Conquering Cali...

Day #1 - Here we go!
Movie playing, snacks in hand...they have no idea the long road ahead, but Reese and Anni were so excited to sit next to each other.

)

Luckily these two little munchkins turned out to be great little travelers! We made it all the way to Vegas with only one stop, and in record time.

This is the "happy to be out of our car seats" dance! They both ran around the hotel room, touching and getting into everything...there was quite a bit of penned up energy.





Some of the days highlights...

• Discovering that the speed limits have been increased to 80 mph on several of the long stretches of highway, not that I haven't been driving 80 mph for years...but hey...now I'm legal! Clearly I need to get out of "the Valley" more often. 
• Watching Reese have her own little dance party in her car seat...and watching Anni mimic her every move.
• Realizing IPads are the greatest invention ever...for entertaining 3 1/2 year old's on a long car ride.
• Seeing a big truck completely engulfed in flames on the side of the highway!
• Pumping my own gas for the first time in like 2 or 3 years. What can I say...Arnold really spoils me and always keeps my car full of gas. I hadn't realized it had been so long. I had kind of forgotten what I was doing...Arnold just sat in the car and laughed at me the whole time.
• Remembering how awesome it is to people watch on the Las Vegas strip...but not necessarily for children. Luckily Reese was so enthralled with her new M & M fan that she didn't notice. 

On another little side note Reese was slightly baffled by the concept of a hotel. It has been almost 2 years since we've stayed in one and I don't think she remembers. Some of her funny hotel quotes...

As we were loading the car this morning she asked, "Mom, we taking so many clothes. How we gonna get dressed at Sea World. We just gonna do it outside?"

When we walked into the hotel room for the first time, she questioned, "Where all the toys in this crazy place?"

Her favorite part of our hotel room...the coffee table. She thinks its the best invention ever! She enjoyed laying on it while she watched TV. She told me, "It's a little baby table just my size mom!"

All in all...day 1 was a success. Arnold and Reese spent the afternoon swimming while mommy and Anni took a nap. Then we headed to the M & M factory and out to dinner.

I thought this was a funny picture. Check our Reese's face..."who's the crazy in the M & M suit?"



Fun "Vegas" shots!


You gotta love the Statue of Liberty hailing above palm trees...so unnatural.



On to day 2...


Day #2 - "Are we there yet?!!...please say yes!!"

I should have known...with day 1 having gone so perfectly well...that it couldn't possibly be that easy...nothing ever is...right?? It began at 4 a.m. with Arnold throwing up! Yes, the lovely 24 hour bug that struck me last Wednesday was laying wait in Arnold...ready to strike. I guess I should just be grateful it was a 24 hour bug (at least we hope), but oh what a lovely 24 hours it has been.

You mom's out there know exactly what this meant for me...single mom traveling with 3 children...yes I said 3...one of which was sick. I got the girls up, fed, dressed, car loaded, all three kids loaded, and hit the road headed to San Diego...a 6 hour drive (1 stop) of non-cruise control driving. Non-cruise control because the traffic was a nightmare! I swear that every person who had been partying in Vegas for the weekend was now headed back to LA. And I'm not sure what they teach in drivers ed in Cali...but it was frustratingly apparent that the "left lane passing lane, right lane for slower vehicles" concept is completely lost to the average California driver. The freeway resembled more of free for all rat race. After 6 hours I could hardly move my right leg. Luckily "sicky" slept most the way, and the girls both took a good nap in the middle. But the last hour or so all I heard from from doodle (Reese)...about every 2 minutes... was, "Are we there yet?!! Please say yes mom!!" and from noodle (Anni) a loud ear piercing, head pounding scream...not out of frustration...just because she thinks it funny...but it's not...someone should tell her! If you speak 1 year old, I could use your services.

We arrived at our hotel around 3 p.m. I unloaded the 3 kids, unloaded all the luggage, unpacked everyone, and cleaned everyone up. Anni had a bad case of licoriceitis; the condition of red licorice stickiness covering the entire body. Occurring in 1 year olds when given to much red licorice in hopes of bribing said 1 year old to stop screaming. Arnold took a nap while I tried, with every bit of the last ounce of patience and energy I had, to entertain the girls while he slept. It isn't an easy task in a small hotel suite, with no toys. Luckily Reese had the ipad, but Anni was a whole different story.

Luckily when Arnold woke up he was feeling a little better. We made it out to dinner and to the grocery store to pick up some essecials, then back to the hotel room for the girls bed time. It's been one of the longest days of my life. It's 9 p.m and I'm the only one still awake. But in the end I'm grateful that, of all the days, Arnold got sick on this one. We're just praying that this really is the same 24 hour bug, and he'll wake up tomorrow as good as new...and that neither of the girls decide to get this in the next 5 days.

Pray for us!!

The only picture from today...Anni's licoriceitis...if only the pictures did it justice. She had licorice all over her tummy, her legs, the bottom of her feet...everywhere. 





Day #3 - Our prayers were answered!

Arnold woke up feeling great! My prayers were answered and our vacation could now proceed as planned. So...with everyone in one piece, be headed to Sea World!

One of our first stops was the Penguin House...Reese loves penguins.

Anni spent most of her time in the stroller. We let her out every now and then.



The "big" show of the day...Shamu! I don't know what I was thinking when I agreed to sit in the "soak" zone.


We did get awesome photo's though. We were right up front.















...but we also got really really really wet! I'm not sure we could have gotten more wet if we had just jumped in the water. You may notice that Anni didn't get as wet as everyone else...well that's because mommy turned her back to protect Anni, therefore mommy's entire backside was drenched.  Lucky for the girls I brought them a change of clothes...too bad I didn't think to bring some for me. Arnold and I dried off eventually though.



Reese loved all the rides! This girl has no fear. The bigger thrill...the better.









Her favorite ride of all...the rollercoaster. I've got a great picture of her face taken with the Sea World camera...I'll post it as soon as I can get our scanner to work.





Reese was allowed to pick one stuffed animal to buy...She loves her new little penguin. She named him Jumpy Jump.



I can never resist taking pictures of this little blue eyed face!





Day #4 - Change of plans

Originally we had planned to head back to Sea Word for day 4, but when we looked at the weather report we realized that Tuesday was going to be the hottest and sunniest day we would be in San Diego. As a result we changed our plans and headed to the beach...and it was a good choice. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day.

Reese patiently waiting to leave...do you think she's ready??



Mommy & Reese...toes in sand...this is heaven!



La Jolla Cove...my new favorite place!



Anni loved sitting on the blanket and playing on the beach...





...but she was a little baffaled by the sand. She wasn't sure if she should eat it or play with it.



Anni definitely didn't like the sound of the ocean. She kind of feaked out any time she got too close to the water.



Reese, on the other hand, loved the ocean!



And again, as you can tell, Anni wasn't a fan.



Reese and daddy had a great time playing in the water...





...building sand castels...





...and collecting sea shells.



After a long day at the beach we were walking back to the car. We came around a little bend in the path and I looked up. There was the most beautiful scene in front of me. The crashing waves against a rocky shore. The sky was bright blue and the smell of the ocean...I stopped to take it all in. Arnold stopped as well. He put his arm around me and we just stood there for a minute. Reese stopped as well and turned to look at us...

Reese: What you guys doing?
Me: Just looking at the beautiful coastline.
Arnold: Mommy and daddy love the ocean.
Me: Ya Reese, it's romantic.
Reese: (rolling her eyes) ya ya...let's go guys!


Day #5 - More of a good thing...

Back to Sea World for more Sea life and thrilling fun!



More rides...



More shows...



...like sea lions...







More fish, more turtles...







More getting soaked...



...and even more shows...like the dolphin show.












After Sea World we headed down to Mission Beach for the evening for more beach fun...













Reese and her dad were playing "chicken" with the waves...



...and the waves won!





But Reese didn't mind. She thought it was pretty funny actually.


Day #6 - The long road ahead.

I can't believe our vacation is almost over. It went way too fast. Day 6 started with the treck back to Vegas for one last night of fun.

We started at the Bellagio for the fountain show. We thought the girls would get a kick out of it.









They thought it was pretty cool. I forgot how short the show is though. Then we headed to Cesars palace for some dinner at the Cheesecake factory, then back to the hotel for a little late night swim. It was a great end to our day.







Day #7 - Home Sweet Home

We got up this morning and headed home to Utah. After 7 days the girls were still great travelers, but very happy to finally get home. We had the best vacation!

Everything's unpacked, put away, and laundry is done. It almost feels like a dream. I can hardly wait until next summer...Disney Land...here we come!


Some cool black and whites from the trip...