Summer Adventure 2011

School starts in 2 weeks.  The summer is almost over...I have mixed feelings about this.  It's most definitely time for the kids to go back to school.  They are bored and possibly getting dumber by the second with all the Nintendo DS and Sponge Bob they are currently taking in.  I have been on maternity leave all summer which I also have mixed feelings about.  Its been great to be home with my kids since, as a working mom, I don't get to do much of this.  However, since the very reason I am home with them keeps me very much on my toes, it has also been hard to be home.

I have had to think of every activity possible to try to keep them busy and entertained and keep myself sane.  We have done swimming lessons, dance camp, scout camp, the local zoo, the local aquarium, multiple trips to various parks, splash pads, McDonald's play places, and mall food courts and they seem generally satisfied with their activities this summer. 

And of course, since I am home we had to take advantage of this time and take a family trip to California to visit our very favorite place.  We decided to also throw in Sea World and San Diego Zoo while we were there.  Are we crazy for doing all this with a 5 week old baby?  Yes, a little.  It was not easy but we made it work and we had a really good time.   Think of it this way...we braved D-land on Christmas Day.  I dare say that after that we are able to do anything.  It takes colossal patience and a good attitude.  Both of which I had 93.4% of the time...good enough.

For me, a trip where the kids get to see fun and educational things while laughing and learning and spending time together as a family while we also avoided any major disasters along the way = a successful adventure.

After a couple days in the car our first stop for fun was the San Diego Zoo.  I remember this zoo from field trips in elementary school and I wanted my kids to see that there are zoos that are way bigger than the Hogle Zoo.  We had a good time despite the miles of uphill walking and the extremely humid climate.  Ugh! 

If you ask the kids they will probably tell you that what they remember about the zoo is bouncing on the giant trampolines.  Paige was even doing flips on these things.  Personally, my favorite part was the giraffes and the merekats.





The next day was Sea World.  We headed straight to the Shamu Show and the kids braved the very front "soak zone" row while Eric and I hung with the baby in the safe and dry zone.  All I can truly recall from that day was that it was stinking HOT!  The kids got nice and wet from the Shamu Show but Eric and I remained toasty.



I really think that this is the only picture I have with all 4 of my kids in it so far.  Its not easy to round up all 4 of them but this backdrop at Sea World was picture worthy.  Oh and I have to mention that Cameron is a goofball.



The kiddos show off their loot on the way out of Sea World.
So long to Sea World for at least another 5 years or so.

 

Disneyland!!

(I mean, is there really any other reason to go to California, anyway??...jk) 

Day 1 at Disney was for California Adventure.  We did the new Little Mermaid ride which was great.  It is really cute and thankfully the wait wasn't terrible.  There was also the Ferris Wheel, Monsters Inc, Bugs Land, and the Tower of Terror for Braiden and Eric (Paige and I don't do Tower of Terror).




That night in the tram on the way to the car the kids were getting extremely slap happy.  I caught these pics while they were playing some silly game.  Its amazing how they can have so much energy after 10 hours at Disneyland.



Day 2 of Disney I didn't take many pictures but what I did take were real gems.  Don't the kids just look thrilled

Paige is finally tall enough to ride the Indiana Jones Ride.  These are a couple of pics I took of her expressions during the ride.  Needless to say, she was terrified and will probably never do it again. 

Day 3 was a combination of Disneyland and California Adventure trying to get every last thing in that we could.  The kids got their giant pickles (ew) and Cameron finally crashed about early evening.  I really wanted to crawl into that stroller and join him.



So WHAT WAS MAX DOING THIS WHOLE TIME?  See above.  Pretty much just sleeping, eating and pooping.  He has since developed a strong hate for his car seat after spending so much time in it.  He did pretty well, all things considered.  It is not easy to tote a newborn around like we did but it all worked  out.  At least I can positively say that I will never have to do it again.



The drive home was looooooooooong.

Day 5 in Orlando: Sea Worldliness

Its been a couple of days since my last post and the truth is that I am now happily home in my dry climate recovering from the long flights home. I have a couple days of catching up to do so I figured I better do it while all my memories are still somewhat fresh.

Day 5 was begun at 3am with a loud "konk" and scream of "ou-ee" from Paige when she fell out of the hotel bed and hit her face on the hotel nightstand. At the time I didn't realize she had hurt herself because it was dark and I could not see her eye swelling up. I got her calmed down and put her back in bed and in the morning Eric awoke to the huge shiner on her left eye. Poor thing. She was happy nonetheless but I could tell it was sore for her. You know when people see your kid looking like they got beat up that's exactly what they are thinking, right? That you beat up your kid. Not the case people. Not this time anyway. Ha ha, just kidding.

So this day was for the World of Sea. Also known as Sea World. It has been years since I have been to Sea World so I thought that for sure this was something that could not be missed. Well I guess my Orlando Travel tip of the day for you is this: Your kids really can't tell the diff between Sea World and the fish section at Wal-Mart. So seriously, save yourself the $60 per person.

Honestly though, my kids had a blast but for me it was really just a reminder that everything seems cooler and cheaper when you are little.

The first stop was of course, the Shamu show. I didn't want to tell my kids though that Shamu is dead and this is his Great-Great-Grandson. Don't crush the illusion mom.

The show was neat and was I ever glad that I was not sitting in the lower section. It was hot but in Florida weather, if you get wet, you stay wet. All day. The air is so full of moisture that you can't dry off and you get chafed. Braiden learned that the hard way.

We learned that the only place to find real snow in Florida is in the Arctic Exhibit. It was like 50 degrees in there for the animals but remember what I said about Braiden being wet? He was shivering after hugging that ice wall.

In case you were wondering, these whales are not real.

This is the weirdest thing I have ever seen. Its called a Leafy Sea Dragon. Google it. Very cool. Its in the Seahorse family and I thought it was amazing. This was the coolest thing I saw at Sea World.

This was the coolest thing Paige did at Sea World. Oh, to be a little one again and run around in nothing but a diaper and pigtails. She was so hot that I let her undress an play in this little water park for like an hour. She was so happy. I had to drag her out.

Aren't my kids cute? Like the black eye?

Um, those whales aren't real either. But don't tell Paige.

By the end of the day we were all a little tired. We took a cab right from Sea World to Downtown Disney where we ate at Hollywood Planet (the loudest restaurant in the world) and walked some more fighting through more crowds and then took the bus back tot hotel.

This did us in as you can see. That explains why I did not post that night.


Good night.