Adventure Playground

I think this is the last of the vacation posts, which is a good thing, since vacation is long since over, and school has definitely begun . . . we are now in our fourth week of it. Crazy.

On our last full day in California, with nothing planned, but kids who were getting antsy, I searched for cheap activities in Orange County. I came up with Adventure Playground in Huntington Beach. It was only a 20-minute drive away, inexpensive ($3 for kids, free for adults), and the website warned visitors to wear grubby clothes and closed-toed shoes. Perfect. Luckily, they had a stash of abandoned, decrepit shoes laid out at the park. None of us had to wear our own shoes.

Lutece did the paddle rafts over and over again. Here we are, while I waited in line with her.

There was a rope bridge (pictured), a tire slide, mud slide, and build-your-own forts (not pictured). We actually spent quite a bit of time in the build-your-own-fort area, hammering and sawing in the hot sun.

And of course, since everything was about getting dirty, there was a sandbox. Phoenix had the whole thing to himself. Lucky guy. All in all, it definitely lived up to its name.

We Heart Family

I think we would all agree that the *most* fun part about our vacation to California was seeing one entire side of the family (except for Aaron, so sad, don't want you to think we forgot you). Well, maybe the kids would say Disneyland and then family. Ummm, maybe I would say that too. Well, anyway, it was *really* fun to see everyone!

Lutece is talking on her pretend phone . . .

And I think Liz must be talking back on her pretend phone. Liz, of course, is Tim's new wife and the newest member of our family. It was so fun to meet her and find out that she really IS as great as Tim had made her out to be.

Grandma Terry, as happy as a clam. Look, she's glowing.

I like this picture of me because 1) I look happy; 2) I look tan, despite the fact that I wore sunblock ALL summer long (I tend to eschew the sun, but it seems I *do* look better with a tan. Sigh.); and 3) I look about five years younger than I really am, and about 10 years younger than I feel. So please don't tell me I look like I'm 40 in this picture.

Tim and Liz.

Tim and Buddy. Buddy the dog, that is. Not Buddy the Phoenix (our name of choice for Phx). It was all very confusing.

And don't think we would forget him this time around. Scott. The man. (Sorry Courtney, you're in the last post . . . we love you too).

Same Swimsuits, Different Day

I've been lax about taking pictures lately, so here are some more from our California vacation . . . and I didn't even take them! Photography credit to Scott.

I love this picture. It just captures the whole beach experience in one frame.

Who is that stylista? Is that even a word?

There was actually one picture with Scott in it too, but seeing as how you had to wade through my bathing-suit clad body to get a glimpse of his face in the background, I didn't think ANY of us wanted to see that. Enjoy the lovely kids!

Second Generation Museum

The Natural History Museum at Exposition Park in downtown L.A. was a favorite of ours when I was growing up. It was fun to go back with the kids and wax nostalgic.

The displays in the mammal rooms are so realistic and so neat, but really retro. You just don't see museums like this anymore, with displays that resemble still-life paintings more than videos.

Everything is so "dynamic" and "interactive" now. It's nice just to pause, stand, and gaze for a while.

Phx especially was fascinated by these displays.

And of course the dinosaurs too.

Outside, they didn't want their pictures taken, so I tried some role-playing to get their minds off of it. "Lutece, you be the T-rex."

"And Phx, you can be the triceratops."

It worked until triceratops decided to be pro-active against the imminent threat of T-rex . . . that is, he attacked first. Sigh. Someone always ends up crying.

All in all, dino attacks aside, it was a fun outing.

And when you chase it with good, cheap Mexican food and Orange Bang, no one complains about the head butting.

The "Other" Parts of Disneyland

Because, you know, Fantasyland totally rocked the kids' world. But there are *other* parts of Disneyland. In fact, if you ask Lutece what her favorite ride was, she would most definitely say Big Thunder Mountain, which we really only went on because I wanted to see just how much I could scare my own children. She loved it. Phx, Grandma and I preferred something tamer. (Phx's favorite ride was Dumbo).

But the Swiss Family Robinson tree house was about as tame as it gets. However, it's not Swiss Family Robinson anymore because who the heck knows who they are anyway :) It's Tarzan's Treehouse now.

But it's still pretty much the same deal.

And the Jungle Cruise . . . totally the same. Those jokes NEVER get old (right, Courtney??).

Even the kids were laughing.

But the Motor Cars (now known as Autopia) was by far my least favorite ride. Ugh. Lots of bumping and chugging and halting and clunking. And the noise! Without even one child in my car with whom to enjoy it. There I am back in the blue car with nary a child in sight.

At least Lu and Grandma seem to be enjoying things more.

At the end of the day (meaning about 5:00 p.m. for us), we were all tuckered out, having thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Yup, Disney did a number on us all.

The Happiest Place on Earth?

What trip to California is complete without some Disney magic? I ask you. Although, I'll admit, having worked there the summer after my freshman year of college, I'm a bit jaded. Add to that the fact that I consider myself fairly anti-child-centric commercialization, and I was reticent to introduce the kids to Disney's brand of entertainment.

But then . . . you enter those golden gates and . . . ahhhh, all of your worries and cares just flit away and vanish, and the magic encircles you, and, and, and . . . you embrace it. Because it's Disney after all. And it is a pretty darn happy place. (Did you *see* that face?)

Not to mention that we arrived at 8:00 a.m. and avoided crowds for the first 4-5 hours, AND that it was a lovely overcast day, AND, well, it was awesome. We loved it.

The teacups.

What joie de vivre! What abandon! What fun!

And of course, Storybook Land. This is one of the rides (alright, the *main* ride) I worked on during my short tenure at Disneyland, sitting atop the little boat, slowly getting tan stripes, er, lines between my lower thigh (where the costume skirt ended) and my upper calf (where the white knee-high socks went to), saying the same spiel over and over and over again. Ahh, the memories. It was lovely to be a passenger this time around. And, WOW, kids really do like this ride. Who'da thunk?

Still in Fantasyland, in the extremely short line at "It's a Small World," the kids put on a show for the camera. Don't you believe those faces though. They loved EVERY STINKIN' minute of the day.

More pictures to follow.

A is for Alifornia

Oh, I mean, C-A-lifornia. Of course.

A California Vacation

. . . without a couple of days at the beach just wouldn't be right, so we hit my old stomping grounds of Newport Beach. Surprisingly, it took Phx a little while to get used to the sand and the ocean. He complained of "stinging sand with saltwater" syndrome, not uncommon for first time beach-goers.

Fortunately, he soon recovered.

After an initial distaste for sandy hands (who doesn't have that?), Lu loved the whole beach experience, spending most of her time in or near the water . . .

. . . with Stayc, who absolutely, positively, and most passionately HATES the beach.

He suffers in silence for the sake of the family.

Blue skies.

Moderate temperatures.

Warm water.

The biggest sandbox he's ever seen.

Eh. Sunbathing, we can do without. But overall, near perfect beach conditions.

And In-N-Out on the way home. Does it get much better than that?