California Dreamin'

We recently returned from our favorite family vacation spot - San Diego. My sister Heidi and her husband Jeremy joined us this year, which was really terrific. They are such a great couple and the boys loved having them around (they especially loved playing in Aunt Heidi's suitcase). It was such an incredibly enjoyable, fun-filled week that we really weren't too sure about whether or not we wanted to come back home.


Scott had promised Miles back in February that we would take him to Disneyland to meet Mickey Mouse. Well, 6 months in toddler years feels like a lifetime. As soon as the plane landed in San Diego, Miles wanted to know where Mickey was, and when we went out to dinner he wanted to know if Mickey was going to be there to dine with us. Needless to say, I was bound and determined to track down Mickey before we left California.

We started off the week by celebrating our 6 year wedding anniversary. Scott and I got engaged in San Diego, so to make our anniversaries even more special, we try to take our California vacation every year so that it includes our anniversary date. My sister and Jeremy were kind enough to watch the boys for us so that we could have the entire day to ourselves. We went for a long bike ride and had lunch overlooking the beach and the ocean. Later we went to the movie theater to catch the new Batman film which was very dark and disturbing, but somehow still a great show. Overall, it was a perfect day.


The next day, Scott and I took the boys to Legoland, an amusement park that we had never been to before. Scott's brother Steve had recommended it to us and we finally decided to check it out. I was pleasantly surprised, and we really enjoyed ourselves. They had amazing things built out of legos, like popular U.S. cities and landmarks. When Miles saw the lego Statue of Liberty, he got all excited and shouted "I think that's New York. We're in New York!" Imagine his excitement when he gets to see the real thing.



















They also had an area where you could just play in big bins of legos. Both boys enjoyed doing that, and Scott and Miles put together a car that you could then race down a track, similar to a pinewood derby (except out of legos of course). It was at this point that I managed to drop our relatively new camera and completely destroy the lens. Fortunately, I had also brought along our old camera, so we were still able to document the rest of our trip, much to the chagrin of Miles and Scott, who get a bit tired of pictures.

The rest of our week was filled with a Dodger's game for Scott and Jeremy, and "Mamma, Mia!" (the movie) for my sister and I, as well as many hours of Olympics viewing, which we all enjoyed, except for Miles who wanted to watch "Cars" and "Shrek". There were many rejuvenating naps and trips to the nearby park and Mission Bay.

We also spent a great day at the beach, and Scott, Heidi and I went boogie boarding, which was so much fun. (That's me waving in the middle of the picture below - I had managed to catch a great wave that took me clear in to the shore). Miles spent the day building sand castles and playing smashball (which he called "slam it, bam it"), and fearless Tate kept sticking his face in the sand, eating the sand, and heading head first into the ocean. Even when the cold waves washed over him, he was in heaven.

At the end of our week, we finally made our promised and much anticipated trip to Disneyland, where Miles officially got to meet his idol, Mickey Mouse. He was so excited that he kept jumping up and down. Mickey gave him a kiss on the head, and I think Miles was a little star struck. Too cute! We were also really privileged to be able to go to Disneyland with Scott's parents, Jon and Kaye, and his sister Sue and her family. Miles had a blast with his grandparents and cousins. It was a pleasant day and Scott and I enjoyed getting to spend time with his family. Tate spent the day with his Aunt Heidi and Uncle Jeremy doing some shopping, which made our trip to Disneyland a whole lot easier.

After riding the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, Miles decided that he didn't want to go on any more rides with "waterfalls". I don't think he cared for the dropping sensation. He did however love the Dumbo, Winnie the Pooh and Jungle Adventure rides, as well as the Finding Nemo submarine. He also went crazy for the giant T-Rex that you can see if you take the train that runs around Disneyland. Scott and I, and Sue and two of her children attempted to ride Space Mountain, but just as we were next to board, a little girl jumped on to the track and they had to do an emergency shut off, screeching all cars to a very sharp halt. The little girl was fine, but they told us it would be at least an hour before they could power up the ride again, so we decided not to wait. I was a little disappointed that we didn't get to ride, but extremely relieved that we weren't stuck on the ride like some unfortunate people were. At least they turned the lights on for them. Scary!








On our last day, we made a final trip to the park and the boys waded out into the water one last time. Miles told a complete stranger that we had to get on an airplane and go back to Utah, because that's where we live. At least he left out our address and phone number. And, that is exactly what we did - headed back home to the real world with memories of sunny beaches alive in our heads. Truly a perfect week in paradise.