Legoland-Day 1

Get ready for picture overload! We had SUCH a fun time at Legoland! We got up early on Thursday morning and drove down to Carlsbad. The traffic didn't even slow us down much and we made great time. We got there before the park was open, so we stopped at McDonald's for second breakfast. I figured it made sense to fill up our tummies for cheap before we started our day. :) The boys thought the arcade in McDonald's was way better than a playplace. 

We still got to Legoland before they opened. We waited in front of the gates until they opened the park and got right onto the Coaster-a-saurus ride first. Beckett was mesmerized by the giant Lego elephants.

After the first roller coaster we wandered over to the water area and shot some of the water guns. We went into the Duplo play area and rode the tiny train they had there. It was one of the only rides Beckett could actually do. He loved it and screamed and cried when he had to get off.

Next Grandma B and the big boys went and got in line for the Sky Cruise. It was by far the longest line--a 90 minute wait! Luckily the line wound around a play area and the boys built cars and raced them down the tracks in the middle for most of that time. I hung out in the play area with them for a little while, then walked with Beckett over to some cars he could sit in. We also went and saw a cute show at the Fun Town Fire House.

The boys finally finished the ride and met up with me and Beckett over by the bathrooms. Beckett loved playing with Duplos in the bathroom. Of course. The big boys and I went through the Lego Factory Tour then played the trivia game in the Lego Clubhouse. Weston won souvenir brick and Davin got an answer right and won a big Legoland tote bag!

The boys went and did Driving School, which was really fun. They got to drive their own little cars and learned to follow the traffic lights and signs. At the end they got a "license." I bought them a license holder lanyard as a souvenir.

We were getting pretty hungry so we walked over to the Garden Restaurant for lunch. Everyone ate sandwiches and chips and got a good drink. Beckett was entertained by the ducks waddling around the eating area.

When we finished lunch we were at the top of the walkway down to the Star Wars Mini land. We had to get pictures with all the Star Wars characters on our way down. At the bottom there were all the scenes from the Star Wars movies in Legos. It was very cool. I knew Ian would appreciate it so I took lots of pictures.

Parts of the regular Mini Land were closed, but we did get to see the White House and Las Vegas and New York. Grandma treated the boys to driving the RC boats in the Mini Land harbor. Pretty fun!

When we were done looking at Mini Land we walked back up and around to a boat ride. Beckett couldn't ride any of the rides, but luckily there were lots of play areas to keep him busy. He loved the Lego shark at the boat ride! Weston and Davin both got to be the boat drivers.

After the boats we all went and watched the Fun Town Fire show. I knew the boys would love it. The music was fun and it was silly and they got wet! Davin went up to meet some of the cast at the end of the show. We walked up and around through the other side of the park (planning what we were going to do the next day). We found the famous apple fries. Delicious! The boys played in the Chima playground while Grandma and I ate our snack. We ended the day at the Chima 4D show. Beckett was so tired and fell asleep while we walked over to the show.

He was such a good boy all day. And even though we had to wake him up 10 minutes into his nap, he will was a happy camper. He sat still by me during the Chima show. Then we headed out of the park and went to our hotel.

The hotel was great. We stayed at Homewood Suites. It was perfect! We checked in and went down to the dining room for the complimentary dinner. It was yummy. They had cheese ravioli with either red or white sauce, salad, and garlic bread. After dinner we changed into bathing suits and went in the jacuzzi. Weston was the only one who went in the big cold pool. We had it to ourselves, which was nice. Beckett was pretty exhausted though and screamed when I took him out of the jacuzzi.

Grandma bought the boys each a Mixel Lego set before we left the park so they had some Lego's to put together in the hotel that night. The boys slept on the pull out couch bed and Beckett was in a pack and play in the front room with them. Grandma and I had our own beds in the separate bedroom. We all slept great!

Fall Break CA Trip

In October the kids all had a few days off school for Fall Break. Now let's rewind for a minute...back in the early summer I told the boys that if they saved all of the money they earned over the summer and could earn enough to pay for half of their ticket I would take them to Legoland for Fall Break. They did jobs all summer and saved all their money. There were times they wanted to buy stuff but I reminded them that they wanted to go to Legoland and they always chose to keep saving. They both had over $30 by the time Fall Break came, so we headed to California.

This was my first solo driving trip to California. Ian didn't have enough extra days off to come with us and I thought I would give it a shot taking the kids by myself. Ian taught the boys how to set up the tech stuff in the car and we moved car seats around so that Weston was with Talia in the back and Davin was in the middle next to Beckett. The boys took care of their little siblings and made sure they had shows to watch, snacks, etc. They were SO good for the drive. It went really fast too. We drove out on Tuesday. That night we played with toys and hung out with Grandma and Grandpa and Auntie Jules and Dean.

Wednesday was a mellow day. We woke up to donuts on the cat! Grandpa Bob is so fun. :) We babysat Dean in the morning. The house cleaners were there that morning too, so I took the kids for a walk down to the neighborhood park for a bit. It's been re-done recently and was a lot of fun. Dean seemed to like the umbrella stroller too. He fell asleep on the way to the park!

By the time we were heading home from the park Dean was tired and fussy. Beckett fell and skinned his knee. But we all made it home in one piece. The house cleaners were still there, but as soon as they were done with the living room we went in and turned on a movie. Dean snuggled up and napped in my arms for a bit. We spent the rest of the morning watching movies and playing with Dean. At one point I didn't see Beckett. I found him playing all by himself with the trucks in the backyard. So cute.

Jules got home from her hair appointment around lunch time. We fed the kids and hung out that afternoon. Dad made us a yummy dinner of carnitas tacos and fried tortillas with homemade guacamole. My favorite. Julianna agreed to watch Talia while we were at Legoland and since we were leaving early Thursday morning Talia went home with Jules after dinner. She got to go to Young Women's with her auntie and have two sleepovers. She was pretty excited for her sleepovers and time with Auntie Jules. She was a little bit disappointed about not going to Legoland but it worked out well for everyone. I SUPER appreciate Jules taking Tal!
PS-There were a few reasons Talia didn't get to go to Legoland. First of all, she didn't earn the money to go. Second, she is super whiny and hard to take places. Third, she got to go to Disneyland with Grandma all by herself last summer. This was the boys' turn. 

That night we packed up for Legoland, took baths and showers and went to bed early!

Girly Girl

Talia is not much of a girly girl but she has her moments of wanting to be frilly and princessy. I feel like I talk a lot about how crazy she makes me (and it's true), but she also is very loving and loyal. She follows me around like a puppy all the time. She constantly wants my attention. When I am able to give it fully she loves it! She is getting better about taking my divided attention too without a fuss. I am so grateful for my daughter!

Talia is funny and smart and honest. She is going to go far in life and I hope that I can teach her she can do anything she wants! It is fun to see her big girl personality coming out. Sometimes she is so caring and helpful with her little brother. I love to see that nurturing potential in her. And of course I love buying her clothes! She is very opinionated about her wardrobe and especially loves wearing anything blue. I try to accommodate her preferences as much as possible and I think she looks so adorable most of the time. Love my girly girl!