Legoland Day 2 & Brick-Or-Treat!

Friday morning we were up bright and early for breakfast at the hotel. Then we all got ready for the day and packed up our stuff. We checked out of the hotel and got to Legoland right when it opened again. This time we headed around the opposite side of the park. We got on a few big rides right away. We also discovered a ride that Beckett could go on. He loved the little airplanes and we rode it over and over again with him. 

Grandma took the big boys on The Lost Kingdom Adventure where they got to shoot laser guns at targets (a lot like the Buzz ride at Disneyland). Then I took Weston on the Technic Coaster. Davin said he didn't want to go on it, but then randomly showed up in the line with me! Turns out he had come over to the line because he didn't see Grandma. That was a scary couple of minutes since Grandma couldn't find Davin. We figured it out (thank goodness for cell phones!) and Davin got out of line and went and played in the Pharoah's Revenge ball area with Beckett. Weston and I had a blast on the Technic Coaster. It was probably the biggest roller coaster ride in the whole park. The first drop was really good. The rest was a lot like the Coast Rider at Knott's.

After the Techic Coaster I took Weston on the Knight's Tournament ride. It was pretty crazy. It looked like mechanical arm the moved us all around. It made me a little nauseous and we only chose level 2 of intensity! Weston loved it though. :)

While it was just me and Weston we also ran onto the Dragon. That was a fun coaster that had lots of cool Lego creations to see throughout the ride. I thought Davin would really like it, so we went and met up with Grandma and the other boys. Davin and Weston went on the Dragon with Grandma. Then they went on the Royal Joust. Beckett was too little so we wandered around together while we waited.

After those rides we took an ice cream break. It was a fun treat and perfect to sit and have a snack at that point! We did a few more little things in the Castle area before moving on.

Grandma took the big boys on the Bionicle Blaster. Beckett had a fruit snack break while they rode. Then I took the boys on the Wave Racer. It was in the water but we didn't get too wet. Just a few splashes. I forgot to get Grandma's pictures of us on it! It was really fun though.

Next it was building time. The boys chose to spend an hour building in the Hero Factory. The wall in that room was super cool. All made of Lego's! The boys each built a Hero Factory guy. Grandma took Beckett across the way into the Duplo room and he built a cool train. We saw the vampire guy come through the Duplo room and Beckett followed him outside and was first in line for a photo op!

When we were done building we went on the boat tour. It was pretty hot in the sun, but Beckett loved the boat. It took us all around the lake and we got to see some of the Miniland areas we had missed. The Eiffel tower was cool and Beckett got an up close glimpse at the elephants.

We were all pretty hungry, so we headed around to the other side of the park to buy a Lego set at one of the shops and eat by Driving School. On our way over to Driving School we saw Emmett! That was pretty fun! Beckett had fallen asleep in the stroller, but at least he's in the picture.

We ate burgers for lunch while Beckett napped. When the boys were done eating they went on Driving School again. Beckett woke up from his hour-ish nap a little grumpy. We headed over to the mother's room and the Lego Clubhouse. I changed Beckett and then we all built with Lego's in the Clubhouse for a bit. Weston put together his own minifigs and bought them as a souvenir. He made a chef, a surfer dude, and moustache man. They are really cool!

While the boys were busy building still I took Beckett outside and got him a hot dog for lunch. He only ate the bun. Most expensive hot dog bun ever. Oh well. Once Beckett was finished we headed over to the Lego Movie Experience. It was fun to see the basement set from the movie and a bunch of the scenes in Lego's. There was a Plexiglas barrier around all the scenes because ironically they were not Kragled together. :)

Our next stop was the Sea Life Aquarium. It was a cool aquarium with some different animals than we see at ours. There were a few Lego creations in the tanks too. The boys did a quiz and earned a prize at the end. Beckett really liked seeing all the fish.

Finally it was time to go to the car and change into our "costumes" for the Brick-Or-Treat party! This was an add on that I'm very glad we did. It was an extra $20 to upgrade our tickets for the party, but it was awesome! We went with a superhero theme for our costumes and I thought we all looked pretty great.

We got into Brick-Or-Treat right when it started and took some pictures. There were cool Halloween characters wandering the park. The kids got a trick or treat bag and there were stations set up all around where they could get treats. The last one (which we went to first) was where they got a full on Chima speedor Lego set. That alone was worth half the price of the party.

Since the park had cleared out for the party we walked onto a few rides. We did the Technic coaster and the Lost Kingdom. Beckett rode the airplanes probably 15 times in a row. It was perfect. After we rode a few rides we started trick or treating. The party filled up as the evening wore on and we kind of just filed along the trick or treat route in a giant line.

We took a break and went up to the witches dance party. The boys were going crazy and having so much fun dancing. :) Weston even got invited to be part of the big dance off contest for prizes at the end of the night. He was super stoked about it. Davin was a little disappointed he didn't get picked too, but he managed his emotions really well.

We finished trick or treating and went on a couple last rides before the big dance off at the main stage. It was pretty chaotic with quite a few kids in the front for the dance off, then during that they chose 5 finalists to dance on the big stage and one main winner by applause. Weston didn't get picked for that, but he had fun dancing in the front. At the end of the dance off the lights went out and there was a fireworks show. That was the end of the party and the park closed.

It was a very fun, long day. We had such a blast. We got out of the park and drove home. The boys were all asleep by the time we got home at 11pm. I'm so so glad we were able to go. The boys really earned it and it was the perfect time to take them. They were great ages for it. I am also so grateful that Grandma could come with us. And extra super grateful that Auntie Jules could watch Talia while we were gone. What an awesome Legoland adventure we had!

New Year!

It's a new year and you may have noticed how much I slacked on blogging this past Fall. I got hung up on our Legoland trip and couldn't seem to get anything done after that. I plan on finishing up the detailed posts about our trip then transitioning to a new blog style for this year. I will be blogging monthly family updates with less pictures. I still love having the blog to act as my journal, but I just don't have the time to sit and post as often as I used to.

Speaking of having the time...that is one of my goals this year, to be more wise with my time. It's weird to think that this season of my life is going to end in just a few short years. Then my days of being home with little people will transition to going back to school and/or work (while also helping with homework, chauffeuring to activities, etc.). I am trying to simplify.

I love the "fresh start" feel of the new year. I like setting goals too, even if I don't always stick with them. It helps to refocus and strive to do better and make positive changes. This year is a big year for goals. Here are my resolutions for the year.

Physical:
1. Cut back processed foods/sugars
2. Eat more veggies (always having to work on this one since I don't really like veggies)
3. Go to more group fitness classes (trying to make it to at least two each week)
4. Try new healthy recipes

Spiritual:
1. Read the New Testament
2. Pray more often and with more sincerity
3. Have daily morning devotionals with the kids before school (scripture, discussion, prayer. I'm using THIS series)

Home/Family:
1. Put my marriage first. Give it my best effort, not just my leftovers.
2. Less TV/Screens. For everyone.
3. Keep the basement organized.
4. Discuss family finances regularly (We are following Dave Ramsey's plan. Main goals are: don't incur any new debt, pay off all debt this year, monthly zero based budgets, weekly check ins)

Personal:
1. Be a more generous person. Look outward to find ways to serve and love.
2. Take better care of myself (make appointments for dental, physical, OB/Gyn, optical, lasik consult, etc.)
3. Don't yell.
4. Be more flexible. It's ok/normal to not have everything in control all the time.
5. Use time wisely.

In other news, I got to kick off my year with a "fresh start" hair cut and color. I am loving having short hair again! :) I'm hopeful that 2015 is going to be an amazing year! We have big plans for fun and family!

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!