneyland. We ALWAYS ride Thunder Mountain first. Of course, Enzo hated it. And that set the pace for the duration of our trip. He hated every single ride and cried as we waited in every single line.

The older kids were so happy to be with ther cousins and loved riding the rides with Brynlee and Cash. They were surprisingly brave and rode everything at least once.Thanks to Britty and her Max Pass we got all our pictures for free!