Tumble Time!

On Tuesday, Miss B. started a tumbling class from a darling lady down the street who teaches out of her garage.  To say she loved her tumbling class would be an understatement.

Stretching with Jordan and the other girls.

What is it about playing on mats that makes even the simplest activity fun?

Somersaults and jumping over blocks?  Doesn't get any better!

Huntington Beach

 Friday morning we slowly got out of bed, packed up and headed down to Huntington Beach. Case was the most excited for this day.  He begged not to go to Disneyland the second day because he wanted to go play at the beach.  I have to say, I REALLY enjoyed Huntington Beach in October.  The weather was amazing and there was no one there.  It was so relaxing and calm. The water was perfect and the kids had a ball.

 It didn't take long for these kids to get out in the water. 

 Even Miss B. was ready for the water.

 It had rained in the morning before we arrived, but it didn't matter.  The weather was awesome!

 These boys would have played in the water all day had we let them.  

 This little beach babe looooved the beach!  She hasn't been since she was 9 months old.  

 Running from the waves is always fun at the beach!

 Ledger just taking it all in.

 Why does Brody look so grown up all of a sudden?

 Although we didn't have any sand toys, the kids had fun building a sand castle.

 Huntington Beach in October is the best!  We may have to make this our yearly family vacation time!

  After we played at the beach, we headed to the car and changed out of our wet swim suits.  We had lunch at a Mexican Restaurant and then walked the pier to Ruby's for ice cream, apple pie and milk shakes.  Jeremy tried to get us to stay another night in California, but Case insisted we get home so he could play in his flag football game the next day.  We left Huntington at about 4:00 but got stuck in horrible rush hour traffic.  We arrived home around midnight on Friday.  We were all exhausted but had a great few days in California for fall break.  

An Even Bigger Fall Break Surprise!

 Thursday morning we woke up super early again and headed back to Disneyland.  It was rainy and cold which we were hoping would mean less crowds.  Although it wasn't quite as crowded as the day before, it was still waaaay more crowded then we had hoped for.

 Since we knew it was going to rain on Thursday, we brought ponchos for each of us.  Luckily, the rain only lasted for the first hour or so of the day.

SURPRISE!!!
The highlight of the day was meeting up with Cory, Libby, Jackson, Jefferson and Jordan.  These kids had so much fun riding the rides with with their buddies.  It made the lines less miserable to have friends to hang with while waiting. Since Libby is a Disneyland pro, we were able to learn the in's and out's of how to get more rides in when it is crowded. The girl is good!

 While the boys were riding the "scary" rides, Miss B. and I went searching for the princesses...something we have NEVER done before!  You should have seen me waiting in these lines.  I have NO IDEA who the princesses are.  We would be waiting for an hour and as we would get closer to the front of the line I would ask the nice mom behind me, "Now what is this princesses name?" It was hilarious! Here we are meeting Tinkerbell.  Miss B. was sooooo excited as we waited in line for and hour.  When it was finally our turn, she got shy and clingy.  I was so mad!  She wouldn't even look at Tinkerbell and had a death grip on me the whole time.  Little stinker!

She was all smiles as we met Snow White and Princess Aurora.
 This picture makes me giddy!  I NEVER thought I would be doing the princess thing at Disneyland.  I will tell ya...the whole princess thing can get a little out of hand.  Take for example the hour plus line we waited in to meet the Tangled princess that DID NOT MOVE THE ENTIRE HOUR! I wish I could say I was patient and waited...but I didn't.  Next time right?

 Trying to get through the crowds with a double stroller and a single stroller is not easy!
Ledger loved having Jordan at Disneyland.

 Case was all smiles with Jefferson!  These 2 boys are just cute together! They especially loved "It's A Small World".... NOT!

 Everything around Disneyland was decorated for Halloween.  Like the good parents we are, we made our kids go in the Haunted Mansion.  They were terrified.  When we finally got out, Berkley was crying and saying, "Can you take me some place happy now?"

 Loved being at Disneyland with good friends.

 Ledger loved the Toy Story ride.  The line was so long and slow but it was worth the wait!

SURPRISE!!
Another highlight of the day was meeting up with Case's friend Matix.  They had run into each other the day before at Soaring Over California.  His mom and I text each other and met up after dinner on Thursday night.  These 3 boys were in heaven playing and riding rides together.  I loved watching them together but felt so much guilt that I have pulled Case from these boys at his old school and put him in a new environment.  I hope he understands why and I hope he continues to be friends with these boys forever.

This was the last ride of the night.  When the park closed at 9:00 we headed to the hotel shuttle and quickly crashed in bed when we got back.  Disneyland is exhausting but oh so fun!

A Fall Break Surprise!

On Tuesday, Jeremy and I took our kids to Disneyland for the last half of fall break.  They had no idea it was coming and boy were they surprised.  The drive over was great.  The kids were so excited that they kept asking Jeremy and I, "How many more hours?" This went on for 6 hours!

 When we arrived in Anaheim, we checked into our hotel and then headed over to Huntington Beach to have dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Spark.  We did some shopping at the Tuesday night street fair and then walked down the pier to have an ice cream at Ruby's.  The weather was perfect and the night was great.

 We could have walked around Huntington all night.  It was beautiful!

We love Ruby's on the pier!

  The next morning we woke up early to get on the hotel shuttle.  We packed on the shuttle and headed over to Disneyland for what we thought would be a not so crowded couple days at the Happiest Place On Earth.  WRONG!!! Although we arrived at California Adventure before the park opened, there were lines a mile long.  All the "fast passes" for the new Cars ride were gone...for the day.  The crowds were crazy and the lines were even crazier!! .  Jeremy and the boys waited in line for this ride for 2 1/2 hours only for it to break down.  The boys were all crying and asking to go back to the hotel.  Talk about disappointment!

While the boys were waiting in the 2 1/2 hour line,  Berkley and I were trying out all the rides in Cars Land.  As you can see, she is just tall enough to ride some of the rides.  At one point we were getting ready to ride the bumper cars in "Bugs Land," and the lady working there measured Berkley and told us she wasn't quite tall enough to go on the ride.  I couldn't believe it because seriously, it was like by 1/2 and inch. I kept saying to Berkley, "Stand up nice and tall."  Out of no where Berkley "grew" and off we went to ride the bumper cars.  The lady measuring her was like, "ok then."

The new Mater ride was a highlight for Berkley.

 Lightening McQueen was hilarious.  He talked to us and revved his engine.  Miss B. wasn't sure what to think about him. Everything about Cars Land was amazing.  We loved being over there but wish the crowds were elsewhere!

 After the super long wait for the Car's ride, Miss B. and I met up with the boys and hit the Toy Story ride.  This is a cute 3-D ride that we could all enjoy.

 Miss B. and Daddy getting ready to shoot the targets.

 These 2 had a ball riding the carousel. Me...not so much!  I hate rides that spin in the same motion over and over. (see tea cup picture below.)

 California Screaming....LOVE IT!! Check out Brody and Case sitting in front of me.  They were scared to death but kept riding this over and over and over! I was sitting next to a darling girl who talked to me the whole time.

 While Brody, Case and I went on California Screaming, Jeremy took Ledger and Miss B. on the Ferris Wheel.  Ledger kept asking to do this one again and again. Apparently he is not afraid of heights.

 After a very long morning at California Adventure, we headed over to Disneyland to see if the crowds were any less.  They weren't but we still enjoyed Pirates Of The Carribbean, Space Mountain, The Matterhorn, and Splash Mountain.
So here goes...The tea cups have to be the worst ride in all of Disneyland.  I cannot for the life of me figure out why anyone would want to even go on this ride.  I seriously get sick just watching the kids do this ride.  For some reason, they love it!

Another highlight of the day was the parade.  It was awesome!  The kids all enjoyed seeing the characters as they rode past us on the elaborate floats.
Miss B loved loved loved Ariel.  She is a little obsessed with mermaids right now so seeing her was a huge highlight.  After the parade they closed the park down and opened it up to the Halloween trick or treaters in their costumes.  We opted out of this activity and instead headed back to the hotel for room service and cozy beds.  Our first day at Disneyland started out a little rough but we made up for it by lunch and had a great time.  Stay tuned for highlights of our second day at Disneyland!

Berkley 3 Year Well Check

 On Friday morning, Berkley went to her 3 year well check appointment with Dr. James. Not only is it hard to believe that my little lady is 3, but it's hard to believe that she was having her vision and hearing checked at this appointment. Can you believe Dr. James was Jeremy and my pediatrician when we were growing up?

 At 3 years 3 weeks, Miss B. weighs 27 pounds (12%)

Her BMI is 14.9 (23%)

 She is 35.8 inches tall (19%)

Although I know she can hear, she struggled with hearing the quiet high pitched beep. We will recheck this at the 4 year appt. Her vision was 20/20.  Today she had a TB blood test and got to pee in a cup, which was the highlight of the appointment.  I will say, peeing in a cup with a girl is not quite as easy as it is with the boys.  We were both laughing so hard we couldn't get the pee in the cup.  We are nerdy like that!