The End of our Trip (I Promise)

So here are the final random pictures that I didn't want to leave out when I print our family journal.

When both kids needed a little break they did pretty well to share the single stroller.

We learned some lessons on this trip that I'll share just in case any of you readers are thinking of going soon:
Never bring a 1.5 year-old to Disneyland. They have a difficult time waiting in lines, even if it's only for 10 minutes. Ez did pretty well, but I'd rather not take my chance ever again.


Always eat 30 minutes earlier than you think you need to. Before you know it everyone is cranky and starved, especially Mom!


Always put the kids to sleep an hour earlier than you think they need to, otherwise there will be tears, many tears (also especially from Mom).


The night time shows/parades never seem to be worth it. World of Color was pretty cool, but it's so tiring to wait for a decent seat and then hold kids on shoulders so that they can see. Ez fell asleep anyway. When our family is a little older we'll probably love the night life.


There are many new things coming, especially in California Adventures Park. It might be worth waiting until 2012 when Cars Land and other areas are finished. Should be exciting next time we go (but I hope it's not sooner than two or three years from now)!
On our way back we spent time with Grandma and Grandpa before pressing on home. Ez was sure happy to play with Grandpa and Nolan loved telling them all the rides he went on. The rides really got long coming home, and Justin was pulled over for speeding only 30 minutes away from our house. Thank goodness that we ended the trip with a warning and not a pricey ticket!

Character Love

These boys absolutely fell in love with all of the characters they met. I had no idea they would react that way. We had always said that a character meal would be fun, but that our boys probably wouldn't care too much about it yet. Well, our feelings started to change after seeing their eyes light up and Ezra's glowing smile. We spent half of our Disneyland time with Justin's Dad's family. We were so excited when they offered to take us to the character breakfast at Grand California's restaurant. What a treat! We loved the food and the kids were so happy to cuddle those big critters. While on our trip, we realized that our camera is no longer working properly. Some of the buttons, their functions, and the zoom won't work. I'm bummed that I can no longer adjust the brightness of the flash. We all look a little washed out. But thankfully it still works well enough to capture these boys and those big character hugs. Nolan and I (he insisted I join in... oh good) even had a chance to do a congo line and dance with the chipmunks.

Ezra definitely had a little crush on Minnie Mouse. There weren't many people around, so Minnie kept coming back to Ezra and even danced with him. Nolan was pretty pleased to meet Woody and one of the army men.

While at the character breakfast, Brandon and Evan were celebrating their sixth birthday. Grandpa Corey and Kathy thought it would be fun to celebrate Nolan's also, even though he still had a couple weeks to wait for the real day. It was a fun surprise when they came to sing to the kids and brought cupcakes for everyone, even Ezra. The rest of the day Nolan wore his birthday button and workers in Disneyland would wish him happy birthday throughout the day.

Disneyland

Nolan was pretty excited... just check out that smile as he found his seat on the shuttle that first morning. We headed to the Nemo subs for our Magic Morning, since that line is always so long. That's one ride I'd be happy to skip honestly, but Ezra begs to watch "Emo" everyday. He was quite amused by the whole ride. His favorite rides, though, were the carousel and the Ladybugs that spin like teacups. I loved hearing him giggle the whole time as we'd spin around. He really loved exploring on Tom Sawyer island (thankfully he didn't get lost forever in those tunnels) and the Challenge Trail in California Adventure Park. Here are some of Ezra's best Disneyland moments.

Nolan just barely squeaked by the height requirement for several rides, including the Tower of Terror, Space Mountain, Big Thunder Railroad, and Soarin' over California. Before our trip, he would always say, "I'm going on the Tower of Terror first!" We thought it best to ride several more easy-going rides to get him warmed up. The time finally came, though, and Justin said he did great. He even told Justin he liked it. But a bit later, I asked him to come with me on it since Justin had gotten a switchpass. He said, "No I don't want to go again. I am scared of every part of that ride." Well, here's where my awesome parenting skills kicked in: I had him ride it with me anyway. Okay, looking back, I should have just gone by myself, but he was pretty willing as we walked on (yes, lines were really short). We got inside and a lady was talking to him and he told her, "I just hate every part of this ride. I don't like going down faster than gravity." But the little guy was perfectly happy getting strapped in. When it was over, I asked him if he liked it better the second time. "No, I told you I hate every part." Whenever we went on the bigger rides he would get off and say how he's a champion (that's what the name Nolan means). One evening they said he wasn't tall enough for the runaway train even though he had ridden it that morning. We bought him some taller shoes the next day and he was good to go the rest of the time. They're so picky, so if your kids are just making the height requirements, buy thick soles!His favorites were the "mine train" (Big Thunder Railroad) and Soarin'. That kid was the happiest I've ever seen him as we soared over the forest and ocean on that ride. He was pleased with the Haunted House, Matterhorn, Pirates, and Small World, too.

So they had many great, happy moments, but it's amazing how for us parents it felt like there were way too many bad moments. Exhaustion was the main culprit but there wasn't much we could do about that. They would take naps in the stroller, we packed plenty of snacks, but it was still just so much stimulation. Nolan even knew it. After a fit from him, he calmly said, "Mom, it's just because I'm so tired." I think my favorite picture from the whole trip is when I captured Ezra in one such moment. Not sure what he was mad about, but he was really trying to give us a piece of his mind! If looks could kill...

Long Trip (Part 2)

While still in San Diego we visited Justin's Dad's house. They had done some kitchen remodeling, which was fun to see and our boys always love to play with their 3 little guys, twins age 6 and one that is 3. They have a beautiful yard where we could set them free.

That night we had a surprise from the hotel. They upgraded our room to a fabulous suite. Extra space is always good when kids are involved. The next day was Valentine's. We all gave each other treats and the boys got Beauty and the Beast to enjoy in the car. We spent the day at Lake Miramar where we enjoyed the ducks and a long walk around the lake. So long, in fact, that we began to worry. Justin turned back to get the van to pick us up on the other side of the lake while I continued on with the kids. I probably walked nearly 2.5 miles before we finally met up. Turns out the lake is larger than we realized. But the weather was beautiful and it was good practice for the upcoming days of walking at Disneyland. Afterward, we headed to the beach near the UCSD campus where we had a picnic and enjoyed the ocean breeze. Justin even had me show the boys the UCSD (he went there for a year) library that is built like a giant tree.

On the drive to Anaheim, the boys thankfully slept for us. Always a blessing when they sleep in the car. Sometimes I don't really think my boys look much alike, but in that picture they definitely do!

After checking into our hotel, we discovered that we had the Disney channel. What joy! It turns out that Dad likes Handy Manny as much as the boys. Later, we walked around the Downtown Disney district. The highlight was the Lego store. I don't think Nolan realized there were entire stores devoted to Legos. What a thrill! We let him handpick his own collection of Legos to take home as an early birthday present. It was pretty fun choosing Lego bricks as if they were bulk candy.

We finished off the night with dinner at Buca di Beppo, near our hotel. Oddly enough, Justin and I decided this day was one of the best of our entire vacation. It's funny how it was the only day that wasn't really planned out, the kids were pleasant, and it didn't cost much money. Later you'll read about how we ran our kids ragged, pressured them into riding rides they don't like, and then tried to make them sit down for a nice meal at a restaurant. More to come!

Long Trip (Part 1)

We have survived returned from our Southern California trip. Our main purpose for the visit was to celebrate my Nana's 90th birthday. It was great to see her and to get reacquainted with some of the Ligtermoet side of the family. I hadn't seen many of them since our wedding seven years ago, and some since childhood. Nana put on a happy face, but it was a difficult time because she is soon packing up and moving to Kansas to live in a senior home where she'll be near her daughter and granddaughters who are nurses. She's worried about being cold there so we gave her a blanket with a collage of our side of the family. In many ways it was the end of a long era. I've grown up visiting my Nana and Papa in San Diego and when we visit now it won't feel the same without her there. I doubt we'll see Nana as often, but wish her all the best. She's really an amazing woman. I love how she always reminds me to give Justin a big kiss for her whenever we speak on the phone.

While in San Diego, we visited the beach and pier in Oceanside with my parents, Lacey, and Travis. I'm already missing the beautiful weather and warm sun. Ezra hasn't had many chances to really run fast and far since it's cold outside at home. But he really took off at the beach. If only I could let him experience that freedom more often. It was great fun to watch him chase a seagull and get too close (for my comfort) to a pelican.

Keeley's family finished their time in Disneyland and joined us for Nana's party. That evening, we snuck in a little shopping time while the men took the kids swimming at the hotel.

The next morning we went to Nana's Presbyterian church service and luncheon. We enjoyed experiencing a different church setting. They put on a program afterward celebrating Nana, but sadly we missed that because our kids were getting too restless. My parents said it was really wonderful. We all wished we'd had more time before going our separate ways to school, jobs, and Disneyland (which is what I'll write about soon).

Keeping Occupied

Justin has still been working some crazy hours and working hard on his Stanford class. There are a lot of papers for him to write, and he's never loved writing. So I've been trying to keep these boys from getting bored. Luckily our friends asked us to go to the Gateway children's museum one last time before their membership expired. It was Ezra's first time going since he's been up and walking. And we had a yummy lunch at Hot Dog on a Stick. The place is pretty pricey so we're always grateful when we can bum our way in with a friends' membership. Thanks, Brianne!

I also buzzed the boys over to the Living Planet Aquarium before our membership expired there. I guess it's the season of expiring memberships! Nolan was very protective of Ezra and didn't like it when he ran too far away. He was always tugging the poor little guy this way and that. But we always love the aquarium because the fish have a sort of calming effect on all of us. Almost makes me wish I had a fish tank at home. But not really; I don't need anything else to keep clean!

This morning we also had playgroup at Macey's grocery store. Nolan is behind the black balloon.

They gave us a tour and little handouts like string cheese, fruit leathers, suckers, and balloons. It's always great to let Nolan see new things and get away from the dull routine of a movie here, legos there, drawing pictures, and playing computer games. See, he got so bored the other day that he just fell asleep right in the computer chair!

Last week I cut some wraps and triangle bandages for my emergency pack. The boys like to play with them so I practiced doing a splint on Nolan. He was pretty surprised when he stood up and couldn't bend his knee. Ez is sporting a mock arm injury. Aren't they cute little practice victims?