Spring Break in California ~ April 2012

April 30, 2012

HELLO DISNEY LAND!! We had a fabulous day with Grammy and Papa Roome. The kids were great, especially with treats to offer, and the lines weren't bad and the weather was beautiful. We all took turns riding with each other and enjoyed the whole day.

Audrey doesn't like tv, but within the last 2 weeks she started to like Mickey Mouse Club House.

I got her a Mini Mouse toy and she loved it. I was so glad that she would appreciate Disney Land a little more knowing all the characters from the show. Mini is her favorite, but when we actually met Mini, she was shy and didn't want to be near her. Right after this picture she warmed up to Mini and had fun looking around Mini's house.

Audrey also enjoyed a little ride on Papa's scooter. We love spending as much time with Grammy and Papa as possible.

Audrey and I went on the Carousel 3 times. She loved it and the line was short. AJ and Grammy went off to ride bigger rides. Papa stayed with us and took pictures or just relaxed in the warm sun.

Audrey tried her first cotton candy, and didn't like it!! I couldn't believe it. She has a sweet tooth like her mama, but the texture was not to her liking.

One of AJ's favorite rides was this submarine in the background. It took you under the water for 15 minutes and explored animals and plants under water.

Grammy took Aunt Kathy, Aunt Alicia, her kids and us to the beach near their house in San Pedro. She wanted to show us a rock beach and some neat rock formations some people had made there. It was a good little hike to get there and each kid had a little bag or purse to collect rocks. It was a fun outing and a good workout.

AJ had so many rocks he could barely pull his bag. He even stuffed his pockets so much that his pants wouldn't stay up. Grammy got him to sort his rocks and we finally got rid of 3/4ths of the rocks. It was much easier for him to carry the lighter load. He is such a collector and appreciates so much of what nature has to offer.

We spent a wonderful day with Uncle Dolphe, Aunt Meagen, Kaylie and Mazie. I'm sure I spelled their beautiful names wrong. Audrey loved playing with all their kitchen toys, bubbles, and outdoor toys in their backyard. AJ kept himself busy drawing roller coasters with sidewalk chalk on the pack porch. We had a yummy lunch and dinner and enjoyed spending the day with them.

We had a great time feeding ducks with Alicia and cousins. It was a beautiful park and the kids loved it. We also played on a big hill nearby that had a large cardboard poster that we found and used as a slide. Fun times!

After visiting the ducks we walked from Alicia's house to a corner store for ice cream. Then we went just a little further to the ocean. From their kitchen window you can see Catalina Island on a clear day.

AJ was overly excited that Alicia had orange and lemon trees in her yard. She helped AJ pick some of the fruit off the tree and then he and cousin Abby made yummy fresh juice. He had no intention of drinking the juice, not surprising, but the process of it all totally excited him! He made some great juice and loved doing it all from fruit he picked himself.

Papa, the kids and I took a day trip to see Grandpa Robby and Carol in San Diego. We miss seeing them often like we did when we lived there. We had a great visit and ate at my favorite place called "China Fun". We always look forward to seeing them when we make a California trip. We also went to La Jolla Beach, our old stomping grounds. We always went to that beach when we lived in San Diego. The kids and I had fun playing in the sand and Papa soaked up the sun on a lounge chair nearby.

Papa, Alicia, cousins and us went to the Griffith Observatory. We played around the area and saw the Hollywood sign and a great view of LA. Then we headed inside to see the displays and watched a show in the planetarium. Luckily, Audrey and cousin Johnny went to sleep almost as soon as the lights went out and the stars shown in the sky.

After the observatory, we headed to Travel Town. The kids loved playing on and around the trains and especially the little train ride we took at the end of our day.

Time to dye some eggs and make a good mess. The kids had fun and the anticipation of an egg hunt the following morning grew as we finished all the eggs. We also helped the kids make a jolly rancher sucker by lining up 3 jolly ranchers and baking them in the oven. After they came out we quickly put sucker sticks on them and let them dry to eat the next day. I also had them bury 3 jelly beans in the backyard and told them something would grow by tomorrow morning. When the kids woke up they went outside and found suckers sticking out of the ground where their jelly beans had been. It was very fun for the younger kids. After that Alicia and I hid Easter eggs and the big hunt began. Audrey and cousin Johnny were especially cute finding their eggs. The kids also had to search for Easter baskets from Grammy an Papa and from Aaron and I. We were lucky to have Aaron join us Wednesday night through Sunday. We had been there a week before him. We were blessed to have had another great Spring Break with our family in California!