The Rest of the Trip

Since my camera was pretty much dead the last few days.....these are my few pictures.  Xinru's brother worked at Dreamworks Studio.  We got the full tour, partook of their free catered food (amazing), and took a picture with Kung Fu Panda.  For anyone interested in animation, this company definitely knows how to take care of its employees.

We finally went to Disneyland.  I am not a huge fan of Disneyland, so we spread out the trips.  My poor children are growing up without a "magical mom."  The kids loved every single ride they went on.  Carston and Avery thought Space Mountain was the best part of Disneyland, and Screamin' took the prize at California Adventureland.  Tower of Terror freaked Avery out.  She liked the actual ride, but everything spooky in the line had her terrified.  Kate and Macy laughed so hard on Mickey's carousel they could hardly breath.  John got sick from Screamin' and had to buy himself an ice cream bar.  We were lucky to have Xinru as our guide because she knew how to maximize the experience.

 Do we look tired?  This was at the end of the day, waiting in line to go on Soaring.  Every time we head to Disneyland, I think that maybe, just maybe I won't dislike it as much as I think I do.  And every time I walk away saying, "Yep.  I am not a fan."  The lines, the heat, the tired legs....and hardly any exciting and thrilling rides.  I honestly think our family had more fun at Lagoon, but John isn't so sure.

We did hit the beach, hung out with Lisa (who was nice enough to let us crash at her beach house), and Leslie.  We checked out the Children's Museum that we had driven past several times.  I wish I had pictures from that place.  It was amazing.  They even had a Dora exhibit and Star Wars exhibit which made things even better.  We spent almost the whole day there.  We also went to lunch and had a scary experience where Kate decided she would come find me at the bathroom.  She left the restaurant, unbeknownst to John, and started walking down the pier all by herself.  Before we even knew she was missing, we found her holding a lady's hand, walking calmly down the pier.  Scared me to death.  I count us very lucky that it was a good person who took hold of her trusting, innocent hand.

It was a great trip.  Our kids are awesome.  It is amazing how much easier and enjoyable traveling gets when your kids are just a tiny bit older.  I love my family and I'm glad we got to have such a great time with each other.